(Minghui.org) On July 10, 1998, I heard Falun Gong exercise music at my sister's home and was drawn to it. I went to an exercise site and started practicing with the group the following morning.
After doing the exercises, I threw up black liquid. My sister told me that my body was being purified, as the founder of Falun Gong, Master Li Hongzhi, explains in the teachings.
Up to that point, I struggled with many health problems. Worst of all was facial paralysis, with a crooked mouth and slanted eyes, that plagued me since age 20 (I'm now 57). I had tried all the Western and Chinese medical treatment out there, but nothing worked. I was ashamed of my appearance and avoided people.
By the time I found Falun Gong, I had pretty much lost all hope. But soon after I began practicing and studying, all of my diseases, except for the facial paralysis, disappeared. I felt light, like I was treading on air.
During a group Fa study last July (2016), I suddenly felt my mouth tilt to one side. A practitioner looked at me and said that my mouth and eyes had returned to their normal positions! I was overjoyed and filled with gratitude to Master Li.
My son was injured in a traffic accident in 1993. His legs became stiff, and his knees could not bend. He had to walk with crutches. His condition did not improve after another operation in 1997.
When I found Falun Gong in 1998, I told him only this practice could save him. He then started to practice with me.
He suddenly could bend his knees when we were studying Lecture Three in Zhuan Falun, the main book of Falun Gong. He has walked without crutches ever since.
Since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched the persecution in July 1999, I have been arrested several times for speaking out for Falun Gong in Beijing.
In 2002, I was arrested the day after my husband had surgery for throat cancer. I was detained at a brainwashing center for 23 days. I was beaten every day and forced to watch propaganda videos that slandered Falun Gong.
Taking advantage of my concern for my husband's condition, the authorities got me to sign statements giving up the practice and promising not to appeal. They made me believe this would get me released. Although I did not truly give up my faith, I deeply regretted giving in to the pressure to sign those statements.
Instead of being released, I was taken to a detention center for another month, where I was severely tortured.
My whole family have lived in fear even after my release. My son became skittish, and he would shiver when he saw a police car.
My husband practiced Falun Gong before the persecution began in 1999. Afraid of being persecuted, he signed a statement promising that he would not practice Falun Gong. This was a major regret for him before he passed away in 2003.
My house has been our group Fa study location since 1998. Despite the persecution, we have persistently studied the Fa at night and clarified the truth during the day. We distributed informational materials and put up posters.
I told people about the goodness of Falun Gong. I advised every official who came looking for me to quit the Communist Party. On one occasion, I explained the facts about Falun Gong to our new Neighborhood Committee Secretary, who has since protected me from being harassed by the police.
Two police officers came to see me after I filed a criminal complaint against former Chinese dictator Jiang Zemin in 2015 for launching the persecution. They wanted me to sign a statement. I refused and advised them not to participate in the persecution, thus harming others and themselves. I tore up the paper. I have never signed any statement since I was released from the detention center.
I get up after each fall on my cultivation path and continuously stumble forward. Master does not give up on us. He gives us the best of everything.