(Minghui.org) “Mom, look! Do you see? A conveyor belt! A golden conveyor belt made up of Falun. All of the practitioners are walking on it!” Ms. Sun Yang, then an eighth grader, told her mother excitedly while they were on their way from Tianjin Education Institute to Tianjin City Hall on April 23, 1999.
On April 11, 1999, the Chinese Communist Party scientist He Zuoxiu published an article in Science and Technology for Youth, a magazine published by Tianjin Education Institute. In the article he attacked Falun Gong, vilified the image of Falun Gong practitioners, and slandered the founder of Falun Gong.
Between April 18 and 24, 1999, many Tianjin practitioners, including Ms. Sun and her mother, went to the magazine publisher to clarify the facts and demand the removal of the slanderous article. During those few days, the Tianjin City Police Department dispatched riot police officers to beat Falun Gong practitioners, injuring some of them. The police also arrested 45 practitioners on April 23 and 24. To seek the release of the arrested practitioners, ten thousand practitioners staged a peaceful appeal outside the State Council Appeals Office in Beijing on April 25. They didn’t hold banners or shout slogans and left peacefully after then-premier promised to release the arrested practitioners.
Now Ms. Sun lives in Australia. She recounted the Tianjin incident she personally experienced that led to the April 25 peaceful appeal. Even though it was 23 years ago, her memory is still fresh.
Young Practitioners Clarify the Facts with Their Own Experience
Ms. Sun recalled, “At that time my school required all students to subscribe to Science and Technology for Youth, a magazine published by Tianjin Education Institute. The magazine published an article on April 11, 1999 that defamed Falun Gong. As a young Falun Gong practitioner, I knew what the article said was not right, and other young practitioners felt the same. Thus we decided to take a day off school to clarify the facts to the magazine publisher, Tianjin Education Institute, and ask it to remove the slanderous article. Since we were all underage, a fellow practitioner suggested we write down our personal experiences of how we benefited from practicing Falun Gong, then an adult practitioner would give it to the magazine office on our behalf.”
Before she took up Falun Gong, Ms. Sun often fainted for no reason and sometimes even went into shock. Medical checks did not reveal any problem, and the doctor recommended that she take medical leave from school for long-term brain tests. However, after she began to practice Falun Gong, her symptoms disappeared and she never fainted again.
Other young practitioners had similar experiences. One of the cases was reported by several newspapers in Tianjin. The child was diagnosed with leukemia, and many people learned her story and donated to her. No medical treatments were able to cure her illness and she was waiting to die. However, she miraculously recovered after practicing Falun Gong. All of her family members witnessed the miracle and started practicing Falun Gong.
Ms. Sun said, “There were about twenty of us young practitioners, aged 3 to 19 years old. We wrote down our own experiences, including our real names, contact numbers and home addresses. We also fingerprinted our sharing papers. We felt that it was a good opportunity to promote Falun Gong and that we should write our papers by ourselves. Even the younger kids wrote everything by themselves, with older kids holding their hands to help them write.”
“We naively thought that the issue would be resolved after our papers were delivered to Tianjin Education Institute. My mother told me that many practitioners went to Tianjin Education Institute to clarify the facts, some even from the surrounding areas of Tianjin. We both believed that we should go too. We walked to Tianjin Education Institute, which was close to my home. When we arrived, we heard that a representative of practitioners was negotiating with the magazine office to address the issue of the defamatory article. We thus waited there.”
Ms. Sun said, “Gradually, more and more practitioners came, and the Tianjin Education Institute campus was almost full. But we didn’t block any road. Almost every one of us read the book Zhuan Falun while waiting.”
The Sun Turned into Falun
Since Ms. Sun’s school was close to Tianjin Education Institute, she often went there before and also after school to check if there was any update. Some practitioners from outside of Tianjin stayed there over night.
Ms. Sun recalled, “There was one day I would never forget. When I was in class, suddenly the sky was changing colors, so beautiful. I told my mother about that after school, and she said many fellow practitioners saw Master’s Fashen during the day. They also saw the sun turning into Falun and changing colors. People living nearby saw the Falun too, and some shouted: It’s changing colors! It’s red, now it’s green….. The Falun rotated in the sky and disappeared at the tree behind the main entrance.”
People Witness Illegal Arrests
On April 23, 1999, Ms. Sun went to Tianjin Education Institute as usual after school. There was still no update. She and Lanlan, another young practitioner, went back to her home and had a quick dinner, before returning to Tianjin Education Institute in half an hour.
When they came back, the roads near Tianjin Education Institute had been blocked and guarded by riot police. Since Ms. Sun lived nearby, she knew the way and got to the institute entrance from a side path. She and Lanlan then sat there.
Ms. Sun said, “Before we could get a grasp of what was going on, we saw four riot police officers grabbing an elderly woman by her arms and legs, with her shirt turned over to cover her head and her upper body exposed. They threw her out of the institute entrance to the road. Onlookers condemned the police for treating an old woman their grandma’s age like this. A riot police officer heard the commotion and came over, threatening: “I will arrest you if you continue talking nonsense.” I murmured: “I saw you guys beat people first, and why don’t you handcuff yourself?” The police officer turned back to me and shouted: “If you dare to say it again, I will take you away!”
“At that time, Lanlan and I were holding our hands tightly. We scanned the crowd to look for her parents and my mother. Suddenly Lanlan shouted ‘Daddy!’ and let go of my hand. She ran toward her dad. At that very moment, three or four riot police officers grabbed her father and dragged him away.”
Lanlan was frozen seeing her father taken away. It was chaotic, and the police beat and arrested people everywhere. Luckily Ms. Sun and Lanlan found their respective mothers. Later they decided to go to the city government to appeal against what had happened at the institute.
Practitioners Walking on a Golden Conveyor Belt Made up of Falun
Ms. Sun said, “I sat on a bicycle and my mother was pushing it. Two other fellow practitioners walked with us from the Tianjin Education Institute to the city hall (at that time, the appeals office was at the same place as the city hall). I saw all practitioners walking on the golden conveyor belt made up of Falun.”
She excitedly asked her mother, “Mom, look! Do you see? A conveyor belt! A golden conveyor belt made up of Falun. All of the practitioners are walking on it!”
Ms. Sun timed their walk from the institute to the city hall. It only took them 10 minutes, while it usually took 40 minutes.
Ms. Sun’s mother recalled, “The police arrived in a bus after we arrived at the city hall. They immediately blocked the entrance and surrounding areas. Only pedestrians were allowed to get close to the city hall, not vehicles (including bicycles). I parked my bicycle at the empty field outside of the city hall. In conversation with other practitioners, many of them confirmed that it also took them only 10 minutes to walk from Tianjin Education Institute to the city hall. It was incredible since I lived nearby and knew very well that the walking distance between the two places was definitely much longer than 10 minutes.”
She continued, “The city hall employees told us that the only way to resolve the issue was to go to Beijing. As such, many practitioners decided to go to Beijing to appeal. Several local practitioners parked their bicycles near Tianjin Education Institute, so I walked my bicycle there with them. This time, someone timed our walk and the way back took 40 minutes.”
April 25 Appeal: A Monumental Moment in History
The whole world witnessed Falun Gong practitioners’ kindness, peace and rationality. Ms. Sun said, “Falun Gong practitioners’ steadfast adherence to Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and their defense of freedom of faith have made more and more people all over the world understand the beauty of Falun Gong. I hope people will no longer be deceived by lies of the Chinese Communist Party. Please learn the truth, and make the right choice between good and evil.”
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Category: April 25 Events
