(Minghui.org) The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started their persecution of Falun Gong on July 20, 1999, and I, along with fellow practitioners, started on the path to Fa -rectification cultivation.
No Fear
The Jinzhou “610 Office” head, leading a large group of police officers, arrested and took both my husband and I to the local police station on September 25, 2002. I thought to myself, “This is a great chance to spread the Fa.” So I told them that originally my husband had suffered from a brain tumor. The doctor had described his situation as very serious, and recommended an expensive operation as the only cure. Later my husband started practicing Falun Gong, and avoided all forms of medication, hospital visits or medical procedures. His brain tumor miraculously disappeared and today he is completely healthy and disease-free. The police station deputy head asked, “Aren’t you trying to spread the practice of Falun Gong?” I replied, “I am just telling the truth.”
At the detention center, I described the goodness and miracle of Falun Gong to all those around me, and said that those who believed in Falun Gong would receive much blessing. Some prisoners even expressed their desire to start practicing Falun Dafa after their release. Though we were being held in detention, we persisted in practicing the 5 sets of exercises at 3 a.m. every morning, continuing at night after detainees had retired for the day. One day, when I was doing the second set of exercises, and I was holding the law wheel, I opened my eyes to see a male police office scrutinising me sharply. My heart did not waver and I thought, “You keep on looking, I’ll just focus on my exercise.” The center also had a female disciplinarian, who in vain tried various tactics to stop me from exercising. One day she asked, “Can you not practice during my scheduled patrol times?” She wanted me to practice after she had left the premises. I told her, “Since you know my fixed practice times, why don't you come back after I have finished exercising?”
During the arraignment, the police wanted me to cooperate with them but I refused; to cooperate was the same as obeying the wishes of the evil. The police told me, “Since we are unable to change your mind, we will make your son persuade you instead.” My reply frustrated them. I smiled and replied, “It is useless, no matter whom you call.”
Practitioners Are One Body
Fellow practitioner Zhang Limei immediately enlightened the minute she entered the detention center that we should not be wearing the prison vest. At that time I had yet to understand this concept. One day, because Zhang Limei would not wear the prison vest or sit on the board, disciplinarian Jin started beating her. At that point I suddenly understood that we are one body, and the persecution of a fellow practitioner would also be equivalent to me being persecuted. I removed the vest, threw it aside and looked at disciplinarian Jin who left quietly. We never wore the vest again.
A practitioner surnamed Zhou was brought in. She resisted while guards tried to take her photo, so the evil people locked her in cuffs behind her back. I told them, “Starting now, I will go on a hunger strike till you release her from her restraints.” Disciplinarian Jin removed her cuffs that night.
Fellow practitioner He Tao from another cell was also similarly cuffed by the detention center deputy head. At that time I shared the same cell with 9 other practitioners. I told them, “We should do what we can to support our fellow practitioners. Starting from now, we will go on a hunger strike. We will not eat till they stop torturing our fellow practitioner.” We fasted for 3 days and in the end, the detention center stopped conducting that torture.
The Dignity of Dafa Practitioners
After being held at the Jinzhou Detention Center for ten months, I was given a 3-year sentence and transferred to Dabei Prison. In the beginning, the prison guards chained me to a heating pipe and stunned me with electric batons. Later they handed me over to a prisoner named An Xiaoping. Despite her youth, she had earned a reputation for being a vicious beater. I knew this was a test and remained calm. An Xiaoping brought me to a small warehouse and started beating me the minute I sat down.
Throughout this beating, I looked at her silently and refused to budge. She stopped after a while and later I found out that she had told the division head, “It is useless to beat this one.”
I went on a hunger strike in an effort to stop the persecution. Prison officers forcibly took me to prison hospital where they bound me to a bed. An inmate was assigned to supervise and torture me. As a form of torture, they left a feeding tube inserted in me for a month. My body and mind suffered great pressure during that time. Moreover it was summer then and mosquitoes were prevalent. Lying there unable to move, I was bitten till my entire body was covered with small red, itchy bumps.
Once while I lay bound to the bed, I saw Master’s Fashen. Master told me to remain steadfast in the Fa and He would handle the rest. I took Master’s words to heart and strive to follow the Fa at all times, prevented my thoughts from straying idly, sent forth righteous thoughts and recited the Fa from memory.
Rejecting Forced Labor
In prison, we were forced to get up each morning at 5 a.m. Working would start at 6 a.m., and, if we were lucky, end early at 9 p.m. This 15-16 hour daily work schedule drove everyone to exhaustion. I rejected this strongly, reasoning that in the first place my illegal imprisonment was a form of persecution. Forced labor was just another form of the persecution.
One Friday, I returned to my living quarters after work only to discover that my bed had been emptied and all my personal belongings removed. At this point, An Xiaoping came over and said, “Your cover was not folded to acceptable standards, and was thrown into the toilet. Get it yourself if you want it back.” I replied, “The person who threw it away is responsible for bringing it back.” She left disgruntled and angry. At that point, it crossed my mind that this was also a form of persecution. As Saturdays and Sundays were rest days for the prison guards, any problem could only be dealt with on Monday. These 2 days, when there were no supervising authorities, was the ideal time to persecute and isolate me. I ignored her, lying on my bed of boards to rest. Upon seeing my lack of reaction, An Xiaoping came over to try and provoke me again. I firmly repeated, “Let the person who took it bring it back.” At this point another prisoner, Yang Shufen, brought over a small blanket for me to use. An Xiaoping however strode over and flung the blanket to the floor. The other prisoners Yu Yanfeng, Yang Shufen then sought our division head Wang Yin and shift leader Miao to explain the situation. Miao ordered An Xiaoping to retrieve the blanket, though An Xiaoping refused to do so. In the end, Yu Yanfeng, Yang Shufen, Wang Yin and the others retrieved my blanket and brought it back to me, thus her attempt to persecute me failed.
Using the Law to Counter the Persecution
While I washed my clothes, evil officers confiscated a pair of my pants. During that time, the prisoners in my camp were forced to memorize prison rules. I refused to memorize, but some illiterate prisoners in my group came to ask me for help. I discovered a rule which gave instructions on how to protect a person’s rights, which was perfect for my use. I wrote an essay which described how my clothes were taken away from me, explained how this infringed on my rights and how this case should be settled. I addressed my letter to the head of prison camp and gave it to my group leader saying, “Please hand this up level by level.” Thereafter the hardships I endured became much less.
I was released from prison and returned home in 2005. An officer from Internal Security summoned me to a meeting at the station, and told me to write a guarantee letter which said I would stop practicing Falun Dafa. He also asked if I was still going to practice. I firmly replied, “I will continue practicing!” and told him I would not write anything. In the end he replied, “It is almost New Year, go back home.” In this way, I returned to the main stream of Dafa validation.
During my 3 years of imprisonment, I experienced numerous tribulations which I managed to overcome with the help of Master. I am grateful to Master, fellow practitioners and sentient beings who lent me a helping hand through this ordeal.
