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Interview: Clarifying the Truth to Chinese People Abroad

Aug. 11, 2006

(Clearwisdom.net) An older couple, Mr. Yang and his wife Pan, living in Bern, Switzerland, began practicing Falun Gong in 1998. After the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began persecuting Falun Gong, they seized every opportunity to clarify the truth about the persecution of Falun Gong to every Chinese person they came across. The Minghui correspondent interviewed Ms. Pan, who is in her late 60s. She tells her story below.

Correspondent: Hello, Ms. Pan, how did you start practicing Falun Gong?

Pan: I used to practice Taoist qigong for five decades, but I was still sick from numerous illnesses. Neither qigong nor doctors could help me. I began practicing Falun Gong in November 1998 and was a new person seven weeks later. My body was light because I was free of illnesses, and I deeply felt the beauty and power of Dafa. After July 20, 1999, the CCP blanketed the earth with persecution and suppression against Falun Gong, which I think is absolutely wrong. So, I stepped forward to clarify the truth to people, because I want Falun Gong’s reputation to be restored, and I want Teacher’s reputation to be restored.

Correspondent: When did you begin to clarify the truth to Chinese people?

Pan: Geneva hosted a human rights conference [at the UN headquarters] in the spring of 2000. The Chinese consular officials didn’t know that I practice Falun Gong, so someone from the Chinese consulate called me and said, "You and Mr. Yang are well educated overseas Chinese."

Correspondent: What is the highest level of education you and Mr. Yang have completed?

Pan: Both of us have bachelor’s degrees. The person calling from the Chinese consulate said, "I want you to attend a press conference that criticizes Falun Gong." I said, "Let me be honest with you. I practice Falun Gong. You all know that I used to be sick, but now I’m completely healthy. Dafa gave me a wonderful life. I cannot betray my conscience. You are asking me to attend a conference that attacks Falun Gong and say that Falun Gong is bad; that’s immoral!" I talked to him and some other Chinese consular officials for more than 40 minutes.

Correspondent: So this was the first time you clarified the truth to Chinese people? How did you continue to clarify the truth to Chinese people?

Pan: Afterwards, I often clarified the truth by attending parties. I have some friends who introduced me to their friends. Some came here from Mainland China to work, and some came here to visit their relatives. I used these opportunities to clarify the truth to them, talk to them about the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party and ask them to quit the CCP, the Young Pioneers and the Communist Youth League.

For example, one person who came to Switzerland was the general manager of a large company in China. When I clarified the truth to him, I said, "Do you know that more than 10 million people have quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations? The Communist party has killed more than 80 million people since 1949, and is still killing people now. Nearly 3,000 Falun Gong practitioners’ deaths from persecution have been confirmed." I told him about the beauty of Falun Gong, starting with my own personal life changes. Considering my experiences he thought Falun Gong is indeed miraculous. He said that the CCP has crossed the line by persecuting Falun Gong.

I told him that the CCP is really brutal because it harvests organs from living Falun Gong practitioners and sells them for profit. He was really shocked to hear it. He asked, "Why are they so cruel toward our own people?" I said, "The CCP does things that infuriate people and the gods alike. The heavens will eliminate it if people don’t do it. You should quickly quit the Party so you won’t be affected when the heavens eliminate the CCP." He said, "Let me think about it." I said, "Read the Nine Commentaries over carefully after you go home."

After he finished reading the Nine Commentaries, he asked to see me and said, "Ma’am, please help me quit the Party, all three of the organizations. Please, also help my girlfriend quit it." He said, "My older brother and his wife used to work for the 610 Office. One time when they brought Falun Gong practitioners back from Beijing who had gone there to appeal, one of the Falun Gong practitioners was a professor. The whole section of the train was listening to him when he clarified the truth [about Falun Gong]. Even my brother and his wife were so focused on his words that they forgot what they were supposed to go. After they went back they said, ‘We won’t do this job anymore. We’ll tell our superiors that we are sick.’" I said to him, "Not only have you learned the truth and you have quit the Party, you also have the opportunity to do a great thing. After you go home, tell your brother and his wife about the Nine Commentaries and help them quit the Party." He said, "Yes, I’ll try my best to convince them."

Correspondent: Right now, an increasing number of Chinese tourists are visiting Europe. Do you see some Chinese tourists in Switzerland as well?

Pan: After the Swiss government loosened controls over Chinese tourist visas, more and more Mainland Chinese tourists are visiting Switzerland. Almost 200 people from China visit Luzern each day. I go there every day to clarify the truth. It takes two hours roundtrip by train. I always go there, rain or shine.

Some Chinese tourists really want to take truth clarification materials; some people want them but are afraid to take them. Once, when a group of people got off a bus, one person really wanted the materials. He shouted right after he stepped off the bus, "Is it Falun Gong?" I said, "Yes, I have information on Falun Gong, and I also have the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party." He said, "I’ll take one." He shouted [to the other tourists on the bus], "What? Why are you afraid to take it?" Other people started taking the materials after he shouted these words. After they took the materials they flipped through them and found copies of the Nine Commentaries. Several tourists exchanged a look and put the Nine Commentaries in their bags. They read the truth clarification newspapers and Dafa materials immediately.

Correspondent: Have you ever met anyone with a really bad attitude?

Pan: Yes. One man was a police officer from Mainland China. He said, "Don’t say those things to me. Do you know what I do?" I said, "I don’t care what you do. You can be a good person regardless of your job." He said, "I’m a cop. I arrest people." He was standing next to a watch shop and said, "Do you know that I can handcuff you with a watch chain?" I said, "Don’t you try to scare me. I’m really trying to help you. You would be committing a crime if you arrest good people. You are a cop, you should protect good people." He said, "Get away from me then!" I said, "Switzerland is a free country, and our right to practice Falun Gong is protected by law. This is not China! Judging from your behavior, you really need to read the Nine Commentaries well. If you read the Nine Commentaries, you’ll know what the CCP is really all about." He said, "All of us here today are police officers."

I saw the other people, so I went to them and handed them truth clarification materials. I was surprised when some of them took the materials. Another practitioner told a police officer how he changed after he started practicing Falun Gong. The police officer said, "Yes, we know that. Falun Gong has miraculous healing powers, and it’s great! If you think it’s good, you should practice at home! Why do you have to come out here?" The other practitioner said, "Because the persecution is wrong! Falun Gong is being wronged! You know we are appealing for Falun Gong. We are telling people the facts." The others listened to us and accepted the truth. This incident happened in the past few days.

Correspondent: Thank you, Ms. Pan.

Actually, it’s not only Falun Gong practitioners in Switzerland who are clarifying the truth to Chinese people. It’s possible for Chinese tourists to run into Falun Gong practitioners who would hand them truth clarification materials in more than 80 countries around the world, including China. What Ms. Pan does, clarifying the truth, is actually happening daily in different parts of the world. Unless the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong stops, these voices of truth-clarification will not stop!