On July 22, 1999, China announced its ban on Falun Gong according to law. However, it was unacceptable for He Xiaohui, a Falun Gong practitioner. Therefore, when a Falun Gong assistant organized its followers to hold a sit-in before the municipal government office building in Jiangmen, she immediately expressed her desire to take part in, which was a deviation from her usual attitude of modestly declining some activities. Later, instigated by her fellow practitioners, she left her hometown Jiangmen for Beijing to “guard the Fa,” despite the objections from her family. While in Beijing, she was arrested on the spot for making trouble at Tian'anmen Square. It wasn’t until 20 days later that He Xiaohui was able to return to her home in Jiangmen, Guangdong province. 15 days after she was held in administrative dentition in Beijing, the police told her that her family was frightened by her leaving without saying goodbye and that her old father reported her case to the local police station, begging the police time and again with tears to find her and bring her back home. It was at this time that He Xiaohui remembered she hadn’t even left a note for her family when she left. During the 20 days when she was away from home, she felt only anger about the government, with no idea about her family's worries about her.
After He Xiaohui returned home from Beijing, she remained obstinate in practicing Falun Gong, going further and further on the road of her “cultivation”. Gradually, she seemed to have become a "stranger" at home. Her parents and her husband A-Min often looked at her worriedly, finding it increasingly difficult to understand her behavior. Once when her parents fell ill, she regarded it as a matter of "eliminating karma," and she neither felt worried about her parents’ illness nor sent them to the hospital. Instead, she rejoiced privately for quite a while, feeling that her parents were repaying their “debt”.
Getting addicted to Falun Gong
He Xiaohui had a "happy" family photo of three, including her, her husband A-Ming and her son Xiao Cong, taken on her son's 5th birthday. Since she began to practice Falun Gong, her attention was diverted. No one knew when she put that family photo frame into the drawer and placed at her bedside the book Zhuan Falun instead, a tape recorder and a tape for practicing Falun Gong. What’s more, despite her parents’ strong opposition, she used her bedroom as an exclusive place for studying the “Fa” and practicing Falun Gong, totally oblivious of that family photo.
He Xiaohui and A-Min get married in 1990 and had a baby son soon after their marriage. After He Xiaohui got increasingly obsessed with Li Hongzhi and Falun Gong, all she cared about was how to study the “Fa” well, make further advancement, and rise to a higher level. Little by little, she ignored what she used to consider as important and precious, focusing her mind only on her studying, practicing, and "sending forth righteous thoughts." Words of her husband’s dissuasion would end up with quarrels or a cold-war. As He Xiaohui concentrated on studying and practicing, she looked upon her husband A-Min and her parents as "sinners" preventing her from cultivation; and she even felt that her son Xiao Cong, a sensible boy, got in her way. So she sent his 7-year-old son to a Falun Gong junior training class, expecting that the boy could “reach Consummation” someday and “ascend to Paradise” in the future.
One day in 2000, He Xiaohui and his parents broke out into a fierce quarrel over whether she should go out to attend Falun Gong activities. During the quarrel, she rushed to the only window without iron bars in her house, shouting: "I must go out! The door can’t lock me up!" Opening the window, she stepped on the windowsill, trying to jump down. Immediately, her parents rushed over, just in time to prevent her from jumping, and the three of them all fell on the ground. However, He Xiaohui dashed towards the window again after getting up, but her feet were held tightly by her father in his arms. Her mother climbed over and held her head: "Oh, my girl! How can you do that! This is the 6th floor. You mustn’t allow yourself to die!" He Xiaohui blushed and said with wide eyes: "I won’t be dead! Master Li said that we practitioners can ascend in broad daylight. So you will only see me ascending. It’s a sunny day today and I will fly away. Let go of me!" Her father beat her lightly with fists and said feebly, "How stupid you are!"
Later, He Xiaohui was instigated by Aunt Xing, one of her fellow practitioners, to stand out and take to the streets to spread and guard the “Fa.” Finally, she was caught on spot by the public security officers and sentenced to 4 years' imprisonment by the court.
After He Xiaohui was arrested, her husband A-Min, who had been busy with his business in Guilin, had to return to his hometown Jiangmen frequently, trying hard to persuade her to go back from the wrong path. Consequently, his business in Guilin nearly went bankrupt due to poor management. Learning about all this, He Xiaohui, who had been educated in prison by the helping and educating staff, felt great remorse for what she had done in the past. Her sense of guilt toward her husband, son and parents contributed to the changes in her thoughts and attitudes during that period.
Relapsing into the wrong course
In 2005, He Xiaohui returned home on parole from prison, perplexed and upset. At this time, her body developed various discomforting symptoms. She felt puzzled and couldn't help thinking to herself: was it because I stopped practicing Falun Gong that I got sick and received the retribution?
One day, she came across a former fellow practitioner and got obsessed again with the Falun Gong cult. Instigated by Li Hongzhi's "scriptures", He Xiaohui forgot the lessons she learned and the education she received, as if she had found an outlet for releasing her long-suppressed feelings. So she went on to study the “Fa”, clarify the "truth" and "send forth righteous thoughts" together with other practitioners. To make up for her mistake of “betraying” Master Li Hongzhi, she worked harder, more actively and crazily than her fellow practitioners, which led to her imprisonment once again.
Gaining a new life finally
After being imprisoned for the second time, He Xiaohui broke away with the Falun Gong cult completely under the patient persuasion of the helping and educating staff in prison. When she was released from prison, she felt that she had gained a new life. Most importantly, she became open-minded now, no longer afraid of illness or full of suspicion. She faced all challenges positively instead of escaping them or holding grudges. Even when her thyroma developed into thyroid cancer, she actively cooperated with doctors for medical treatment and finally had her cancer cured, first by taking traditional Chinese medicine, then western medicine, and eventually, through surgery and chemotherapy.
Afterward, He Xiaohui often talked about the sense of gratitude, taking a grateful attitude toward her parents, husband and son, and joining the volunteer team in the community to repay the society. What He Xiaohui regretted most was that Aunt Xing, a former Falun Gong addict like her, suffered acute hepatitis just when she recognized the true nature of Falun Gong. However, bowing to the threat and temptation of fellow practitioners, Aunt Xing refused the help from He Xiaohui and finally died of illness as a victim of the Falun Gong cult.
Now, He Xiaohui lives a full and rewarding life. Although difficulties remain in real-world life and sometimes bring about puzzles, she no longer fantasizes about going to the so-called “Paradise.” In the words of his father, "my daughter has really come home."
