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My Experiences of Opposing the Persecution in Masanjia Forced Labor Camp for Four Years

July 17, 2005 |   By a Falun Dafa practitioner in Liaoning

(Clearwisdom.net) I was sent to Masanjia Forced Labor Camp in November 2000 because I refused to cooperate with the authorities and would not renounce my belief in Falun Dafa. I often suffered physical punishment. One day in April 2002, the police guards suddenly ordered three brigades to gather in the assembly room. Upon arriving at the assembly room, I realized that the police were going to show anti-Dafa propaganda and propaganda that slandered Teacher. I realized that I had to resist firmly, so I adamantly refused to participate. A group of collaborators pushed me to the ground, and we struggled for a while. Because I did not compromise, the head of the brigade ordered me to return to the cell, and no longer forced me to attend similar events after that. Later, because I did not cooperate with the authorities, I was locked up in solitary confinement in July. I was not allowed to go out and was given only tasteless bread made of nothing but flour and water and pickles to eat for a month and a half.

Righteous Thoughts and Righteous Actions as a Single Body

One morning in November, police officer Dong Shuli (a unit head) ordered a group of collaborators to attack me and practitioner Ms. Song Xiuting in the courtyard of the forced labor camp because we would not cooperate with their unreasonable demands. They tore the clothes off Ms. Song's upper body, and a police brigade head surnamed Li dragged me by my hair and brutally beat me with the help of collaborators. After 8 a.m. the following day, Dong Shuli took the practitioners in her unit to the courtyard for activities. The head of the unit used the incident of the previous day to make more trouble. I firmly refused to cooperate with them, so the police ordered a group of collaborators to pull all the clothes off my upper body. In this situation almost beyond endurance, practitioner Ms. Lin Ping shouted, "What are you doing?" At the same time, she rushed up to stop them, but they dragged her into a small isolation cell. Seeing what was happening, several practitioners rushed up together and stopped this abuse.

Through this incident, we practitioners all realized that Falun Dafa practitioners are one body, that we must improve in the Fa, and that we must oppose the persecution together and create our own environment. Because practitioners were not allowed to speak to each other in Masanjia, we communicated with eye contact and hand gestures and formed the power of one body. When one practitioner validated the Fa, other practitioners would follow in support. When one practitioner was physically punished, other practitioners would conduct hunger strikes to protest or write a joint letter to stop the persecution. We formed one body with righteous thoughts and actions.

The radio broadcasts in the forced labor camp were the primary tool used to poison people's minds. They spread poison every day and broadcast 75 topics slandering Falun Gong. I recalled Teacher's words,

"Clarify the truth thoroughly, eliminate the evil with righteous thoughts, save all beings, and safeguard the Fa with determination, because you are a part of Dafa, indestructible; rectify all that is not righteous. Those who are 'reformed' and those who are being saved can only be beings who were deceived by the evil." ("Dafa is Indestructible")

I wrote to the radio broadcaster and told her not to read those 75 topics anymore. I explained the truth to her and told her not to discuss correspondence from practitioners' families, because it was an infringement of their rights. After that, she no longer read the 75 topics. We thus powerfully restrained the evil.

Exposing the Evil

In late November 2002, Masanjia began the first "fortification fight" and brutally persecuted determined practitioners. During several months of brainwashing and efforts to "transform" us, the guards brutally tortured practitioners, saying it was for their own good. Because I did not cooperate with the brainwashing, they dragged me to the head's duty office. They shackled both my hands behind my back and attached them to the heater pipe. The team leader ordered collaborators to verbally abuse me and beat me until I fainted. Then they used three ropes to tie up my legs in the full lotus position. When they untied me, I could not walk and had to be carried out of the office. After I protested with a hunger strike for three days, they tortured me again. This time they shackled my hands together behind my back with one hand over my shoulder and the other hand against my lower back. In addition, they tied my legs with rope. I was in this position for half a day. I suffered this kind of torture four times. Before my old wounds could heal, I was injured again. My legs were disabled. I could not walk for four months, and even then I still could not turn. My left arm regained feeling after one year.

"A Dafa disciple completely opposes everything arranged by the evil old forces." This sentence of Teacher in "Dafa is Indestructible" deeply touched my heart. We can't be moved by the evils' arrangements for any reason. Teacher said in "A Message,"

"Everything that Dafa disciples do at present is resisting the persecution of Dafa and Its disciples. Clarifying the truth, at the same time as exposing the evil, restrains the evil and lessens the persecution; and exposing the evil is at the same time purging from people's minds the poison of the evil's lies and deception--it is saving people. This is the grandest mercy..."

Therefore, we must expose this evil persecution. I wrote down in detail how I had been persecuted, my understanding of Falun Dafa, the unlawful acts of the police officers and guards, and my resistance to the persecution. I handed it to the forced labor camp authorities and requested a reply. The police officer in charge of education in the labor camp came to talk to me and apologized to me. I again experienced the power of righteous actions according to Teacher's words.

I told the other practitioners about it, and they were very excited. I told them that we needed to break through our own fear and the invisible pressure, that we are Dafa disciples, that we are indestructible, and that we need to expose the persecution we have suffered and witnessed. In the article, "Rationality" Teacher told us,

"The actions they are now adopting in the persecution of Dafa and its students are extremely evil and shameful, and they fear these will be exposed. You must let the world's people know about their evilness--this is saving people, as well."

Most of the practitioners who had been brainwashed did not know that we endured so much suffering, and they did not know the real situation at Masanjia. So, when they heard these facts, they were very shocked and many secretly burst into tears. We immediately shared with them according to their personal situation. After we gained improvement as one body, several practitioners in the unit handed in their solemn declarations together and powerfully restrained the evil [solemn declarations are statements made by practitioners declaring that anything they have said or done against Dafa under coercion and brainwashing are invalid, and that they will continue to practice Falun Dafa]. This had never happened in the forced labor camp before. This collective declaration was not expected at all by the forced labor camp authorities, especially after they had implemented the brainwashing. It frightened the evil, just like being hit by a bolt of lightning.

Masanjia holds a big "fortification fight" twice a year, causing steadfast practitioners to suffer brutal physical punishment for a long time. In March 2003, the police attempted to brainwash me and locked me up in the restroom. In the beginning, I was only allowed four hours of sleep daily. After half a month, they deprived me of all sleep. I was given plain bread and pickles but no water. I could use the toilet only twice a day and had to eat in the restroom. A few days later, I was forced to stand for a long time. I had to put my used sanitary pads in my pocket. They forced me to stand for two days and two nights. I could not endure any more and lost consciousness. Two accomplices covered my mouth and beat me. I did my best to shout out, and startled the people on duty. They all came and saw the blood from my mouth dripping down onto my clothes. Police officer Li treated my wounds and then forced me to sit on bricks. The accomplices took my padded jacket away, so I had to endure the cold until the next morning. Li Xiaoyu verbally abused me and forced me to stand again. Police officer Dong Shuli learned about the situation after she came to work. She was greatly upset and shouted abuse and some dirty words. In the afternoon, they stopped physically punishing me and sent me to the brainwashing center in the forced labor camp for severe discipline. I could not close my eyes and sleep because I was under severe discipline until June.

In late October 2003, they again started the "fortification fight." Steadfast practitioners again suffered physical and mental persecution. In addition to being restricted to four hours' sleep every day, we were subjected to brainwashing and harsh discipline. I was often monitored in a cold staircase. Due to the cold, the blood flowed ceaselessly when I had my menstrual period. My padded pants were soaked, and even my outer trousers were covered with blood. Whoever saw me was shocked. Many people burst into tears when they saw me. Afterwards, I was forced to stand for a long time. My legs became so swollen that I could not bend them, and my feet turned purple and black. I was transferred to the brainwashing center and persecuted for two days. My body and mind suffered severe torment. I could only lie face down and could not talk for seven days. After that, I was under harsh discipline until April 2004.

Suffering Brutal Persecution

During the past several years, I have often been physically punished, deprived of sleep, forced to stand, tied up, handcuffed, beaten, verbally abused, put under severe discipline, and detained for extended periods because I refused to cooperate with the arrangements of the evil. Police officer Dong Shuli was sinister and ruthless and always used crude methods to abuse practitioners. She also wrote scripts with dirty and slanderous words against Dafa and Teacher and then forced accomplices to put them into practitioners' shoes. She tore up Teacher's pictures and made practitioners sit on the pieces. Police officer Cui Hong often jeered and snapped at practitioners with dirty words in front of other people, and took the opportunity when on duty to forcibly search practitioners in the duty office.

In the past few years, all as a result of the persecution, I have witnessed practitioners become mentally disordered, become unresponsive, develop serious heart problems, become paralyzed, lose the ability to raise their arms, have their hair turn white after several days, and crash into walls. In November 2002, practitioner Ms. Song Xiuting resisted the persecution and was locked up in the small isolation cell. She was not allowed to go to sleep for 49 days and was handcuffed to the heater pipe or bed every day. In the brainwashing center, practitioner Zhang Yurong was tortured many times, deprived of sleep, tortured with electric batons, had both legs tied up, and was cruelly force-fed. Practitioner Ms. Sun Shuqing was forced to stand for a long time and fainted. She was awakened by being beaten and tied up again. She was not allowed to use the toilet, so she had to urinate in her pants. The skin on her legs cracked open in many places. The evildoers still did not give up their torment. They handcuffed her, hung her up off the ground, and continually tormented her. After practitioner Ms. Yang Yanting was cruelly beaten by the accomplices, her hands were pulled up from behind like flying an airplane. Officer Dong Shuli then handcuffed her to the bedpost with only the tips of her toes touching the floor. Several practitioners supported her legs to help lessen her suffering. In the middle of the night, the handcuffs opened up spontaneously and she was released. This again let practitioners experience the mighty wonder of Dafa.

Police officer Dong Shuli handcuffed practitioner Ms. Long Shufen and hung her up many times, deprived her of sleep, and forced her to stand continuously for five days and nights. In November 2003, during a brainwashing session, practitioner Wang Li was forced to stand for nine days and nights and was locked up in the small cell for shouting, "Masanjia carries out physical punishment." Dafa practitioner Yang Yanting was sent to the brainwashing accomplice group for further torment after being forced to stand for a long time. The evildoers did not allow practitioner Cui Shulan to sleep for nearly two weeks. During the persecution period, they gave practitioners only low-quality bread and pickles to eat. In May 2004, practitioner Wang Li made flyers that said, "Falun Dafa is great" and exposed police officer Su Jing's despicable behavior and the truth of the persecution in Masanjia, and put them in the reception room. She was sentenced and sent to Dabei Prison on June 28.

Helping Collaborators Awaken

During my early days in the forced labor camp, the staff arranged a whole set of methods to brainwash practitioners. From morning until night, the collaborators surrounded us to spout fallacies and evil doctrines. They came in, one group after another, and spoke without giving us one moment of rest. They observed our expressions and every action and movement. They looked for opportunities to disturb our thoughts. At that time, Teacher let me see a special dimension transformed by the old forces. Once a person is taken advantage of due to attachments, their thoughts will be brought to that dimension and they will make practitioners feel that their thoughts are extremely expansive, as if they understand everything. They view the steadfast practitioners as if we know nothing. These people that enlighten along an evil path use every method to brainwash others at all costs, continuously destroying themselves and other people. It is very sad and pitiful.

Teacher said in "Dafa is Indestructible,"

"Master wants to save all sentient beings. But the evil forces are truly committing sins against Dafa by using all sentient beings, with the ultimate purpose of destroying them."

I realized the difficulty of saving the sentient beings. Sometimes my tears flowed like water, and I often felt sad, as if my heart were bleeding. I said to Teacher in my heart, "As a Fa-rectification period Dafa disciple, I will certainly try my best to save those fellow practitioners who have enlighten along an evil path." With this thought, I changed from being passive to actively trying to save them. Teacher said in Zhuan Falun,

"There is a specific supernormal ability for curing every illness. With regard to the supernormal abilities for curing illnesses, I would say that there are over one thousand kinds, and that there are as many supernormal abilities as illnesses."

Therefore, no matter who tried to brainwash me, I would speak to her from her angle. For example, if a person had the wish to seek the Tao [the Way, the practice of the Taoist School], I told her cultivation stories from the Buddhist School and the Tao School. To people who wanted to do business, I talked about business management. To those who wanted their children to be successful, I told them how to educate their children. After these heart to heart talks, I sent forth righteous thoughts to clear away the dimensions transformed by the old forces. Moreover, I recited Teacher's articles written before 1999 and told them to strictly require themselves to look inwards at all times. I used every opportunity to recite Teacher's Fa to them. After their attachments and evil lies were exploded by the Fa, I recited Teacher's new articles in the Fa-rectification period to them, especially "Dafa is Indestructible," "Towards Consummation," and "Fa-Rectification Period Dafa Disciples." They cried their eyes out, truly realized their mistakes, and wondered at how I had made them become clear-minded again. I told them that Teacher is merciful and won't give up on them. I told them not to act like before, to start over from the beginning, and to take the time to memorize the Fa. Once you have the Fa in your heart, you will naturally not fear the evil.

In order to let more people who had enlightened along the evil path awaken and come back to Dafa, I asked them to tell other "transformed" people that they were wrong to have enlightened along an evil path. I told them to make the best use of their time to memorize the Fa, because many of them could no longer remember the Fa. I wrote down Lunyu for them and told them to memorize it until every word showed up before their eyes. Teacher said in Zhuan Falun,

"When one chants the Buddha's name, one must do it single-mindedly with nothing else in mind until other portions of the brain become numb and one becomes unaware of anything, with one thought replacing thousands of others, or until each word of 'Buddha Amitabha' shows up before one's eyes."

Therefore, I urged them to memorize the Fa every day. Many of them were unable to recite "Lunyu" at first but later could recite it more than 300 times a day and experienced huge changes. When they published their solemn declarations, the evil could not move them at all. In order to make up for the losses they brought to Dafa and the pain and harm they brought to fellow practitioners, they eventually broke through pressures, layer upon layer, and shouted, "Falun Dafa is great!" When the determined practitioners saw this, they had tears of excitement. Their happy mood was indescribable. We witnessed and fully appreciated Dafa and Teacher's merciful salvation that allows the children who went astray to come back.

The authorities were powerfully frightened by the awakening of those who had come to brainwash me, and by their declaring that what they had done that violated Dafa was void. Therefore, they transferred me to other brigades and units frequently. I was under harsh discipline and frequently called in for talks. Some police officers verbally abused me and punished me, and some wanted to be friends with me. They asked me why it was that whoever tried to brainwash me would become clear-minded. I told them that Teacher provided us with Falun and all the mechanisms necessary for cultivation practice, more than ten thousand of them. They were all given to us like seeds being planted in our bodies. Who could ever dig out the seeds? I told them that the three statements they want are only a few pieces of waste paper. It is only a matter of time before a practitioner who has gone astray will wake up.

Sending Forth Righteous Thoughts

When I sent forth righteous thoughts, Teacher let me experience the invincible mighty dignity of Dafa. Regardless of the situation, as long as we want to eliminate the evil and its negative field, the supernormal ability can get through instantly. I also experienced that the divine side is capable of leaving the physical body at any time to clean up the environment. It is extremely powerful. When sending forth righteous thoughts, the power is very strong when I separate the dimension of the human world from other dimensions in my thoughts. When the supernormal ability comes back to the superficial dimension, the dimension on this side has also changed. When I sleep at night, I separate the dimensions, so that the divine side can go out to eradicate evil beings and clean up big and small dimensions. Sometimes it even cleaned up the environment in other brigades. At night I often shout, "The Fa rectifies the cosmos; the Evil is completely eliminated," which makes the four brigade heads come see what is going on, but Dafa practitioners are very happy to hear it.

Finally, let's encourage each other with Teacher's sentence in "Rationality":

"Validate the Fa with rationality, clarify the truth1 with wisdom, spread the Fa and save people with mercy."

The above are some of my experiences and understandings. Please compassionately point out if there are any mistakes.

Note:

1. The Chinese term translated here as "truth," zhen xiang, refers to the "truth of the matter" or the "truth or facts of the situation," as opposed to "truth" in an abstract or philosophical sense.