(Minghui.org) Weeks after the appeal on April 25 at Zhongnanhai in 1999, the CCP launched a nationwide persecution of Falun Dafa on July 20. Another practitioner told me that there was a website started by overseas practitioners and it was called Minghui. Through the website, one can browse the latest news about Dafa from both inside and outside of China.
After the April 25 appeal, the situation in China quickly changed. I was young and didn’t live through the Cultural Revolution, so I was surprised when the CCP immediately launched this large scale persecution of Falun Dafa. An older practitioner said the regime wouldn’t let the appeal go so easily without seeking retaliation. I didn’t take his words to heart, as I was young and inexperienced.
A female practitioner said that she read Minghui.org. She had a desktop computer at home and was able to go on the internet. Back then the CCP hadn’t yet created its massive internet firewall. She said that as long as the computer was able to connect to the internet, one could access overseas websites. I was very envious, as computers were considered a luxury item then and few people owned one. I wished I had a computer so that I could go on the Minghui website to see how other practitioners were doing and what they wrote. That practitioner moved before I could read Minghui on her computer.
When the CCP launched the persecution on July 20, 1999, all the media in China, including TV, radio, and newspapers, were filled with propaganda that slandered Dafa and Master Li, the founder of the practice.
Most of the coordinators at local practice sites were arrested. Some didn’t dare to contact us after they were released. All the channels through which we received and distributed Master’s articles and books were cut off. The officials where we worked and residential committees kept pressuring us not to contact each other, not to get together for our regular practice sessions, and not to go to the government to appeal. It was very difficult for us to exchange information or deliver Master’s books and lectures to each other.
My enlightenment quality was limited and I longed for Master to publish new articles. As a result, fake lectures came out in the city I lived in. After that incident, the desire for practitioners in my area to get access to Minghui grew even stronger because everyone believed that Minghui would provide us with the most authentic and accurate news about Dafa. On the website there might even be sharing articles by practitioners in China about what we should do. Practitioners outside China would try to keep in touch with practitioners in China through Minghui for sure and exchange understandings on the Fa. Because the environment in China was still rather severe then, it was difficult for practitioners to obtain accurate news and it felt like we were stumbling through the long, dark night. Getting onto Minghui became our sincerest wish.
In spring 2000, I walked into an internet cafe. Back then, internet cafes were a new thing in China. We didn’t have to show our IDs, and it cost only one or two yuan to browse the internet for an hour. I sat down in front of the computer opened the web page and began to search for a proxy server. As I had already found a way to bypass the internet censorship through a proxy, I followed the instructions and searched step by step. I finally found a proxy address that I could use, and it was not long before I opened the Minghui website and saw Master’s photo! I was overjoyed. Finally I could access Minghui! I tried to contain my excitement. I controlled my expression, so that those around me who were using computers wouldn’t notice anything unusual about me.
I still remembered how excited I was then. I remember reading Master’s new lectures. It was the first time I got on Minghui when the CCP’s persecution was most severe. It was a thrilling yet happy experience. In the vast, boundless darkness with no end in sight, I suddenly saw a beam of light. Having endured being separated from fellow practitioners and shunned by my family members and friends, Minghui lit up my heart and melted away my profound sense of loneliness. It was like an oasis in the desert, a beacon in the darkness, and our most trusted home.
I soon had my own computer. The other practitioners began to acquire their own computers, and we’ve never lost contact with Minghui. Every day, we read experience-sharing articles on Minghui. Also, because we were able to read the articles every day, we didn’t feel lonely despite the harsh persecution and separation from other practitioners. It always encourages us to see so many practitioners around the world still cultivating with strong faith in the Fa. It also helps to strengthen our own faith and gives us courage to face the persecution head-on and clarify the facts about Dafa to those who harass us.
After I was arrested and lost my computer when my home was raided, I always thought about how to get a new computer and find ways to connect to Minghui after I was released. It usually didn’t take me longer than a week to set up the computer and install all the required security software to browse Minghui.
Every time I visit Minghui, I’m always touched to see the clean layout, Master’s photo that is so compassionate and majestic, as well as genuine sharing from fellow practitioners.
Minghui.org, a special lighthouse for the soul and “base camp” for millions of practitioners, will forever shine in the new, eternal universe.
Original article was published on June 29, 2023.https://en.minghui.org/html/articles/2023/6/29/210104.html
Category: Cultivation Insights
