(Minghui.org) A 53-year-old elementary school teacher in Meitan County, Guizhou Province was sentenced to three years in late December 2019, only one month after her arrest for practicing Falun Gong, an ancient spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999. She is currently serving time at Guizhou Province Women's Prison.

Prior to her latest arrest, Ms. Yang Ruiyue was arrested one more time in August 2016 for telling people about Falun Gong. She was later sentenced to three years probation. Her school fired her soon afterward.

Below is an appeal letter Ms. Yang once wrote to the local prosecutor about how practicing Falun Gong has transformed her.

Taking Up Falun Gong

I suffered from congenital heart disease and had constant headaches since childhood. Because of my poor health, my husband divorced me only four months after we got married. I lost my hope to live on. It was only because of my parents that I gave up the idea to commit suicide.

I took up Falun Gong in 1996 for health improvement. As I studied its teachings, I was drawn to the principles discussed in the book. I understood the true meaning of life and lived by the Falun Gong’s principles, “Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance.” Before I knew it, my health recovered and I was full of energy.

I married again in 1998 and soon had a very healthy baby.

Having benefited so much from practicing Falun Gong, I was pained when hearing the demonizing propaganda attacking my faith on TV, and I felt compelled to tell people how Falun Gong changed my life and was nothing like what's depicted by the government.

Cultivating “Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance”

Practicing Falun Gong truly elevated my mind and enables me to be more giving and considerate.

My mother-in-law was bedridden for years before she passed away. After my father-in-law also fell ill, my husband quit his job to take care of his father. The entire family relied on my income to make ends meet. Although we lived a very frugal life, we didn’t complain or ask for help from my husband’s siblings.

At work, I treated every student as my own child. In addition to the academic classes, I also taught them traditional values and paid special attention to their moral development.

For students coming from impoverished families, I sometimes bought them clothes and shoes as gifts.

When a widowed neighbor suffered some financial difficulty, I invited her son to stay in my home for a few years and provided tutoring to him. I didn’t expect her to pay me back, but just hoped her son could grow up a happy child. He studied very hard and is already a high school teacher now.

There was another child in my class who was very irritable and always fought with other kids. Instead of scolding him, I encouraged him to do better and asked him to be more tolerant of others.

In the beginning, it was very hard for the child to control himself. I did think about giving up on him, but later realized that I was still seeking a return for my kindness and not being completely caring for him. I reminded myself to have confidence in him and never give up.

A few years later, the child has indeed changed. He became a top student and was transferred to one of the best high schools in another city.

He often called me back and expressed his gratitude. He said to me, “Teacher Yang, I really don’t know what I would have become of now without you.” I was very happy for him. I believe it’s the power of “Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance” that has changed him. Now he has become an entrepreneur and has a very successful career.

While I was held in a detention center in 2016, I often talked to my cellmates about Falun Gong and advised them to be more considerate of and kinder to each other. Two drug inmates said everyone looked down on them but me, and other inmates also expressed their gratitude to me for being a positive influence on them. Many of them cried when I was released.

I’m writing this not to show off how good I am, but I am hoping you can understand what Falun Gong is truly about. I hope you can make the decision with your conscience and no longer follow the communist regime’s policy in persecuting these kindhearted practitioners.