PureInsight | May 10, 2004
Chapter 17: New Friends On The Way Home
[PureInsight.org] Well sure enough I finally got to the back of the plane to take my seat and to my pleasant surprise there was Chinese man seated next to me. He looked like he was in his mid-thirties. His name was Gong Shi and his English was pretty good and with my weak Chinese we enjoyed quite a lengthy and serious discussion. After the basic pleasantries of introduction and a few small jokes, I told him who I was and what had happened to me in China. He then replied a little bit shocked,
Gong Shi: You practice Falun Gong!?!
Zenon: Yes, for three and a half years.
Then I proceeded to explain how I found it, how it enlightened my life and how I have traveled the world meeting many Falun Gong practitioners. Then he began to tell how China felt about Falun Gong. At this point I asked him if he knew what the 6.10 Office was?
Gong Shi: Yes.
Then I was a little bit shocked.
Gong Shi: If a manager in a state-owned company in China has subordinates who practice Falun Gong he can get fined money by the 6.10 Office if he doesn't stop his employee from practicing. If the employee doesn't stop they are fired.
Zenon: Yes I know. Did you know that the 6.10 Office has offices at the federal, provincial, municipal and even at the county level throughout China? They don't only use the work units to control the people but they expel students from elementary school, high school and university.
He nodded his head in agreement and I continued,
Zenon: They use mental hospitals, labour camps, the military, the public security, detention centers, and even offer monetary rewards to citizens for their help in the persecution. The 6.10 uses every part of the society to persecute innocent Falun Gong practitioners in China. They have even used the officials in Chinese Consulates around the world to spread hatred and even persecute citizens of other nations who practice Falun Gong.
Gong Shi: The Chinese government is really afraid.
Zenon: I don't think it is the entire government. You have to remember that for seven years Falun Gong was practiced all over China. Many people know it is good and know that Falun Gong practitioners are good people. It is the Chairman himself who established this office with the sole purpose of "wiping out" Falun Gong.
He then began to question me about the self-immolation incident in Tiananmen Square. Then I realized the power of propaganda. Even though he new suppression was wrong, if he and the millions of others think Falun Dafa is bad then they don't care about any persecution. He was clearly a reasonable man so when I began to explain all the facts to him telling him it was staged, he quietly nodded in agreement when he could hear about all of the gaping holes in their story. Then he asked me about the April 25th incident in 1999 when 10 000 Falun Dafa practitioners surrounded Zhongnanhai, the main government compound in Beijing.
Zenon: That happened because Falun Dafa practitioners were beaten and arrested in Tianjin (a city just outside Beijing) for doing nothing but peacefully appealing for a newspaper to reverse lies printed about Falun Gong. When Falun Dafa practitioners heard about it they went to their local appeal office, which told them they had to go to Beijing. This is why so many people went to Beijing in the first place. Then because there were so many people at the appeal office in Beijing they were told to line up around Zhongnanhai. When they were there nobody talked, there were no signs or slogans and when they were all told to go home after speaking with some officials about their concerns everyone left and went home. They even picked up garbage and the cigarette butts left from the police. The sidewalk was cleaner then when they had arrived.
He just kept nodding and listening so I continued talking.
Zenon: We are not against China or the government, we just want to stop the persecution. Cultivation is part of Chinese history, its part of the culture. To attack it is attacking the culture and now the Chairman is using the entire society to do this terrible thing. This is why the Chairman is pure evil.
Over the course of my talking his face was getting more and more serious. Chinese people are very introverted and can hide their emotions but by the time I was done there was no hiding the sadness in his heart. Seeing that he could see the truth I was happy for him but I didn't want him to feel at a complete loss. So I began to tell him how great his culture was and that it was my favorite culture in the world, with such a miraculous history, we can't let it get roughened. He agreed with a silent quick double head nod.
Then I heard a man in the seat behind me speaking in Chinese, so I pulled out a Falun Dafa flyer that I got from one of the Vancouver practitioners. I kneeled up on my seat and faced the back of the plane looking at the man:
Zenon: Excuse me sir, would like a Falun Dafa flyer?
He took it and squinted his eyes to look at the paper.
Man: Oh, no thank you. I get these in China.
Zenon: That's not a funny joke, Mister.
Man: No. I am serious I read Falun Dafa flyers in China.
Then my heart was deeply touched as I remembered my fellow practitioners in China. They are not only refraining from fighting back and not even swearing back. Yet they still risk their lives to help people. If caught handing out such literature to inform people of the truth of how Falun Gong is persecuted and its true nature, they could be arrested or tortured. Some practitioners have even been killed by "authorities" for posting flyers on poles. I looked at this man with enthusiasm.
Zenon: You know Falun Dafa is good, right?
Man: Yes.
Zenon: Falun Dafa practitioners in China are really amazing to be so courageous and compassionate.
Man: Yes they are.
By this time we had started to get the attention of the surrounding people so I began telling them about the situation and this man kept affirming what I was saying to the people. It was really quite special. Between meals I basically talked to the people around me. Then before I knew it we were approaching Pearson International Airport. I was coming home but I wasn't really happy. After speaking to those men on the plane I couldn't get China out of my head. The one policewoman? I could understand very well. I couldn't make it clear to her and it really pained my heart. But now that I was home there was nothing I could do about it.
Once I arrived at the exit I could see everyone through the glass waiting for me smiling and holding up signs. Front and centre stood my mother and sister. Right when the glass doors slid open I gave them each a big hug. Once I found my brother and father in the crowd, I headed straight for them and gave them each a big bear hug. After receiving some flowers I turned around to face the media.
By this time I was little more prepared and wasn't really taken back by any of the questioning. I just tried to make it clear that if the Chinese authorities were willing to treat foreigners like that in public how bad it must be for the Chinese Falun Dafa practitioners when they are behind closed doors. The whole thing was pretty quick. After I posed for some photographs I left with my family.
