(Clearwisdom.net) At noon on July 21, 1999, I suddenly heard the news that a large number of fellow practitioners were being arrested all around the county, among whom were several practitioners whom I was very familiar with.
We practitioners conduct ourselves based on the principles of Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance. I wondered why being a good person is not allowed by the government? I felt I should step up and tell the government the true situation of Falun Gong practitioners. I had no appetite for lunch and got on the bus to the Hubei Provincial Appeals Office, located near Hongshan Square. The Hubei Provincial Appeals Office is located right next door to the Provincial Government Building and is the two-story building with a placard saying "Hubei Provincial Appeals Office." When I arrived I saw many military vehicles parked on the street. The officers were speaking loudly and giving orders to the soldiers in the vehicles. There were also scattered armed police cars on the street. The front gate to the appeals office was already filled with practitioners, who were standing quietly on the sidewalk, leaving a path for people to pass by. The weather was hot and no one was walking around or moving. Looking from afar, I saw practitioners looking calm and composed.
The street in front of the provincial government was locked down and guarded by the police, who were not allowing anyone to enter the building. More practitioners could not stand further away from the government building. These practitioners came from all over the province and their purpose was simply to voice their support for Falun Gong.
I could feel that the atmosphere was grave. Suddenly a sense of solemnity and tragedy came to my heart, as I knew very well about the brutality and inhuman nature of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). I wanted to join the fellow practitioners who were already in the street, but the police would stop anyone, even residents who lived immediately adjacent to the provincial government building. I was familiar with a small lane in the back of the street where the guard would be more lax, so I was finally able to join follow practitioners standing in the street.
The speaker vehicle was driving up and down the street, broadcasting warnings such as "This is an illegal appeal" and telling people to leave. Seeing that their tactics were not working, the speaker vehicle drove away. People from a nearby tall building, the Science and Technology Building near Hongshan Square, opened their windows and looked down curiously at what was happening.
At around 5 o'clock in the afternoon, a large number of armed police officers equipped with shields and batons came to the street where the appeals office was located. They were all shouting slogans.
It was gradually getting dark when several officials from the Appeals Office came out with their portfolio under arms. Seeing they were officials, practitioners approached them to tell them the purpose of our coming here and standing in the street. The officials replied that their appeals would be in vain and they could not help at all with resolving the issue. Then the officials left.
At this time many armed police surrounded us. The street was lined with public transit buses. We were divided and separated by the police until only a narrow path was left open that led to the buses. The police pushed us onto the buses. While I resisted, my hands were immediately forced toward my back by two armed policemen. At the same, my head was pushed down and I was forced onto the bus. At the time, elementary and middle schools were on vacation, so we were taken and detained in various schools. At around one o'clock there were still a large number of practitioners waiting in the park by the street where the provincial government building was located.
The five practitioners who went into the appeals office to negotiate were taken by the authorities to a place in the rural area and dropped off in the middle of nowhere. Some practitioners were detained in police stations, where they were forced to go through repeated overnight interrogations and were released on the evening of the following day.
On July 22, the practitioners from outside of Wuhan City were taken back by their local police and detained until July 23. There were also some practitioners who were released after their names were registered by the authorities.
Based on what I learned from the police, around 7,000 practitioners from all over the province went to the appeals office on July 21.
On July 21, 1999, and later on, practitioners from all the provinces, in addition to Hubei Province, came out to clarify the truth about Falun Gong and to save people from the poison of the government's propaganda.
Coming through ten years of harsh conditions and persecution, Falun Gong practitioners will be even more steadfast in their beliefs and practice of Falun Gong, no matter how frenzied the CCP is. The truth of the brutal persecution will be revealed to the world soon!
July 11, 2009
