(Minghui.org) May 13, 2020, is the 28th anniversary of the first public teaching of Falun Dafa, as well as the 21st World Falun Dafa Day, and Master Li’s 69th birthday. On this sacred day, all Falun Dafa practitioners would like to express their gratitude towards Master Li.

Each and every step along this cultivation path, filled with tribulations and xinxing improvement, was made possible by Master's care and Dafa's guidance. Here, we've recorded some of the cultivation stories from the Caofeidian District (formerly known as Tanghai County) of Tangshan City, Hebei Province, to express gratitude from the local practitioners.

The Spreading of Dafa in Caofeidian District

In early 1995, some local qigong enthusiasts had obtained some tapes of Master's Fa teaching lectures, and started practicing Falun Dafa. Some came across the practice while on business trips. Some learned it from relatives out of town.

The first Dafa teaching sessions were held in the local bureau of retired government officials in June and July of 1995, where over thirty attendees watched Master's lecture tapes for the first time. Afterwards, a group practice site was established near the local market. The number of practitioners continued to rise, reaching over 100 by the spring of 1996.

Dafa's teachings and its wondrous healing effects soon became well-known throughout the region, and attracted more and more people to the practice. Many practitioners' family members and their colleagues witnessed these benefits firsthand.

Practitioners ranged from young children to the elderly; from housewives to government officials, including officials from the local law enforcement system; and from the uneducated to the erudite.

Despite the bitter cold of winter and the extreme heat of summer, many participants gathered at Tanghai Park and the local market daily to do the exercises.

Two hundred practitioners did the first four exercises at Tanghai Park at 5:30 a.m. and taught anyone who wanted to learn at no cost. In the afternoon, retired practitioners sat down near the lake in the park to do the fifth exercise. In the evening, practitioners attended group Fa study sessions and shared their cultivation experiences, along with their respective transformations––both physically and mentally––after practicing Dafa.

News of Falun Dafa spread via word of mouth quickly in the local region, and the number of practitioners quickly rose as a result. There were over a thousand practitioners in the region by the first half of 1999.

Benefiting from Dafa

There are numerous cases of people regaining their health, as well as cases of families resolving their internal conflicts, resulting from the practice. Below are two such stories.

Femoral Artery Pulse Restored

A teacher had suffered vasculitis since 1965 and sought medical help from many prestigious hospitals in Tangshan, Tianjin, and Beijing. He had also resorted to various forms of medicine, including traditional Chinese medicine and folk remedies, without any success. His disease spread from his right leg to his left arm and left leg. In 1972, he lost his pulse in the femoral artery of his left leg, and was told it would be the best case scenario if things remained in the status quo.

After he had practiced Falun Dafa for two years, on an August night in 1998, he felt a strange sensation in his femoral artery while doing the sitting meditation. Before he went to bed that night, he was able to feel a pulse in his left femoral artery. He was grateful because he knew that Master was purifying his body and healing his past illnesses.

Ancient Resentment Between In-Laws Dissolved

Ms. Sun Suyun used to have a deep grudge with her mother-in-law, and they had not been on speaking terms for years. On Chinese New Year's Eve, Ms. Sun and her husband never visited her mother-in-law, although her brothers-in-law always did. This divide in the family would often bring her mother-in-law to tears.

Ms. Sun had a chance to read Zhuan Falun, the main text of Falun Dafa, in early 1999. She started to search within for her own shortcomings instead of blaming her mother-in-law all the time. Before she even finished reading the book, she went to visit her mother-in-law with gifts, and apologized for being so cold in the past. Her mother-in-law was shocked to see her. The moment Ms. Sun called her mother-in-law “mom,” tears welled up in her mother-in-law's eyes. Such a heartfelt greeting, long past due, instantly dissolved years of resentment between these two women.

As Ms. Sun's husband witnessed her changes, he was very moved and became curious about Falun Dafa. He later became a steadfast practitioner himself and participated in spreading the truth about Dafa during the persecution. He was later sentenced to ten years in prison and is still detained in Baoding Prison to this day.

Inhumane Persecution

Falun Dafa spread throughout Tanghai County until 1999. Many practitioners enjoyed good health due to the practice, which saved the country a large amount in medical costs. As practitioners conducted themselves according the principles of the practice and strived to be good people, they became model employees at work. The pursuit of improving their own morality had deeply influenced society overall.

However, at the same time, the authorities at all levels in China started to monitor practitioners under orders from higher levels after April 1999. They made every attempt to “dig up dirt” on Falun Dafa so that they could find excuses to persecute practitioners. But contrary to their goal, what they found was that the practitioners were peaceful and kind. They heard countless stories of people restoring their health and becoming better citizens after practicing Falun Dafa.

Despite all the benefits of practicing Falun Dafa, the CCP regime led by Jiang Zemin launched the persecution of the practice in July 1999, due to its vast number of practitioners in China. The persecution was based on fabricated propaganda and slanderous lies that were intended to mislead the general public.

In July 1999, police from Tanghai County dispersed practitioners who had gathered for their routine group exercises in the park, signaling the beginning of persecution in the county.

During the past 21 years, three practitioners, including Liu Xingyun, Li Enying, and Wu Junshi, were persecuted to death, and Zheng Xiangxing became disabled. Fifteen practitioners were sentenced to prison terms and 45 were sent to labor camps. Today, there are still three practitioners being detained, among whom are Zheng Xiangxing in Baoding Prison, and a married couple, Li Taimin and Zheng Jinwen. Below are a few examples of such persecution.

Thigh Muscle Torn for Speaking Out for Falun Dafa in Beijing

Facing the prospect of persecution after July 20, 1999, some practitioners went to Beijing to speak out for Dafa. In response, authorities at all levels, including the local police and neighborhood committee, made every effort to intercept practitioners who were on their way to Beijing. Some practitioners had to ride bicycles all the way to Beijing in order to avoid various blockades. After being arrested and taken back to their local districts, practitioners were detained at local farm offices, where they were were subjected to inhumane treatment.

Practitioner Zhu Qizhen was severely beaten, which caused her thigh muscles to be torn. Li Enying was handcuffed to an iron door, shocked with electric batons, and then savagely beaten and locked in an iron cage.

Torture depiction: practitioner locked and tortured

Tortured on Death Bed for Pleading for a Legal Cultivation Environment

Three practitioners from Jidong Oil Field in Tanghai County appealed for Falun Dafa in October 1999 and openly practiced the Dafa exercises at the entrance to Tanghai County Park. They were arrested and detained. One of them was tortured on a death bed at the detention center.

Torture demonstration: Death bed

Young Girl Suffers Mental Breakdown Due to Parents Being Persecuted

Practitioner Ye Shuxia and her husband from the Jidong Oil Field went to Beijing with their 11-year-old daughter to speak out for Dafa. The couple was arrested and held in a detention center in Beijing while their daughter was left alone to wander on the street. Later at the Tanghai County's Liaison Office in Beijing, their daughter was handcuffed along with her mother to a radiator panel, with the cuffs cutting deep into the child's wrists.

Her father was taken to Tianjin City Labor Camp, while she and her mother were home and placed under constant surveillance and harassment by the local police. The authorities also tried to take away her mother and send her to the labor camp as well. One night, the police broke into their home and beat her mother, which left her mother lying on the floor screaming out in pain. The daughter witnessed this entire process.

Every time it happened, their next-door neighbors would cry for this poor mother and daughter, who suffered at the hands of the police. Seeing the young daughter crumble at the abuse of her mother broke their hearts.

The daughter was mentally traumatized by the horrifying experience. Now in her 30s, she is unable to take care of herself and live on her own.

Two Female Practitioners Raped in Brainwashing Center

As the persecution escalated in Tanghai County around 2002, the local CCP's party school held brainwashing sessions and forced Dafa practitioners to undergo physical and mental torture. Two female practitioners were raped in the school by the vice dean, Hu Yuhua.

Brother Persecuted to Death, Sister Injected with Toxic Drugs

Mr. Li Enying was tortured to the verge of death while in detention at the Shijiazhuang City Labor Camp in January 2007. He passed away only thirteen days after being released in July.

Mr. Li Enying

Mr. Li's younger sister, Li Fengzhen, was taken to Tangshan City Mental Hospital in June 2008, where she was injected with unknown drugs. The injection caused her to suffer partial memory loss.

Upright Businessman Disabled by Forced Skull Surgery

Mr. Zheng Xiangxing

Mr. Zheng Xiangxing was arrested in February 2012, and soon sentenced to ten years in prison. He was sent to Baoding Prison, where he was forcibly given a bilateral temporal open skull surgery.The operation cut his optic nerves and injured his memory. He cannot take care of himself to this day and is still locked up in Baoding Prison.

Blessings for Supporting Dafa

The CCP's slander, propaganda, and attacks against Falun Dafa has poisoned many people in society. In the face of suppression and antagonism, Falun Dafa practitioners have firmly held onto each other and followed their Master's teachings. They opened their hearts and strove to maintain compassion while raising awareness of the truth to society. They strive to awaken the conscience and kindness in people.

After years of perseverance in this endeavor, Falun Dafa practitioners have been able to turn the tide against them. In Caofeidian, most of the shop owners understand the truth, and some have even helped to persuade others to quit the CCP after understanding its repressive and brutal nature.

Gradually, the wonders of Falun Dafa returned to Caofeidian area as many people received blessings from reciting the magic words “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” Below are a few such stories.

Village Administrative Committee Wants to Quit the CCP

One day, a Falun Dafa practitioner was in the market, talking with another person about the facts of the persecution. A fellow in his 30s approached her.

“My uncle wants to see you,” he said.

“Do they want to do the three withdrawals?”

He nodded his head.

The practitioner followed the young man into a store, where there were about six people. A gentleman with gray hair came up to shake her hand. “Greetings, we are the administrative committee of our village. We’ve read your fliers, which were well-written. We understand the situation now, and we all want to quit the CCP.”

They introduced themselves and all quit the CCP that day.

Ovarian Cancer Healed

A Falun Dafa practitioner's daughter was diagnosed with malignant ovarian cancer at age 14. It was a shock to her family.

Her mother took out the book Zhuan Falun and said, “You saw how this practice has helped your mother mentally as well as physically. I want you to be healthy just like me. Let's read the book together. This will help you.”

She had the surgery when she finished lecture six, and the biopsy showed it was benign!

The surgeon was impressed.

“She must have moved God. She gets a new lease on life!” he said.

“It was Falun Dafa that saved my daughter!” said her mother, with tears running down her face.

Out-Of-Control Diabetes Stabilized

Mr. Chen had diabetes, and it was out-of-control. His kidney was compromised, and kept leaking blood into his urine. He was discharged from the hospital for at-home palliative care.

Around this time, his wife received a flyer that was dropped at their door, which documented many stories of how people had recovered from various illnesses by reciting “Falun Dafa is good.” She asked her husband to give it a try. He agreed.

The miracle happened the next day. There was no more blood in his urine! He began reading Zhuan Falun, and recovered a little more each day.

Protected After Quitting the CCP

A villager told a Falun Dafa practitioner his experience.

“I remember you told me that those who quit the CCP will be protected by heaven. You are so right! The other day I went out of town for a business meeting. On my way home, it was dark and foggy. I drove slowly and cautiously.”

“Suddenly, I saw something moving, so I stopped, and got out of my car. I didn't see anyone, but I looked down and saw a ditch right in front of me. If I had driven any further, I would have fallen into it! I am so grateful that you advised me to quit the CCP. I am blessed!”

People Cherish Dafa Even More

The coronavirus was running rampant in China in early 2020. Falun Dafa practitioners felt that it is more important now than ever to help people realize the lies of the communist regime. Because of this, more and more people have come to appreciate Dafa and practitioners.

A Falun Dafa practitioner was talking to a person on the street regarding the lies of the CCP, using the persecution as an example. This person understood and said, “Here comes the help!”

Several people around him came and sat down. They listened attentively. Over 30 people ended up quitting the CCP and related organizations, no longer swayed by the regime's lies and propaganda.

When a Falun Dafa practitioner chatted up an older man, the man expressed that he had already heard the truth and requested a Falun Dafa amulet for his family member.

“I already keep one in my pocket. It's always with me,” he said. He was delighted to have another one.