Liu Xiaomei (a pseudonym), female, born in February 1975, was from Putian City, Fujian Province.

In July 1994, after graduating from a high school, Xiaomei went to work in a local shoe factory to make money and support the family. Xiaomei’s parents were already advanced in years, and she was the only child in her family. As an introverted girl, although Xiaomei failed her university entrance examinations, she used to hide in her room to keep reading in the spare time.

Several peaceful years passed. In March 1997, Xiaomei saw a portrait of Li Hongzhi for the first time at the dormitory of a colleague named Chen Xia, and gradually came into contact with words such as “Falun Dafa”, “Consummation”, etc. As a pure-minded girl who liked to read, Xiaomei was quite interested in what those words suggested. After borrowing some “Falun Gong” books from her colleague Chen Xia and bringing them back to her own room, Xiaomei read them in her free time and consulted Chen Xia on questions she didn’t understand. Chen Xia was quite happy about it because she got a proactive learner, and no one else would “practice” with her before. They both regarded Li Hongzhi as a contemporary “living Buddha” and believed he would save people like them. They were also fully convinced that as long as they wholeheartedly learned the “Fa” and prayed for blessings with sincerity, they could dispel ill fortunes and achieve “Perfection”.

In July 1999, the state banned “Falun Gong” cult according to national laws. Out of their opposition to the state’s ban, Xiaomei and Chen Xia furtively participated in illegal activities such as the so-called “Dafa promotion” or “Dafa rectification”, distributing “Falun Gong” books and leaflets in villages near the factory. To show their loyalty to “Master” Li Hongzhi, on a Saturday night near the end of that year, with “Falun Gong” books in their hands, Xiaomei and Chen Xia kneeled down in front of the portrait of Li Hongzhi, and pledged that they were determined to carry out the “Dafa promotion” and wouldn’t get married for all their life, wholeheartedly dedicating their life to cultivation, that they were willing to be struck by lightning and split into two halves if they went back on their words. In less than one week, both Chen Xia and Xiaomei quitted their jobs to “promote Dafa” and “protect Dafa” in full-time, spreading Li Hongzhi’s “scriptures” day and night. In the spring of 2000, Xiaomei, Chen Xia and other “Falun Gong” followers who participated illegal activities, were arrested and sentenced to one year of reeducation through labor for “violating public security regulations”.

During this period, Xiaomei and Chen Xia more or less changed their mind, but they had difficulties in forgetting Li Hongzhi’s heresies after being brainwashed for such a long time. At that time, Xiaomei’s parents went to dissuade her from believing in “Falun Gong” so that she could have a normal life. In addition to the illusion of “Perfection”, Xiaomei lived in constant fear of suffering retribution for breaking her oath. However, with the patient education of deprogramming officers, Chen Xia experienced dramatic changes in her mind which eventually helped her break free of the spiritual shackles inflicted by their “oath”. Later, Chen Xia got married and had a happy life.

After returning home in 2001, it seemed that Xiaomei had changed her mind. But actually, she never forgot her “oath”. In the following years, she neither went out to participate in illegal activities nor went to work. Without a source of income, Xiaomei lived off her parents who made a living by assembling spare parts of electronic watches daily. Therefore, the whole family was always in financial straits. Due to years of depression, her father suffered from heart attack from time to time. Being short of money made him unable to receive medical treatment in time. Eventually, her father died of a relapse of heart attack in September 2006. However, upon the death of her father, Xiaomei showed little concern, changed nothing about her behavior, and kept ignoring the well-beings of her mother. She wouldn’t help her mother while her mother was busy at family chores with rheumatic legs. And she wouldn’t listen when her mother implored her to find a job or get married. In December 2008, two years after her father’s death, her broken-hearted mother died of illness too.

After losing her parents, relatives helped Xiaomei a lot. And she gradually changed her mind and became more cheerful than before. She started to communicate with neighbors in a normal way and go out to work. In the fall of 2011, with the financial aid from the local government, Xiaomei renovated and repainted her previously dilapidated old house and made it comfortable to live in. From time to time, she would even invite relatives and friends over for a chat. Only then had she totally stopped worshiping Li Hongzhi, and chucked away the portrait of the “Master”, and finally let go of the terrible “oath”. By then, she was over 40.

A foolish “oath” brought about so many misfortunes on Xiaomei, it killed her parents and almost ruined her whole life. Fortunately, the nightmare will soon become history, a new and bright life awaits her ahead.