(Minghui.org) Due to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) brutal pressure, I used to oppose my wife’s practicing Falun Dafa, but I now support her practice. I admire Falun Dafa and actively attend Falun Dafa activities. I’d like to share the journey that caused me to change.
My Mother Practices Falun Dafa
My mother started practicing Falun Dafa in 1998. I was in high school and didn’t pay much attention to her getting up early in the morning to practice the Falun Dafa exercises and read Zhuan Falun. But I noticed that she became healthier and gentler. My father didn’t practice Falun Dafa, but acknowledged Falun Dafa when he saw my mother’s changes. My family lived harmoniously and happily.
The persecution of Falun Dafa in 1999 suddenly changed everything. The CCP’s official media framed Falun Dafa all day long. My mother and her fellow practitioners were harassed and detained. I was very puzzled seeing these oppressive means. If Falun Dafa was indeed as bad as what the media said, why did my mother become healthier and kinder after she practiced Dafa? Why did the government go to such great lengths to persecute a group of people who practice Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance?
Inner Conflict and Confusion
I started to work in a public government institution after I graduated from university. To most people, it was a glorious position that you only dreamed about. However, in this position, I saw countless actions that violated my conscience, such as scheming and backstabbing in official circles and the willful political persecution of people with different opinions. Employees didn’t stand up for their principles and were not willing to touch “sensitive areas.” I felt depressed. I like books with traditional values and admire the principles of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and integrity that the ancient people practiced. In reality, the CCP’s work ethic runs contrary to traditional cultural values. Superficially, it holds the banner of Chinese culture, but in actuality, it breaks traditional morality and indoctrinates people with the CCP’s twisted theories.
I started to think about whether I would continue to stay in such an environment.
Family Environment Impacts Me Deeply
I got married in 2006. My wife had started practicing Falun Dafa when she was 17 years old. Influenced by her, I wrote a statement to withdraw from the CCP and its affiliated organizations, using an alias. My wife and I shared a lot. I found she was more clear-headed than me, while I still struggled between reality and belief.
My mother was arrested in 2015 when she was clarifying the truth to people. She was detained for more than a month. I realized from her experiences in the police station and the brainwashing center that people couldn’t have their own beliefs under the rule of the CCP. It was very dangerous if they had their own beliefs. When my mother was released, I tried to persuade her and my wife to give up Falun Dafa because I felt a lot of pressure. My wife went to police departments and legal departments to clarify the truth to them during my mother’s detention.
The officers from the local police station, the brainwashing center, the community center, and the 610 office started to monitor my wife. They asked me to watch over her. I knew that she might be detained like my mother at any time, and then I would be implicated and lose my job. Looking at my young child and my once warm family, I was terrified. My institution threatened me and demanded that I put pressure on my wife and persuade her to give up her belief. I also thought that only by doing this could I protect her and save our family. I pressured my wife a lot, but she never wavered in her belief.
The persecution impacted me a lot. I knew that my mother was a kind and righteous person. She only talked to people about her own experiences, but was badly mistreated. I further understood that the CCP’s propaganda twisted right and wrong. I completely lost my trust in the CCP. Eventually, my attitude toward Falun Dafa changed from doubt and hesitation to understanding and respect. I now firmly support Falun Dafa.
My Thoughts After My First Visit to America
Our family visited New York for the first time in 2018. There, we had a real sense of a society in which information was not blocked by the CCP. We learned a lot of true information that we could not know about in China. We also saw that Falun Dafa practitioners could practice the exercises and share their experiences freely and clarify the truth about Falun Dafa to people openly in the streets. I was deeply moved by this freedom, especially considering the depressed environment in China. I wondered why so many countries respect Falun Dafa and only China brutally persecutes Dafa practitioners. I realized that the information I got in China might not be the truth.
During this visit, I was so fortunate to have the opportunity to see a Shen Yun performance. It was not just a performance, but a tribute to and renaissance of traditional culture. Does our modern life, full of materialism, really make people happy? Does it ignore the moral values that support the wholeness of humankind? From this show, I saw the lost traditions, and personally experienced the divine light that had never vanished between heaven and earth.
Witnessing Falun Dafa Practitioners’ Kindness and Resilience During My Second Visit to America
My family came to America for the second time in 2024. I saw many Falun Dafa practitioners in Los Angeles and witnessed their kindness and perseverance. They clarified the truth to people in the streets all year long, despite the scorching summer and freezing winter. They protested the persecution in front of the Chinese consulate, not for money or personal interests but out of kind hearts and resilience.
I attended a seminar to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the publication of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party. I was very moved by the speech of a Falun Dafa practitioner who hadn’t given up his belief during his darkest days in a forced labor camp, where he was tortured and severely persecuted. I had been struggling inside my heart and wandering around the gate of belief all these years. But practitioners have never wavered in their belief. This reinforced my thought that my mother’s choice was correct and the CCP’s persecution was unjust.
Supporting Falun Dafa in America
I tried my best to support Falun Dafa while I was in America. I read The Epoch Times regularly and accompanied my wife to clarify the truth to people in the street and attend various Dafa activities. I attended a parade at a beach with my two-year-old child holding a board and a small banner while my wife handed out pamphlets to people. I hoped that people worldwide, especially Chinese people, could learn the truth. I accompanied my wife to protest in front of the Chinese consulate, holding banners and sending forth righteous thoughts at least once a week.
Many Chinese people were wary of us initially. But when we clarified the truth to them and let them know the truth of the Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident, they softened their attitudes. Some agreed to withdraw from the CCP and its affiliated organizations. I often updated my Facebook pages and hoped that I could help spread the facts. I found that many Western people only got information from the CCP’s media. I tried to talk to them about Falun Dafa and the CCP’s persecution in English. I often took my kids to attend Dafa activities so that they could experience a kind and righteous environment as part of their childhood memories. I hope that they will grow up in a free society and won’t be blinded by the CCP’s propaganda.
I am often at my wife’s side when she practices the exercises, sends forth righteous thoughts, and studies the Fa. I feel that this environment is pure and calm, and the energy is strong. I have undergone a big change in such an environment. The pressure and anxiety I had under the CCP’s system has gradually disappeared. I feel calm and peaceful inside.
My Future Path
Looking back at my experiences over all these years, I struggled a lot and was puzzled as to how to balance personal interests and power. But I have chosen conscience and justice. I am no longer afraid or hesitant, because I finally understand that real happiness and safety don’t come from power or money, but from righteous thoughts and kindness. My heart is with Falun Dafa. I hope that I will help more people learn the truth through my actions and let more people see the kindness and resilience of Falun Dafa practitioners. I might start to practice Falun Dafa one day to experience the inner purity and elevation. No matter what, I will firmly stand with the righteous, support the truth, and support Falun Dafa.
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