Liao Qing (alias), male, 69 years old this year, lives in Longzhou Town, Longzhou County, Chongzuo City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and once worked as a service staff in the county government cafeteria. Due to his mother's chronic illness and his own long-term excessive drinking which lead to gout and difficulty in walking, he mistakenly believed that Li Hongzhi's “Falun Dafa” was the most powerful “righteous law,” and his obsession with Falun Gong nearly cost him his life.
In the autumn of 1954, Liao Qing was born in a poor small town in Longzhou County. After implementing the “Household Contract Responsibility System”, he began making and selling local delicacies like pig-blood sausage. The pig-blood sausages he sold were always of full weight, and he was keen on researching various traditional delicacies, gradually becoming a renowned local gourmet. In 1983, he got married and had a son and a daughter. To increase family income, in 1990 he found a job at the county government cafeteria. The dishes he made, such as pig-blood sausage, pan-fried fake lotus meat rolls, and sour porridge fish, were highly praised by everyone.
Strayed into a cult, indifferent to family ties
For years, Liao Qing's mother had farmed at the countryside, her health deteriorated, leading to arthritis and stomach problems. Liao Qing was a filial son. Seeing his mother in pain, he felt guilty and helpless. He thought of himself as just a cook, buying fresh pig blood from butchers daily to make blood sausages, which was dirty and tiring. In his frustration, he drank excessively for a long time, which worsened his gout to the point where he could not walk properly.
One day in 1998, Liao Qing heard a colleague say that practicing Falun Gong could strengthen the body, cure diseases without medication or injections, and even “eliminate karma and obstacles” for people, and “bring blessings to the whole family.” He followed his colleague to a practice site, hoping that practicing would cure his foot and his mother's illnesses, and bring “blessings” to his family.
Liao Qing subsequently quit drinking. After two months of regular practice, his gout in the toes gradually improved, so he became even more obsessed with practicing Falun Gong from early morning till late at night. However, his mother was still plagued by illness, and his family urged him to come home after work to take care of her. He said that everyone at the practice site was like brothers, and he found a sense of belonging there. He believed that his mother had too much “karma” in this life, and only by practicing the exercises could he help her “eliminate karma.” And what he did was for the “Perfection” of his family. His attitude left his family very disappointed and helpless.
In July 1999, the state banned Falun Gong according to law. Under the persuasion of his colleagues and relatives, Liao Qing superficially agreed not to go out to “protect Dafa,” but secretly practiced at home and was absent from work for a long time. When he occasionally went out and neighbors asked why they hadn't seen him for a long time, and why he no longer made and sold blood sausages, he always said that “ordinary people” were busy chasing fame and fortune, which had no meaning in life. He said he didn't want to be a puppet controlled by strings in the secular world, that Falun Dafa had cleansed his soul, and that he had let go of his desire for fame and fortune. He also said that with the future blessings of the “Master,” he would definitely achieve “Perfection,” and so on.
Liao Qing had a cordial conversation with local anti-cult volunteers, recounting his experience of being misled into a cult.
Obsession with cult nearly killed him
At the end of 1999, Liao Qing was dismissed from the cafeteria for not being able to start work on time. Fortunately, his wife learned how to make pig-blood sausages from him. Through hard work and diligence, she could barely meet the children's educational expenses and household costs.
However, Liao Qing was obsessed with his cultivation. Whenever his wife tried to dissuade him, he would become very irritable and angry, exhibiting strange behavior. On New Year's Eve 2000, Liao Qing experienced hallucinations while meditating. He heard his “master” criticizing him, saying that the reason he couldn't achieve “Perfection” was due to alcohol and “karma.” So he took the money from the drawer and went to the store to buy two bottles of high-proof Erguotou (a local liquor brand——Translator note). This money was pocket money his mother had given him to buy biscuits, fearing he would go hungry while practicing.
“At that time, I just wanted to achieve ‘Perfection’ and escape from the sea of sufferings.” Liao Qing recalled.
That night, Liao Qing sat on the edge of the bed with a dazed expression and told his mother that he wanted to take her to the “heavenly kingdom,” while pouring a bottle of liquor over himself. Seeing this, his mother, who was applying herbal medicine, endured her pain, grabbed his hand with all her strength, and called for family members to help. Just as he was about to pour another bottle of strong liquor on his mother's bed, his wife and son ran over in time to stop him from setting it on fire.
“That day, he was quite strong. Fortunately, our son was also at home on vacation.” Liao Qing's wife said, “Thanks also to the neighbors, it was they who helped to call the police in time.”
On the night of the incident, police officers and anti-cult staff took Liao Qing away. Doctors in the hospital conducted a physical examination to rule out other diseases and assessed Liao Qing's health condition.
Afterwards, in order to help Liao Qing return to society and his family as soon as possible, the police and relevant personnel utilized various resources to provide him with long-term, systematic assistance, trying every possible way to help him gradually break free from the mental control of the cult.
At first, Liao Qing always ignored them, until one day, they went to Nonggang together. Through the binoculars, Liao Qing saw the nestlings waiting to be fed, and also saw the busy bird mother and father. He was deeply moved, “That day, I felt the resilience and difficulty of life and the bond of family.”
Breeding scene of birds in Nonggang National Nature Reserve, Longzhou County
Away from cult, Liao lives a happy and contented life
It was such an unintentional moment that gave Liao Qing a new understanding of life. The staff found a breakthrough and immediately formulated a new plan. Later, after more than a year of work, before the Spring Festival in 2001, Liao Qing finally reintegrated into society.
In 2003, after Liao Qing's son graduated from technical school, he chose to start a business. The father and son ran a food stall specializing in Longzhou County's specialty dishes and barbecue, the business was very prosperous. As to the interruption of Liao Qing's social security payments, in 2014, the local authorities applied to higher-level departments to help Liao Qing make a one-time supplementary payment for his pension insurance. After retirement, Liao Qing enjoyed family happiness at home.
At the end of the interview, Liao Qing sighed and said, “It was only after escaping from the cult that I understood the preciousness and value of life. As long as we can get by, it's good! The peace and health of the family are true blessings.” “As a good citizen, you must maintain the right mindset! Falun Gong is extremely harmful and almost led me to commit the grave mistake of self-immolation. We must stay away from cults.”
Source：https://www.chinafxj.cn/n174/c865657/content.html
