I Did Not Accept Gifts for Doing My Job

(Minghui.org) I began to practice Falun Dafa in 1997 when I worked in a government administrative institution. Through cultivation, I came to understand that as a practitioner, I must strictly demand of myself to be a good and selfless person by following the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. So, when I helped people with their requests, I did not to accept any gifts. I thought it was my duty to help people and resolve their issues.

I served as the director of the Education Affairs Department from 2000 to 2005. It was the usual practice to solicit or accept gifts. I was responsible for reviewing the professional title evaluation reports for primary and secondary school teachers in the entire region. I had the power to recommend the reports for approval. Some teachers wanted to meet me and give me gifts in private for my favorable recommendation of their reports. I didn’t meet with them. However, they came to my office and quietly dropped off gift cards or expensive clothes.

I shared an office with other staff and could not refuse the teachers’ gifts in front of others, which would embarrass the teachers who gave them. I got their contact information and met them alone afterward and returned the gifts to them. I told them sincerely, “I do things according to the rules, and conduct myself following the standards of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. I will consider your years of service and performance and recommend your report properly and follow the rules.” I asked them to rest assured. After I returned a few gifts, word soon got around that this director did not accept gifts. Thus, they gradually stopped giving me gifts, which also saved me a lot of trouble.

There was a period of time when I dealt with many welfare enterprises in our local area. The factory heads came to my office before the Chinese New Year holiday and left envelopes containing cash, and they refused to take them back no matter what I said. So during the holidays, I took the opportunity to visit families in rural areas that were experiencing financial difficulties, and distributed the money to those in need in the names of the factory heads. These families were very happy to receive the money.

After the New Year holiday, I made a list of these cash gifts and how I used them. I gave the copies of the list to these enterprise heads when they came to my office on business. I told them that I lived by the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance and did not accept any gifts for doing my job. I said that I believed I did a good deed in their names to help those families in need. They were all very happy. At that time, I did not tell anyone that I was a Falun Dafa practitioner. I just conducted myself by following the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance.

One summer evening in 2000, while walking out of the gate of the institution after work, I ran into a person who came to appeal because of the birth control policies. He knew me and told me that his wife was hospitalized with internal bleeding. He came to apply for relief money, but the official in charge told him to come back the following day. He told me that he had no money and his wife had nothing to eat. He looked exhausted and confused. I immediately took out 50 yuan and handed it to him. I told him, “Go and buy dinner first.” He was so moved that he almost cried, and he hurried out of the gate.

At that time, my wife and I had limited income, our expenses were tight, and we bought cheap clothes for ourselves. But I never thought of using improper means to pursue personal interests. I just wanted to work hard and keep a clear conscience.

I later lost my job for talking to people about Falun Dafa, and I was persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). When people learned of my situation, they all said that I was a good person, and that my being forced out of my job was their great loss.

If the CCP did not persecute Falun Dafa, many civil servants in China would have practiced Dafa and would have been honest and upright. They would have raised the morality of people and benefited China greatly! However, the CCP chose to be the enemy of the righteous faith and did really the stupidest thing.

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