(Minghui.org) I used to suffer from hypertension, coronary heart disease, hyperthyroidism, allergic asthma and kidney problems. At a particularly difficult time, I was so sick that I took sleeping pills and tried to commit suicide to end the pain.

However, I found a new lease on life after I began to practice Falun Gong (also known as Falun Dafa) in January 1999. It wasn't long after that I noticed all my ailments had disappeared.

When the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began persecuting Falun Gong in July 1999, I was not fooled by the government's lies and propaganda about the practice. Nor was I daunted by the severe persecution. In fact, for the past 20 years, I have been resisting the persecution by raising awareness of the atrocious crimes committed by the CCP.

Appealing for Falun Gong

Several Falun Dafa practitioners and I went to Beijing to seek justice for Falun Gong in 2000. For one reason or another we got separated, but one practitioner and I stayed together. The next morning, we went to Tiananmen Square to display our banner with the words, “Falun Dafa is good.” We were arrested.

I was held in the Huairen Detention Center in Beijing for five days, before being transferred back to my hometown. Then I was detained for 15 days, after which I was held in a brainwashing center for 39 days. The staff there tried to make me renounce my belief in Falun Gong, but I firmly refused.

Exposing the Persecution of My Eldest Son

After my release, I went to the forced labor camp to visit my eldest son, who is also a Falun Gong practitioner. He was given one year in the labor camp for petitioning in Beijing for the right to practice Falun Gong. The guard initially would not allow me to see him, because my son was in the hospital for emergency treatment. After I insisted, I was finally able to see him, but I could barely recognize him. His weight had dropped significantly.

I was deeply concerned about my son's welfare, and couldn't sleep for three days. I decided to visit the district and city governments to ask for my son's release. I'm illiterate, but with fellow practitioner’s help, I wrote a letter exposing the persecution of my son. I handed out copies of the letter to government officials and mailed copies of the letter to places I was not allowed to enter.

My son was released from the labor camp in September 2001, after being incarcerated there one year and ten months.

More Persecution

My son and I were arrested again eight days later, for talking to students at an exhibition hall about Falun Gong, where posters slandering Falun Gong were displayed. We managed to escape the same night, but had to stay away from home to avoid being arrested again.

However, we were finally tracked down and arrested. My son was sentenced to 15 years in prison, while I was sent to a forced labor camp for two years.

I was tortured in a detention center for not cooperating with the guards when they interrogated me. On January 2, 2002, a guard kicked me with his heavy shoes, grabbed my hair and slammed my head against the wall.

I was taken to the detention center hospital for treatment, and stayed there for 23 days. When they interrogated me again, they poured boiling water over me.

I was taken to a forced labor camp on February 11, 2002. Months later, I was emaciated and was found to be nearly blind in both eyes. To avoid being held responsible if I were to die, the guards released me on October 10, 2002 so that I could receive medical treatment.

I decided to stay at home and listen to the Fa lectures every day. My eyesight was restored after two months and 23 days. My health was back to normal within six months.

Exposing the Persecution

I had no income after being released from the labor camp. I applied for a living allowance from the community office, but the clerk refused my application, and said, “You Falun Gong practitioners don’t need to eat.”

I put this reply into a letter to expose the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. I narrated the letter and a fellow practitioner wrote down my words and printed the letter, which I handed out wherever I went, or mailed them via registered mail.

Officers from the local police station and 610 Office planned to arrest me, so I went to my mother’s home. They drove to my mother’s house, but weren't able to find me. When they drove back, their car was involved in an accident and flipped over. The director in charge of persecuting Falun Gong practitioners, who was in the car at the time, required 57 stitches in his head.

I stayed at my mother’s home for five months. Through Fa study, I realized that Master had not arranged for practitioners to be homeless, so I decided to return home and expose the persecution with dignity.

Clarifying the Truth about Falun Gong

Back at home, I went out to clarify the truth. I encountered danger many times, but I always got through the situation safely. Some people threatened to report me to the police, and some wanted to take me to the police station.

I told them, “Police officers are also victims in the persecution. Practitioners risk their lives, they do not seek anything in return, and spend their own hard-earned money to produce informational materials so that you can read them and learn the truth. The most precious thing in the world is life, and the most terrible thing is death. We are bringing you blessings, but you want to report us to the police. Think about the terrible consequences you would face in the future if you did that.”

Most people accepted my materials about Falun Gong. Some thanked me, and I replied, “Don’t thank me. Thank my Master, for he asked us to do this.”

Overcoming Obstacles

My eldest son was imprisoned, and he was only allowed to receive visitors once a month. However, the prison canceled my right to see him because I practice Falun Gong.

Through Fa study I realized that we shouldn't simply follow the persecutors' directives. I looked for the prison management and planned to question them as to why they issued me a visitors pass, but wouldn't allow me to visit my son.

I demanded to see my son, but nobody from the management level would meet with me. Several guards suggested that I appeal to the Prison Management Bureau.

With the help of fellow practitioners, I prepared a letter. In the letter I described how the CCP persecutes beliefs and violates human rights.

I mailed a total of 18 letters to the 14 wards of the prison and the Prison Management Bureau. When I went to see my eldest son the following month, the prison officials finally allowed me to see him. When I went to see him the second time, the prison guards no longer monitored us.

The head of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee soon went to the prison. The prison authorities then made new regulations, not allowing visitors to meet with prisoners face-to-face, only allowing us to talk to each other using their telephone intercom system.

I sent out strong righteous thoughts to have the prison’s telephones not work correctly. The result was that all six of the phones no longer worked, so they allowed me to visit my son face-to-face.

Working for the Release of My Son and Daughter-in-law

My daughter-in-law was arrested on November 18, 2011, on her way to work, and was taken to a brainwashing center. My entire family and I went to the brainwashing center to ask for her release. She was released one week later.

My son was released early from the prison, and he and his wife attended a fellow practitioner’s Fa-study group on August 19, 2011. They were arrested and taken to a detention center for ten months. Their home was ransacked.

My son was later taken to a brainwashing center by agents from the 610 Office. After I found out, I went to the city's State Security Bureau, Domestic Security Division, Procuratorate, the city's People's Congress, and other district and municipal government offices to distribute letters exposing the persecution of my son, and asked them to release him.

After I handed my letters to members of the City People's Congress, they notified the city 610 Office and personnel at the brainwashing center. They asked me if I had more Falun Gong materials in my bag, and a senior police officer said that they could arrest me just for possessing such a letter.

“My son was illegally detained,” I replied, “and the officials kept it secret. I ask you to restore justice for me, but you would rather arrest me and let criminals go free. Is this a society governed by law or by gangsters?”

They didn't answer, and told me to leave. Just as Master said, “...one good can overcome a hundred evils...” (The Third Talk, Zhuan Falun)

My family and I went to the brainwashing center the following day to ask for the release of my son. Whomever I met, I handed them a copy of my letter. I was shouting my son’s name outside the brainwashing center.

Five police vehicles soon arrived, along with a dozen police officers. I told them, “My son was released from the detention center but then secretly brought here. You have been keeping us family members in the dark. He has disappeared for nearly three months. It's taken me this amount of time to find him. Shouldn't I be allowed to visit him?”

I continued, “If your family members were treated this way, how would you feel? My son has not broken any laws. Can you tell me who did this to my son?”

I handed my letter to each officer before they left, and asked them to read it.

Brainwashing Sessions Fail to Reach Their Objective

My eldest son was still being held in the brainwashing center by October 2013. He firmly believed in Master, the founder of Falun Gong, and refused to renounce his belief. The police thought that if they could get me to renounce my belief in Falun Gong, then my son might follow suit.

They took me to a brainwashing session in my area. The head of the county 610 Office and staff from the city brainwashing center organized this brainwashing session especially for me. Police and community center office personal were assigned to guard the door to prevent me from leaving.

On the first day, they asked me, “What benefit do you get by learning Falun Gong?”

I told them, “There are lots of benefits from learning Falun Gong. Falun Gong saved me from certain death, uplifted my moral standard, and gave me back my health. I have let go of my competitiveness, and became considerate and calm. After learning Falun Gong I became honest, selfless, and kind. Falun Gong brings numerous benefits, unlike today's human morality, which keeps sliding downward. People fight for tiny interests. Everyone is the enemy of everyone else.”

I was told that I could go home, but I had to return the next day. I brought some informational materials about Falun Gong with me when I returned the next day, and gave them to each person there. I asked them to read them when they got home. I later gave some materials to their boss to read. They all accepted them.

When that day's session was over, they asked me to come again. I refused, and when the 610 Office head said that they would come to my home, I told him that he was not welcome. I was never ordered to attend a brainwashing session again.