PureInsight | August 11, 2008
[PureInsight.org] Exactly nine years have now passed.
During this lengthy, yet brief period of time, I witnessed the growth
of an infant from his birth. I also saw many things happen in society
and saw fellow practitioners around me become more compassionate and
rational.
Many times, I have thought of writing down what happened that summer,
to leave a record for children of the future. I want to let them know
what happened in China during that period of time - the summer of 1999.
Previously, whenever I tried to start writing, my mind became quiet, as
if Gods were as quiet as me, and I kept these memories buried deep in
my heart. Time passed by quickly like this, day after day and year
after year.
Today, I found that this deeply buried memory has awakened, vividly
displaying a beautiful movie in front of me. I also saw that, one day
in the future, children will ask us to tell them what happened in the
summer of 1999.
Today I will describe what I experienced during that summer,
faithfully, to leave it to the future. This is not fiction, but a true
story.
In July 1999, came the "a great King of Terror."
After the peaceful appeal outside Zhongnanhai on April 25, 1999, the
evil started its massacre. On July 18, many practitioners I knew were
illegally arrested and many went missing. In my area, there was a
notice from the authorities to suspend the practice of Falun Gong.
On the morning of July 18, many of us went to the city government and
then to the provincial government to appeal. There we met police who
treated us peaceful practitioners as enemies. They used weapons to
separate us, then used weapons to forcefully push us around. Among us
were pregnant women, children, and the elderly. They were all very
peaceful. We just wanted to tell the government that it was absolutely
wrong to ban practicing Falun Gong, let alone arrest us. We hoped the
government could hear our voices from our hearts and correct their
mistakes.
The large speaker on the police van kept broadcasting at high volume
that we were disturbing social order. A policeman violently pushed down
an elderly lady, who then could not get up for a long time. I went up
to him and looked him in the eye and said, "What gives you the
authority to treat people like this? Don't you also have parents,
grandparents, and siblings?" That policeman did not dare to look back,
but rather continued to grab a pregnant woman. Seeing all this, it
suddenly reminded me of the Cultural Revolution. I did not experience
it myself, but heard about it from my parents. Seeing all this
happening in front of me, I felt as if the clock had been turned back
to that inhuman era described by my parents...
I continually pulled away practitioners from the hands of the police,
and I blocked the police batons targeting fellow practitioners. At the
same time, my heart felt as if it was being torn apart. In the end, one
policeman stopped and said to us, "It is useless for you to be here.
The provincial government will not hear your request at all. If you
want to appeal, go to Beijing!"
Several of us looked at each other. In less than a second, we all decided to go to Beijing to appeal.
At that time, I was working for a major media. That morning, I had left
early in the morning and didn't go to work. Then I thought, "It might
work out if I do not tell my family members, but at work, there are
things waiting for me to do. Even if I don't go there, I have to ask
for leave." So I called my manager, and he said that he was wondering
where I had been that morning - I was always at work during work hours.
We had a brief conversation over the phone:
"Go to Beijing? Why do you want to go to Beijing?"
"Because innocent people have been arrested here, and our practice is
banned without any reason. Police told us that only by going to Beijing
could we resolve this issue. We are all good people, and should not be
mistreated like this. You know, I have changed a lot since practicing
Falun Gong."
"Yes, yes, I know. You Falun Gong practitioners are good people. But if
you go to Beijing like this, most likely you will get in trouble. How
can I tell your family?"
"Since I came to work here, have I ever been late for work or left early?"
"No, you are always here on time and help us so much. Without you, the department could not have made it to where it is today."
"Then, I need to take several days off. Otherwise, I may have to quit."
Because time was so limited, I could not talk to my manager in detail.
Later, I learned that in order to protect me the manager not only hid
this information from my family, but also from all my coworkers, until
I returned safely.
That day, we bought first class tickets, since all the tickets were
sold out except for first class. Later, we heard that police went to
the airport and checked the IDs of everyone except for those in first
class. Thus, we made good time in the airport and arrived in Beijing
smoothly.
At that time, there were three of us practitioners traveling together.
As I look back, nine years have passed in no time. Because of the
persecution, we are now separated in different countries, and I am the
only one still in China. But I know that despite this, on the path of
cultivation, we have not separated from each other.
I remember that throughout the flight each one of us was very serious.
I remember sitting in the seat with tears running down my face. They
were not tears from my eyes, but from my heart. I kept saying in my
heart again and again, "This is the universal truth, the Buddha Law.
How can people treat it like this?"
In summer of 1999, it was very hot. The entirety of Beijing was almost
burning. It was almost evening when we arrived there. From morning to
evening, it seemed like a very long time, as if a century had passed.
(To be continued)
July 21, 2008
Translated from: http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2008/7/21/53948.html
