(Minghui.org) Autumn in Ludong area, Shandong Province, is the season when apples are ripe and farmers harvest them. In this busy season, a group of good people who practice Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance (the basic tenets of the spiritual practice Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gong) were harassed by government officials.
I went to an orchard in the mountains and picked apples on the morning of September 1, 2022. When I returned home at about 11 a.m., I saw several people in front of my house and a village official was sitting on his electric bike. I knew they were waiting for me because my husband had heard from a village security person that the government personnel were coming and wanted to make me sign the so-called three statements, declaring that I would give up practicing Falun Dafa.I asked them if they were waiting for me and for what reason. One of them said, “We can’t talk about it on the street, let’s talk inside.” I invited them into my living room, offered them a seat, and asked them who they were and where they came from. One person, with the last name Sun, was from the Political Directorate, another woman was from the Bureau of Statistics, and the other person, with the last name Zhang, was from the Bureau of Religious Affairs.
Sun said, “We are government personnel coming to see if you are satisfied with the work the village is doing about the COVID testing.” He then asked, “Does anyone in the village believe in the Almighty God?” I told him that I did not know. He said that Falun Dafa was a cult and was among the fourteen cults listed. He then asked, “Is there anyone believing in Jesus? Do you believe in Jesus?” I said, “My cultivation teaches practicing only one cultivation way. I have my faith.”
Then, gesticulating with his hands he said, “Each of us must be a good citizen and obey the laws and regulations of the country, right? Today I only want you to take a stand.” He then wrote on the paper, “Support the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), be a good citizen according to the laws and regulations of the country, and don’t participate in politics.”
After reading what he wrote I said, “I am not going to sign those words. I don’t support the evil CCP. The evil party promotes atheism, has killed many people, and promotes struggling against heaven and earth. Can man win that struggle?” He crossed out the words about supporting the Party and asked me to sign the rest. I said, “I am not going to sign. I have my standards for being a human.”
The woman from the Bureau of Statistics couldn’t hold herself back and said, “Do you think we don’t know about you? Weren’t you arrested the year before last? Weren’t you arrested and detained in 2008?” I said, “Yes. I was persecuted.” She said, “The government treated you with leniency. If you don’t change, you will really go to prison. Don’t you know that one [a Falun Dafa adherent] was sentenced to 14 years?” I said, “This is persecution.” They kept trying the carrot-and-stick approach on me to make me sign the document.
I saw that it was 11:45 a.m. and my husband would soon come home for lunch. I told them, “Please wait. Let me start making the steamed buns and then we can talk.” While making the buns I sent righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil spirits behind the government workers. Ten minutes later, I put the buns in the electric steamer. I then invited them to have lunch at my home.
They said, “We will go back to our cafeteria to eat. Please give us your signature and we’ll leave.” I told them that I wouldn’t sign. The person with an accent said, “Your Master said not to participate in politics, right? You can write that you will not participate in politics.” I asked him, “What is politics?” He said, “For example, although the list of 14 cults by the state does not include Falun Gong, article 300 of the criminal law prohibits Falun Gong practice.”
I said, “I would have died long ago if I hadn’t practiced Falun Dafa. I had many illnesses and they all disappeared after I started cultivating my character. I was unable to plant even two acres of farmland before; now I plant more than a dozen acres. I am 60, but I have better health now than when I was 30. How can I possibly speak against my conscience?”
Sun repeated, “Then just write ‘a good person will have a peaceful life.’ As long as you write something, we would have something to report to our superior.” I said, “I will not sign anything today, I won’t even draw a single line or circle.” I then went to the kitchen.
The person with the last name Liu (who came inside later) followed me into the kitchen. He said, “We will leave as soon as you sign the paper. We work for the government and this is our job. We need something on paper.” I told him, “I won’t sign.” Then I went out to feed the pigs.My daughter returned home just then. When I came inside after feeding the pigs, my daughter was talking with Sun in the living room. Sun said, “You can’t take a video of us without our consent, that is a violation of our rights.”
My daughter said, “So many of you came here to force my mother to sign. The video is the evidence.” Sun said, “Our work is secret and we can’t let the outside world know about it. Please erase the video that is on your phone.” My daughter said, “It is my business whether to delete it or not. You, as a government worker, don’t even wear a [protective face] mask in my home.” Sun looking panicky said, “I have it, I will wear it now.” My husband came home and the government agents got up to leave. They said to my daughter while leaving, “Our visit is confidential. Please don’t expose the video.” My daughter said, “There are surveillance cameras at my house monitoring us. Those cameras have also recorded your visit.”
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Category: Improving Oneself
