(Minghui.org)
Master said:
“Exposing the wicked policemen and bad persons and publicizing their evil deeds is extremely effective at shocking and restraining those irrational, wicked people. At the same time, by clarifying the facts to the people on a local level it most directly exposes, and generates public awareness of, the wicked persecution. It is also a great way to save the people who have been poisoned and deceived by the lies. I hope all Dafa disciples and new students in mainland China will do this well.” (“Comment on a Student’s Article” in The Essentials of Diligent Progress Vol III)
Many of our local practitioners have been detained and sentenced since the onset of the persecution in 1999. I broke through my fear and have been involved in rescuing them. Through the process, I have matured, and my realm has been elevated.
I was very sympathetic to the practitioners who were arrested, but it was ordinary sympathy. I tried to rescue them out of a sense of wanting justice for them. Gradually, I became more compassionate and developed the heart to do things purely for others. I can feel that Master is protecting me every minute.
By studying the Fa steadily and with Master's help, I realized that stepping forward to rescue practitioners was not as hard as I had originally thought. As long as my purpose and perspective were upright, Master had the final say.
I tried my best to rescue the practitioners whether I knew them or not. Being selfless is in line with the standard of the new cosmos. We can break through the arrangements of the old forces when we are selfless.
I would like to share how I explained the facts to the police and legal departments while rescuing practitioners.
A local practitioner was arrested in 2009, and her family’s computer was confiscated. Her husband’s important files and blueprints for work were stored in the computer. I encouraged her husband to demand that the Domestic Security Division give their computer back. He was reluctant because he knew how dangerous the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is.
We invited a practitioner whose son had been released after she clarified the truth to the local legal departments. The husband finally agreed to visit the legal departments with us. This was the first time that local practitioners cooperated with one another to clarify the truth to the police and legal offices.
I couldn’t sleep the night before our visit, beset by an unnamed fear. I had been persecuted in a detention center and knew how brutal some of the police officers and guards treated practitioners. One local practitioner was sentenced because she demanded her that the Domestic Security Division return her belongings. I trembled all night long.
My legs were still trembling outside the Security Division office the next day. The other practitioners did not seem to have any fear. I calmed down some while I waited, but my fear disappeared completely when I started to talk to the chief of the Division.
I asked him why he put good people in prison. I told him that over 800 police officers who had persecuted good people during the Cultural Revolution were secretly executed in a remote area after the Culture Revolution was over. I suggested he might not want to end up in the same situation. His hands shook after I said that, and he started to pace back and forth.
He gave us his phone number. The practitioner whose computer was confiscated called him several times. The computer was returned.
This incident increased our confidence in clarifying the truth to the police and legal departments. We have told them the facts many times and had good results.
Two local practitioners were arrested in 2011. We hired two lawyers from Beijing to defend them in court. The practitioners placed much hope in their lawyers, but they were still each sentenced to five years in prison.
We thought about why they were sentenced and realized that we had not thoughly clarified the truth to the local legal community. After reading articles on the Minghui website about explaining the truth to lawyers, I was inspired to do the same in our area. I discussed this with our local coordinator, who encouraged me to take the first step.
Two practitioners and I went to visit law firms, while other practitioners sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the old forces preventing the lawyers from understanding the truth. We brought copies of the five-year sentences and a letter of complaint that we had written. We visited lawyers with the intention of hiring someone for the appeal.
One of the lawyers was very angry after reading the verdict. “This judge is unreasonable,” he said. “The Falun Gong practitioners did nothing wrong, yet he sentenced them to five years.”
He encouraged another lawyer to accept our case, but that lawyer was afraid to to do so. However, he praised the Beijing lawyers for their courage.
More local practitioners joined our team, and we visited many law firms and explained the facts to many attorneys. Local practitioners were greatly encouraged and asked to join our team.
Local practitioners discussed what to do about the chief of the Domestic Security Division and the chief judge. We decided to publicize their deeds with posters. We put their photos, names, addresses, places of work, and how they had persecuted Falun Gong practitioners on the posters. Practitioners put up the posters in the residential areas where the responsible parties lived.
We told them by phone why we had done this and hoped that they would no longer persecute practitioners because doing so was destroying their futures.
The judge felt the pressure and complained about the 610 Office, which has pushed him to sentence practitioners. He was angry that he was on the list of persecutors. He said that he would no longer preside over Falun Gong cases. The judge soon changed jobs and was no longer involved in the persecution.
The chief of the Domestic Security Division ignored us and continued his crimes. He contracted a severe illness and is no longer able to work.
I realized through this experience that it is an act of practitioners’ compassion to expose these people’s terrible deeds so that they will no longer persecute practitioners and will have the opportunity to be saved.
A practitioner was arrested in July 2014. We found out that she was detained at the local police station. I went to the station with another practitioner to talk to the officers.
While we were there, three plainclothes officers came in. One of them looked like their leader. He told the others to take me away. I went up to him and said, “Hold on. Please give me ten minutes. I'd like to talk to you.” He agreed.
We sat down on a bench. I said, “Falun Gong practitioners are all good people. The prison should not detain good people, should it? The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) shifts the responsibility after a wave of persecution is over. It has been doing that ever since it came to power. For example, after the Cultural Revolution, over 800 police officers who persecuted good people were executed in a secret location in a remote part of Yunnan Province. That is historical fact, and it happened not long ago. I hope you will not follow the same path.
“We can learn from history. Please make sure that you do not end up a scapegoat of the CCP. Chinese people used to talk about doing good deeds and accumulating virtue so that they and their families would be blessed and have good fortunes.”
“I have no choice,” he said. “I work for the CCP. I have to carry out its orders.”
I responded, “Actually, you do have a choice here. Within the scope of your authority, you can do things your own way. You can help Falun Gong practitioners and even release them. Your good deeds will bring good fortune to you and your family.”
“I suggest that you watch two films: Judgment at Nuremberg and The Lives of Others. The first movie is set in 1945. It’s about Hitler killing the Jews. The senior officers who followed Hitler closely committed suicide or went missing after Hitler’s days were over. Of the 21 senior officers put on trial in Nuremberg, 12 were sentenced to death by hanging, 3 to life imprisonment, 2 to 20 years in prison, 1 to 15 years, and 1 to 10 years. Many people who provided resources to Hitler’s Germany, including industrialists, military personnel, doctors and guards in the concentration camps, were tried as war criminals. Over 5,000 people were found guilty, and over 800 were sentenced to death. Even nurses were hung.
“The second movie, The Lives of Others, is about East Germany in 1984. A policeman was assigned to spy on a famous playwright, but he did not report what he learned to his boss. Instead he protected and helped the playwright. He was fired from his position and had to make a living folding envelopes in a basement. Four years later, the Berlin Wall fell and his story was made into a film. He became a hero. This film won seven awards. You can be a hero, too, if you choose to protect Falun Gong practitioners.”
He nodded as he listened to me.
I read a report on the Minghui website that described how more than 20 practitioners had been arrested and two would be tried in a certain city in March 2016. So I made a phone call to the Party secretary of the local Politics and Legal Affairs Committee.
“Please do not persecute Falun Gong practitioners,” I said. “Can I remind you that Zhou Yongkang, the former head of the 610 Office, was given a life sentence. His mother committed suicide by hanging herself. One of his brothers committed suicide after he was interrogated by inspectors from the central government. His son was sentenced to 18 years in prison, and his property, worth $350 million, was confiscated. His wife was sentenced to 9 years, and her wealth, worth $1 million, was confiscated. His secretary was arrested as well. Bo Xilai was imprisoned for life. He spent $100 million building prisons in Liaoning Province to persecute Falun Gong practitioners. Now he is in prison. This is karmic retribution taking place. Please do not follow the same path they did and end up in prison yourself. Please release the two practitioners who are about to be tried.”
I suggested that he not carry out orders from those who had already been put in prison and to be wise and look to the future.
“Thank you for your reminder,” He said twice.
The practitioners in that area and I shared our experiences. They hired a lawyer for the two practitioners, clarified the truth to the police and legal departments, and had good results.
The CCP's Central Inspection Team was touring our area, so I called them. The woman who answered told me to send any information about the persecution of local practitioners to her as soon as possible.
Over 20 practitioners had been persecuted to death in our area. Some were still held in different prisons. We sent detailed materials to the Inspection Team. We also described in detail the persecution carried out by the chief of the local Domestic Security Division.
Online, I reported the members of the police, legal departments, and the 610 Office who had persecuted practitioners. Then I composed text messages and voice messages with the report receipt numbers as part of the content.
I sent those messages to hundreds of the officers in the local area, hoping they would learn the truth and stop persecuting practitioners.
In some areas local practitioners kept silent when practitioners were arrested. They were afraid of the risks involved in rescuing the detained practitioners. Some practitioners felt that they were not capable enough.
Practitioners are the only hope for beings to be saved. We cannot rely on others to do our job. If we do not step forward to clarify the truth and stop the persecution, our environment will not change and many sentient beings will lose the opportunity to be saved.
We decided to help practitioners in other areas. We visited areas where the persecution was still very severe. We shared with local practitioners, and many of them were willing to join our projects.
To rescue practitioners, I explained the facts to the officers responsible at least a dozen times. I had quite a few dreams during the process. In four dreams I was arrested. I clarified the truth and was released on three occasions. I was able to walk free with righteous thoughts in the other dream. My realization from the dreams was that, in reality, I am able to avoid persecution because I walk my path correctly.
The above are just some of my experiences. Please point out anything inappropriate.