In the middle of December 2000, many Falun Dafa practitioners in Lanzhou City and surrounding areas stepped forward to greet the new millennium by streaming into Beijing to rectify the Fa (Buddha Law). Witnessing throng of practitioners arriving at Beijing, Jiang Zemin and his cohort sensed their days were numbered. They ordered their accomplices across the nation to prevent practitioners from going to Beijing at all costs. As a result, a large-scale confrontation between the good and evil took place on the two major railroads lines: Longhai and Baolan.
On the railway of Longhai: the police came prepared
At about 1:30 pm on December 25, 2000, the 2010 train left Lanzhou for Zhengzhou. There were about 100 Dafa practitioners on the train, who were going to Beijing to validate Fa (Buddha law). Shortly after the train took off, a group of aggressive train police began to inspect tickets, demanding identifications and forcibly ransacking luggage. They seemed to specially target Dafa practitioners. Many of the Dafa books, flyers and banners brought by practitioners were soon found. These wicked train police then became more wanton. However Dafa practitioners stood firm, and tried to reason with them pointing out that the train police's actions were illegal. They also took the opportunity to spread the Fa at the same time. In the end, about 30 people were rounded up and put in the dining car. Although they came from different places and did not know each other, they soon united as one through the power of Dafa. After brief discussions, they emerged from disappointment realizing that they could still validate Dafa if they could not make it to Tiananmen Square. A Dafa practitioner should always glow with pure brilliance regardless of location. This is paramount. Teacher pays no attention to formality but the heart. Fa is like a bright lamp; its radiance shines through the fog and unveiled the direction. Practitioners regained their spirits and began to recite "Lunyu", "Hongyin", and studied our teacher's lecture from the Great Lakes Conference. At first, the police were making a lot of loud threatening noises, but soon withdrew. The evil thus vanished in front of the righteous mind. Later, it turned out they were quietly listening to the group studying the Fa.
When the train arrived at Longxi, there were numerous policemen at the station. Dozens of policemen hopped on board and dragged the practitioners out of the train. The practitioners didn't submit, they announced loudly "Falun Dafa is righteous". Passengers on the train and people on the platform, totaling over one thousand, witnessed this scene. There was applause from the onlookers. The train was delayed for about one hour.
The practitioners were then illegally detained in a local Drug Rehabilitation Center for a total of some thirty hours. In addition to studying Fa there, practitioners also took the opportunity to clarify the truth and exposed the evil deeds of Jiang Zemin to the police and the staff at the Drug Rehabilitation Center. We also gave them "Hongyin" and Dafa flyers.
At about 3 am on December 27, while the practitioners were still asleep, numerous policemen came to take us back to Lanzhou City. We reasoned with them: we did not break any law traveling by train, and we did not carry any contraband goods. The railroad and Longxi police broke the law driving us down from the train and detaining us. The problem should be dealt with at Longxi, not Lanzhou City. The police couldn't legitimize their transgression. Speechless, they used rage to cover their lack of authority and forcefully took everyone into police vans. We were handcuffed together in two's. The police vans then drove out, with sirens on, all the way to Taoshuping Detention Center in Lanzhou. It was approximately 5 am on December 27, 2000 when we arrived.
On the railway from Baotou to Lanzhou: no practitioners were allowed passage at any cost
At about the same time, the police were also looking for practitioners on the railway from Baotou to Lanzhou. On December 26, 2000, soon as the K44 train departed Lanzhou for Beijing at 3:47 PM, the police started to check tickets, and in a very discourteous manner. Their operation was even more wanton; all passengers with destination as Beijing, about 50 or 60 total, were rounded up regardless of who they were. Besides Dafa practitioners, there were people who were on business trips, commuters going to work, tourists, the elderly, children, and pregnant women. The police could not care less who they said they were that had been rounded up, only that they were following orders from the Police Department in Ningxia Province.
When the train arrived at Zhongwei station, hundreds of policemen boarded and dragged the passengers out of the train by force. They were also taking photos, interrogating, and body-searching the passengers. The train was delayed for about an hour as a result. They were then illegally detained in the lobby of the train station for about 24 hours. They were closely watched by the police, and denied of any personal convenience. Then they were all handcuffed in two's, practitioners or not, and thrown into the police vans. The police vans then drove off to Taoshuping Detention Center in Lanzhou, reaching there in the early morning on December 28, 2000. Passengers other than Dafa practitioners were released at noon on December 29 after repeated interrogations. The practitioners didn't yield to the vicious force. Instead, they spoke aloud to clarify the truth and spread the Fa.
Besides Longxi and Zhongwei, all major train stations on these two railways (Longhai and Baolan) had incidents in which Dafa practitioners and passengers were illegally stopped and questioned. For example, many Dafa practitioners were forcibly dragged out of the train at Baoji railway station. Wang Xiaojing, a Dafa practitioner in Lanzhou, resolutely resisted being dragged out of the train even if it should cost his life. Wang's whereabouts is still unknown. Some practitioners were arrested when entering the platform or on the platform at Lanzhou railway station.
Eight days and nights of hunger strike at Taoshuping Detention Center
Nearly one hundred practitioners were illegally detained at Taoshuping Detention Center from December 27, 2000 to January 3, 2001. The practitioners went on a collective hunger strike in order to validate Dafa with their lives, to evoke the conscience of the world, and protest the unlawful actions of the police. Actually, some practitioners started their hunger strike protest on December 26 at Longxi. The police sent out a large team to interrogate practitioners, trying to find the "organizer." Practitioners faced them calmly, firmly denounced those shameful beings, and refused to collaborate with any of their demands. Nobody paid attention to or signed the "15-day-detention for disturbance of social order" arrest warrant.
During the hunger strike, practitioners kept on studying the Fa and practicing Falun Gong exercises together. Voices of reciting Dafa books, and experiences sharing could be heard from every detention cell. The atmosphere was stimulating but peaceful.
The cells became quiet on the sixth day of the hunger strike. Practitioners lay down quietly and inspired each other by the expressions in their eyes. Blood oozed from their dry, cracked lips. That was January 1, 2001, a dark cloudy day with sand and dust storms covering most areas of China.
The seventh day of hunger strike was also dark and cloudy. Practitioners were hanging by a thread. Suddenly, a practitioner who just returned from Beijing brought a piece of good news: some Falun Dafa practitioners had heroically unfurled a banner 100 meters long in Tiananmen Square on December 29, among those responsible were practitioners from Lanzhou in Gansu province. Upon hearing this, everybody smiled with tears in their eyes.
On the eighth day of hunger strike, a silver lining appeared in the dark gloomy sky. The practitioners' resolve and their detached view of death had taken its toll on the nerves of the evil. The evil authorities were on the verge of collapse, and after a number of days they finally caved in. In the afternoon of January 3, the police received orders to release practitioners. Though the practitioners looked wasted after the hunger strike, they were full of spirits with victory smiles on their faces. All the police officers, however, though they seemed to so helpless, fearful, and frightened. It is worth noting that, this Taoshuping Detention Center of Lanzhou City was infamous for robbing practitioners' money and possessions. Every one had to pay 18 Yuan (about $2.2) per day for staying there and given only noodle-soup to eat. As the practitioners were leaving, Zhang XX, head of the detention center, guarded the door demanding practitioners to pay for the 15 days' meal. Practitioners explained that they did not eat anything during the eight-day hunger strike and should not have to pay. Zhang XX was exasperated. He forcibly searched the clothes of Ms.Wei in front of everybody and quickly grabbed the money that dropped on the ground. His greed was nauseating.
When the practitioners were putting their lives on line protesting with hunger strikes inside the detention center, other practitioners in Lanzhou were actively providing support for them. They worked even harder to distribute flyers, clarify the truths to the world, and tried their best to take care of the family and children of the practitioners being detained.
The contest between the good and evil on Longhai and Baolan lines ended with Dafa practitioners' triumph. They bore Truth, Compassion, and Forbearance in their hearts, fearlessly faced persecution and death calmly, and spread the truth of the universe to everyone wherever they happened to be. In contrast, Jiang Zemin and his accomplices were fearful to let unarmed citizens speak the truth. They have revealed their hypocrisy regarding "democracy" and "law & Order"; their wickedness and weakness.
At present, the released practitioners are diligently studying the Fa, practicing the exercises, and restoring their strength. Inspired by a higher level of the Fa they had enlightened to during this life and death test, they will soon embark on a new journey to greet the arrival of the new era.
Falun Dafa practitioners in Mainland China
January 5, 2001