On April 25th, 2008, it happened to be a sunny day with a clear sky in Bodo, a city in Northern Norway in the Arctic Circle. Local Falun Gong practitioners got together to practise the Falun Gong exercises and display photos depicting Falun Gong's spread around the world and the cruel persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China. The activities commemorated the incident nine years ago when over 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners peacefully appealed at the Appeal Office of the State Council in Beijing.

I am the wife of Cao Dong, a Falun Gong practitioner from Beijing. On May 21st, 2006, Cao Dong met with Edward McMillan-Scott, Vice-President of the European Parliament, and told him about the brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China. Two hours after the meeting, Cao Dong was arrested by State Security agents. Before the Chinese New Year's Eve, Cao Dong was sentenced to five years in prison. His defence lawyer said that the only "evidence" used to sentence him was a false oral confession.

Ms. Wang Yulan, about 50, was arrested for distributing Falun Gong leaflets exposing the persecution. Deputy Police Chief Yin Chaobo beat her viciously while attempting to force her to write a guarantee statement that she would stop practising Falun Gong. He beat her face until it was black and blue, grabbing her by the hair and slamming her into the wall. He then put a metal bucket over her head and pounded it repeatedly with a hammer. Ms. Wang felt dizzy and faint and was unable to hear. The following morning, Yin continued to torture Ms. Wang, who was already severely bruised. He used the cord from a hand-crank telephone to give her electric shocks until she lost consciousness.

At around 9 a.m. on April 9th, 2008, four Falun Gong practitioners from Caojia Village in Jilin Province, were arrested. They are Li Yanwei and his wife Ding Qin, You Zuozai and his wife Kan Xuxiang. Police searched their homes and first inspected how the residents received TV signals. Then the police found and removed several CDs exposing the persecution of Falun Gong, Falun Gong books and a TV signal receiver. On the next day, the police searched You Zuozai's home twice. You's mother said to her neighbours, "They came four or five times in the two days, which really frightened me." The police police tortured Li Yanwei to try and extort a confession. The police beat him and force-fed him with horseradish concentrate.

When the persecution of Falun Gong began in July 1999, I went to Beijing to appeal and was thrown into a detention centre by police. The guards failed to force me to give up Falun Gong. Thus, they turned to their last weapon - saying that I had a mental disease. They sent me to a mental hospital. In the hospital, several persons held me down and forcefully injected me with some kind of drug. Shortly after that, I lost consciousness. After I woke up, I looked at myself in the mirror and noticed that I had motionless eyes, messed up hair, and blood at the corner of my mouth due to the forceful injection! I burst into tears. They had mistreated me into such a miserable state! I repeatedly requested that I be allowed to leave the hospital, and I told them that I was not sick. The reason they treated me violently was because I did not give up practising Falun Gong.

After finding my attachments, I diligently studied and memorized the Fa. When each paragraph of Fa appeared in my mind, a great deal of energy also entered my field. By then, if I felt any desire, I knew the thought was very dirty. If we neglect Fa study, our righteous thoughts can become insufficient. There were so many dirty things in my dimensions, especially the lust.

Last month I resolved to myself that regardless of how busy I am every day, I must ensure that I study at least two lectures in the book Zhuan Falun, even if it means going without sleep. Only a month has passed by, but I feel that I have improved significantly in many respects.

On May 3rd, a rally "Supporting 36 Million Withdrawals from the CCP" was held at City Square in Melbourne. The attendees condemned the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for arresting Falun Gong practitioners before the Olympics and called upon people to recognise the evil nature of the CCP and to quit the Party.