Practitioners in Dallas, Texas Celebrate World Falun Dafa Day (Photos)

(Minghui.org) On May 11, Falun Gong practitioners from Dallas held a series of activities at Russell Creek Park in the City of Plano to celebrate the 14^th World Falun Dafa Day.

Group exercises

The peaceful music and movements of practitioners’ group exercises attracted many tourists. Practitioners also shared their experiences of how they benefited from practicing Falun Gong.

Practitioners wish Master Li Hongzhi a happy birthday.

Phil Dyer, the Mayor of Plano, Texas, proclaimed Monday, May 13, 2013 as “Falun Dafa Day” in Plano. The mayor said in the proclamation: “Master Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Dafa, has helped millions across the world to improve their health and moral standards, as well as deepen their understanding of life, humanity and the universe through the practice of Falun Dafa.”

Phil Dyer, Mayor of the City of Plano, Texas, proclaims Monday, May 13, 2013 as “Falun Dafa Day” in Plano.

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CATEGORY: Dafa Day Celebrations

Falun Gong Cures Incurable Diseases When All Hope Fades

(Minghui.org) We are Falun Gong practitioners, and we would like to share a few experiences that show the mighty grace and virtue of Falun Gong.

Falun Gong Saved Me from Incurable Sickness 15 Years Ago

By a practitioner from Hebei Province, China

I am from the Gaolou Town, Sanhe City, Hebei Province. I am 62 years old. Before I practiced Falun Gong, I suffered from many diseases that were considered incurable by medical professionals, such as serious heart disease, hyperthyroidism and painful sciatic nerves. Frequently, I could not sit down and had to stand or lie stiffly. The worst condition that afflicted me was a heart disease that would randomly slow down my heart, jeopardizing my life. Every day I had to take many different medicines.

I went to many hospitals all over Beijing trying to find a cure. The doctors prescribed many different medications, but warned that my life could end at any moment. As a farmer, I became unable to work. My medical treatment drained my family financially and left them in endless grief. I tried several different qigong practices, but they did not help.

When I felt like all hope had faded, I encountered Falun Gong. It was on the sixth day after the Chinese New Year in 1998. One of my relatives who practiced Falun Gong visited me and invite me to attend an experience-sharing conference held by Falun Gong practitioners. I agreed.

As I was listening to the practitioners share their experiences, I found myself free from pain; I did not have to take any medications for nearly 5 hours! In the past, it was absolutely impossible for me to go so many hours without taking any medications. Without them, I could die of heart disease at any moment.

To my surprise, I also could remain seated throughout the conference. Because of the pain from my sciatic nerve, I had not been able to sit for that long for many years. I was very astounded by the power of the practice, so I decided to learn it right away.

After just a few days of practicing Falun Gong, all my illnesses were gone. From then on, I have never taken any medications, and I’ve become healthier and healthier, despite the fact that I was diagnosed with incurable diseases by medical professionals.

It is a phenomenal occurrence that transcends science. My whole family are convinced of the power of Dafa from this experience.

Eight-Year-Long Pleurisy Gone in Days after Practicing Falun Gong

By a practitioner from Hebei Province, China

I am from the Gaolou Town, Sanhe City, Hebei Province. I am 58 years old. Before I practiced Falun Gong, I suffered from serious pleurisy and had water deposits in my chest for 8 years. Often I had to go to the hospital to have the water deposit in my chest drained. I was unable to do any work. It was agonizing.

When I heard of Falun Gong for the first time, I was hospitalized in Beijing. After examining me, the doctor came to the conclusion that I was incurable and needed medicine for the rest of my life. When I heard about Falun Gong, I decided to give it a try.

When I did the Falun Gong exercises with other practitioners, I felt something moving in my back. Then I felt relieved right away.

Several days afterward, I suddenly got a high fever. However, after 30 minutes of doing the Falun Gong exercises, the fever was gone. The next day, the fever came back. In 24 hours, I perspired so much that my bed cover was soaked with sweat. However, I felt quite well.

To my surprise, I could smell a thick odor of medicine in my sweat. I understood that Master was draining all of the medicine that I had taken before out of my body. The next day, the fever was gone and I felt even better.

One day, when I was doing the Falun Gong exercises, I suddenly began to vomit blood, enough to fill a basin. Still, I felt completely well. After that, my pleurisy was gone.

Dafa is truly miraculous!

The Family of a Falun Gong Practitioner Witnesses the Beauty of Dafa

By a family member of a practitioner in China

After the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began its persecution of Falun Gong, my grandmother gave up practicing Falun Gong out of fear that she might be persecuted. Not long after that, she suffered from shingles. It was agonizing and life-threatening. To find a cure, she resorted to many hospitals and spent a lot of money, but to no avail.

Being unable to find a way out, she thought of Falun Gong, believing that only Falun Gong could save her. She then resumed the practice. She recovered from the disease after only a few days of practicing Falun Gong again. Seeing this miracle, all of my family were very supportive of her practice.

Falun Gong also eliminated her temper. She used to be at odds with my mother. They would quarrel every few days, creating a very unpleasant atmosphere in my family. Now she gets along with my mother quite well, like a mother and her own daughter. All of us are very grateful to Dafa and have withdrawn from the CCP and its affiliated organizations.

Granny is very diligent in her efforts of clarifying the facts about Falun Gong to people. Even very bad weather cannot prevent her from doing that. She has even gone to clarify the facts to the police at a police station. All of us admired her so much for her bravery!

Chinese version available

CATEGORY: Health benefits

Recalling the Solitary Confinement Room at Masanjia Forced Labor Camp

May 17, 2013 | By Jin Yao, a Falun Gong practitioner in Liaoning Province

(Minghui.org) I am reluctant to recall my experience at Masanjia Forced Labor Camp because it was a nightmare. After petitioners’ encounters at Masanjia were exposed worldwide recently, I felt shocked. I did not realize that the torture and horrendous treatment of Falun Gong practitioners was also being used on ordinary people.

I had been persecuted at Masanjia as a Falun Gong practitioner. Here are some of my persecution experiences and the things I learned in the small solitary confinement room that I was held in.

1. Iron chair on arrival at Masanjia

On my arrival at Masanjia, I was thrown into a room by several big men. I later learned that it was the jail of Masanjia, on the fourth floor of a building with security. I called out to go to the restroom, but no guards came. I started to do Falun Gong exercises. The guards soon came and said I could go to the restroom. There was an iron chair in the room, to which I was then handcuffed.

Torture Reenactment: Iron Chair

My limbs were fixed to the chair and I couldn’t move; my spine hurt greatly. It was a very painful experience.

However, I was aware of a Falun Gong practitioner who was suffering even more. She went on a hunger strike, and her hands were handcuffed to the two ends of a bench. She was force-fed many times. As a result, she coughed continuously, and she coughed up blood. Her voice became hoarse. The concentrated brine that she was force-fed made her suffer even more. She had not slept for many days because there was a speaker in the room broadcasting loud noise 24 hours a day.

On the second day, after the guards changed shift, I was taken to the No. 1 room, leaving the No. 3 room. Seeing that I was in a lot of pain, the guards released me from the iron chair and I could lie down to sleep. Several days later, a guard named Fan took everything out of the room, and I could only lie down on the floor.

The No. 1 room was the largest among the small solitary rooms. On the morning the beddings were taken away, Falun Gong practitioner Zhou Hua was detained there. Several hours later, she went to the restroom but did not return, because the guards had heard us exchange messages through their monitoring system. From then on, I learned that I was being monitored continuously.

2. Force-feeding

One day, a group of people wearing white uniforms went to the room next door. I listened carefully and realized that they were force-feeding someone. So I understood that whenever the speaker became louder, it was because the force-feeding crew had come. The loud noise was used to cover-up the screaming of the victims. When guards were doing evil deeds, Falun Gong practitioners would call out, “Falun Dafa is good!” The guards were then left feeling uneasy. This is what I heard from the guards.

Torture reenactment: Force-feeding (drawing)

Someone was stalking the corridor, and even watched me through the window. I muted the speaker, so that I could hear the guards talking. I thought, “Fellow practitioners are being persecuted, I cannot just turn a blind eye.” Whenever those people came to do evil deeds, I would call out, “Stop persecuting Falun Gong. Force-feeding is harmful.” Someone said, “We are trying to rescue her life, or else she would starve to death.” I said, “Doctors should help the wounded and dying people. We are innocent and being persecuted. You are helping the persecutors to do evil deeds.” A while later, the guard on duty came and handcuffed me to a bench near the window.

A practitioner in the next room had a weak heart. The continuous noise from the speaker every day made her feel extremely uncomfortable, plus every day force-feeding and handcuffing. At 10 p.m. one day, she could not stand it any longer, and hit her head against the door continuously. The guard on duty found her and called others to take her to the hospital.

Practitioners who were in the solitary rooms usually went on hunger strikes. Later, I learned that those people who did the force-feeding were actually guards, not doctors at all. Once when they force-fed practitioner Xia Yulan, they inserted the tube into her trachea. I heard Xia struggle with all her effort in the iron chair. She said with an unclear voice that the tube was inserted into the trachea. The guards then inserted the tube again. Xia was almost smothered. I could hear the sounds of force-feeding every day. My heart felt anxious all the time.

3. Room doors

When the practitioner hit the door with her head, I knew she would not harm herself, because the door was covered with thick foam. In order to persecute Falun Gong, the Chinese Communist Party spent a huge amount of money on building the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp.

When I was detained at the forced labor camp, the weather was cold. But guard Guan Liying took away my cotton-padded jacket.

When I felt very cold, I saw that the leather below the door was broken, so I took out the foam inside and inserted it into my clothes. The faom was 5 cm thick, and the quality was very good. I did not understand why the door was like that. As time went by, I understood that it was for sound proofing.

When the guards found the foam on me, they got angry, “You destroy public belongings. You should pay for it.” I said, “I asked you to give me back my jacket, but you would not. Please go and tell my family that I am still alive and where I am.” The guards were infuriated.

4. Rooms without windows

I was moved to several different rooms. This particular room had no window, which was a room inside a room, specially used to persecute people who would not listen to the guards.

My health was good, but once I got into this room, I felt like I had entered a plateau, because the air was very thin. The length of the room was a little longer than the straw mattress, so the door could not be opened widely. When I lay down along the width of the room, my head was next to the wall, and my feet reached the wall on the other end, but my legs had to lift high, even though I am less than 1.6 m (5’2”) tall.

I stayed there for half a day. As the guards could not see me in the monitor, because I was lying down next to the slot under the door, they later moved me to the No. 1 room again.

The above is just a little of my experience in Masanjia in 2005. After I got out of Masanjia and saw the support of righteous people, I really appreciated them.

I hope we can make efforts together to stop the persecution of Falun Gong by the Chinese Communist Party. Without truthfulness-compassion-tolerance, we could not live on this planet.

Chinese version available

CATEGORY: Accounts of Persecution

Mr. Chen Guangchang Persecuted by Qingdao Railroad Police

May 17, 2013 | By a Minghui correspondent from Shandong Province, China

(Minghui.org) On April 25, 2013, the Qingdao City Railroad Domestic Security Division in Shandong Province announced that it would “monitor the living” Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Chen Guangchang.

The so-called “monitor the living” clause is a severely limiting measure. The person being monitored is not allowed to leave home unless he has permission from the authorities. For example, he cannot go to buy groceries, pick up children, or even go to work without explicit permission. As such, this illegal action by the Railroad Public Security Section basically took away Mr. Chen and his family’s right to work and live normally.

Mr. Chen is a lawyer from the Yushi Law Firm in Shandong Province. While on a business trip on April 24, 2012, he was illegally arrested by the Qingdao Railroad Domestic Security Division. Three days later, he was released on bail, with a trial pending.

On June 5, 2012, he was again arrested by the Domestic Security Division while on a business trip, and was released the same night. During these two arrests, police confiscated Falun Gong books, 3,000 yuan in cash, 5,000 yuan bail fee, 5,000 yuan that belonged to Mr. Chen’s law firm, an iPhone, four other cell phones, three computers, two hard drives, several USB drives, printers, MP3s, binding machines, and paper cutting knifes.

Most of these items were needed by Mr. Chen and his family for their work and daily life. Up to now, only the four cell phones and the 5,000 yuan belonging to the law firm have been returned.

On April 25, 2013, as the 12-month “waiting for trial” period, allowed by law, was about to expire, the Domestic Security Division announced the beginning of the “monitor the living” paradigm for Mr. Chen.

Mr. Chen’s wife is unemployed and their child is only 9 years old. Since Mr. Chen’s mother passed away at the beginning of 2013, his 83-year-old father lives with them. The entire family lives on Mr. Chen’s income. Now, since Mr. Chen cannot leave home to work, the entire family has no financial means to support themselves.

Parties involved in the persecution:

Qingdao Railroad 610 Office:Tian Longpei, director: +86-532-2978760
Qingdao Railroad Police:Luan Jun: +86-532-82977318

Dongfeng Police Station Police:
Zhang Yongcheng, director: +86-531-85086436, +86-15505311167 (Cell)
Gao Hongbo, responsible for the Putaoyuan Residential District, where Mr. Chen resides: +86-531-85086435, +86-13869137723 (Cell)

Putaoyuan Residential District:
Zhang, director: +86-15264109556 (Cell)
Han, director: +86-13465906760 (Cell)

Chinese version available

CATEGORY: Accounts of Persecution

From the April 25 Peaceful Appeal to the Populace Opposing the Persecution

May 11, 2013 | By Zhongyan

(Minghui.org) The following words are from the blog of a Chinese lawyer who pleaded not guilty for his Falun Dafa practitioner clients. “For fourteen years, they have endured the pain of being separated from their wives and children. They have had their families broken apart and they have had to watch the death of their family members; but they do not give up their belief. For fourteen years, they have been living in terror for fear of being arrested, of being tortured, of being thrown into a labor camp, of being sentenced to prison, but they do not give up hope. For fourteen years, they have faced ignorance and indifference from the people who are being deceived, but they do not have resentment. For fourteen years, they have been robbed, bullied, and their homes have been ransacked, but they do not choose violent protests. You may not know them, but they live around us. In an autocratic country, we all live together and share the same fate.” The “they” he referred to in his blog are none other than Falun Gong practitioners.

Fourteen years ago on April 25, 1999, when faced with injustice and suppression, approximately 10,000 practitioners of Falun Gong peacefully and rationally clarified the truth to the government and public, and appealed for the basic right to exercise their beliefs. For fourteen years the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) gang of four, Jiang (Zemin)-Luo (Gan)-Liu (Zijun)-Zhou (Yongkang), have been persecuting practitioners; while the practitioners have been adhering to their beliefs, and peacefully and rationally opposing the persecution through clarifying the truth to the public.

Falun Gong became a touchstone. The morality and conscience of every individual, every organization, and even every government in the world is being tested. The attitude shown towards the universal principles of Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance is the test.

“Fingerprints on a Petition” Start a Trend, People Break from Fear and Choose Justice

The Mainland Chinese people are the victims of this ongoing, cruel persecution. The CCP Jiang-Luo-Liu-Zhou gang have continually lied and spread hatred, beginning by labeling the April 25 appeal a “siege.” They later staged the Tiananmen Square self-immolation hoax that deceived more than a billion Chinese people.

Practitioners have been tenacious about clarifying the truth for years. Many Chinese people have been able to walk away from the deception and terror. Once they learn the truth, opposing the persecution becomes inevitable. Recently, more than 5,600 people in Qinglong Manchu Autonomous County, Hebei Province, signed an appeal letter for the immediate release of practitioner Mr. Cui Aijun. In Jiamusi, Heilongjiang Province, 1,005 people fingerprinted a petition asking for the release of practitioners, Mr. Lin Zehua and Mr. Zhang Puhe.

In February 2012, representatives from 300 families fingerprinted an appeal letter for the release of practitioner Mr. Wang Xiaodong. Mr. Wang’s sister Ms. Wang Xiaomei, also known as Ms. Wang Fengru, wrote the appeal letter. The letter also had the village committee official seal.

On February 26, 2011, people in Yichun, Heilongjiang Province were shocked by the news that practitioner Mr. Qin Yueming, who was serving a 10-year prison term for practicing Falun Gong, was tortured to death. Within two weeks, more than 15,000 people signed or fingerprinted a petition to support his daughter, Ms. Qin Rongqian, in her appeal for justice for her father.

Chinese Lawyers Appeal for Falun Gong

The Chinese judiciary system has become a tool used by the CCP to suppress Falun Gong, and there have been many cases of miscarriage of justice. Although a lawyer will face persecution when pleading the innocence of a practitioner, more and more lawyers are defending the rights of the practitioners to receive justice. When the attorneys learned that for fourteen years practitioners have adhered to their faith and have peacefully resisted the persecution, they step up and speak out for practitioners.

According to the Minghui website, there were many lawyers that submitted an innocent plea for practitioners in April 2013. Beijing lawyer, Mr. Wang Quanzhang, was detained for submitting an innocent plea for practitioner Mr. Zhu Yanian. When the police and the court disregarded the rule of law, this angered those in the legal profession as well as upright citizens. The citizens quickly formed a rescue group. 256 lawyers signed a joint letter asking for the immediate release of Mr. Wang. At the same time, dozens of lawyers and citizens from around the country rushed to the Jingjiang City Court, and directly appealed to the local government and the detention center. The court backed down under the force of public opinion, and Mr. Wang was released in the early morning on April 6, 2013.

Practitioners were tried on April 12, 2013, by the Dalian Middle Court in Liaoning Province for installing antennas that had the capacity to receive New Tang Dynasty TV broadcasts from overseas. Five lawyers from Beijing were about to submit an innocent plea for their clients when the court retaliated. The lawyers are going to file a lawsuit to a higher procuratorate for their illegal detention and the retaliation shown by the court.

Former CCP Officers Stop Persecuting Practitioners, Wave of Withdrawal from CCP Shows People’s Hearts

Many CCP officers who still have a conscience have abandoned their trust in the CCP after learning the truth. Some of them have chosen to defect to free, democratic nations, where they publicly declare their withdrawal from the CCP and disclose the truth to the world. Among them are the former deputy director of the Shenyang Police Department who was also the director of the Shenyang Judiciary Bureau, Mr. Han Guangsheng; former consul for political affairs in the Chinese consulate of Sydney, Australia, Mr. Chen Yonglin; former officer of the Tianjin 610 Office, Mr. Hao Fengjun.

In recent years, many people, including CCP officers in the judiciary system, have abandoned the CCP and its affiliations through public withdrawal. As of April 21, 2013, there have been 136,799,116 Chinese people who have publicly withdrawn membership from the CCP and its affiliations.

International Society Strengthens Its Voice in Opposing the Persecution

From the time the CCP began to persecute practitioners, practitioners have been clarifying the truth to the public overseas. To support the practitioners in China, citizens from different countries have been using various means to tell the facts about the persecution while collecting signatures of those who oppose the persecution.

About 500,000 Canadians signed a petition in May 2011, asking their government to urge the Chinese regime to stop the persecution. In 2005, before a Chinese high-ranking official was to visit Canada, practitioners submitted a petition with nearly 150,000 signatures to the Canadian Prime Minister. The Canadian Press reported that before the 2006 election, the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China was one of the top three topics of letters received by the Prime Minister’s office.

On March 16, 2010, the U.S. House of Representatives passed Resolution 605 which called for the Chinese regime to immediately cease and desist from its campaign to persecute, intimidate, imprison, and torture Falun Gong practitioners; and to immediately release Falun Gong practitioners. It also called upon the President and members of Congress to express solidarity with those practitioners in China persecuted solely because of their personal beliefs. In addition, the resolution called for immediately abolishing the 610 Office, an extrajudicial security apparatus given the mandate to “eradicate” Falun Gong.

After a report found that the Communist regime harvested organs from live Falun Gong prisoners, people around the world condemned this “new form of evil yet to be seen on this planet.” In December 2012, a petition with 166,000 signatures from people living in 36 countries was submitted to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to stop organ harvesting.

Discard Any Fantasy that the CCP Can Change

After the April 25, 1999 incident, and even more so after the publication of theNine Commentaries on the Communist Party, people became clearer on the evil nature of the CCP. Recent reports on the torture of women practitioners in the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp in Shenyang, helped to shed light on the heinous torture methods used in the labor camp system and to persecute practitioners of Falun Gong.

The Communist regime formed an investigation group to look into the accusations and cover up any evidence of crimes that occurred at Masanjia Labor Camp. The leaders of this investigation group are Zhang Fan and Zhang Chaoying. They are the thugs who persecuted practitioners in Liaoning Province. Zhang Chaoying was the former director of the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp. Having a criminal investigate his own crime shows the evilness and absurdity of the CCP.

For over fourteen years the CCP has committed crimes against humanity and this will bring doom to the evil party.

Nearly 10,000 practitioners appealed in Beijing fourteen years ago and what the public witnessed was rationality, peacefulness, and a high level of self-discipline. The hope for China is to have heaven’s blessing and a better future brought about by the rebirth of ancient morality and the adherence to kindness.

Chinese version available

CATEGORY: Opinion & Perspective