A photo of Long Yanan
I am Li Xiubi, 52 years old. I live in Wenxing Residence Community of Suizhou South Road, Chuanshan District, Suining City, Sichuan Province. My neighbor, Long Yanan, who I called Uncle Long, lived in Room 201, Unit 1, Building 2, Wenxing Residence Community. Uncle Long was obsessed with exercising Falun Gong but on March 25th 2015, he died of emphysema.
Uncle Long used to be one of the leaders of the Suining Food and Drug Administration. He retired in the early 1990s. To strengthen his body, Uncle Long used to exercise qigong in Longshan Park, which was only several meters from his home. Long received a high level of education and established good relationships with others. Under his influence, many colleagues and friends enjoyed exercising qigong with him. When Suining Qigong Association was established in March 1994, Uncle Long was appointed as the director for the Instruction Center and managed about a hundred members. At that time, I always went to the park for a walk and met up with Uncle Long. After exercising qigong, Uncle Long was in fine fettle and never got sick.
In April 1995, Falun Gong came to develop practitioners in Suining and changed Suining Qigong Association into the “Instruction Center of Falun Gong”. Uncle Long was appointed as the director for the Instruction Center and was responsible for the contact of Falun Gong branches in Suining’s urban and rural areas. After being appointed, Uncle Long felt sense of accomplishment and was pious towards Li Hongzhi. Under the guidance of Li, he established exercising places (branches) and guided the practitioners at Suining Park, Nanzhuanpan, Nanxiaoqu, Yufengyuan and other places. Also, he helped Falun Gong sell thousands of Turning the Law Wheel, Falun Buddha Fa and other books, and earned tens of thousands of yuan for Falun Gong.
One morning in 1995, I met Uncle Long in Chuanshan Park. He attempted to persuade me: “Li Xiubi, we are close neighbors. For the sake of your health, you should exercise Falun Gong. Falun Gong will build your body and help you become immortal after entering certain phases. You will get everything you want.” I did not believe in immortality, so I declined him politely. On May 13th, 1995, he mobilized the practitioners in Suining to celebrate the birthday of Li Hongzhi through donations. Every practitioner was required to donate 50-100 yuan, to show gratitude for Li Hongzhi. In that year, Uncle Long had raised a total of over 50,000 yuan for Li's birthday. In addition, from 1995 to 1999, he organized donation activities for Li's birthday every year. Long put it this way: “The more you donate, the mightier and healthier you will become. My health just proves the miraculous effect of exercising Falun Gong.”
In July 1999, the government banned Falun Gong according to law, which aroused complaints from Long. He said, “Falun Gong is conducive to health, and the tenets of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance are wonderful. Falun Gong should not be banned.” I told him that it was right for the government to ban Falun Gong because Falun Gong was not almighty. Long responded, “As the government banned Falun Gong exercise and dissemination in the public places, I will exercise at home.” Since then, Uncle Long immersed himself in exercising and rarely went out.
In March 2001, under the incitement of other practitioners, Uncle Long exercised and propagandized Falun Gong at Chuanshan Park. Later, the volunteers were reported to the police. Police officers educated Uncle Long carefully, saying that he should conform to the law, never exercise and propagandize Falun Gong outdoors again, and enjoy his retirement at home. From then on, Uncle Long never exercised and propagandized outdoors. However, he still exercised Falun Gong at home.
On a freezing cold morning in December 2014, I met Uncle Long in front of my house. Seeing him panting and walking with a limp, I asked him: “Are you alright? You'd better see a doctor.” He answered, “I’m the follower of Falun Gong and I don’t need to see doctors. I pant because the karma focuses on my lungs. Don't worry, Falun Gong will relieve the karma for me.” I was quite surprised at the strange reply from Uncle Long.
Then, on a morning of March 2015, I met him again. He was pale and emaciated. He could hardly walk, even with the cane. After taking every step, he needed to stop and pant. He was no longer the Uncle Long who had become healthy by exercising qigong. I urgently advised him to see a doctor and to stop exercising Falun Gong. Long said, “Although I'm seriously ill, Falun Gong will protect me and cleans my body for me.” Uncle Long was so stubborn and I really worried about his health.
On March 20th 2015, his illness was aggravated and it was impossible for him to stand up anymore. On March 25th, the untreated emphysema was aggravated and made it impossible for Uncle Long to breathe. Finally, the chest distress and suffocation led to his death. Even today, I still bemoan the fate of Uncle Long. If he did not practice Falun Gong but continued to exercise qigong, he may still be alive today.
