(Minghui.org) I am 60 years old. When I was a child, I really enjoyed listening to folk tales told by the older generation and shared them with my friends.
I came across the book Zhuan Falun in October 1997 and was drawn to its profound theories and principles. I was so excited, because this was what I had been searching for: I would be able to cultivate virtue and return to my original self.
Master Li cleansed my body, and I became light and free of illness. I experienced the wonder of Falun Dafa and made up my mind to become a genuine Dafa practitioner.
I went to the parks to do the exercises with other practitioners and joined them in reading Master's books and articles. I also helped to promote Falun Dafa. I was bathed in the Buddha Fa and was so happy!
In July 1999, the state-controlled media started to slander Master and incite public hatred against Dafa and practitioners. I read Master's article “Some Thoughts of Mine” from Essentials for Further Advancement II, and it made me cry. Master is so compassionate! I wanted to let others know about Master's compassion, so I started photocopying Falun Dafa articles and handing them out.
A salesperson at a copy shop didn’t dare to make the copies for me. She said that the police checked her shop every five minutes, and that if they found out, they would confiscate the copier, close the shop, and send everyone to prison. I said, “Don't be afraid.” When I placed my materials on the copier, she rushed out of the shop and told a police officer, “She asked me to photocopy Falun Dafa materials.” She was trembling.
The policeman yelled at me, “Give them to me!”
But I calmly smiled, “What have you done to scare her? You are a police officer, and people should feel safe when they see you. Promoting kindness and punishing evil is your duty. Right? I'm guessing you just graduated from the academy and still have the ability to discern good from bad.”
The officer softened a bit and asked me if I had seen TV recently.
I told him how the television programs misrepresented Falun Dafa and shared my personal experiences and how Dafa benefited society.
I opened one of Master's articles and asked the shopkeeper and police officer to read along with me. I said that, if they knew the truth, they wouldn’t listen to the Communist Party's propaganda. I then started reading the article.
When I was almost finished, the policeman looked out the window and said, “It would be terrible if my boss saw me here.” He folded the article and put it in his pocket. “You spoke well today. You are kind, and I won't arrest you. I am in charge of Falun Dafa matters in the area. Please go quickly.”
I left the shop and saw the officer pause. He then took out the article and read it along with the shopkeeper.
Every day I went out to distribute Falun Dafa informational materials and tell people about the persecution. I told them how the media lied and why the CCP demonized Falun Dafa. I also mentioned how I had benefited from practicing Falun Dafa. Many learned the truth. Sometimes people shouted “Falun Dafa is good” when they saw the police approaching. The officers often smiled and continued walking.
I was arrested in October 1999 for attending a cultivation experience sharing conference and taken to prison. We clarified the facts about Dafa to the guards and inmates. One of the inmates, a former officer from the Commission for Discipline Inspection in charge of prisons, said, “If I had known Falun Dafa was so good, I wouldn't have gambled and lost hundreds of thousands of yuan. I was imprisoned for not paying back the debt.”
She did the exercises with us and listened to us recite Dafa teachings. She told the guards about Falun Dafa, which caused a great stir in the prison. A higher-level official soon visited and pressured her to stop practicing.
Several prisoners in the male cells also began to follow Falun Dafa's principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. It changed the environment: the male inmates stopped their bad habits and acknowledged that Falun Dafa is good. They became kind and easy to manage.
The guards were very moved. One male guard started to practice Falun Dafa, which again caused a commotion in the judiciary department. Officials from the upper level then forced him to give up his practice by threatening to fire him. Although he gave in to their demand, in his heart he knew that Falun Dafa was good.
One day when I was permitted to take a breather, I saw the guard and said, “Falun Dafa is good.” He smiled and declared in front of his colleagues, “Falun Dafa is good!”
After I was detained for a month, the captain of the Domestic Security Division ordered me to cooperate with them to lie about Falun Dafa on television in a propaganda video. They threatened to send me to prison for several years. I then told them about the persecution and pointed out that they were committing crimes by deceiving people.
They asked many questions, and I answered each one. They listened to me quietly. I felt that Master was strengthening me with wisdom. Finally, they said that I had more legal knowledge than they did. The director applauded and said to the guards, “What she said is correct. She is very right.” He then asked one of the guards to take me home.
Shortly after my release, I was arrested, detained, and tortured in the local brainwashing center. My home was also ransacked several times, and I was eventually forced to leave home and move frequently to avoid detection. I was late sentenced to two years of forced labor.
Zhang Xiaofang, leader of the Seventh Squadron of Sichuan Province Women's Forced Labor Camp, was notorious for torturing Falun Dafa practitioners brutally. She was praised highly by the communist regime and was recognized as one of the top ten police officers. She was arrogant and vicious and did not let practitioners rest, sleep, or use the bathroom. She also often forbid us from eating, drinking, or talking. She made practitioners stand in the scorching sun during the summer and in the snow during the winter.
She used various means to torture practitioners. I was forced to stand facing a wall for a long periods while she beat and kicked me. Then she ordered two drug addicts, Zhang Guangqiong and Zhuang Xiaoling, to drag me into an office for more beatings. Zhang Guangqiong hit my head and face with a rubber stick until my mouth bled and teeth became loose. They also kicked my feet with a metal shoe until they were heavily bruised and bleeding.
Another inmate, Zhang Xiaoyan, also participated in the torture. I was monitored 24 hours a day and had to do intense labor and work extra hours to make a profit for the prison. I crocheted children's clothes day and night and was often only allowed to sleep for one hour the entire week.
I was so tired that I lost control of my hands and feet. I was never granted rest and was forced to sit on a “small stool” while crocheting. My bottom festered with sores.
Before I was released, Zhang asked me if I hated her. I shook my head.
Master said that, as cultivators, we have no enemies. I have Dafa in my heart, so I do not harbor any hatred. Since the guards have to carry out the policies of the Chinese regime, they, too, are victims.