On the eve of the Lunar New Year in 2022, Wang Hua, a villager living in Huaxi District, Guiyang, Guizhou Province stood on a stool that was moved over by herself. She carefully cleaned and wiped the wall where “the Flag of Victory”, the logo of “the Association of Disciples” cult, was hung. Then she posted a new calendar reflecting “the New Era of Socialism” on that wall. Her face was calm, but wrinkles on both sides of her forehead and mouth made it as if she was smiling. And there was a brisk rhythm to her movements.
When mentioning her history of believing in “the Association of Disciples” cult, Wang Hua gave a deep sigh. The smile on her face immediately disappeared, her eyes turned red, and she was on the verge of tears.
Wang Hua has two daughters. Her elder daughter married out of town many years ago. And then her younger daughter got married at the local town. Although the whole family wasn’t rich, they lived a life in happiness and wellbeing. Unfortunately, 11 years ago, the misery befell this family. Not long after giving birth to a son, the younger daughter unaccountably became a little grumpy. She would often throw and break things, and even showed a propensity for violence by beating other people. Later, the younger daughter was diagnosed as intermittent schizophrenia, which made it even harder for the life of the poor family. The family went everywhere to seek medical solutions or a possible panacea, but all efforts proved unavailing while they spent all their savings during the process. The son-in-law gradually lost patience and ran away from home. Therefore, Wang Hua and her husband had to shoulder the burden of raising their grandson and at the same time, taking care of their daughter. This made the old couple completely exhausted for a moment.
It was at this period, around 2015 that when Wang Hua went to the fair, she met an old woman who she regarded as her “benefactor”. This old woman said, “Your daughter would be cured if you start to believe in ‘Christ redeemed three times’……To show your belief in this God, you just hang this cross at home, then your daughter would be getting better……” Looking at the kind-looking old woman and listening to her enthusiastic introduction, Wang Hua decided to give it a try like a drowning person would grasp at any straw, she accepted the cross and hung it on the wall of their living room, hoping that her devout prayer could help her daughter get fully recovered.
The name of “Christ redeemed three times” is actually stolen from Christianity by a cult, which is deceptive and confusing to the public. To be specific, it is a cult called “the Association of Disciples” that has usurped the term, and the “cross” that was willingly accepted by Wang Hua is a “flag of victory” of the cult rather than a Christian “cross”.
At first, Wang Hua was deeply convinced what she believed in was Christianity. Gradually, she became obsessed with it. In the meantime, some cadres in both town and village discovered the secret in their home visits and asked Wang Hua to abandon the cult immediately. At the beginning, she pretended to accept the orders, and made perfunctory efforts to fool people around. Later, she began to have a feeling of resistance on this issue and played “hide-and-seek” tricks with cadres who came to visit her.
After hanging the “cross” at home, she wasn’t sure whether it was because of a magic power the “cross” truly possessed or just a psychological effect on her mind, she felt that her daughter’s mental condition appeared to be improved. However, as time went by, her daughter would act like a child, asking for pocket money to buy snacks, and would get grumpy and show acts of violence with fists if her requirements were rejected. Later, her behaviors were getting more and more weird and moody with frequent occurrences of violence. Therefore, the aging couple were getting exhausted both physically and mentally and, with tears in their eyes, had no choice but to send their younger daughter to a rehabilitation hospital for professional treatment. In agony, Wang Hua turned to the “cross” for help time and again, day and night. As a result, the couple’s field became deserted and their handmade bean curd workshop were also closed……
In May 2021, a work team with the task of rural revitalization came and stayed in the village. During their household visit to Wang Hua’s home, Li Lin, the newly appointed First Secretary in the work team immediately realized that something was wrong when spotting the cross hanged on the wall of the living room. After chit-chat, Wang Hua slowly opened her heart, talked about her troubles and frankly admitted that what she believed in was “Christ redeemed three times”. Then, the work team was determined to come to the aid of this poor family.
September in autumn, the golden season of harvest, the air was heavy with the aroma of the paddy fields. After learning that Wang Hua’s family was short of labor, the First Secretary and team members of the work team helped the family gather in the rice. Under the scorching sun, sweat poured down from their faces. Although their arms were tired and their skins were scratched, they managed to finish reaping the rice field with the area of three mu (2,000 sq meters) in just half a day.
In order to further help the family and solve their practical difficulties, members in the work team all chipped in and they also solicit contributions from cadres and workers of units where they were dispatched. Finally, they collected 2,500 Yuan and handed the money to Wang Hua in person. As the Spring Festival in 2022 was approaching, the First Secretary in the work team and the village cadres apply to the town government for a temporary subsidy of more than 2,800 Yuan for civil affairs difficulties through coordination work so as to help the family make special purchases for the Festival. Considering the muddy road at the gate of Wang Hua’s family, the work team applied for cement, sand and gravel and hardened the pavement of the road to the couple’s house.
In the meantime, members of the work team frequently visited the family to talk with the couple about their family affairs, to publicize good policies of the nation, and to convey the true voice of the Party. They explained to the couple again and again the national free medical policy for special patients. At the same time, with the help of deprogramming teachers from the Anti-Cult Association of Guiyang Municipal Political and Legal Commission, Li Lin and his team members patiently analyzed the real danger of “the Association of Disciples” cult. Secretary Li asked Wang Hua, “Why didn’t you take down the cross when so many cadres in the village asked to remove it during their visits?” Wang Hua replied, “That old woman said the cross had magic powers and could inflicted misfortunes upon my younger daughter. Therefore, I dared not to remove it.” Then the secretary Li asked, “Why did the cross fail to do anything to prevent your daughter’s condition from deteriorating? Was it possible that your daughter got delayed for medical treatment because of your belief in cult fallacies?” Upon hearing that, Wang Hua lost her words and felt bitterly remorseful.
With a series of measures and influences, Wang Hua began to realize how absurd her past behavior was and slowly open her mind, saying, “It’s better to believe in science, modern medical science, and good policies of the Party rather than the existence of the Savior in the world.”
When the spring ploughing started in 2022, Wang Hua and her husband also began to clean up their cropland once overgrown with grass and weeds and then planted pepper, cabbage, etc. A new life, as well as a bright future, was waiting for them.
(To protect privacies of the people involved, names used in this story are all pseudonyms.)
