Clearwisdom.net, Friday, January 03, 2003

[Editor's note: Due to limited resources, we can translate only part of the greetings to share with readers. Other greetings were received from practitioners from Jinzhou, Huludao, Xingtai, Shandong Province, Ningxia Autonomous Region, Shanghai, Shijiazhuang, Anhui Province, Guangdong Province, Guangxi Autonomous Region, Liaoning Province, Jilin Province, Heilongjiang Province, Henan Province, etc.]

Falun Dafa Practitioners in Party and Government Organizations in China Wish Master Happy New Year

With the New Spring of 2003 on its way, we Falun Dafa practitioners from the Mainland Party and other government organizations, including those who have been illegally dismissed from their official jobs and those who are still imprisoned, would like to Heshi and send our regards with great reverence to our compassionate and great Master: Greetings Master! You have been working too hard!

We have experienced unimaginable pressures and tribulations that can hardly be endured by ordinary people. However, we have always been looking at the universe with smiles, and we have treated all sentient beings with compassion. We have tried to use the opportunity presented by our jobs to expose the evil and clarify the truth, and to eliminate the evil with righteous thoughts so as to save the sentient beings.

The New Year is coming. All Falun Dafa practitioners from Jiamusi would like to extend our highest respect to our great Master. We wish Master a Happy New Year!

During the more than three years' persecution, we have never wavered, and we will never waver. We will demonstrate to the world that Dafa practitioners in Jiamusi have not fallen due to the tremendous tribulation of the evil persecution. Dafa is diamond-like and immovable in our hearts.

All of our Jiamusi Dafa practitioners will surely follow Master's teaching to take the Fa as our teacher, to get rid of our attachments, to believe firmly in Dafa and Master, to cultivate diligently, to finish the great mission of assisting Master in rectifying the Fa and saving the sentient beings, and to be qualified Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples.

We will determinedly walk the cultivation path that Master has arranged for us. We will use our diamond-like will to expose the evil, clarify the truth and save the sentient beings. We will greet the great moment when the whole world joins in the celebration of Fa-rectification.

With New Year's Day approaching, all Shenyang Falun Dafa practitioners send their greetings to Master! As always, all Shenyang Falun Dafa practitioners will do well in the jobs that should be done by Fa-rectification period Dafa practitioners. No difficulties or obstacles will separate the Dafa disciples from Master and Dafa. We all hope that the day will come soon for the whole world to join the celebration when we are united with Master again.

During this period of time, we are all following your teachings to do well in the three things you have told us to do, and to remain diligent in studying the Fa. Master please rest assured, no matter how adverse the circumstances are, we will spare no effort to accomplish our historical mission and fulfill our responsibility. We thank Master for what you have done and endured for us. Finally, we wish Master a Happy New Year!

Your Buddha light illuminates the sentient beings forever. Your law bodies take good care of disciples all the time. The Dafa disciples miss our Master. We will cultivate Dafa determinedly and follow Master closely. We will study the Fa diligently and make use of this time to save the sentient beings by clarifying the truth and eliminating the evil with righteous thoughts. We will return with Master when we reach consummation in cultivation.

All Yanbian Dafa Practitioners Send Greetings to Our Most Respected and Revered Master

With the New Year coming, all Yanbian Dafa practitioners wish to send our regards to our most respected and revered Master with our purest hearts: Greetings Master!

Yanbian is a place where Master taught the Fa and exercises in person. Yanbian Dafa practitioners all know the greatness of the name of "Fa-rectification disciples." Master, please rest assured that we will treasure this precious time and opportunity to continue to take the Fa as Teacher, to assist Master in rectifying the Fa, to strengthen our study of the Fa, to clarify the truth comprehensively, to save the sentient beings, to eliminate the evil with righteous thoughts and so become qualified Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples and live up to Master's trust.

Henan Dafa Practitioners Wish Our Respected and Revered Master a Happy New Year

A new year is coming. Henan Dafa practitioners wish our compassionate and great Master a Happy New Year with our purest hearts and most revered respect: Master, Happy New Year. You have been working too hard. We disciples have made you worry too much.

At this moment, we seem to have thousands of words in our hearts, but do not know how to express them to Master. Master, your vast and magnificent benevolence can hardly be expressed in human words. We disciples can only work diligently to do well in the three things you have asked us to do: study the Fa well, clarify the truth, and send forth righteous thoughts. We will grow more and more steady and mature, and live up to Master's trust.

All Falun Dafa Practitioners in Saipan Island Wish Our Compassionate and Great Master Happy New Year

All Falun Dafa Practitioners in Saipan Heshi: We wish a Happy New Year to our compassionate and great Master!

Master, please rest assured: In this New Year, we will do better on the path to assisting Master to rectify the Fa. We will live up to Master's compassionate words and greet the coming of the moment when the Fa rectifies the human world.

Australian Dafa Practitioners Wish a Happy New Year to Our Great and Compassionate Master

With the 2003 New Year's Day coming, we would like to thank our great Master. Thank you for teaching us the true meaning of life. Thank you for giving us the historical chance that will only come once. Thank you for entrusting us with the sacred mission of assisting Master in rectifying the Fa.

In this New Year, we will be more diligent. We will take steadier steps on the path to "validate the Fa with rationality, clarify the truth with wisdom, spread the Fa and save people with mercy." ("Rationality")

[Editor's note: Due to limited resources, we can translate only part of the greetings to share with readers. Other greetings were received from practitioners from Shandong Province, Anhui Province, Guangdong Province, Hainan Province, Chongqing, Hebei Province, Yunnan Province, Sichuan Province, Beijing, Hubei Province, Liaoning Province, Jilin Province, Xi'an, Gansu Province, Heilongjiang Province, Henan Province, Jiangxi Province, Zhejiang Province, Jiangsu Province, Shanxi Province, Singapore, Korea, Michigan (USA), New England (USA), etc.]

As New Year's Day is approaching, as a new practitioner I send the most sincere greetings to Master: Master, you have been working too hard! Happy New Year!

Master, although I have just entered the door of cultivation, Dafa has taken root in my heart and nothing can shake the position of Dafa in my heart! However, I am ashamed that I still don't do well in many things and have not lived up to the standards of a true Dafa practitioner. From now on, I will practice Dafa with determination and conduct myself strictly according to the Fa principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance! I will continue to do well in Fa-rectification, so that more people around me can hear about the truth.

Master, I have deeply felt the changes Falun Gong has brought to me. I will be strict with myself and be worthy of the name of a Fa-rectification period Dafa disciple.

Master, greetings! Master, you have been working too hard! You have endured too much for your disciples! We cannot express our admiration and gratitude for your saving our lives even with the most beautiful human language.

Amidst the tribulations during the past three years, disciples did not fall; instead, we walked through them steadfastly; through Fa-rectification, disciples have become more rational, mature and pure.

Master, thank you! Master, disciples send New Year's greetings to you! Your disciples miss you!

Dafa practitioners in Shenyang City, Anshan City, Yingcou City, Haicheng City, Dashiqiao City, Bayuquan, Gai County and Xongyue in Liaoning Province wish our great Master a Happy New Year! We all miss Master.

At the same time, we also wish fellow practitioners abroad a Happy New Year. We hope Dafa practitioners around the world will form an indestructible whole body in the final period of Fa-rectification. Let us be diligent together, take the Fa as our Teacher, practice Dafa with determination and closely follow Master.

We also extend our New Year's greetings to all fellow practitioners imprisoned in China. Greetings! You have held firm righteous thoughts and gave up the attachment to life and death amidst the extremely evil persecution. No matter how malicious the evil is, you are harmonizing Dafa through your great sacrifices; no matter how difficult the evil has made your environment and what kind of brutal tortures they use on you, you still firmly believe in Master and Dafa. We, all the "free" practitioners, represent you in sending greetings to our magnificent Master!

Thank You Master, at the Time of New Year's Eve -- a Letter to Master by a Homeless and Destitute Practitioner

As New Year's Day is approaching, your disciple wants to say to the benevolent and great Master, "Happy New Year!"

I have wanted to write a letter to Master for a long time. Every time I thought about it, tears burst out before I even picked up the pen. Master, although I have never seen you face to face, I know deeply that Master is with us at all times and will do everything for us with your boundless power. Although I have been going from place to place for more than two years, I do not feel lonely or bitter. Master, you exhausted all that you have to treat all cosmic beings with benevolence and illuminate the human world with the Buddha's compassion, and you cherish every single being with infinite benevolence.

I cannot describe Master's magnificence, even with all of the human language, and I cannot repay Master's arduous salvation with all that I have. All that I can do is to be more diligent.

Dafa Practitioners in Changchun City, Jilin Province Send Greetings to Master!

Dafa Practitioners in Hulan County, Heilongjiang Province Send Greetings to Master!

Fa-rectification has traversed another year amidst tribulations. During the past year, we had different experiences and learned from them. In the end, we always broke through with righteous faith in Master, and more people were saved.

As a New Year is approaching, we Dafa practitioners in Hulan County hereby wish great Master a Happy New Year!

We will do better and will not let down Master's expectations, and benevolent and arduous salvation. We will let the world's people feel Master's boundless benevolence!

We will send Greetings to Master again when the day of celebration of Fa-rectification of the human world comes!

Dafa Practitioners in New Zealand Respectfully Wish Master a Happy New Year!

Video: Dafa Practitioners in Germany Respectfully Wish Master a Happy New Year!

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Greetings! Dafa practitioners in Italy miss you! We respectfully wish you a Happy New Year!

We firmly remember Master's words, "Consummation is the conclusion of a Dafa disciple's cultivation, while Fa-rectification is a Dafa disciple's mission." ("What Are Supernormal Abilities," Essentials for Further Advancement II) We will continue to do well by persist in Fa study, regard the Fa as top priority, send forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil, clarify the truth and save people. We will closely keep up with Master's Fa-rectification and welcome the magnificent time of Fa-rectification in the human world.

Dafa Practitioners in France Respectfully Wish Respected Master a Happy New Year!

In the New Year, Dafa practitioners in France will double their efforts to do everything within Dafa practitioners' responsibilities, and not let down Master's expectations.

Dafa Practitioners in Queensland, Australia Respectfully Wish Master a Happy New Year!

As New Year's Day 2003 is approaching, we Dafa practitioners in Queensland, Australia send the most sincere greetings to benevolent and great master. Master, Happy New Year! Master, disciples have worried you too much! We will work harder to do better in every step in the last period of Fa-rectification.

As New Year's Day of 2003 is approaching, we Dafa practitioners in Korea wish Master a Happy New Year! We send the most heartfelt greetings to Master!

We also send greetings to all fellow practitioners and wish them a Happy New Year!

Master, on the solemn Fa-rectification path, we firmly cultivate in Dafa and closely follow Master. We will walk more righteously and more steadfastly! We will be more solid, thorough and better with the sacred mission of saving people, given to us by Dafa. We will not let down of the enormous benevolence of Master and Dafa!

Thank you, Master, for your benevolent teachings. We are fortunate that we can assist Master in the human world and obtain disciples' righteous thoughts and righteous actions through cultivation.

We will do well with every single step in the future and welcome Fa-rectification of the human world.

Dafa Practitioners in Michigan, U.S. Respectfully Wish Benevolent and Great Master a Happy New Year!

As New Year's Day of 2003 is approaching, Dafa practitioners in Michigan, U.S. respectfully wish Master a Happy New Year!

We will work hard in studying the Fa well, sending forth righteous thoughts and clarifying the truth! We will be more solid, thorough and better with the sacred mission of saving people, given to us by Dafa, in order to be worthy of the indescribable glory of Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples!

Dafa Practitioners in New England, U.S. Respectfully Wish Master a Happy New Year!

The pine is greener when pressed by snow, and the plum is redder when attacked by frost. As a New Year and Chinese New Year are approaching, Dafa practitioners in New England send the most heartfelt greetings to our respected Master! We wish Master a Happy New Year!

As a New Year is approaching, Dafa practitioners in Canada send the most heartfelt greetings to our most magnificent and benevolent Master, and respectfully wish Master a Happy New Year!

Apart from the re-education program, the Masanjia Labor Camp also required us to attend group "discussions" every week. Our group was required to run discussion sessions as well. Whenever such a meeting was to be held, a camp officer and group leaders would come around the prison for an inspection beforehand.

The "collaborators" (those who formerly practiced Falun Gong but due to intense pressure later turned away from Dafa) always greeted them with undue respect. One day, one of them picked on me purposely, "Zheng Shi, why haven't you greeted the boss good morning?" I replied, "I don't know how to please people. Greeting them good morning a hundred times won't help them. They won't change unless they know that Falun Dafa is good. I am not here to please them, but I can tell you how good Dafa is." Some practitioners told me afterwards, "We really admire your courage. What you have said and done gets straight to the point."

Some practitioners tried to compromise even though they were reluctant in their heart. I was worried for them and I felt strongly that they needed help. "When you don't feel right, why don't you reconsider things from the perspective of your understanding of the Fa? Teacher is waiting." I tried to get the message across at every opportunity, "Teacher has been showing his mercy all along. Why don't you think carefully? You have already obtained the Fa, and have benefited from it. Are you giving it up that easily? This is a serious matter. Some people who had slandered Dafa received their punishment the same day. Can't you see? When Zhang Chunqing insulted me, did you notice that her sickness immediately came back to her and she could not stop coughing? Many people have received warnings in their dreams. All these are Teacher's warning people. If you don't consider this a warning, won't you have wasted all your previous efforts? If you continue this way, you will be lost forever."

At each group discussion, there were about sixty people. I realized that it was a good opportunity to clarify the truth to them. From the comments made by Teacher Li on the article, "Eliminate Demon Nature,"

I have learned that it is not sufficient to merely cultivate benevolence quietly. We need to clarify the truth with our benevolence as well. Therefore, during the next group discussion, I adopted a different approach -- using my compassion and sincerity to clarify the truth in front of some sixty people, including the officers. When I finished, our group leader looked at me with a smile I'd never seen before. The power of compassion seemed to manifest itself. In the past, the leader would be angry and stopped me immediately from talking further. But this time, I noticed that some people were crying during my talk. Shortly after that, the leader reminded me, "This is a group discussion, not a Dafa promotion session." Nevertheless, it was good feeling to be able to speak right to the end with no interruption. Everyone was eager to listen. It seems that Teacher had arranged through me to help save these people. I overheard others talking to each other afterwards: "Zheng spoke so well that I nearly broke into tears."

I constantly remind myself of this: The harsher the environment, the more I need to discipline myself. I must be more proactive, not passive. I must persist with Fa study and continue to practice the exercises regularly. The greater the pressure, the more determined I should be. At times when the pressure eased off, I became slack again. This is something a Dafa practitioner should avoid. For example, at times I craved a hearty meal, a good sleep or something warm to put on. I feel that these are warning bells to remind me that I must not be slack off in detaching from human desires, I must not forget that I am a Dafa practitioner, I must not forget to recite the Fa, and I must not lose contact with Teacher's words.

I had great admiration for the determination of a particular practitioner who came in with the first group of practitioners, and has persevered all this time without giving in. However, she did not seem to condone my way of validating the Fa. She did not stop others when they slandered Dafa. The group leaders and the collaborators seemed to like her behavior and asked us to follow her example. I personally feel that as a Dafa practitioner, not only should one be determined with one's faith, one should also proactively defend Dafa and get rid of anything damaging. I have realized that to validate the Fa properly, one must not deviate from the path one has chosen to follow. One must maintain a clear head and not be influenced by others.

Later, I met another practitioner who was highly educated. When she clarified the truth, she had examples to back herself up and she spoke logically and rationally. I had great respect for her ability. However, her temperament was a bit erratic, and sometimes would get worked up when defending Dafa. If she could calm herself down a bit more, the effects of her truth-clarification would be even better. By observing others, I have also improved on my own shortcomings. I have often tried to bridge the gap between the requirements laid down by Dafa and myself instead of going on my own human intuitions. I am determined to get a good command of myself, follow Dafa's requirements in every way, and cultivate myself in such a manner.

Work at the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp was very intensive. From morning until late, we hardly had a break. The land covered a radius of about 6 miles, dotted with a few scattered houses. Sometimes we had to work on the arid land, and other times in the paddies. The work was heavy and pushed us to our physical limits.

On November 29, 2001 all the practitioners illegally detained in Masanjia Forced Labor Camp were relocated to a newly constructed four-story building, which had the capacity to accommodate about 1,000 people. The camp had also changed its name to "Thought Re-education School." No matter what its name is, it is still a den of evil. After moving into the new building, their abuse of Dafa practitioners intensified. One entire floor in the building was converted to "small cells" (torturing chambers). Whenever the labor camp staff felt like it, they would put someone who refused to compromise with them through the "small cells." Every now and then, screams from practitioners being tortured were heard from the cells through the locked steel gate, which was heavily guarded round the clock to prevent any information from leaking out. Since the Spring Festival, Dafa practitioners from other detention centers were relocated to Masanjia. Almost every day, people were being sent in. Some of them were arrested while they were asleep at home. The cells were filled up with people, three to a bed, but they released no one. The institute runs an unbelievably evil brainwashing class - with trainers consisting of officers from the main branch, thugs and collaborators who had been released but re-conscripted. Furthermore, specific officers were assigned to deal with practitioners who refused to submit. Two sentries took turns to watch a practitioner, making sure that he did not fall asleep.

One of my watchers was the most notorious collaborator, Zhang Chunqing. When I first met her, she hit me and said, "Take a good look at me, I am Zhang Chunqing." They took turns watching me around the clock. Masanjia Forced Labor Camp is remarkably evil. They would not let those who had comprised by going against their own conscience go free either. Not only did they not let them go home, they would continue to brainwash them until they had totally lost their own identity, and were unable to tell good from bad. They would make them write statements denouncing their faith repeatedly, and poison their mind with propaganda videos. They were the victims who later were used as brainwashing trainers. Nevertheless, some of these converts after returning home still come back to practice Falun Dafa. I know of five such people from our group. However, they were arrested again afterwards. As for the more determined practitioners, even when they had completed their sentences, they were not allowed to leave the camp either, but had to remain to be further persecuted. However, they have not scared us practitioners. We have remained very determined. Through the mercy of Teacher, all of us have the ability to defend against evil and validate Dafa.

Amongst the practitioners in the labor camp, the following I know were unmoved and rock-solid: Li Rong, Lin Lina, Yang Chunfang, Zhu Yun, Li Ping, and Shi Xiuzhen. All of them displayed an unyielding steadfastness and have frightened the evil. Zhu Yun, a practitioner from Tongbao, was a very determined practitioner. She was illegally imprisoned for a year and a half. In December 2001, when her term was up, instead of releasing her, they detained her for five more months. In June of this year, she was taken away from Team No.2 and her whereabouts are unknown. Lin Lina came to the camp after me. Liu Huiqing punished her by not letting her eat. To protest, Lina refused to work, and insisted on doing her exercises everyday. If she were not allowed, she would refuse to sleep. To every practitioner she ran into, she would tell them to persist with their practice of the exercises, and to send forth righteous thoughts consistently. After moving into this new building, she was taken to the hospital by the camp officer every day. Later, because they could not do anything to her, they put her down as mentally retarded and let her go home. As for Yang Chunfang, she refused to wear the camp clothes and refused to report her ID number. She was hurt so badly from being tortured that she could not walk properly and had to be assisted. But she is still as determined as ever. Seeing her actions, I also refused to report my ID number. Yang was later transferred to Team No. 6. Li Rong was a really determined woman. Later, when Li and I were sent to the hospital for forced feeding, we were found by people from Anshan, who later took us back to Anshan. The evil is scared of us Dafa practitioners, as we have coordinated with each other very well. Whenever we saw the watchers or the team leaders do bad things, we would team up to protest and condemn it. This was quite effective.

(Clearwisdom.net) Author's note: I have been deeply moved by a practitioner I know. She has been to Beijing to appeal for Dafa several times. She often distributes truth-clarifying materials to peddlers, neighbors, relatives and friends. In order to offer salvation to more people, she and her husband, a practitioner as well, rode bicycles to remote areas to distribute Dafa CDs and materials, and came back home late at night. Her moving stories are countless. Here I just want to tell a few that happened to her recently, as she told them to me.

On August 31, 2002, because someone informed the police about me, I was arrested for organizing an experience-sharing conference. Three days later, I was sent back to the local police station and held in an iron cage. I kept sending righteous thoughts not to accept the evil persecution and to get out of there. Several days later, people from the local police station sent me to a detention center. Since I had high blood pressure, the detention center refused to accept me. The officers from the local police station didn't give up and called another doctor to check me again. The result was the same. The doctor they called even said to them, "She is in such a condition, how can you still want to send her to that kind of place? She just wants to practice Qigong and didn't commit any crimes. Is it worth being so severe with her?" The doctor's words made the officers speechless. They brought me back to the local police station again.

Once I came back, I requested release on account of my health. The deputy of the local police station promised me to relay my request to his higher authority. I decided to wait for a while. If I could be released, it would be easier for me to continue to do Dafa work. Everyday in the iron cage of the police station, I kept practicing the exercises and sending forth righteous thoughts, no matter how they tried to stop me. More than 20 days passed. I hadn't gotten any answer back. I realized I was wrong. Didn't it mean that I conformed to them by waiting , day by day, for the answer? Then I realized I couldn't just wait for them to release me. I should get out myself through the power of righteous thoughts.

They watched me very closely. The iron cage was locked all the time. It was only opened when my family member delivered food for me. There were security guards on duty outside. When they were going to bed, one would sleep on a bench that was against the door. I had a strong righteous thought that I would get out no matter how closely they guarded me. After midnight on September 13, the security guards didn't sleep on the bench. Two guards slept soundly on the bed. I knew it was my opportunity to leave and I shouldn't miss it. I started to send forth righteous thoughts. Then I stretched my hand out of the cage, held and pulled the lock just once. The lock opened. At that time, one of the guards seemed to be hearing something and raised his head towards me. I pretended doing the third Dafa exercise with my arms up and down. He looked at me and then fell asleep again. I removed the lock from the door of the iron cage and opened the door. The metal door didn't make a sound. I walked to the door of the room and opened it. It didn't make any sound either. So I came to the hallway, and then to the courtyard. I could see from far away that the courtyard gate was locked. I walked to the gate while sending forth righteous thoughts. The guard was sleeping soundly. I lightly pulled on the lock and it opened. I hailed a taxi and left that evil place. I went to a relative's home to hide temporarily.

After the local police station officers found I had left, they detained more than ten of my family members and relatives, including my husband, my son, my younger brothers, and my sisters-in-law. My daughter, who studied in an out-of-town university, was deceived to come back and was detained as well. All of my family members who were practitioners could handle the situation, but my brothers and sisters were not and they couldn't endure it. My younger brother negotiated with the deputy of the police station who said, "As long as your sister comes back, you all can go." Seeing so many family members being held in the police station for several days, my brother, under duress, told them my hiding place. Since I didn't take precautions not to be found, the deputy and other police officers caught me. On the way back, the deputy kept asking me how I could get out the police station when all the doors were locked. I told him that a small police station is incapable of holding a Dafa practitioner! Then I took the opportunity to clarify the truth to them. Just a few days after they arrested me, I was released. I walked out of the police station with dignity.

However, the persecution didn't stop. On October 14, 2002, six policemen and other officials came to my home. I realized the demonic tribulation had come again. I started to send forth righteous thoughts, not to follow any evil requirements. They talked to me about sending me to a brainwashing class. I was determined not to accept such an arrangement and clarified the truth about the persecution of Dafa practitioners. Seeing my determination, they called the "610 Office" of the city and were told on the phone that they must take me to a brainwashing class. (The "610 Office" is an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute powers over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems). In a short time, I started to have symptoms such as dizziness, my whole body being too weak to support itself, my hands and feet were cold and stiff, and my legs couldn't move. I knew what was going on and I kept sending forth righteous thoughts. Later they decided to call an ambulance to send me to the hospital. The police cars didn't follow along to the hospital. In the hospital I was given an infusion and I felt much better. I got through yet another test with mighty righteous thoughts.

Above is the story of the fellow practitioner. Every test she went through reflects her steadfast belief in Master and Dafa. Her story reminds me the words of Master, "Indestructible, righteous faith in the cosmos's Truth forms benevolent Dafa disciples' rock-solid, diamond-like bodies; it frightens all evil, and the light of Truth it emanates makes the unrighteous elements in all beings' thoughts disintegrate. However strong the righteous thoughts are, that's how great the power is. Dafa disciples are truly stepping forward out of ordinary humanness." (from "Also in a Few Words")

My fellow practitioners, let's advance diligently together and do a better job fulfilling our mission to offer salvation to sentient beings.

(Clearwisdom.net) In 1996, after being introduced to Dafa by a relative, I began to read the book Zhuan Falun. When I read it for a second time, I fell asleep. When I woke up, all I saw was a golden light. Deep down I knew that what I had read was the true Fa. I made a commitment to cultivate all the way to the end since I had finally found the true meaning of life -- to return to my purest self.

However, in July of 1999, my neighborhood committee came to harass me. They wanted me to hand over all my Dafa books to them. I said, "I will not give the books to you. No matter who comes, I am not afraid. This book is beneficial to people and to society." On September 5 of the same year, I decided to go to Beijing to appeal. Before I finished my appeal in the national appeals office in Beijing, I was sent to the administrative office in Beijing, and then sent directly back to my hometown. I was illegally detained for fifteen days. I was forced to wear shackles for three days simply because I practiced the exercises. When I was released, the local police station extorted 5,000 Yuan in cash from my family.

On October 27, 1999, I was sent by the police substation to the local "forced labor education" camp. I was forced to attend the brainwashing class for seven months. In the brainwashing class, I was forced to stand on a radiator pipe as punishment for practicing the Falun Dafa exercises. The authorities tried to make me say, "I give up practicing the exercises" before allowing me to step down from the pipe. I refused to comply and endured it. Regardless of how tired I was or how painful it became, I did not say a single word. The thugs used electric batons to shock me and maliciously asked, "How are you now? Do you still want to practice?" I kept silent; I was determined in my heart not to give up, even in the face of death. In this way, those lawless officials had no choice but to give in.

One day, the authorities forced all the Dafa practitioners to attend a meeting. During the meeting, a political official read materials cursing Dafa and defaming Master. I immediately stood up and spoke with the force of justice. I said, "These are all groundless rumors. The TV station distorted my Teacher's video lectures." I said that if we could watch the original video, we would be able to see the facts. I told them, "Since our Teacher introduced the Fa to the public, Dafa disciples from all walks of life have exemplified the principles; they are the best people in the world. They have proven that Dafa has many benefits and brings no harm to society or to the people." The official knew that he was in the wrong. As he left, he said, "It is only you who are so stubborn!" and slammed down his literature. When it was mealtime, all of us Dafa practitioners stood beside the table ready to go on a hunger strike in protest. We demanded that the official who had defamed Falun Dafa be dismissed, shocking the authorities.

Every day, I continued to practice the exercises, recite the book, copy the new articles and determinedly safeguard the Fa. However, gradually some practitioners gave in and even turned against Dafa. The brainwashing class instructors assigned criminals to pose as Dafa practitioners in an effort to destroy Dafa. Some used excuses such as "not getting involved in politics," "not fighting against people," etc., to justify writing "guarantee" or "repentance" letters. This was a terrible interference. For those Dafa practitioners who remained steadfast, the authorities used intimidation, electric shocks, and other forms of torture to try force us to go astray. One Dafa practitioner was stripped of all clothing except his underwear and handcuffed until midnight with his limbs outstretched. I resisted the evil, firmly telling the team leader that he could not mistreat Dafa practitioners in this way.

In May 2000, after they saw that I was still determined to cultivate, the officials transferred me to another labor camp and sentenced me to one and a half years. The supervisor from my workplace came to this labor camp to see me. He told me that if I wrote "a guarantee letter" stating that I would not to go to Beijing to appeal and not practice the exercises outside, then I could have my freedom. I said, "I will never write any guarantee! It is a citizen's legal right to appeal. It is my right to practice the exercises freely in public."

During this period of time, my wife passed away since she could not endure the evil persecution. Our son was left alone at home, unable to manage his daily life. Despite this heavy blow and the frenzied persecution, I continued to recite the Fa everyday and did not give in, even in the face of death. Later, the evil adopted other cruel measures and did not allow me to sleep for nine days and nights, still trying to force me to give in. In addition, I had to perform manual labor until midnight. I was tired and sleepy, and my mind was numb. I was unable to do the work. When I walked, I seemed to on the verge of falling down. No matter how viciously the evil persecuted Dafa, I had only one thought in my mind: "Assist our Teacher to safeguard the Fa. I will remain determined in cultivation and will never give in."

On the morning of the ninth day, the director of the labor camp, the section chief and the team leader all talked to me. They asked me if I had any "understanding" to share with them. I firmly told them, "No." I also talked about Dafa to them, expressing my determination to cultivate to the end. I told them that there was nothing wrong with being a good person, and there was no crime in appealing peacefully. I refused to write any "guarantee letter." The director told me with admiration, "You are very determined! From now on, you can sleep and work normally."

In May 2001, near the end of my term at the labor camp, the neighborhood committee came to visit me at the camp. They said that if I wrote the guarantee, I could be released. I refused again with determination. In November 2001, I was released without unconditionally.

For two years and one month, from October 8, 1999 to November 11, 2001, I was detained illegally. These two years of inhumane persecution were only a moment in the history of the Fa-rectification. However, this period represented a solid page in history, in which I assisted Teacher in Fa-rectification, exhibiting the greatness and solemn nature of Dafa and Dafa disciples.

(Clearwisdom.net) I have been very touched by hearing of the experiences of so many Dafa practitioners who have validated the Fa with righteous thoughts and action. They have returned safe and sound, without suffering any tribulations or persecution in the course of the magnificent Fa-rectification. After reading their stories on Clearwisdom.net, I decided to share my personal cultivation and Fa-validation experience.

Before I obtained the Fa in July 1997, I pondered, "What are people living for?" My life was hard and miserable because I could not obtain what I thought I wanted. When I first read Zhuan Falun and learned that the purpose of life is to return to one's true self, I knew that was what I had been searching for. I made up my mind to cultivate. I may be different from other practitioners in that I have been cultivating, reading the Fa, and doing the exercises by myself at home. Since my home is far from the place where I work, I need to get up early and come home late every day. This is why I did not go out to do the exercises. At the beginning of my cultivation, I liked to read the Fa but did not pay much attention to the exercises. Then Teacher revealed to me that I needed to get up early in the morning to do the exercises. When I did not do well in the tests Teacher arranged, and I could not let go of my attachments, I would remember that Teacher told us to look inside whenever we come across a problem. It is guaranteed that we will find the reason within ourselves. It is really true. Before I obtained the Fa, I had a bleeding ulcer in my stomach. One night after I obtained the Fa, my stomach appeared to be pulled by something. I felt acute pain. The next day, I thought I had a severe cold. I had chills all over my body, and even my bones hurt. I recovered on the third day, and my stomach sickness never occurred again.

On April 25, 1999, I was in Beijing, but I did not know about the peaceful appeal of the practitioners in front of Zhongnanhai (the compound where the Chinese central government officials work). I learned about the appeal from fellow practitioners the next day. The purpose of the peaceful appeal was to explain the true situation and defend Dafa, and it had nothing to do with politics. All of our actions were peaceful. After July 20, the lies broadcast on TV alleged that Falun Gong practitioners attacked the Zhongnanhai compound. However, what I saw on TV was peaceful practitioners standing in a very orderly fashion. Even my parents, who are not practitioners, said that the practitioners didn't do anything improper.

Because I worked for a foreign company, the management of the company never asked questions regarding personal beliefs. Some people around me knew that I practiced Falun Gong. After July 20, I continued to read the Fa and do the exercises in hotels as usual during business trips. Some people, out of concern for my personal safety, suggested that I stop practicing Falun Gong. I replied by telling them how good Falun Gong is. Until I left the company, nobody, from the leaders to my co-workers, ever bothered me about practicing Falun Gong.

When the persecution started, I used my free time to spread the Fa on the Internet. At that time, my only thought was to protect the Fa. I considered this to be what a Fa-rectification Dafa disciple should do. After Teacher's new articles were published, I understood that the duty of Dafa practitioners during Fa-rectification includes validating the Fa and saving sentient beings. Soon after July 20, Clearwisdom.net was blocked (in China), so I sent an e-mail to the editors of Clearwisdom.net. Since then, I have continuously received e-mails from fellow practitioners overseas containing articles published on Clearwisdom.net and Pureinsight.org. Those articles helped me immensely in clarifying the truth of the persecution and exposing the evil. They are very powerful in eliminating the evil in other dimensions. When I take cabs, I expose the facts of persecution to the drivers. Although I have left some printed materials in cabs, I feel that I can achieve better results if I talk to them directly. Then I can respond differently to each different person. I am not good at expressing myself. To clarify the truth more effectively, I try to memorize good articles and ways of clarifying the truth. However, the key is having a good mental state. If I have a right mental state and strong righteous thoughts, the effect of truth-clarification is good.

One time, I met a cabdriver who believed in Buddhism. I told him that the reason China has so many natural calamities and human disasters is because Falun Gong is being persecuted, and that Falun Gong is great. When I talked to him, I felt very peaceful, and I was not afraid. The driver was startled and said, "What did you say?" pretending he did not hear clearly. I repeated, "Falun Dafa is great." Then, I told him that the self-immolation is totally fabricated. The lies on TV could not be trusted, just like the June 4 incident (when students demonstrating for democracy in Tiananmen Square were massacred in 1989) and the Great Cultural Revolution. There was no need for more words. The driver completely understood.

Another time, while I was eating at a department store, a middle-aged woman sat opposite me at the same table. I felt that I should clarify the truth to her, so I started to chat with her. However, she did not respond. I almost gave up on her. Then a thought came to my mind, "Sentient beings are born in the Dafa-spreading age. So many of them don't know the truth." Compassion grew in my heart; it was a predestined relation that we met that day. I asked her, "Aunt, do you know anyone who practices Falun Gong?" The woman looked at me, her complexion turned from smiles to panic. I continued, "Don't believe what is being said on TV. Those are all lies, and fabricated accusations. I am a Falun Gong practitioner." I saw that she had no reaction. I continued eating without saying another word. When I finished eating and was about to leave, she raised her head and said, "Thank you." I knew that it came from her heart.

Through Teacher's arrangement, I miraculously got in touch with many classmates and colleagues who had not contacted me for a long time. I knew that I was to clarify the truth to them. I could not let those people who were predestined miss this opportunity. In the last three years, I deeply felt Teacher's compassion during my clarifying the truth to many relatives, friends, colleagues, and strangers. Whenever I did the right thing, Teacher protected me.

It has never been easy for me to discuss Dafa with my family. I recently came to the realization that I have been unable to perfectly harmonize the Fa at the level of non-practitioners.

Before July 20, although other members of my family did not believe in cultivation, they did not oppose my cultivation. They thought that it is one's personal freedom to believe what one chooses. After July 20, because of the massive propaganda on TV, and because of the fear from remembering all the past political movements, they all opposed my continuing to practice Falun Gong, and asked me to give it up. One time, my father was so angry that he wanted to beat me. The moment he raised his hand, I thought to myself, "Unless you beat me to death, I will continue to practice Falun Gong!" My father's raised hand froze in the air. Realizing that there was no way they could shake my belief, they avoided talking about it. Through studying the Fa, my understanding of the Fa grew.

In the process of Fa-rectification, the evil was massively eliminated in other dimensions; the atmosphere in my family also improved. However, they still avoided talking about Falun Gong. One time, I gathered up my courage to show my father the self-immolation truth-clarifying tape. My father again burst into a rage. "Don't you play the tape for me, I won't watch it!" I said, "What is on TV is all fabricated ..." He replied, "Do you think we all believe the stuff from the Chinese Communist party?" However, he still had a deep misunderstanding of Dafa, saying, "I know the best thing for you! It is doing nothing. You should go into the deep mountains and thick forest, and absorb yourself in cultivation!" I understood that this misunderstanding was because I did not pay much attention to perfectly harmonizing the Fa at the beginning of my cultivation. Now, I have a better understanding of the Fa from Fa principles. I said, "No, I want to work, I want to cultivate in a working environment!" My father smiled. "Good, that's good," he said.

Teacher says, "You are cultivators, whose conduct is [supposed to be] pure and righteous. There are so many people who think you're great just by having seen how you act. If we don't pay attention to our own behavior in our daily lives, everyday people will see our actions and, since they can't get to know you at a deep level such as by studying the Fa, they will just look at how you act. And it's possible that one sentence or one action of yours will make them unsavable or create a bad impression of Dafa. We need to think about these things." (Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Boston). I realized that we cultivate among everyday people as much as possible in order to perfectly harmonize the Fa, to validate the Fa, and also to save sentient beings. If our words and actions do not agree with the standard of a cultivator, people will not understand us, and predestined people might not be saved. After I clarified the truth about the persecution to a colleague at work, he told me, "I don't believe that there is a god in this world, but I know you are a good person. Because you believe in these things so much, I will never say anything negative again." After that he never said anything bad about Falun Gong.

In 2002, my husband, my two-year old son, and I got permanent resident cards from a foreign country. I hoped that I could go abroad and never return to China again. However, my husband did not want to give up his work in China, so he did not want to emigrate. Other family members also opposed our emigration. For a while I had a huge conflict with my family. Later, I realized that I wanted this change because of my attachment to worldly comfort. I felt that it is too hard to live in China; thus, I was trying to change my surroundings. In reality, this is seeking externally, rather than regarding the Fa as teacher and looking within.

Because of my attachment to going abroad, tribulations came to my life. The prospects of the company did not look good. People had to be laid off. The department manager knew that I wanted to go abroad, so he tried to persuade me to quit my job, since it was difficult for him to lay anybody off. I felt this must be Teacher's arrangement. I thought to myself, let nature take its course. I agreed to leave. After the event, some colleagues thought it unfair to me and said that I was too honest.

One month later, after studying, I passed five examinations and obtained an internationally recognized information technology certification. I spent another month looking for a job, and finally obtained one in a large international company. When I went to the company for the interview, I learned that technical ability was not the most important qualification in a large company. They emphasize integrity and moral character. I knew that my responses on written examinations and in interviews satisfied the examiners. I was hired the next day.

My father talked to me once about how unsafe it was, and tried to persuade me not to go out to clarify the truth of the persecution. I told him, "Good will be rewarded with good, and evil will meet with evil. That's heaven's law. It is not what you can imagine!" My father did not respond. We are not wrong to cultivate Dafa. Heaven will not forgive those people currently in power who persecute Falun Gong. We are fortunate to be able to cultivate Dafa. Those who support Dafa and treat Dafa practitioners kindly will be rewarded with good. In the last three years, my career has been successful, and my family life is happy. I clearly understand that my worldly possessions are not for me to show off, but to validate the greatness of Dafa and to save sentient beings. Regarding Fa as teacher at all times, regarding Fa as the most important of all things is to negate completely the arrangement of the old forces. Validating the Fa does not mean having to suffer from persecution.

Above are my personal understandings; fellow practitioners, please compassionately point out anything inappropriate.

A practitioner and I went to a construction site in the city to distribute truth-clarifying materials. After we finished and were leaving, a 20-year-old young man ran out and said: "Elder sister, how can I get in touch with you? I really want to learn about Falun Gong. I found out about Falun Gong after July 20, 1999, when Jiang began to persecute Falun Gong. I have always admired the Dafa's Teacher. I have waited three years for Dafa, but the only trouble is I could not find any practice sites." I was moved by the young man's sincerity.

I left him my address and sent him Dafa books the following day. The Fa has saved another pre-destined person.

I clarified the truth to a worker when he was putting tiles on the floor in my house. One day, he came to visit me and told me, "I have been refurnishing a policeman's house. He has many color TVs, bedding and lots of different stuff. This policeman told me that he got all these things from ransacking Falun Gong practitioners' houses and asked me if I wanted them. They were very cheap, and he wanted sell them to me just for a small amount of money. I told him that though I may be poor, I will not commit any crime against heaven's laws."

A practitioner went to the market to visit an elder sister and clarify the truth by playing a VCD. The elder sister has a small business of repairing zippers. After she finished watching the VCD and understood the truth, she said, "Please leave me the VCD, I would like to let all my friends and relatives the truth of Falun Gong." She also started practicing Falun Gong herself.

There was a fierce looking middle-aged man working in the little store near my house. I got the impression that it would be very difficult for him to accept the truth. One day, I suddenly realized that this was my own human notion, and I needed to break this notion. I then took the truth clarification booklets to give to him. He looked at me with wide eyes, took the materials with both hands and sincerely said: "This is really very good; I have always wanted to find out why Falun Gong is being persecuted to such a degree. But I don't have the VCD about it." I told him that I had the VCD. He immediately said: "Quickly, please bring it here!" After he finished watching the VCD, he said: "I want to see more; Falun Gong is really good, and your Teacher is really wonderful."

(Clearwisdom.net) It has been over three years since Jiang's gang of political scoundrels started the persecution against Falun Gong and its practitioners. Over the past three years they have carried out a most vicious persecution, including willful imprisonment, forcible brainwashing, brutal torture, maltreatment in psychiatric hospitals, rape and even murder. Their crimes have gone beyond the limits of forbearance, and anyone would feel shocked and angered upon learning of these brutal crimes. The lawsuit launched by Falun Gong practitioners in the United States against Jiang is an act of upholding the morality and conscience of humanity, something that the kind, just people and governments of the world will identify with and support.

In order to avoid justice, Jiang's group, on the one hand, tries to spread rumors among the Chinese people, saying that the lawsuit could not be established. At the same time it tries to put pressure on the US government, with the excuse that the lawsuit would affect the relationship between the two countries. They are trying to coerce the US government to interfere with the legal system so that the lawsuit would be dismissed. The officials of the US government should stand on the side of justice and resist pressure from Jiang's gang of political scoundrels. In my opinion, this is a crucial decision facing the US government.

First of all, Jiang cannot represent China, much less the Chinese people. Jiang, who assumed power after the June 4^th Massacre, is not a democratically elected head of state and does not represent the will of the people. The regime headed by Jiang is full of corruption and degeneration, and has brought about enormous harm to the Chinese people. Such a regime brings only shame to China and the Chinese people, and they absolutely cannot represent China, in the same way that Hitler's gang of Nazis could not represent Germany. It is only a matter of time before they are brought to justice. Therefore, the trial of these criminals has nothing to do with the relationship between the two countries. The trial procedure started in the United States, a place that values justice.

Secondly, looking from the angle of the national interest of the United States, the fundamental interest of a nation lies in the values and principles of the country, rather than merely economic benefits. The foundation of America is democracy, freedom and human rights, yet Jiang's regime is the most vicious destroyer of such values and principles. Should the US government yield to pressure from Jiang for economic benefits, it would be a betrayal of the American spirit and make a mockery of democracy, freedom and human rights, and it would be a shameful stain in its history. Should this happen, the US government would stand to lose respect from its citizens and other countries in the world.

Presently, the Canadian government has successfully rescued a number of Falun Gong practitioners, and a small country like Ireland has the courage to condemn the persecution of Falun Gong. Their acts of justice have won much respect.

As the leader of democracy, the United States should do more to uphold justice and resist evil.

We hope that the officials of the US government will look at this issue with long-term vision, and make the right decision for the future of themselves and that of the American people.

(Clearwisdom.net) Dafa practitioner Yang Wenhua, 47, was from Yanshou County, Heilongjiang Province. He was illegally detained eight times by the local police and had suffered a great deal. In April 2002, in order to avoid a kidnapping conducted by Huang Xiaoguo, head of the Qingchuan Police Station, he escaped through the window and hid in the hills nearby. His body was found on April 28. The local police should be held fully responsible for his death.

Yang Wenhua attained the Fa in 1994. He attended the Fa lecture class of Master Li in Yanji. He had been cultivating Dafa for eight years. Since Jiang's regime started persecuting Dafa, Yang Wenhua was illegally detained a total of eight times.

Yang Wenhua had lung cancer before he attained Dafa. He recovered after cultivating Dafa, and his story encouraged many people to start practicing Falun Gong.

In March 2000, Yang and his wife went to Beijing to appeal for Dafa; they were arrested and detained illegally for four days there. After they were sent back to the Yanshou County, they were detained for 15 days in the local detention center. Yang and his wife were among the first of the Yanshou County practitioners who went to Beijing to appeal for Dafa. They were sent to the brainwashing classes conducted in Qingchuan commune, where they were detained for three months and put through two brainwashing classes. Subsequently, Yang Wenhua was detained twice in the local detention center. Once he got out, he continued to do Dafa work. He was arrested by the police in Bin County and suffered all kinds of torture there. Fellow practitioners spent 8,000 Yuan (the average income for an urban worker is about 500 Yuan) to rescue him. He was fined a total of 13,000 Yuan for his seven arrests, and the police confiscated property from him worth about 1,000 Yuan.

After he was released, he organized an experience-sharing conference and was arrested again by the police in Bin County. He started a hunger strike in the detention center and suffered severely from the police's abuse. He became so thin that his face became distorted. He was sent back to the Yanshou Police Department, where the police refused to accept him because of his physical condition and sent him back home. He stayed at home for just one night. The next day, when Qingchuan Police Station Head Huang Xiaoguo and other police came to arrest him, Huang Wenhua escaped into the nearby hills. Realizing Yang Wenhua had eluded the attempt to arrest him, Huang Xiaoguo was furious and viciously kicked Yang's wife down to the ground. He threatened that all of his family members, including the 1-year-old grandson, would be in trouble if he couldn't find Yang Wenhua. With no way out, Yang's whole family had to go to the hills also and hide for two days and nights. It rained hard during that time, and everyone suffered from hunger and cold.

On April 28, 2002, a local shepherd found a dead body in the mountain. Hearing the news, the local practitioners went to check and recognized it as Yang Wenhua. The director of the Yanshou Police Department, the head of the Qingchuan Police Station, the commune party secretary, the town secretary and the legal medical expert all went to the site.

This was how practitioner Yang Wenhua passed away as a result of the persecution by the police. His body was cremated the next day on orders from the police. The director of the Yanshou police department, the head of the Qingchuan police station, the commune party secretary, and the town secretary stayed to watch the whole process.

On the third day, these people came to harass Yang's family again. Yang's wife said to them, "You already hounded him to death. What more do you want?" The people from the "610 Office" answered that they were afraid that practitioners would create a disturbance. Yang's wife said, "They come to help me in these difficult times. How can you call it making trouble?" Only then did they leave. (The 610 Office is an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political or judicial systems.)

On November 21, 2002, Huang Xiaoguo forcibly brought the wife of Yang Wenhua to the detention center. Li Xifu, the director of the Yangshou Police Department, tortured her until she lost consciousness. She was detained for six days. According to the prisoners in the cell, she was beaten again by the prison guards.

It is reported that the Yanshou County Police Department is going to conduct a large-scale arrest of practitioners. It is hoped that all practitioners will send forth righteous thoughts together to eliminate the evil factors in other dimensions behind the persecution.

(Clearwisdom.net) In January 2002, the police in Shibalihe Labor Camp tortured Falun Gong practitioners with "tying the ropes." The police tie up the practitioner with a thin rope, circle the rope around her neck, and tie her hands behind her back. Then the police would use all the force they could muster to tighten the rope. The rope becomes tighter and tighter around the body of the practitioner, and makes it more and more difficult for her to breathe. In April and May, the camp suddenly extended sentences for some practitioners, citing that they did not obey the camp's rules. In fact, this is revenge against the practitioners who went on a hunger strike earlier in order to protest the persecution. These practitioners included Ding Xiangqin, Xu Yunpo, Wang Hongxia, Wang Xiaodong, Su E, Xu Bishan, Gao Yanan, Wei Guirong, and Zhou Cuihong.

In March 2002, the police tortured Han Fulan for three days and nights with "tying the ropes" for practicing Falun Gong exercises. She was unconscious when she was carried back to her cell and could not take care of herself. She had bruises and two-centimeter-deep wounds in her shoulders that were caused by the rope. The cuts had swelled and abscessed, and did not start to heal even after two months. In October, she wanted to practice the exercises again. The police took her into a washroom, and began to punch and kick her. Police officer Wang Yulin grabbed her hair and threw her head against the wall. Wang Nan, the vice head of the squad, and Hu Zhaoxia, the head of the squad, also threatened to turn Han Fulan over to the male guards for further torture.

Recently, the camp gave a "test", where they give all practitioners a prepared answer sheet that slandered Dafa. Many practitioners resisted by either refusing to take it or writing statements that validated Dafa on the test papers. Jia Meili, the head of the third squad, said, "This is a political test and everyone has to participate. Those who refuse to take the test or do not fill in the standard answers will be sternly punished. Wang Hongxia's sentence was due to expire on October 26, but it was extended for six months because she refused to take the test. Now we are giving you another chance. If you refuse to take it, your sentences will be extended just like Wang Hongxia's." Wang Hongxia was illegally sentenced to one year, and her sentence had already been extended for four months to October 26. She refused the test in mid October and was informed of the additional six-month sentence extension on October 24. Usually, any sentence extension needs to be first approved by higher authorities, and the process should take a month or longer. Why did her extension come back so quickly? An extension as heavy as 6 months has never been imposed on non-practitioner prisoners at this labor camp. Some people pointed out, "According to the rules, an extension should not surpass half of the sentence." Hu Zhaoxia said, "There is no such rule. Rules governing extensions change along with the overriding policies." This was the first time in the labor camp that someone has had her sentence extended just for not taking a test. There are many practitioners in the third squad due for release. Many refused to take the test and are facing sentence extensions also.

Wang Hongxia questioned Zhou Xiaohong, the head of her squad, as to why her sentence was extended for refusing to take a test. Zhou said that it wasn't just the issue of taking the test. When a practitioner refuses to give up Dafa, she will be deducted 30 points for each day that she remains steadfast. For every 100 deducted points, she will receive a one-day sentence extension. Wang talked with Zhou several times and did not get any results. Wang started to protest by going on a hunger strike and refusing the prison calisthenics. One day in October, Hu Zhaoxia asked Wang Hongxia to go for a talk and brought her to the door of the workshop. Several male guards waiting outside the door tried to take her away. She immediately ran back inside the workshop, where there were more practitioners. Four male guards rushed towards her. One of them grabbed her arm and pushed her to the ground. Other practitioners dragged her back and protected her. Jia Meili threatened that they would strictly punish those who resisted their persecution.

Those practitioners who are due for release must be picked up by their local "610 offices" [a bureau specifically created to persecute Falun Gong. It has absolute power over each level of administration in the Party, as well as over the political and judiciary branches]. Otherwise the labor camp would not release them. The police told the practitioners, "This is a rule made by higher authorities since you Falun Gong are special."

In the middle of October, practitioners Zhou Hongying, Chang Xirong, and Wang Haibo suddenly became missing, and the police refused to reveal their whereabouts.

Recently, the third squad used new means to abuse practitioners. They isolated one or two practitioners in an empty room for long periods of time. The practitioners were completely cut off from the outside world as long as they persisted in practicing Falun Gong.

In March 2001, practitioner Zheng Hongxia from Hebi City was sent to a brainwashing center from her workplace, only because she said that Falun Dafa was good and refused to give up practicing. She was then sentenced to one year in a forced labor camp. In March 2002 when she was due for release, the personnel from her work unit, Tangheji Police Station, and Hebi City "610 Office" picked her up and brought her to the local police station. They asked her again whether she would practice Falun Gong. She answered, "Yes," and was immediately detained. They sentenced her again to three years in the forced labor camp. When she asked for legal consultation, she was told that no lawyer would dare to defend a Falun Gong practitioner regardless of the payment, and court documents would be valid with or without her signature. Zheng Hongxia was sent to the forced labor camp directly from the brainwashing center.

After being released from the forced labor camp in March 2002, practitioner Zhao Xilian from Zhengzhou City was monitored 24 hours a day. Her work unit, the Henan Agricultural University, arranged for four or five people to watch and follow her. In the middle of August 2002, the local police forced her into a police car and brought her to Hezhuang Detention Center. She was then sentenced to one year in a forced labor camp. On her way to the camp, a policeman said, "Sorry, we did not want to do this, but these are the orders from higher authorities."

Practitioner Liu Minxian from Tongbai County was detained and sent to the brainwashing centers several times. She steadfastly refused to give up her belief. In December 2001, the county declared that she was "difficult to transform" and arrested her and her daughter from their home. They sent her daughter to the labor camp. Since she was 67 years old and did not qualify for the labor camp, they continued to hold her at the detention center and refused to release her.

The above situations are quite commonplace. Many other practitioners have been forced to leave their homes to avoid the persecution.

I am a female Dafa practitioner. For a few months, I had been detained in a detention center along with fellow practitioners because of our practicing Falun Gong. Later we were transferred to the "610 Office" brainwashing center in Hebei Province, the so-called "Baoding City Legal System Educational Reformation School." On the first day of our arrival, the guards forced us to wrap our arms around the largest trees they could find and cuffed us in that posture, which was quite painful. They cuffed us like this for one day and one night and didn't allow us to eat. We had to wait until they felt satisfied before opening our handcuffs and allowing us to use the toilets. We were too tired to stand, but we could not squat down. Practitioners were told not to speak among one another, not even a sentence was allowed. At night, the officials tied our hands to the head of the beds, thus we could only keep this one posture during the whole night. (The 610 Office is an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political or judicial systems.)

I refused to be brainwashed, so the director clutched my hair and slapped my face, then directed Zhao (male), Gao Xuefei (male), Wang Lei (male), Liu Shuang (female), Peng Yajuan (female) and others to beat and kick me. Gao Xuefei, Wang Lei and Liu Shuang in turn tortured me with police batons. Gao declared, "If you do not reform, I will kill you." They kept torturing me until I lost consciousness. Both of my legs could not squat down for half a month as a result of the torture. They beat me for several days. My face became swollen and my teeth were broken. I could not eat for half a month.

Female Dafa practitioner Xia Hongrui from Laishui County was beaten. The officials only stopped when she lost consciousness. She regained her ability to walk five to six days after the torture. Female Dafa practitioner Ren Jinghui, 58, was tortured into unconsciousness, and they said she feigned death. Her back was beaten black and blue.

The officials also deprived practitioners of sleep. Female practitioner Yang Fengyun was denied sleep for five consecutive days and nights. Female Dafa practitioner Gao Changqiu lost consciousness for four to five hours after the torture. The officials tortured Dafa practitioners every night. Female Dafa practitioner Xin Xiuqin, 61, was tortured to death after she conducted a hunger strike for 8 days. Female Dafa practitioner Yin Fengqin was tortured so severely that she lost her eyesight and could not straighten her legs. Young female practitioner Xiao Fangjing, 16, refused to be brainwashed. Her upper body was beaten badly and became purple-colored. The officials in this place even took joy in beating a child.

They are still detaining more than 30 Dafa practitioners here. When a higher authority came in to check, the thugs took away the handcuffs and transferred away the practitioners that were tortured badly.

I hope the kind-hearted people in the world will be concerned about the criminal behaviors here! Dafa practitioners, please send forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil elements in other dimensions manipulating the brainwashing center staff. Please send forth righteous thoughts to eliminate all evils that persecute Dafa.

Officials and members persecuting Dafa practitioners include Li Ming, Gao Xuefei, Du Yonglu, Zhu Jianhua, Liu Shuang (female), Peng Yajuan (female), Wang Lei, and Zhao.

(Clearwisdom.net) Dafa practitioner Li Chunyuan, 40 years old, is an instructor at the Philosophy and Religion Department of China's Central University for Minorities. In June 2002, after his detention term was illegally extended by 10 months, he tried to file a lawsuit against the dictator Jiang and the Tuanhe Forced Labor Camp, where he had been inhumanly tortured both mentally and physically. Thereafter he was sent to the "centralized training team" and illegally deprived of his constitutionally guaranteed right to appeal. Now he has been in the "centralized training team" for more than 5 months. Li Chunyuan's kindness and compassion has touched many prisoners.

In August 2002, Dafa practitioner Zhang Jiuhai from Xing'gong Village of Liudian Town in Ping'gu County was sent to the Tuanhe Forced Labor Camp once again. Upon arrival, he was directly sent to the "centralized training team" and tied up. On October 15, Mr. Zhang Jiuhai started a hunger strike because of the following reasons:

After two days of hunger strike, although policeman Yue Da apologized, the authorities still looked for every opportunity to abuse the practitioners.

Dafa practitioner Zhang Xiangyu from the No. 7 Division wanted to file a complaint against policemen Yang Baoli, Wei Guoping and Liu Bin of the No. 5 division for the persecution he suffered. On November 15^th, when the labor camp director Li Ai'min came, Zhang handed in the written complaint. Instead of investigating the matter, however, director Li gave Zhang a reprimand.

Dafa practitioner Wang Sili, 70 years old, is a retired scholar. On November 19^th of 2002, he was sent to the "centralized training team" by No. 3 Division Chief Zhao Jiang because he rejected the evil's demands. Wang Sili was forced to squat facing a wall for half an hour outside the building. The elderly man was forced to sleep on the floor of the cold training room, which caused him to cough every day. His wife became bedridden after being abused in the brainwashing class in 2000, and soon she was in a dangerously ill condition. The elderly couple could not even see each other during this critical period. Mr. Wang was forced to renounce his faith against his own will under the pressure, but now he is taking the opportunity of sending this news report out to solemnly announce that he is still a determined Dafa disciple.

Most practitioners in the No. 3 Division are very steadfast, and the division chiefs Xiang, Yan, Bai Zhongyin and Zhao Jiang tortured them severely. For example, they force practitioners to stay up overnight, or only allow them to sleep for 2 to 4 hours a night. They force practitioners to clean bathrooms and hallways, dig ditches, and cut grass from morning to night. If there is no labor, then they will force the practitioners to run around the playground all day. Otherwise, they make practitioners squat on one or both legs for hours, or make them squat and then stand up again repeatedly from morning to night. They do not let the practitioners rest even when they cannot stand up anymore. Elderly practitioners are forced to stand facing the wall all day long, or sit in a tiny chair without moving with only 3 hours of sleep per day. The Dafa practitioners who are newly sent in are forced to stay up overnight after the first night. They are not allowed to purchase any daily necessities nor wear the winter clothes provided by their families.

We hope all practitioners will send forth righteous thoughts to reject and eliminate the evil's persecution.

Ever since my youth I had been weak and plagued by numerous illnesses, and whenever sickness beset me, my mother could only quietly weep. In 1996 my parents and I began cultivating Falun Dafa, and shortly afterwards my many illnesses miraculously disappeared. My parents' illnesses from many years of hard toil also vanished.

By the end of 1996 my second aunt from afar learned about Dafa from us. She's 52 years old, and Dafa also improved her health -- her weight increased from a mere 100 pounds to a healthy 140 pounds. She labored in the fields with the vigor of a young worker, and everyone in the village commented on her revived youth. On July 20, 1999 when Jiang started to persecute Falun Gong, my aunt went to Beijing to appeal three times, using her personal experiences to tell government officials the facts about the persecution. She was detained twice, and in October she was illegally sentenced to two years of "labor re-education" at Masanjia Forced Labor Camp in Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, where she endured both mental and physical torment. She went on a hunger strike for 27 days in protest of this unlawful persecution. As a result, she was subjected to forced-feeding and hard labor. In the freezing cold winter they showered her with icy water, forced her to eat human excrement, shocked her feet and body with electric batons, and forced her to take psychotropic (mind-altering) drugs. During sleep she was often dragged into the hallway to be severely beaten, and in a few instances she was beaten unconscious, with an egg-sized chunk of hair and skin torn from her head. Sometimes the police handcuffed her to an immovable object to prevent her from going to the lavatory and tried to force her to sign "guarantee statements" promising to give up the practice of Dafa. Otherwise, they would torture her further.

In February 2001, my second aunt was taken to the Wuhuanci Police Station in Buxin County, her hometown. She had been tortured until she became mentally unstable, and her weight diminished to about 90 pounds. She would padlock herself in the house and refuse to eat for several days. Her clothes were usually soiled, and she often got upset. In October my mother visited and brought her to rest in our home. At this time my father had just been released from labor camp (In July 2000, a policeman from Liuhua Police Station ransacked our house and found six Dafa truth clarification flyers. They arrested my father and illegally sentenced him to three years in a labor camp). Under the care of our family, my second aunt recovered. At the end of 2001, her second son and his wife, both of whom are Dafa practitioners, were detained and fined 5000 Yuan for distributing truth clarification literature. The police released the wife and sent the son to labor camp. This terrible news re-aggravated my aunt's sickness.

In May 2002, six officers from Wuhuanci Police Station came to our house and violently kidnapped my second aunt and held her at the detention center. The police claimed that she obstructed public safety, but released her three days later.

One afternoon in early June, over 20 policemen from Liuhua Police Station surrounded our house and demanded my father to appear. At that time, the city arrested many practitioners and sent them to a brainwashing class. We knew they were here to detain my father, so we refused to open the door. The police first tried to use a universal key, then used a hammer to destroy our lock. Both tactics failed, and they all left except a few that continued to monitor our home. Afterwards, the police station contacted my father's workplace, and summoned him to go to his workplace or his salary would be forfeited. On July 19, under these circumstances, my father and I took a bus to Beijing's Tiananmen Square to appeal. During the trip our bus was stopped by the police, who then forced all the passengers to slander Dafa. We refused to, and as a result we were detained. The next day, police from our hometown came and took us back to Jinzhou City. Two days later, under Master's protection, I took off the handcuffs and nobly walked out of the police station, again devoting myself to truth-clarification and saving sentient beings. Since then, I couldn't return to our home and went from place to place. My father was again illegally sentenced to three years of forced labor education, and this enormous pressure worsened my second aunt's condition.

These are the hardships my family has to endure. I hope the world's people can awaken and recognize the evil nature of the Jiang regime, and reject the poison of their deceitful lies.

(Clearwisdom.net) My fellow practitioner Qu Yanlai, 25 years old, was admitted to the Department of Energy Engineering in Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 1995 with excellent entrance examination scores. He read Zhuan Falun before July 20, 1999 and he knew that Dafa was good, even though he did not actually practice it. On July 22, 1999, the state-run CCTV started an all-out attack against Dafa. Since then, he started to clarify the truth to people around him, including his classmates, friends and people he traveled with on buses and trains. In April 2001 he suddenly felt that he wanted to read Zhuan Falun, and after reading the book he truly attained the Fa.

He was very diligent and made rapid progress in his cultivation after he attained the Fa. At that time, he would go to work during the day and read Zhuan Falun throughout the night, and on average he only slept for two hours. Deceived by the slanderous propaganda, almost all his colleagues took a hostile attitude towards Dafa at the beginning. Yet, through his words and deeds, he demonstrated to them the goodness of Dafa and the sincerity and kindness of Dafa practitioners. His colleagues liked to spend time with him, listening to him clarifying the truth about Dafa. Gradually not only did his colleagues learn about the truth; even the ladies working in the canteen also learned the truth, and they, too, told others about the truth of Falun Gong.

In August 2001, the authorities arrested Qu Yanlai illegally and sent him to Nan'gang District Detention Center in Harbin City, which was well known for having the worst conditions amongst prisons in Harbin City. When he was first sent there, criminals in the same cell beat and cursed him. However, no matter what they did to him, he was always cheerful and never took any offence. He kindly told them about the truth of the persecution against Dafa and asked them to remember that Falun Dafa is good. The criminals admired him and called him "Falun Gong" out of respect. They found out the truth and some even attained the Fa. After over 40 days of detention, he was unconditionally released, although his family was extorted 7,000 Yuan by those in charge of his case. (The average monthly income for an urban worker in China is about 500 Yuan.)

At the end of October, 2001 he went to Tiananmen Square, and in a situation where there were uniformed and plain-clothes police everywhere, he unfurled and held high a yellow banner with the words in red, "Falun Dafa is Good." With his firm righteous belief and his compassion for sentient beings, he shouted out, "Falun Dafa is good! Falun Dafa is the righteous Fa..." In a frantic rush, the police carried him into the police van and viciously beat him. Later he was sent to a detention center in the suburbs of Beijing. He refused to cooperate with the evil and rejected all of their demands.

The police hung him up, trying to find out his name and address, but all their attempts were in vain. He kindly told the police the truth about Falun Dafa, and in the end, almost all the police in the detention center came to listen to him clarify the truth. In the cell, he told all the inmates about Falun Dafa and the truth of the persecution. Later he was sent to the Beijing No. 7 Division, a place dealing with major cases from all over China. He was tortured severely; his body was covered with cuts and bruises and he was bleeding everywhere. One of his legs was broken from the beating and he was barely breathing. When he was carried to a detention center, the police and the cell supervisor did not dare to accept him, for fear that he would die in their jurisdiction. He had only one thought in his mind, "I'm a Dafa disciple." After being detained for over 30 days, he was unconditionally released again. A few days after he got back home, he recovered his health.

His selflessness, kindness and benevolence affected everyone around him. He always thought of others first in everything he did, and his fellow practitioners enjoyed sharing their thoughts with him. After sharing with him, some who had gone astray came back to Fa-rectification; those who had not been diligent in the past began to earnestly catch up. When the evil came to arrest Dafa practitioners, he always was concerned for others' safety first.

In August 2002 he came to work in Shanghai. Just past 11:00 p.m. on the night of September 30, the police broke into the dormitory of his workplace and kidnapped him. With absolutely no evidence, the police accused him of being the person in charge of the Dafa assistance center in Shanghai, and they tried to force him under torture to tell them about other practitioners in Shanghai. They did not get anything from him. The police tightly blocked any news about him, and nobody was allowed to visit him. From the scarce information we have obtained, we know that he is on a huger strike, and he is being handcuffed and shackled, as well as denied sleep. Right now he is too weak to even walk as a result of torture. His case is being treated as the most serious case in Shanghai since July 20, 1999 and it was reported to the National Security Ministry. Presently, the authorities are planning to put him on trial.

We hope that overseas practitioners, especially those who graduated from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, would do everything they can to urgently rescue Qu Yanlai. The rescue campaign by overseas practitioners has effectively frightened the evil and has to a large degree reduced the evil's persecution against Dafa practitioners in China.

The lawsuit against Jiang and the "610 Office" best exposes, by means of the law, the crimes of Jiang and his "610 Office", similar in form and function to a Nazi, Gestapo-style agency [specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems]. It is not hard to imagine that ever since the day that the complaint was lodged, Jiang has been restless. During his personal visit to the U.S., a chance that he had begged for and dreamed of for so long, he was confronted by those whom he had persecuted and their family members.

This is a great opportunity for us to clarify the truth of Falun Dafa to people around the world. Let's use legal procedures to expose this dictator's humiliating crimes and thus reveal its viciousness to all the governments and people of the world.

I would like to share my opinions with fellow practitioners regarding how we can make best use of this opportunity.

This is not merely a lawsuit, but is one of the vital actions taken by Falun Dafa practitioners who are as Teacher writes, "in control of Heaven and Earth, rectifying the human realm" (from Teacher's Poem "The Foretelling"). The fact that we lodged a complaint, open and aboveboard, in a federal court of a foreign country, against the head of the evil at its post for the crimes it has committed in persecuting people who practice Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance, really shocked Jiang and his accomplices. Jiang himself does not dare to swagger around outside of China anymore because wherever he goes he could be arrested as a result of local lawsuits. Upon his arrival a just sentencing will await this head of the evil, who is against humankind.

2. The evil will spare no effort in intervening with the government and people of the country where the complaint was lodged

Lodging a complaint against Jiang is only the beginning of this round of eliminating the evil. The battle between good and evil is still going on. Teacher told us at the Fa-Conference in Philadelphia, "overall, in other dimensions the strength of the evil and the strength of the righteous are no longer in balance. The strength of the righteous has tipped the scales in its favor as far as they go. Those evil beings can't hold up now. The wicked people in the world might seem so evil, but that's actually just arranged by the old forces. I've said before that the evil won't stop persecuting even right up until the very end. Even if it's going to end tomorrow, today that evil will still do evil just the same. That's the way things are in the cosmos before the Fa-rectification is done rectifying it. Without going through Fa-rectification it won't become good on its own--how could it turn good without Fa-rectification? Poison is just poisonous, and if you want it to stop being poisonous it can't do that. So when you look at it that way, we shouldn't have any fantasies about the evil forces and those evil people who are persecuting Dafa." Jiang's regime won't give up easily. It will surely attempt to implicate more people and nations, and it will try every possible means to put pressure on the U.S. government and any government that lodges a complaint against it. It will even relentlessly drag the U.S. government and governments of other countries with it to hell, as they did to Iceland, making them give in by means of economics, politics, relations between the two countries, and international affairs etc., and also making them go against their own principles, which established their countries, against basic human rights, and against the will of their own people. Thus, they will position themselves and their nations in harm's way. If such things occur, these governments will become the victims of Jiang's evil scheme and the vicious suppression.

3. Treat all sentient beings with compassion and clarify the truth to all governments and people that may be involved in the lawsuit

Bear this in mind, our task is to clarify the truth in depth to all governments and people who may get involved in the lawsuit, so that these governments, government officials, judicial systems, human rights organizations, parliaments, and members of parliaments are clear about why we lodged the complaint against Jiang and the "610 Office." Also, they need to understand with what crimes we are charging Jiang and the "610 Office," and what articles these charges are legally based on, as well as why they should know the truth, support the lawsuit, and speak out for the injustice and persecution in China. When people choose to stand by justice and denounce Jiang's regime, we have already won the lawsuit since we have defeated the attempt of the old forces to destroy more governments and people.

We can contact professionals in law schools and human rights organizations for suggestions and get their support by clarifying the truth to them. Support is one effective way to influence society, and a manifestation of whether we have done enough to clarify the truth in depth as well.

4. Break through the old forces' arrangements and deny the old forces themselves with our righteous thoughts

Since we need the laws in the human world to uphold justice, we should have a right attitude towards laws in human society. Legal procedures can definitely solve some problems concerning right and wrong. And we can clarify the truth to people in the human world by using the principles of human society.

However, when the old forces were arranging everything, they might have mixed the principle of mutual-generation and mutual-inhibition, which is part of the principles in the old universe, into human society. Therefore, simply following the normal procedures of the law may not achieve our goal of Fa-rectification. For instance, political elements, relations between two nations, and international affairs go beyond laws. It actually allows the guilty president of a country to escape from the punishment of laws. In fact, only autocrats like Jiang, who have usurped state power and are capable of brutally persecuting people who practice Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance with their power, should be strictly monitored and punished by the law.

Thus, we should make full use of means of justice in human society but should not be attached to purely technical procedures. Everything we do today while the Fa-rectification is on its way to the human world is touching what's fundamental in deeper dimensions. Therefore we are not required to learn the details of skills but rather to learn to control the direction and progress in general with our wisdom so that we won't be confined by everyday people's habits and rigid procedures. Sometimes, we are used to giving up trying to think, treating Fa-rectification work as a bunch of technical issues and leaving it totally to professionals. Once the technical process encounters something new, the problem cannot be solved. As practitioners, we should not only realize the nature of an occurrence like this with our righteous thoughts, but we should also constrain the evil and eliminate the degenerated things by using our wisdom, which the Fa has bestowed upon us, and by "Using At Will" (title of Teacher's poem) the good things in the human world.

We have learned some good lessons from leaders in China who were positive toward Dafa in the past and who were taken advantage of by the evil later on. So, the right way for us to participate in the lawsuit, from the standpoint of Fa-rectification, is to make full use of our time to clarify the truth, deny the arrangements of the old forces, deny the old forces themselves, and direct our Dafa work actively and flexibly. Our unmovable righteous thoughts will decide the results of this case. Through this lawsuit, our improvement as a whole is very important. We will become more rational and experienced.

After reading the article from Clearwisdom Net on December 30, "Some Thoughts I had about the Lawsuit Against Jiang Zemin" (http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2002/12/30/41931.html), I have the same feeling about the participation of all practitioners as one body. Being conscious as a whole is very important for us, especially regarding issues influencing the overall situation of Fa-rectification. When an important thing appears, we should form a definite and solid body as a whole, but avoid one-sided understandings of "participation as a whole," in which either nobody shows concern or all practitioners step up at the same time, we should not go to extremes or create formalities. For example, some things need the participation of all practitioners, some need us to participate as much as possible, and some need a few of us to participate while other practitioners keep sending forth righteous thoughts to assist. Only in this way can we control the overall situation, encompassing everything and leaving out nothing. No matter what the forms of participation are, all practitioners should have righteous thoughts as individuals and as parts of the whole body, thus merging into the field of righteous thoughts as a whole and doing well independently with the part that has something to do with oneself.

The magnificent stream of Fa-rectification is manifested by practitioners all over the world striving diligently forward in cultivation practice and in clarifying the truth to people around the world. At the same time as we thoroughly expose Jiang's crimes, we can also act on other lawsuit activities and eliminate the evil on a large scale. For every activity involved with the lawsuit, we can make the evil's aides realize that the fact that their leader is being punished by the law means that their own time is not far away. As long as the evil continues to move forward, it will fall into this open net.

Media is an important field. Media work directly influences people from all walks of life in society including policemen, judges, VIPs and ordinary people. We should make use of this lawsuit and once again clarify the truth in depth to the media, at the same time we can publicize the lawsuit and expose Jiang's crimes to the entire world.

At the same time, we should mail CDs to mainland China so that more Chinese people can know about this lawsuit against the head of the evil. If the CD is well-made, people will actively copy it and spread it.

We will systematically make public Jiang's crimes on special websites, and welcome all Chinese people to submit their articles for publication. Then we will spread them on a large scale to China until it is known by every household and by all the people who oppose this vicious suppression from the bottom of their hearts.

The evil wishes to quietly put an end to this lawsuit. The more we expose it, the more scared the evil will be.

In Touring North America to Teach the Fa, Master told Fa rectification disciples to do three things. The very first one is to study Fa well and cultivate oneself well. I often found that my own and some other fellow practitioners' not cultivating well has given the evil forces chances to interfere. As the result, some things that could have been done better were not done well. Only by truly purifying ourselves and assimilating ourselves with Dafa can we save the countless sentient beings in the cosmic body that corresponds to us. And only by doing so can we fundamentally break the old forces' interference and do better in assisting Master's Fa rectification. I'll share some of my experiences and understanding below.

I've heard that some assistants or coordinators' having conflicts with other practitioners has adversely affected Fa rectification activities. Regarding this aspect, I myself have not done well, either.

During the period of personal cultivation before July 20, 1999, it was relatively quiet. There were tests, but I could be relatively strict with myself. But after July 20, 1999, I participated in Fa rectification activities and later I started doing some coordination work. Then I started feeling like I have accumulated some type of "credit", gradually and unknowingly developed some mentality of being "above others". I was clearly aware that my Fa study was not that good, yet I tended to think I was more correct than others. Sometimes I was not reasoning with others using Fa's principles, but rather trying to run people over by using my position as an assistant or project coordinator. During a period of time, I even had such a thought, "Fa rectification period is different from personal cultivation period. What's important is to get the Fa rectification things done and it's OK to have bad temper." Exactly due to such guiding thoughts, I slacked off at looking inward and became less strict with myself.

During one period, many fellow practitioners in local area had many complaints about me and said I had put on a superior air of being some bureaucrat when talking or doing things. I thought what I said during local group discussion was quite correct, but others said I was just spouting lofty ideals and tossing around empty words. One person said so, two people said so, and eventually I found many people all said so. At first my heart was not calm, "Am I like that? Which words or actions of mine showed I was putting on airs? Wasn't I doing this totally for his good and for our local group's good?" My mind was really seething for a while. But after calming down, I looked back at my mentality, way of doing things, and attitude when I talked and did things, I was indeed like that and to a serious degree. The thought of "being a veteran practitioner and being above others" was hidden very deeply. Exactly due to this, I gradually and unknowingly developed quite the attitude and mannerisms of a petty bureaucrat, to the extent that I couldn't even sense it even after others have pointed it out to me. Just like my wife said, "How can you sense it? It has already developed into your cells."

Master said, "Every one of our persons in charge needs to put special emphasis on studying the Fa. No matter how great or how extraordinary the tasks are that a person in charge shoulders, he cannot forget to cultivate himself. No matter how much work you do, you should be a Dafa disciple doing the Dafa work and not an everyday person doing the Dafa work. So you must study the Fa. A person in charge is actually an ordinary disciple as well. Each person, no matter what he does, should see himself as one of the disciples--you have to see yourself as one of the disciples." (Fa-Lecture at the Conference in Florida, U.S.A.) In Zhuan Falun Master said, "All practitioners are disciples, no matter when they began the practice." "If you do not practice cultivation, what's the use of carrying that designation? It does not matter whether you are from the first session of classes or the second session."

The mentality of "above others" is closely related to my attachment of seeking fame. During these 3 years' Fa rectification, fellow practitioners have been fully utilizing their talents and professional skills to clarify the truth. But it also exposed my attachment of seeking fame that I thought I had gotten rid of: Who has certain special skills? Which university did so and so graduate from? What titles did someone carry in everyday people's society? On one hand, I felt very happy about the fact that many are talented among Dafa practitioners, but on the other hand, it reflects my hidden attachment to seeking fame. Once an opportunity arises, after I got something that others don't, it can easily develop some pride and the mentality of "being above others."

When I was with those practitioners who have certain prestige, I can control my emotion, talk gently, and even humbly consult them. But when with some other practitioners, I tended to lose my temper and blame others. And even when what they said was quite correct from Fa's perspective, I may listen with some reservations. In fact, every disciple is equal in front of the Lord of Buddhas. Each of us represents Master's boundless expectations, we've all been given the most magnificent missions, and we're all under the Lord Buddha's boundless mercy and compassion. There's no difference there whatsoever, no one is higher or lower than anyone else. Digging to the bottom, I found the notion of hierarchy and the snobbishness in everyday people's society.

Exactly because of these impure thoughts, at some critical moments, I couldn't stand completely from Fa's perspective and discuss with fellow practitioners equally and objectively. Sometimes I had a mentality that my words should carry more weight and I was not modest. On the other hand, I took advice from those practitioners I respected without enough thinking. As the result of all these, some things that could have been done better were not done well. It was shown especially during October events.

In fact, more and more I see that compared with a lot of fellow practitioners, I have fallen far behind in terms of Fa study, truth clarification, and sending forth righteous thoughts as well as being diligent and giving. Many practitioners are simply doing a lot of work very quietly. I can only try to catch up and have nothing to be proud of whatsoever. I indeed must get rid of the impure mentality and notions of everyday people and solidly cultivate myself.

Some while ago, I went to another state to participate in preparing some Fa rectification activities. Before going, I heard that there were conflicts among some practitioners. On one hand, I wanted to help with the activities' preparation; on the other hand, I had a subtle show-off mentality and wanted to help solve their problems. After arriving, I realized the problems there were indeed serious and felt pained in my heart. But I didn't have a calm mind and exchange with fellow practitioners, what I had more of in my mind was complaints.

What a practitioner did when clarifying truth in a sensitive area was a bit irrational. Another practitioner harshly criticized him when talking to me, believing he has damaged Dafa's image and has caused great negative effect to the important Fa rectification activities later on. She didn't even want to communicate with that practitioner. I tried to mediate. I told the latter practitioner that Master told us to be have immense tolerance and understanding with kindness towards fellow practitioners and that we should talk compassionately and kindly. Words like these were repeated several times during those days. But at the last time, I realized that I was throwing them to the other side of the telephone with anger, placing blame, and impatience. Upon hanging up, I suddenly realized that the words I told her were like a mirror: Was I compassionate towards to this practitioner? Did I have any understanding with kindness? Did I talk compassionately and kindly? Master said in "Lecture at the US East Coast Conference", "When two people have conflicts and a third person sees it, even this third person must think about what he has done wrong and why he is given a chance to see this scene." At this moment, I looked back at the problems that I had observed on fellow practitioners in the past a few days, I realized every of them existed on myself or in my local area, with only different degrees.

Failing to look within, I couldn't be modest and kind towards fellow practitioners. Therefore, no matter how high principles one talks about, the effect is bound not to be good. Thus, only by fostering an environment in which everyone tends to look within and the group improves xinxing as a whole can the problems be solved fundamentally.

In the past, I often observed this person in charge had these problems and that person in charge had those problems; and it seemed that I myself was a pretty good cultivator. But later on when I started to be in charge of something, the same problems were manifested on myself and even worse. From this I deeply realized that when seeing other people's shortcomings, I must look within and see that as a warning to myself and can never feel complacent since that could very well be because my attachment hasn't had a chance to be shown.

3. Put the Fa first, Be Tolerant, Understanding, and Kind Towards Fellow Practitioners

Reflecting on the arguments with fellow practitioners, on the surface, I was arguing for Dafa's good, but digging deeper, I can always find my impure thoughts. Only by fundamentally putting the Fa first, getting rid of ego can one truly be tolerant, understanding, and kind towards fellow practitioners, and thus truly be for Dafa's good.

What I usually can't tolerate is the chaotic scene during group activities. I like to jump out to help organize things. The motivation is for Dafa's good, but if any impure thoughts are mixed, the result is bound not to be good. During APEC meeting in Mexico, practitioners held banners and sent forth righteous thoughts. Under the baking sun, some practitioners tried to sit under the few trees. The scene didn't look good at the time. After thinking for a while, I felt I must step out to help organize in order to be responsible for Dafa and we must display the demeanor of Dafa disciples. With a loud voice, I asked several practitioners under a tree to get organized. One practitioner replied, "It's so hot out there and we'll have to do this for the whole afternoon. We should preserve some energy." I said, "We came here for Fa rectification. Disciples in China walked thousands of miles to Beijing. How does this suffering compare?" Immediately two Western practitioners said, "You must talk using your heart." One of them said, "I don't like you. You're like a dictator." I was shocked and awakened by this splash of cold water on my face. Immediately feeling ashamed, and I turned around to apologize to them. Yes, Master has told us long ago about tone, compassionate heart and rationality. I thought I my motivation was for Dafa's good. But at this critical moment of sending forth righteous thoughts in close proximity and demonstrating Falun Gong to all countries' delegations, my rude attitude has caused conflicts and disturbed practitioners' minds. Who are the happiest now? The evil. Is this being responsible to the Fa? Also, it never occurred to me that practitioners should do these out of their own will and that they have been sending forth righteous thoughts day and night continuously for 3 or 4 days. If I had been a bit considerate, I wouldn't have been so rude.

In another aspect, tolerance, understanding and putting Fa first can also be tested when fellow practitioners point out one's problems, but with a poor attitude. One time, a practitioner harshly criticized me and some other practitioners, who were planning some important events. He pointed out our lack of planning, not being thoughtful, lack of prioritization, and etc. I clearly realized all he said was correct, yet I simply couldn't accept his attitude, and thus developed some resistance and arguments. Consequently, we couldn't discuss things with calm and peaceful minds to achieve better results. Looking back, it was because he touched my attachment of "saving face." What I thought and said were all out of the strong mentality of trying to protect myself from being hurt, rather than treating with tolerance and understanding the aspects that the fellow practitioner hadn't cultivated well just yet. I didn't put down ego and truly put Fa first and didn't see whether what he said was truly for the good of Dafa or not.

The evil forces use the discord among practitioners to interfere. When not careful, we can easily fall into their traps. But when strict with ourselves, we can break that without much difficulty. Recently, after having realized this, there were several times when fellow practitioners had a bad attitude. If I hadn't watched my xinxing, arguments would have occurred and the interference would have been naturally inevitable. But these times, when I immediately tried to think from the other party's perspective and thought more of other party's strong points, the negative thoughts disappeared instantly, the possible arguments were avoided, and the interference arranged by the evil were naturally broken.

In " Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Philadelphia, U.S.A.", Master Li said, "they look at what the end result of the other God's proposed approach will be... if the result of a God's idea can achieve the goal, if it can truly achieve it, then all of them will go along with it." I once thought to myself, "What if the other party's suggestion cannot reach the result that we want to achieve?" Now my understanding is that when arguing due to different opinions, each often grasps the other party's incorrect points and stresses his own correct points, and thinks the other party is blinded by his attachments and even developed one's own speculation and imagination. But in fact everyone has both correct and incorrect points. If we can do the opposite and try hard to see the other party's correct points and find our own incorrect points, and look more at his sincerity towards Dafa, then the two parties can discuss with calm and peaceful minds, compliment each other to work out the best solution. When getting stuck, try to think, "Who would be happy about this? The Buddhas and Master, or the evil?" When not being able to overcome some small obstacles, try to think about the great Fa rectification mission on our shoulders, think about a piece of sawdust versus a furnace of molten steel, think about a speck of dust versus the entire colossal firmament.

From the preparation of some Fa rectification activities, I learned that the bigger an activity, the more interference and the bigger tribulations. And the evil forces all targeted at practitioners' omissions and attachments. When one or many practitioners have certain aspects that haven't been cultivated well, get into conflicts, and cannot have righteous thoughts, other people can see it very clearly, yet sometimes feel quite helpless. In the meantime, things happen very quickly one after another, all of which have to be addressed immediately. Before you know it, another tribulation has come before the previous one gets addressed. It's truly that without a solid foundation of cultivation, one simply could never chant the Buddha's name at critical moment. Yet a solid foundation is built up little by little in daily life. One must catch every single small chance to cultivate. If one doesn't pay attention to quizzes and can't do well, how can he pass the big exams?

I truly feel that in the recent two or three years, I have not been as strict with myself as I was 5 or 6 years ago when I first obtained the Fa. For example, back then I rarely made negative comments on others and paid good attention to the cultivation of speech. But in recent years, other than the times when I did need to talk about other practitioners' situations, I indeed sometimes gossiped about others, especially when there were conflicts. I didn't take it seriously. Most of the times, it was not a calm and objective talk that was truly for others' good, but one that was mixed a lot of complaints and grievance out of negative thoughts. When reading section "Cultivation of Speech" in Zhuan Falun, I often thought, "Sigh, it's bad. I failed again to do well in most of the cases Master mentioned here." Yet next time I still lacked of strong determination to tighten my mouth. Clearwisdom had an article "A Female University Student's Fa Rectification Journey", which had something that really struck me hard, "One of our obligations for every practitioner is to 'bond,' which means eliminating crevices among particles so we can form an indestructible particle group." What we say carries energy and even our thoughts are material. If we often think or talk negatively, isn't that the opposite of a bond?

I slacked off in some other aspects also. These seem to be small matters about personal cultivation and are not spectacular like many big Fa rectification activities. But just like Master Li said in "Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Boston", "...as long as you still have everyday people's attachments, those are what demons can use, and when you're not paying attention they can be used at any moment." If we don't cultivate on small matters, as the problems grow bigger gradually, they will directly and severely affect the big things in Fa rectification at critical moments. In order to fundamentally break the evil forces' interference, besides determinedly sending forth righteous thoughts, one must be strict to himself and cultivate from small matters.

The above is only my shallow understanding. I have a lot of room for improvement. Even the same problems will recur sometimes. If anything is inappropriate or you see problems in my future cultivation, I'd appreciate fellow practitioners' pointing them out.

(Clearwisdom.net) HAICHENG, China -- With his rich baritone, classy ties and retro eyewear, Mo Shaoping cuts a dashing figure, a Chinese Perry Mason.

In a decade as a defense lawyer, Mo has courted trouble by taking sides in some of China's most sensitive cases. His clients have included the founder of the banned China Democracy Party, Xu Wenli, who was released from jail on Christmas Eve and flown to the United States. Another is the leader of worker protests this year in Liaoning province, Yao Fuxin, who remains in jail and has been denied his legal right to counsel. Mo has represented Internet essayists and capitalists-turned-dissidents.

The case that haunts him most is a murder investigation in a town in Hebei province called Renqiu, where police seeking confessions allegedly hung his clients from the wall by their wrists, shoved electric cattle prods into their mouths, squeezed their flesh with pliers and beat their legs as they squatted. "They have absolutely no proof. It was torture, pure and simple," Mo said of the case, which has been grinding on for six years. "They all know it down there."

Each case presents its unique challenges. On a recent weekday, for instance, Mo was in Haicheng, a grimy Manchurian town 500 miles northeast of Beijing, defending a police officer accused of dereliction of duty. In his last visit here, on Nov. 20, prosecutors had arrested all of Mo's witnesses to block his defense. Worried that he, too, could end up in jail, Mo brought a group of reporters, one American among them, to Courtroom No. 4, an old meeting hall in the back of the Haicheng court. True to form, the prosecutor accused Mo of illegally telling witnesses how to testify, but did not arrest him.

"I guess he didn't dare," Mo said. "They usually don't go after big-city lawyers like me. We can still fight another day."

The battle for justice, due process and media coverage being waged by defense lawyers like Mo Shaoping tells much about how legal power is wielded in China these days and how much the country has -- and has not -- changed during two decades of economic development. This story, the last of an occasional series on how power works here, looks at the conflict between the organs of state power -- the nearly all-powerful police and prosecutors -- and the emerging influence of lawyers, scholars, common folk and even some officials who are calling for wider rule of law.

Ever since the Communist Party seized control of China in 1949 behind Mao Zedong's slogan that "political power grows out of the barrel of a gun," the government has had a troubled relationship with law. Lawyers were effectively wiped out in the 1950s, arrested by the thousands and labeled "rightists." With economic reforms, the profession was rehabilitated in 1979. Then China had 212 lawyers. Today, it has more than 120,000, and President Jiang Zemin has vowed to make China a country "ruled by law [Editor's note: However it is Jiang who personally started his personal crusade against peaceful Falun Gong practitioners and ordered the police to 'kill without pardon'].

Still, lawyers have no place at the pinnacle of power. None of the nine Standing Committee members of China's all-powerful Politburo is a lawyer; they are all engineers. Only six of China's 3,000 national legislators have a background in law.

In a speech on Christmas Day, Zhou Yongkang [Editor's note: a lawsuit was brought against him in the US due to his involvement in persecuting Falun Gong practitioners], soon to be appointed minister of public security, ranked "loyalty" to the law and "consciousness" of the law last on a list of priorities for the police. Zhou is also expected to be placed in a more influential position on the party committee that sets judicial policies than the head of China's highest court.

Jiang Ping, former president of the University of Politics and Law, said the pending appointment heralds a worrying trend. "We had hoped that the courts would be given more power and be given a position above the police," he said. "Some things in China are moving forward and some things are moving back."

Mo Shaoping was one of the first lawyers to join a private practice when partnerships were permitted in 1992. Three years later he opened his own firm, Beijing Mo Shaoping Law Firm, with offices in a courtyard near the Forbidden City. With a sprawling duplex and a daughter in the best high school in Beijing, he is, by many measures, a success.

But Mo's profession is under assault, and his work is a struggle. Over the last few years, authorities have manipulated the new criminal procedure law and the revised criminal code to weaken the ability of defense attorneys to defend their clients. Across China, prosecutors have hit upon a novel technique to deal with attorneys who put up a stiff defense: arrest them.

Since the criminal code was revised in 1997, more than 400 defense lawyers have been detained on perjury charges in cases that the state risked losing, sources at the All-China Lawyers Association said. Mo represents the most prominent of these: Zhang Jianzhong, head of the Beijing Lawyers Association's committee on lawyers' rights. In addition, following defeats in criminal cases, police routinely rearrest defendants and dispatch them -- without trial -- to labor camps.

This happened in October during a high-profile case against a Protestant sect called the South China Church that Mo was also involved in defending. The head of the church, Gong Shengliang, was sentenced to life in prison on charges of ordering his followers to beat police and opponents of his sect. But a court in Hubei province acquitted four nuns who had been accused of assault. When the nuns announced they would file civil lawsuits against police for alleged torture, police re-arrested them and sentenced them to three years' labor reeducation.

In Beijing, government statistics show that fewer lawyers are taking criminal cases. In 1990, lawyers in the capital argued an average of 2.64 criminal cases a year. In 2000, the average was less than one case a year. Nationwide, defendants in only one of every seven criminal cases get legal representation, according to internal government statistics. This does not count defendants sentenced to labor camps, because they do not have the right to an attorney.

Defense lawyers like Mo have trouble getting access to evidence, their clients, witnesses and the attention of the judge. Legal decisions in important cases are made more often by a small committee of government and Communist Party officials than by the judge. The concept of a judiciary independent of party control has been rejected by Chinese officials as high as President Jiang.

The 1996 criminal procedure law says that police and prosecutors are required to hand over all "important" evidence amassed during their investigation, but police and prosecutors determine what "important" means. As a result, defense lawyers say, police and prosecutors rarely hand over evidence detrimental to the state's case. And if defense lawyers suspect them of holding back, the only place they can go for redress is the prosecutor.

Cases often are initiated or decided on the basis of political directives. In the Haicheng case, prosecutors accused police officer Jiang An of dereliction of duty in connection with a robbery that occurred in 1996. A villager in Jiang's home town had lost $2,500, complained to Jiang and pointed out a man whom he suspected of stealing his money. Jiang approached the man, and the man's family returned the cash. Case closed.

In September, however, Haicheng's prosecutors decided to use the case as part of a campaign to demonstrate their zeal in cracking down on police abuses. When the trial opened Nov. 20, practically the whole security apparatus of the town turned out, along with a local television crew from a state-run station.

At the end of the morning session, the prosecutor requested a recess and arrested Mo's witnesses. Among those arrested was Ma Kai, the victim of the burglary, and his wife. "He's the victim, not the criminal!" said his son, Ma Jingwei. "What's he doing in jail?"

By the next session, on Dec. 11, after a week in custody during which, local sources confirmed, the witnesses were splashed repeatedly with cold water in the middle of a Manchurian winter, they had recanted their testimony.

Prosecutor Mei Xiaoming accused Mo of trying to forge evidence. "The witnesses had a good attitude while they were in custody and confessed that they had been told to lie by their lawyer," he said. Mei praised the articles in the criminal procedure law that allow prosecutors to arrest defense attorneys. "I believe we'll get even tougher regulations in the future," he said.

Of all the cases Mo is working on, the double homicide in Renqiu disturbs him the most because, he said, it combines two of the most pernicious problems in China's system: torture and lack of judicial independence.

Sometime before dawn on Aug. 2, 1996, two female attendants of a state guesthouse in Renqiu, an oil town 80 miles south of Beijing, were savagely murdered. One was stabbed 30 times, the other 36. By May of the following year, the case had yet to be broken. Police Chief Li Yinchi, under pressure from city authorities, issued an order that it be solved -- no matter what -- by August, according to an official account of the case written by a Renqiu police officer, Gu Kaihe.

Such orders are common among the police in China and, legal experts say, often lead to judicial abuses.

By July, police had arrested five suspects and advanced a theory: One suspect, a local government official, had had an argument with one of the attendants and decided to kill her. He asked two other suspects, who both ran video arcades, to do the deed. Another suspect drove the getaway car. A fifth suspect was present when the plan was hatched but did not participate in the murder.

Police got confessions from all five suspects. But there was scant physical evidence. At the crime scene, police found no fingerprints to match those of the suspects and no blood on any of the suspects' clothes. They found only several footprints.

The case against the fifth suspect, Cui Xiaodong, was so weak that he was released on Dec. 30, 1997. But then he made a mistake: He submitted documentation signaling that he was preparing to sue the police for arresting him. Within weeks, he was rearrested.

In the following months, prosecutors in Cangzhou, a bigger city near Renqiu with administrative responsibility, sent the case back to the police twice for more evidence, according to Yao Guomin, a prosecutor there. But, they were told, no new evidence was available. Then the government got involved. After two high-level meetings between police and government officials in Cangzhou in late 1998, the government decided to order prosecution anyway, sources said.

"Two main issues were of concern," said a participant who spoke on condition of anonymity. "First, the government had already broadcast news of the arrests, so we couldn't backtrack, because that would look bad. Second, we believed that even if we didn't have any physical evidence, the confessions would stand up in court."

In early 1999, when proceedings opened, Mo recalled, the courtroom erupted as suspect after suspect stood up and pointed to police officers, directly accusing them of torture. Soon thereafter, the police officers stopped attending, he said.

Cui Bing, a 34-year veteran of the Renqiu police force, was on duty one evening shortly after the men were arrested. That night, he said, investigators beat one suspect, Xing Jinsong, at a police station. Xing's screams "were horrible," said the 58-year-old police officer.

"They were just beating the crap out of the suspect," he recalled. "He was howling like some kind of animal. It lasted for hours all night, until 11 p.m. They got him to confess, but all of us knew it was forced. I stopped pulling overtime after that. I couldn't stand it."

In testimony, Xing said a police officer "gripped my fingers, my chest and my inner thighs with pliers. He also cut the bottom of my feet with a knife, and put salt into the wounds."

At one point, Xing tried to kill himself, jumping out of a second-story window, Cui said.

Cui had another reason to be upset at what he heard. His son is Cui Xiaodong, the suspect who was rearrested after threatening to sue the police. While his son was in jail, Cui said, he frantically tried to stop investigators from torturing him.

"They went lighter on him than the others," Cui said. "But they broke him all the same."

In court, Cui Xiaodong said police "hung me from the wall, made me squat as if I was riding a horse. When I faltered they beat me. I wanted to die."

Chen Jianhua, Renqiu's deputy police chief, denied his men tortured the suspects. "They told you that?" he said. "Well, that makes sense. They usually claim they've been tortured in police custody. But I tell you, we didn't."

Police in Renqiu said Cui Bing's views on the case cannot be taken seriously because his son was involved.

On July 29, 1999, a court in Cangzhou convicted the five men of the murders. Three of them -- Cui Hongtao (no relation to Cui Bing and his son), Xing Jinsong and Xu Wei -- were sentenced to death. Hu Bin and Cui Xiaodong were given shorter sentences. Authorities in Renqiu organized a parade to cheer the police. Medals were handed out to six officers.

All five of those convicted lodged appeals. Mo and other lawyers from his firm represented Xu Wei, Hu Bin and Cui Hongtao. On June 9, 2000, Hebei province's highest court sent the case back to Cangzhou, demanding more evidence. For the next two years, the case ping-ponged between Cangzhou and the court in Hebei, with Cangzhou sentencing them to death and the Hebei court demanding more proof. On June 6 this year, the Cangzhou court upheld its verdict but included no new evidence. That verdict is being appealed.

Sources said the Hebei court ruling was accompanied by an internal letter raising questions about the case. Among them: Why did the police forensic report mention three footprints, one Cangzhou court judgment mention six and a later Cangzhou judgment remove any mention of footprints? How could it be that a shoe store that figured in the case opened for business only after the murders occurred?

Zhao Yuhe, a judge at the Cangzhou court, acknowledged problems with the case but said that because so much time had passed, it would be almost impossible to find someone else to take the blame.

"We adhere to our judgment, and one reason is that it would be very difficult to find more evidence," he said. "The case was broken by the police a long time after it happened. You can only gather important evidence at the beginning of a case. So it might be true that some shortcomings exist in our judgment."

Cui Xiaodong, meanwhile, was recently released from jail, having served his 3 1/2-year term.

I have a new hero: That's Ma Ying-jeou, mayor of Taipei. In a speech earlier this week, he stuck it to the Red Chinese and stood up for liberty and tolerance.

Addressing a gathering of Falun Gong followers, he said, "Freedom of religion and freedom of belief are common values of a free society. Taiwan is a place where freedom of assembly and freedom of religion are respected. People are pained to see the mainland's persecution and killing of students of Falun Gong."

He continued, "I'm not worried about offending any government or regime. I attend June 4 memorial services [marking the Tiananmen Square massacre] every year and openly declare that before the rehabilitation of [Tiananmen demonstrators] reunification cannot be discussed."

And then, "The importance of human rights should exceed national borders and both sides of the [Taiwan] Strait."

Wow. He's practically into Wilson territory now -- in fact, he is. And hats off to him.

Look, you may think that the Falun Gongers are [...]: but they have been beaten, tortured, jailed, murdered, and persecuted in every other way imaginable, and they are resilient and daring and brave. All decent people should leap to their defense and protect them in any way they can. I made these points in a speech two years ago. To echo Niemoeller, today it might be Falun Gong; and then underground Catholics; and then Protestant "house" churches; and then [...]?

(Clearwisdom.net) On the night of December 29, in front of the National Taiwan University Stadium, the Taiwan Falun Dafa Association held a candlelight vigil entitled "With Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance in Mind, a More Peaceful World Will Be a Reality." Five thousand Falun Gong practitioners, mostly from various places in Taiwan, lit up candles in the wind and rain. They sat quietly to memorialize their fellow practitioners who have been tortured to death in China.

Chang, Ching-his, chairman of the Taiwan Falun Dafa Association, and Wu Hui-Lin, chairman of the China Human Rights Association, both pointed out in their speeches that the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners by Jiang's regime is wrong, and the means used to torture practitioners are inhumane. They called upon all Taiwan citizens to help stop the persecution.

At the vigil, white candles were arranged into three characters: "Truthfulness, Benevolence, Forbearance." Practitioners hope that with Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance in mind, the world will become a more peaceful place. In a solemn, touching scene, practitioners sang songs written by fellow practitioners together.

(Clearwisdom.net) The fireworks show is a traditional way to celebrate the New Year in Melbourne. On New Year's Eve of each year, tens of thousands of citizens would gather to watch the show. The local practitioners decided to utilize this opportunity to demonstrate the Falun Gong exercises and distribute truth-clarifying materials by the Yarra River, where it would be the most crowded. Practitioners also wanted to welcome the New Year in such a meaningful way.

Starting from 6:00 pm until midnight, while the fireworks were on display, many passers-by watched our exercise demonstration and accepted truth-clarifying materials. Many people learned the exercise on the spot. A teenage girl came forward to become an "instructor" soon after she learned the exercises. She helped practitioners to correct other people's movements. She said that she felt very warm all over her body when she learned and practiced the exercises, and that she felt extremely comfortable and wonderful.

(Clearwisdom.net) On New Year's Eve, some of the UK Dafa practitioners who had participated in the Christmas holiday group Fa-study gathered outside the Chinese Embassy in London. We performed the Falun Dafa exercises and send forth righteous thoughts, greeting the coming of the New Year. The UK Dafa practitioners' twenty-four-hour peaceful appeal outside the Chinese Embassy has continued for more than six months. Although the practitioners have experienced many physical and mental tests, they will continue their efforts outside the Embassy until Jiang's regime stops persecuting Dafa.

Dafa practitioners sat in meditation across from the Chinese Embassy and sent forth righteous thoughts at the top of each hour. The cold wind and rain could not interfere with the Dafa practitioners' determination. We held a candlelight vigil to express our boundless respect and remembrance to the more than 500 fellow practitioners in China who have given their lives to validate Dafa.

At the beginning of the New Year, UK Dafa practitioners reiterate our words to those who persecute Dafa practitioners: do not help a tyrant to do evil. There are countless lessons in history, and it would be too late to have regrets when heavenly justice is served. We hope that more sentient beings will be saved in the New Year!

(Clearwisdom.net) The 2003 New Year Flag-Raising Ceremony was held at the square in front of the county government building. Dafa practitioners demonstrated the Falun Dafa exercises to introduce Falun Dafa to the audience. After the event, the practitioners took the opportunity to clarify the truth to government officials and local people, and collected their signatures. The head of the county Zhu Li-lun, the county speaker, police chief and officials accepted truth-clarifying materials from the practitioners and expressed their support.


Practitioners demonstrate Falun Dafa exercises before the flag-raising ceremony

Practitioners greet the coming of the New Year by doing the exercises	Practitioners demonstrate the exercises in front of the county government building

Banners reading, "Falun Dafa is good" are seen in audience

A practitioner clarifies the truth to a county official, who signs the petition	Practitioners clarify the truth to the police chief

On September 1, 2002, I rode a motorcycle into town to pick up Master's new article. Upon arrival, I was surrounded by seven or eight policemen. They forcefully arrested me and took me to the police station, put me in an Iron Chair (Made from iron pipes, where victims are restrained with both arms and legs tied for a long period of time. See http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2002/1/9/17577.html for an illustration) and handcuffed me. After the two policemen fell asleep, I asked Master for help with both hands in the Heshi position. With strength given to me by Master, I opened the handcuffs, freed myself from the iron chair, unlocked two doors while reciting the Fa-rectification formula, and escaped from the evil den. I truly felt the power of righteous thoughts.

I am a Falun Dafa practitioner living in the countryside. I often drive a motorized tricycle to pass out truth-clarifying materials to families living in surrounding villages, bringing my fellow practitioners together. When preparing for each trip I always send forth righteous thoughts to eliminate all evil factors in other dimensions that are trying to interfere with Dafa. I also recite Master's scriptures and Lunyu on the road. Every trip has gone smoothly, except for some "tests." Once I had some leftover materials when a police vehicle drove by at close proximity. I was carrying an empty bag, but the fellow practitioner with me had the materials on his motorbike. I remained very calm and without becoming fearful or nervous quickly handed him my empty bag. At this moment, the police vehicle suddenly stopped. I sent forth righteous thoughts: "No evil is worthy of testing Dafa disciples." The police vehicle quickly drove on.

I have heard that five local fellow practitioners have been illegally detained during the sensitive October 16^th Congress period. I thought in my heart that if any one of them were unable to endure the torture and turn me in, I would be in trouble. Through studying the Fa, my fear disappeared. I took out all the hidden materials and passed them out. I realized that fear is wrong and that there's nothing to be afraid of. What is frightening is to see the damaging result of the attachment to fear if it is allowed to exist. The best way to eliminate fear is to study the Fa.

(Clearwisdom.net) A "solemn declaration" is a person's public statement declaring to the world that whatever he or she has done or said under duress or deception that was against Falun Dafa is null and void. Most of these statements have come from Falun Dafa practitioners in China who wished to express regret that, in the face of physical torture and brainwashing, they had signed documents renouncing Dafa and guaranteeing not to practice again. Also, as more and more people in China learn the truth about how they have been deceived and lied to by the Jiang regime, many non-practitioners are also submitting "solemn declarations."

Sometime before October 1^st (Chinese National Day), the officials of Huabei Medicine Factory tricked Falun Gong practitioner and factory employee Gao Wenzhi into going to the "Hebei Provincial Capital Law Training Center," a brainwashing center, and tortured him (reported on November 22 by Minghui.net). Within one month of the kidnapping the chief and the party secretary of his work unit both received karmic retribution. The chief was "accidentally" hit in the head by a busy worker's ax, and was sent to the hospital for treatment. The party secretary ran into a billboard on his way home after the night shift and broke two ribs.

Karmic retribution is a heavenly principle. Such an obvious warning is a merciful message for people to stop their evil deeds.

Address: Beicheng Road #18, Xinhua District, Shijiazhuang City (Zip code 050000)

The image above shows part of our Milky Way. This image was retrieved from analyzing IRAS data. The center of the image is the diffused nebula called "NGC 7822." Gas and dust cloud regions are also found in the image. A great number of new stars are forming in this region. These stars are extremely bright, exceeding the sun's brightness by thousands of times.

The image was retrieved from 3 wave bands of infrared observation. The three wave bands are 12, 60, and 100 microns, respectively. The region from yellow to white is the infrared bright region, which will not show up on normal visible-light photos. The newly formed stars are always in the deep region of the gas and dust cloud. However, the gas and dust clouds are nearly completely opaque. The visible light emitted from the newly formed stars is absorbed by the gas and dust clouds. Fortunately, the gas and dust cloud becomes the source of infrared radiation after it absorbs light, and it is heated by the absorbed energy. This allows newly formed stars to be observed in this way.

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Distributing truth-clarifying materials	Sending forth righteous thoughts at the top of each hour

Demonstrating the Falun Gong exercises	Passers-by learning the exercises


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