(Minghui.org) My 81-year old father is a retired officer and was a senior engineer in the provincial government. He joined the Communist Party in the 1950s and is known as a “senior Party member.”
My grandfather owned a small business and had learned to live cautiously under the Communist regime in order to survive. Growing up in that environment, my father had naturally learned to behave likewise.
Having witnessed the meanness and cruelty of the many political campaigns and the depravity and terror of the ten-year Cultural Revolution, my father’s attitude toward life was directly impacted and his personality became all the more compromising.
My father originally worked in a university research department, but during the early 1980s, he was transferred to an agency in the provincial government. In the complicated world of a state agency, my father became all the more cautious. He worked hard and stayed away from all conflicts.
Since my father was neither one to flatter and brag nor was he inclined to stoop and bribe, he was basically left alone to do his job. However, he was also never afforded any deserved promotion. That was how he spent his work life until retirement.
I could imagine my father must have felt wronged and unfairly treated. Fortunately, his easy-going nature had spared him any real worry or anguish. He was also not the kind to bear a grudge against those who had stood in his way or given him a hard time. Consequently, my father was able to live a rather uneventful life in retirement.
A Dagger Into the Heart
In July 1999, just when my father was all set to enjoy a peaceful retirement, the then head of the Chinese Communist Party Jiang Zemin decided to launch a vicious political campaign against Falun Gong (also called Falun Dafa) with complete disregard for the law and the Constitution. Being a Falun Gong practitioner, I endured a lot of unfair treatment.
Having lived all his life humbly and honestly, with complete obeisance to the Party, my father suffered a great deal because of what was happening to me.
I was the first one at work to start practicing Falun Gong and was the most enthusiastic in spreading it. So when the persecution started, I was considered the “main target.” Especially after the boss sought me out for a “talk” and found out I would remain staunch in my practice, the level of persecution escalated. At one point, someone in my family was instructed to “escort” me to work every day.
I remember one time my father said to me en route to work, “I’d rather you turn to drugs than practice Falun Gong!” My father’s words stunned me. It was as if he had just stuck a dagger into my heart. At the moment when I most needed comfort, how could he throw me such a line? It chilled me to the bone.
I looked at his familiar face, so close to mine, and felt he was not only so far away but also an absolute stranger. I couldn’t help but remark, “How can you say such a thing to me?” He didn’t respond, but his expression told me clearly he didn’t think he had said anything wrong.
It wasn’t until the editorial booklet the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, which thoroughly explains how the Communist Party has purposefully and systematically destroyed human nature and replaced it with Party nature, came out in November 2004 that I understood my father’s mental state at that time.
A Close-knit Family Ripped Asunder
I went to Beijing in October 1999 to appeal for the right to practice Falun Gong. I was arrested and detained.
For my prudent father who had lived a life of caution and discretion, what was happening to his daughter was worse than anything he could imagine. After many a sleepless night, my parents decided to hire a lawyer, which ended up being a fruitless endeavor.
I was sentenced to a three-year term and taken to the provincial female prison where prisoners were allowed family visits once a month. Sadly, on every visit, my father would attempt to convince me to “keep in line with the Party,” “to draw a line between me and Falun Gong,” “to cooperate with the Party’s reeducation efforts,” and so on.
Taking note of my father’s attitude, the prison authorities afforded me special rights. I was allowed to go out for dinner with my father, and my father was invited to an exclusive tour of the prison compound. I could see my father was a bit overwhelmed by and grateful for the special treatment. But I felt ashamed and humiliated.
For that, I practically despised my father and questioned him in my mind, “Haven’t you noticed clearly your own daughter’s physical and personality changes after she started to practice Falun Gong? How can you say Falun Gong is not good just because the Party claims the practice is not good?”
The three years I was in prison, my parents often overcame hardships to visit me and send me supplies. I was grateful but couldn’t help but feel there was a deep chasm between us. I couldn’t accept my parents, especially my father’s attitude toward Falun Gong. They, in turn, blamed me for being obstinate and unappreciative of their love and concern.
The deceitful defamation and the relentless terror created by the Communist regime against Falun Gong had totally ripped apart the original closeness and harmony my parents and I had enjoyed all my life.
When my father repeated the Party’s propaganda over and over in my presence, I often felt he had become the Party’s mouthpiece and not my beloved parent. On the other hand, when I continued to stand firm in my belief, my parents felt I had become disobedient and incomprehensible.
Only Time Will Tell
In prison, I came to have a real taste of what it felt like to be in “an abyss of darkness” and when “a day drags on like a year.” Prisoners were forced to live daily under the pressures of physical hard labor for ten hours or more in a mentally depressive environment, aging many of them prematurely. Fortunately, I had Dafa’s principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance as my moral support and guidance, so I was able to remain hopeful and optimistic.
When I was finally released, I found out I had been illegally fired from my management position. I let go of my pride and quickly landed a job as a salesperson in a shopping mall, earning enough to support myself. That gained the respect of my parents, who witnessed their daughter’s tenacity to stand up even after having been pushed down.
Since then, I have worked at a variety of jobs: as a sales agent, an office worker, a teacher, and others. No matter what job I was in, I made sure I performed to the best of my abilities, gaining the respect of my superiors and colleagues alike.
I once worked as a clerk in a company, and the branch vice president made the following comment to me, “Nowadays, it is rare to find young people your age with your qualities and dedication.”
Because of my cultivation practice, I continue to enjoy good health. For over 20 years, I have not taken any medicine or visited any hospital. I look young and rosy-cheeked, completely unlike someone who endured three years of tortuous hard labor in prison.
Throughout the years after being in prison, my father has watched me overcome all obstacles thrown in my path while maintaining a joyous attitude. My job and economic situation improved gradually.
When my mother was in a car accident in 2005, I was with her in the hospital practically every night until she was discharged. Although what I did was insignificant, every bit warmed my parents’ hearts. The Party’s lies had made them believe Falun Gong practitioners are cold and heartless and do not care for their families. My every word and action told a different story.
Gradually, my father’s opinion of Falun Gong changed and became positive. He could see that Falun Gong practitioners were also good to their families.
One time when I went to visit my parents, our conversation led to how the persecution of Falun Gong was instigated by Jiang Zemin himself alone.
Suddenly, my father raised his voice and angrily proclaimed, “Jiang is the worst fiend on earth. What’s wrong with Falun Gong cultivation? What’s wrong with practicing to have a healthy body? What’s wrong with trying to be a good person? What kind of harm are they bringing to society?”
My father also told me that, when he and his old friends and retired veteran officials and Party members got together, they always shared the mutual feeling that Jiang is a truly bad guy and they all despised him.
My father had worked for the government under the Communist regime half his life, but with his logical and analytical mind, he must have known the persecution was all trumped up. Unfortunately, under the extremely adverse circumstances and the immensely overwhelming pressure with everything at stake, his fear and sense of self-preservation took control. My father had succumbed to the Party culture and so he had echoed the Party’s defaming slogans against Falun Gong.
After all these years, my father finally spoke up for Falun Gong and stood on the side of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. What a rejoicing change!
My father renounced the Party and withdrew from all its affiliated organizations and made a public proclamation that every derogatory thing he had uttered against Falun Gong in the past was erroneous and that he supports Falun Gong.
The Supreme Court in May 2015 announced a new policy of “Every case will be filed, every complaint will be handled” that led to a tidal wave of suing Jiang Zemin. Over 200,000 people in China and overseas brought lawsuits against Jiang. My father said with approval, “Sue Jiang? Absolutely!”
The Joy of Understanding the Truth
After my father changed his attitude toward Falun Gong, good things happened to him one after another. He also began to enjoy a comfortable life financially and is in good health. My parents can both take care of themselves without any help from anybody.
My mother caught a cold in 2014 and continued to cough. An exam at the hospital discovered accumulated water in her lungs. The doctor said there was a good chance it was due to a tumor. The whole family was worried.
I remained calm. I gave my mother a Dafa amulet. I asked her to recite the nine words “Falun Dafa is good! Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good!” My father offered to participate in the recitation. My mother’s condition improved.
A check up in 2015 indicated the shadows in her lungs had pretty much gone away. Another check up in 2016 showed everything was normal.
Now there is always a smile on my parents’ faces. They continue to recite the nine words every day to show their gratitude toward Master Li, the founder of Falun Gong.
During the 2016 mid-Autumn festival when all Dafa disciples sent greetings to Master, I asked my father what he would wish for Master Li. My father thought for a bit and said seriously, “I wish Master good health and longevity.” We looked at each other and smiled.
There is justice in people’s hearts. Lies cannot hold back the truth forever. My father and I firmly believe that one day Falun Gong will be judged fairly in China and that Jiang Zemin will get his just retribution.
Views expressed in this article represent the author's own opinions or understandings. All content published on this website are copyrighted by Minghui.org. Minghui will produce compilations of its online content regularly and on special occasions.
