Recalling Practitioners’ 1998 Petition at the Beijing TV Station

(Minghui.org) I began practicing Falun Dafa in Beijing in 1993. I’m now 82 years old, and I have walked the cultivation path for over 30 years with the protection of Master. I recently recalled what happened 26 years ago, when I personally witnessed hundreds of Dafa practitioners peacefully appealing at the Beijing Television Station in 1998, to clarify the facts about Falun Dafa. I was deeply moved by the sincerity, purity, kindness, and calmness demonstrated by the practitioners, which gave goodhearted people hope. The experience was incredibly precious and is unforgettable.

The Beijing TV Station Incident

I should start by giving you the background of the peaceful appeal at the Beijing Television Station. The Beijing TV station broadcast a program that used footage of practitioners at the Yuyuantan practice site, talking about the benefits of practicing Falun Dafa, on May 23, 1998. However, the station added slanderous comments by pseudo-scientist He Zuoxiu, hoping to confuse the public. After the program aired, hundreds of Falun Dafa practitioners from Beijing and nearby cities wrote letters or went directly to the Beijing TV Station to clarify the truth. They pointed out that the program’s content was truly inconsistent with the facts.

After they understood the situation, the TV station’s executives admitted that the negative program on Falun Dafa was the greatest mistake since the station’s establishment and fired the person who organized it on June 2, 1998. They also broadcast a positive program about Falun Dafa, showing practitioners doing the exercises peacefully with other people in the park.

However, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began persecuting Falun Dafa on July 20, 1999. As part of the persecution campaign, the CCP media distorted the truth about the peaceful appeal at the Beijing TV station.

I was a coordinator at the Zizhuyuan practice site in 1998. There were a large number of practitioners, roughly more than 8,000. Our group was divided into two practice sites with dozens of smaller Fa study groups. The practice site I was at included more than 2,000 people.

After the group exercises on the morning of May 30, 1998, the coordinators studied the Fa from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. That day, we discussed the slanderous broadcast. Everyone felt we should clarify the facts about Dafa, so we decided to go to the Beijing TV station the next day to explain the truth.

Our Fa study group had 9 practitioners. Except for one practitioner who couldn’t go because she had to care for a sick family member, the other eight went. Falun Dafa has no organization; we simply inform fellow practitioners about the situation, and whether to go or not is entirely up to each individual. In the end, we heard that about 700 to 800 hundred people went to appeal at the Beijing Television Station, which was only a small fraction of the practitioners at practice sites in Beijing (at that time, the Zizhuyuan practice site alone had over 8,000 practitioners who regularly came to the practice side).

Appealing at the Beijing TV Station

After finishing our morning exercises, an older practitioner and I rode our bikes to the Beijing Television Station on the morning of May 11, 1998. When we arrived before 8 a.m., there were less than ten people at that location. The staff came to the yard and set up around 17 or 18 large round tables after 8 a.m. Seeing that they were short-handed, several practitioners helped them.

More practitioners arrived, and occasionally, journalists walked around taking photos. The person in charge of our table was a young man with a camera. We approached him and asked, “Are you a reporter? What do you think is wrong with Falun Dafa? So many people have improved their health because of practicing it. Isn’t this benefiting the public?” He nodded in agreement.

There were about twelve of us, and we explained how we began practicing Dafa, and how our bodies and minds elevated. We said we strove to be good people in society, in our families, and at work by following the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. The young reporter listened quietly.

Benefiting from Practicing Falun Dafa

The first speaker was an elderly lady. She said, “Falun Dafa is wonderful. My teeth used to be loose and painful and I couldn’t eat anything. After cultivating, my teeth became firm, and I never felt any pain again.”

The second speaker was the practitioner who came with me. She was an upright and kind artist who was retired from the military. She suffered from tinnitus for many years and had poor hearing. After practicing Falun Dafa, her hearing improved miraculously. Her children and neighbors asked her, “Wow! Now you hear us even when we speak softly. It’s amazing!” She proudly replied, “It’s because I practice Falun Dafa. Why don’t you practice with me?” An elderly lady who lived in the same courtyard had kidney problems and frequent urination, and she too improved after she began practicing Dafa.

There was also Dr. Ji, who suffered from kidney stones for many years. After practicing, he became healthy and was free from illness. He was cheerful every day.

Everyone shared their personal stories, and talked about how practicing Falun Dafa brought wonderful and miraculous changes to themselves, their families, their workplaces, and society.

The reporter listened for a long time. After everyone finished speaking, he went to another table where many young people sat.

The other practitioners and I went home around 11 a.m. We had to make lunch for our families.

The next day, June 1, 1998, after doing the exercises, I went to the TV station again. People came from all areas, and the streets on both sides were packed. At that time, the station director announced, “There are too many people inside, no more can enter.”

I volunteered to help maintain order at the scene. Initially, everyone was anxious, wanting to know what was happening inside. Later, practitioners outside calmed down and began talking with each other, whether they knew each other or not. Falun Dafa practitioners from different regions exchanged experiences and understandings of cultivation. Our gathering was like a Fa conference.

I heard people around me saying, “What exactly happened? Falun Dafa is great. It truly achieves health benefits and teaches people to be good. Isn’t it good to have more good people in society?” 

At that time, I felt no fear. I just thought, “Falun Dafa is righteous. My life is given by Dafa. Master is being wrongly accused. As a practitioner, I should step forward at this critical moment to validate Dafa, uphold Dafa, and promote Dafa!”

I Am the Happiest Being in the Universe

We shared our understanding of those events a month later. I said, “Every true cultivator should think deeply about this. As Dafa practitioner, we have a mission. If we dare not speak up for Dafa, then we should think about what we are afraid of.” A senior practitioner in our group said, “I agree. First, we must truly eliminate fear. Otherwise, we won’t be able to validate the Fa.” Other practitioners said, “We should indeed validate the Fa. If we have such an opportunity in the future, we will all go!”

The following year, the April 25 peaceful appeal drew international attention. All the practitioners who participated in our discussion participated in the appeal.

As Dafa practitioners, everyone should strive to promote, validate, and safeguard Dafa. The choice to participate or not makes a big difference. Those who do not truly cultivate may not truly understand the profoundness of the event. Those who truly cultivated were protected and blessed by Master throughout the journey, and have walked steadily and smoothly to this day.

I am grateful to Master for allowing me to participate in the 1998 appeal at the Beijing Television Station and to witness the sacredness and preciousness of Falun Dafa firsthand!

After the evil persecution of Dafa was launched in July 1999, I joined fellow practitioners in unfurling a banner reading “Falun Dafa Is Good” on Tiananmen Square, to validate Dafa.

During the wave of suing Jiang Zemin, fellow practitioners and I were among the first to submit our lawsuit. It was May 2015.

With Master’s blessings and protection, the persecution did not affect me, and I have remained steadfast in cultivation to this day. Thank you, Master!

People often ask me, “How come you, an elderly lady, dare to go everywhere? You’re not afraid of anything.” I reply, “I have no fear. I am the happiest being in the universe because I have Master and Dafa.”