(Shared at 2001 Western U.S. Conference)
My name is Zhao Xin. I started to practice Falun Gong in April 1998. I used to be the chief manager of the security department of a foreign bank in China. I read the book Zhuan Falun in 1996. But due to my stubborn human mindset as well as a strong attachment to sentiments, I did not pick up the practice. All I decided to do was to be a good person following the principle of "Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance." More than a year before April 1998, I contracted incurable disease that never showed any signs of improvement, even with vigorous medical treatments. Family problems started to escalate, too. At work, I became increasingly insignificant. My boss started to treat me not as nicely as before. My colleagues also treated me differently. I was besieged with internal and external problems, and felt I'd rather die than go on living this way. As I started to lose faith in life, I was on the verge of committing suicide. Just at this time, I was so fortunate to hear about Falun Gong again. Teacher said: It is a sin to commit suicide. It awakened me. Just as what Teacher said in Lecture Eight of Zhuan Falun: "Many people have practiced qigong for a very long time. There are also people who have never practiced it, but who have pursued and pondered the truth and the meaning of human life. Once they learn our Falun Dafa, they will understand at once many questions in life that they have wished to understand but could not answer." I discovered the true meaning of life, which is to return to one's original true self. Since then, nothing has been able to stop me on the path of cultivation practice. I only regret deeply that I missed the opportunity in 1996. After the Experience Sharing Conference in New York in March 1999, I returned to Mainland China from Los Angeles. On the night of July 22, the Public Security Bureau arrested me in the name of gathering and disturbing public order, and suspicion of being involved with illegal organization. My home was ransacked at the same time. They confiscated my computer, fax machine, tape recorder and Dafa books. I was detained at the provincial detention center the following day. I had to do hard, manual labor there and was interrogated every day. Within just a few days, I had blisters in my hands. One day in the detention center, the Public Security Bureau people brought in someone from the provincial TV station, for an interview to be aired. At that time, four practitioners were detained in that center. Since the main contact person in Hainan Province was arrested on July 20, they fabricated the story that I was the person in charge as the "reserve." I was not aware of the plot at the time. A police asked me: "So you are the number 2?" Suddenly, I became famous though I had no reason to be. In order to find evidence that Falun Gong was organized and should be suppressed, the police made up the story, and made me a so-called famous person. Teacher said in "Dafa will forever be Pure Like Diamond" of Essentials for Further Advancement: "In no period of the future can Dafa be used for any political matters. Dafa can make people's hearts become good, thereby stabilizing society. But by no means is it taught for the purpose of maintaining these things of human society. Disciples, keep in mind that in the future, no matter how much pressure there might be from political and powerful forces, Dafa can never be used by political powers." I declined the interview, and started to spread the Fa. I was straightforward: "I will never be used by politics. I cannot do any propaganda for you." In the end, they compromised, and gave me their word that they would air whatever I said without making any changes or taking anything out of context. At that time, I was the only practitioner in the cell where I stayed, and was completely isolated from the outside. I didn't know the TV station was condemning Falun Gong day and night. I talked about how Falun Dafa pulled me back from the verge of suicide. I talked about the mental and physical changes I experienced after I started the practice. However, two months later, at the end of September, I watched the so-called 'truth of April 25 and July 22" broadcast by Hainan Province TV station. They used the shots of my profile. People could see that I was talking on the screen but could only hear the off-scene narrator's voice saying: "I organized more than 800 people during July 22 and 23 to appeal to the provincial government." They tried to mislead the audience into believing that the appeal was organized, and that the organizer was the woman on TV. Yet, at midnight of July 22, I was taken away from my home by the police. I didn't even know whether people appealed on the 23rd or not. In addition, through the use of an off-screen voice, the narrator said I organized this via fax and telephone. The report did not have any evidence of the detailed process. The telephone and fax machine shown on TV didn't belong to me. The house shown to the audience wasn't mine either. In the picture, there was a long shot in which a woman was walking with a backpack. Even my family was deceived, thinking that it was me. In fact, it was not. The purpose was to claim that I actively contacted others and organized the activities. It was a pack of lies made possible through editing and fabrication. I questioned the director of the Political Security Section of the Public Security Bureau over these untrue segments in the TV documentary. I asked him: "Where did these falsified news come from? Why did you fabricate stories in order to attack (Falun Gong)?" I knew it was a product of their conspiracy and cooperation. They could say nothing but to admit that there were false parts. They said: "TV programs are always like that." Since I personally experienced this, I came to realize what the powerful state propaganda apparatus could and how it works to deceive the public, and those who were not aware of the facts. During the 4 plus months when I was under "house arrest", police officers took turns to watch me 24 hours a day. I could not leave the house, and completely lost my personal freedom. Sometimes, even my family members would be tailed when they went grocery shopping. When fellow practitioners came to visit me, they would be arrested and interrogated. Without Public Security Bureau's permission, no one could visit me. Every day, different district chiefs came to transform me. During this period, they asked me to talk on TV again, and said that would be one of the conditions for them to cancel the order of "house arrest." Otherwise, according to them, I would be thrown back into the detention center. No matter what would happen, I refused to do what they asked. But early in the morning they sent a car to take me to the meeting place. People from the Public Security, police department and government offices all came. My mind was solid like a rock, and refused to cooperate with them. Later, accompanied by police, people from the TV station carried their equipment and broke into my house. I refused to see them and my family drove them away. I would not give them any chance to make up stories. Even so, one day the TV program still announced that I had been transformed. There was no footage, only scripts. Later, when a reporter from a provincial news agency came to interview me in the company of a policeman, I only said: "I decline any type of interview." The reporter asked: "How do you feel about the practice?" and etc. I responded: "I will not tell you anything because when I open my mouth, you will make up fake news. The TV station did just like that last time." Seeing that he couldn't get anything out of me, the reporter left. Yet he still managed to write an article about how I awakened [by renouncing Falun Gong] and published it in the Hainan Daily. One day a police official told me: "You have 'awakened'." I asked: "How did I 'awaken'? How come I don't know about it?" The police said: "It was already published in the paper. You didn't even know that you have 'awakened'?" Another paper, Haikou Evening News, published another article saying I was already "transformed" [to never practice Falun Gong again] and started to condemn the practice. This time, there was not even an attempt to have an interview. I found that article. It basically copied from the Xinhua News Agency and the People's Daily, changing only the name and slapping on the same label. There were 2 group practices on August 8 and September 12, 1999. According to the official count, there were 180 and more than 130 people practicing in the park, respectively. They fabricated the so-called truth of the group practices, and air the lies through TV. The TV program said that Song Yuesheng and 3 other people organized the activities; however, Song was not around at that time. The program accused him of committing the crime of escape. According to Song himself, the police didn't follow any legal procedures when they arrested him. He was interrogated for 2 days, and walked out of the Public Security Bureau in the presence of the security people. Now, because he practiced Falun Gong, and because of the crimes he never committed such as escape and "sabotaging the law implementation and organization of activities," he was sentenced to 12 years in prison. He is now in the Hainan Province Jail. Another practitioner, Chen Yuan, who helped out Song financially, was sentenced to 7 years. The propaganda apparatus always tried to fabricate stories to say we were organized, so it could appear that there was a political agenda. It became their tool of cracking down on Falun Gong. Or they would fabricate news that someone has already been "transformed" or that person even started to condemn the practice. They launch personal attacks and carry out mental torture. They use lies to deceive the innocent people, and force people to condemn and report others. They try to have the people fight among themselves, to sabotage from the outside and then conquer. Despite the fact that many practitioners in China have been detained, the peaceful appeal never stopped. My two sisters unfurled banners at Tiananmen Square. As a result, one was sent to labor camp and the other forced to leave home. Because of Dafa materials, my brother-in-law was also forced to leave home. All of their children and relatives sympathized and understood them. Some helped out financially, some helped distribute Dafa materials, some said he would definitely start to practice Falun Dafa. With tears in his eyes, my nephew said to my sister and me: "You are so remarkable." My brother read Zhuan Falun and other books after the crackdown and started practicing Falun Gong last year. None of them believe the suicide stories as told on TV because Falun Gong enabled me to abandon suicide. It was said on TV that practitioners refused to take medication when they were ill. Yet, I changed from a constant medicine-taker to a person who is disease-free and no longer needs any medication. Lies are lies. They can only temporarily deceive those who don't know the truth. The Fa of the universe is right before our eyes. This is a rare opportunity that doesn't come even in tens of thousands of years. I hope all kind-hearted people will get to know Falun Gong and read Zhuan Falun. The Buddha Fa is right in front of you. I am very fortunate to attend this Fa conference. I deeply understand that every step I took could not have been possible without Teacher's guidance and the constant guidance of Dafa. At the same time, with the help of fellow practitioners, I can have this opportunity to be here. All my fellow practitioners in China know that more practitioners are needed overseas. They told me to leave China as soon as possible. I am thinking about you, who, in the midst of torture and persecution, are still clarifying the truth to the people and saving lives. I cannot forget the hope I saw in your eyes and your trust in me; nor can I ever forget that I should pass your best regards to Teacher. Let's assist Teacher in the human world and make further advancement together during the Fa-rectification process until the day when the reputation of Falun Dafa and our Teacher is restored. Zhao Xin
Category: Experience Sharing Conferences
