(Minghui.org) Falun Gong has spread fast and widely to almost every corner of China since 1992. Even in jails, guards have persuaded prisoners to take up Falun Gong so that they can manage prisoners better. Many criminals have become good people with the guidance of the Falun Gong principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
Before the Chinese Communist Party CCP started persecuting Falun Gong practitioners, many guards and about 100 criminals in Heilongjiang Province Women's Prison had read Zhuan Falun, the main text of Falun Gong, and practiced the exercises.
After the persecution started in July 20, 1999, prison authorities banned the practice. Many prisoners who had benefited from Falun Gong persisted in their belief even in the face of torture. Below are two such cases.
Ms. Feng Shurong: 'I will practice Falun Gong until the end of my life'
Ms. Feng Shurong had a bad temper and was regarded as one of the most unmanageable criminals at the jail. Guards forced her to practice Falun Gong, and once even slapped her face when she refused to take up the practice.
After July 1999, a guard tried to force her to write a statement denouncing Falun Gong. "You forced me to practice Falun Gong when I didn't want to," she said. "But now, after I benefited from it, you are forcing me to give it up. I've let go of many bad habits and have become a really good person from practicing Falun Gong. Now I tell you that I will practice Falun Gong until the end of my life."
Ms. Gao Guobo: Teacher Li Changed Me into a Good Person
Ms. Gao Guobo's life was full of frustration before she practiced Falun Gong. She unintentionally killed her ex-husband and lived under a suspended death sentence. While in prison she learned and practiced Falun Gong, and changed into a completely different person.
Killed Ex-Husband Accidentally
I experienced many frustrations from the day I was born. I lost my father in childhood and quit school after the second grade.
My first marriage at 18 lasted only two years. My second husband died in an accident six months after we married. I married again at 24 to a man ten years older.
A 17-year-old girl from my hometown once visited me. During her stay, my husband raped her. I was so furious that I killed him accidentally with a hammer. I turned myself in to the police station and confessed. I was tried and given a suspended death sentence. I was only 30 at the time.
Imprisoned and Desperate
I was taken to the Heilongjiang Women's Prison in March 1992. I was forced to do manual labor without pay day after day. I felt hopeless and thought this was how my life would be until I died. I was desperate and fell into despair.
I cursed inmates, beat them, traded quilt covers for cigarettes, and drank alcohol. I once cursed and berated an inmate constantly, morning till night, until she suffered a heart attack.
At the age of 37, I suffered many ailments including heart disease, arteriosclerosis, severe stomach problems, skin disease, and more. I had no money to pay for treatment. I did a lot of hard labor, which reduced my sentence to 19 years. I still felt hopeless because I was so ill and unsure of how many years I had to live.
Discovering Hope through Practicing Falun Gong
Good fortune came to me in a surprising way. Some prisoners in the prison clinic began to practice Falun Gong one by one. They told me that it was very effective in keeping them fit and healthy. I joined them and soon became free of illness.
After reading Zhuan Falun, I learned that Teacher teaches us to be good and elevate our realms. It's about cultivation. I felt so lucky and said in my heart, “Teacher is saving me! I have a way out!”
In the prison workshop, we produce garments 17 to 20 hours a day. Despite having little sleep, we persisted in studying Zhuan Falun and doing the exercises together. We finish our quota on time and with good quality. In early 1999, because of my good performance, my prison term was reduced again by one year and eight months.
I quit cigarettes and alcohol. I followed the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and became a good person.
The guards supported us in practicing Falun Gong. At that time about 100 prisoners were practicing Falun Gong.
Persecution Starts
The CCP under the Jiang regime launched the persecution of Falun Gong in July 1999. Media outlets across China started broadcasting programs that defamed Falun Gong.
One night I returned from the garment workshop and another inmate asked me to watch a TV program. “Come on, Gao Guobo, it's about Falun Gong.” I realized this was the CCP's propaganda and lies, so I ignored it.
The next day prison officials announced the government's ban on Falun Gong. It was now illegal to practice. They asked us to write a statement giving up the practice. I wrote “Falun Gong is good. I will definitely practice Falun Gong until the end of my life.”
Practitioners from all over China went to Beijing to tell the government the facts about Falun Gong at the time. One guard who practiced Falun Gong lost her job after she went to Beijing.
Incarcerated in Small Isolated Cells
Other practitioners and I were now kept in solitary confinement and suffered severe torture.
There was no bed in the isolated cell, and no heat in the winter. Each of us was locked to an iron ring affixed to the cement floor. We were not allowed to wear shoes or socks.
We were not given much food. We went on hunger strikes to protest the persecution, for which we were force-fed. Guards gave us an oversize bowl filled with rice and ordered us to eat it all, which made us sick.
We suffered many forms of torture. We were beaten, shocked with electric batons, kept in freezing conditions, force-fed, and given very little or too much food.
We resumed the practice as soon as we were released from solitary confinement. Prison authorities again sent us to solitary and we resumed group practice and study when we were let out. We were finally released for good from isolated cells during the 2000 Chinese New Year.
Witness to Hundreds of Practitioners Taken into Prison
Starting from 2001, practitioners were continuously taken into Heilongjiang Women's Prison in groups. Then in 2002, several hundred practitioners were brought in, ten at a time.
We protested the persecution together. We fought for the right to read Falun Gong books and do the exercises in prison.
Guards tried to force me to denounce Falun Gong and my Teacher, and would beat me when I refused. I persisted in my belief and did not follow their orders.
“My Teacher is like my parent. How could a person curse his parent? If a doctor cured your illness, are you going to curse the doctor who saved you? My Teacher changed me into a good person that follows the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. I will never follow your orders even if you break my bones.”
Because of my firm belief in Falun Gong, guards tortured me in many ways. They extended my term by six years.
I came into the prison as a criminal, with no dignity, hopeless and desperate in 1992. On June 27, 2014, I walked out of the prison 22 years later with my head up because Teacher changed me into a good person, both physically and spiritually.
Today I am a noble Falun Gong practitioner.
