News From A-cheng City, Heilongjiang Province (continued)

At the present time, there are still over a dozen practitioners continuing with their hunger strike (including water) that has entered its seventh day.

On the sixth day, the detention center brought in relatives of the practitioners trying to talk them into taking food and water. Some had sympathy with their miserable-looking relatives and drank some water. When they were back to their cells, they threw up something that looked like saw dust. Consequently, there are some people who have started to have meals after taking a bit water. However, there are still practitioners sticking to the hunger strike, unmoved by any interference and refusing even a mouthful of water. Among those people are two sisters. On the sixth day of their hunger strike their elderly mother went to visit them. She kneed down on the ground and cried pretty badly, asking them to take food. The younger sister Li Xuelian propped up their mother and told her, "Ma, please stop crying. We are Falun Dafa practitioners, with protection from our Teacher. You surely will see the day in the future when you understand what your daughter is doing today."

These days, the police separated the practitioners with an aim to win them over one-on-one. Li Xiaowei, a 18-year-old female practitioner, refused to give up practicing Falun Dafa no matter who came to persuade her. She always said, "I am not wrong." By now, she has refused water and food for more than seven days. She was so determined so to touch those policemen. They all said, "These practitioners are all awesome. We can not even handle a kid."

Over a dozen practitioners of them all look very well, except for being a bit slimmer. The detention center is still prohibiting them from doing the exercises; therefore, their hunger strike continues.

On her sixth day of hunger strike, the director of the detention center transferred practitioner Liu Yanqiu, a middle school teacher, to a different place - Number One Detention Center, where she was incarcerated with ordinary people and notified that she could go on with the practice. The director also cautioned her cell-mates, "You shall not beat her. The Falun Dafa practitioners are all good people. She is allowed to do the exercises." She then started to resume her meals and looked better since. Right now, there are two Falun Dafa practitioners detained in the No.1 center.

Four practitioners have been sent to hospital. Driven by their desires to go home, two wrote letters of promises. The police told them that they have to wait in custody until the currently ongoing People's Congress and People's Consultative Congress are over.

This hunger strike tremendously motivated the practitioners outside. An elderly lady had previously recanted the exercises, but upon hearing the news about the hunger strike, she said, "Those people can even protect the Falun Dafa with their lives. The Falun Dafa is truly great". She now has resumed Falun Dafa studies with other practitioners, and has even been to the countryside to spread the Fa. Another elderly woman had been practicing at home. Hearing the moving news about the hunger strike, she could not help but shed tears. She also has stepped out to safeguard the great law.

Outside the jail, steps have been taken to restore collective book-reading and exercises. The police still nagged practitioners to sign promises not to do the exercises, but they were all refused. With no choice, they implored, "It is alright for you to practice it at home in whatever way you want, as long as you don't go to Beijing to appeal." The practitioners answered them in dignity and aboveboard, "I will not sign it. Not only will I not do it in the future, but also those promises I signed before are now all recalled. If you feel your duty is not fulfilled this way, I you may arrest me now if you want to." As it turns out, nobody has been arrested.

The action of the detained practitioners has touched not only those practitioners outside the jail, but also the policemen. Initially, they were confused by the conduct of practitioners - for instance, when they poured cold water onto the practitioners, those practitioners would take over the hose to do it by themselves. Now, they commended them from their heart, "You are all nice people." At the beginning, they physically abused the practitioners with suspending rings; now, they cautioned the inmates not to bully the practitioners. The Falun Dafa practitioners have indeed lived up to Zhen-Shan-Ren. Their words and deeds strike every heart that is still left with benevolence. This all testifies to the power of the great law of the universe and the virtues of the Falun Dafa.

(Note: At 9:20 PM, March 7, practitioners Li Xiaowei and Cao Yuer were sent to hospital. Later there were more practitioners sent to hospital. The four practitioners sent to hospital a few days ago have been shipped back to the detention center. Practitioners Li and Cao, after having intravenous glucose drip at hospital, were sent back to the detention center immediately.)

(Translated Mar. 10, 2000)