(Clearwisdom.net) The Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s effort to forcefully change people's hearts has repeatedly failed. After spending three years in Chinese prison, U.S. citizen Charles Lee returned to the United States last month. Charles said that despite all the persecution he was subjected to, he always treated himself as a practitioner. He kept his firm belief and refused to cooperate with the evil.

Charles Lee returned home last month after being detained in China for 3 years

In January 2003, Charles Lee traveled to China to clarify the truth about Falun Gong. He was arrested the minute he stepped off the plane in the Guangzhou City Airport. He was sentenced to 3 years in prison and detained in Yuhuatai Prison of Nanjing City (Nanjing Prison). During his detention, he suffered mental and physical torture. On January 21, 2006, he was finally released and returned to San Francisco. He recently gave an interview about the persecution he was subjected to in China.

Thinking about the deceived Chinese people

Reporter: Welcome back, Charles. Can you tell us how you feel right now?

Charles: Thank you. It is good to be back, but I have mixed feelings. On one hand, I feel relaxed after I returned to freedom and was again among my friends. While in China's prison system, I was under constant duress. On the other hand, I feel deep sorrow for Falun Gong practitioners who still suffer persecution in China, Chinese people who were deceived by the propaganda, and people who are scared of the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP)'s power. Please, do not forget that I was illegally sentenced and tortured. I appealed three times and did not receive justice. In order to restore justice, I have much to do.

Choosing return to China to clarify the truth instead of a comfortable life

Reporter: You lived a comfortable life in the U.S., and you can practice Falun Gong here. Why did you decide to go to China?

Charles: I felt the deepest responsibility to clarify the truth to people in China. First, I was born in China, so many of my friends and relatives are there. Secondly, I felt that I would be extremely selfish, given that I'm a practitioner, if I'm not actively involved in stopping the persecution. Thirdly, any person who has a sense of justice would hold the thought of helping the Chinese people, who are deceived by the state controlled media.

Reporter: Can you describe the most difficult time you experienced while in prison?

Charles: There were three phases during my incarceration. In phase I, I was detained in Yangzhou Detention Center. Before they could sentence me to a prison term they had to go through the formality of a trial. Because of many people's attention, the persecutors did not dare to torture me as brutally as I was later in Nanjing Prison.

Sleep deprivation for 92 hours

(Charles continues) However, they did use sleep deprivation for 92 hours to torture me. They also forced me to watch videos slandering Falun Gong and put handcuffs on me. An informer told me that they originally had wanted to charge me with practicing Falun Gong. But, because I am a U.S. citizen, they concocted a story instead that I was going to "damage media equipment." They did stay away from mentioning Falun Gong, as such a charge would involve the issue of freedom of belief. During the trial, they did not allow me to defend myself or provide evidence to disprove their charge. Even under Chinese law, the trial was illegal -- it was merely a "show trial."

During Phase II, I was detained in Nanjing Prison. After I was detained Yangzhou Detention Center for 3 months, they sentenced me to a 3-year prison term. They had already planned how to torture me during those three years. In the beginning, they tried to turn me against Falun Gong and give up my cultivation.

Mental torture: being monitored around the clock

This was the most difficult stage. The persecutors used all kinds of methods at their disposal, including physical torture and brainwashing. They put me into a small room. Guards and inmates ganged up and forced me to watch videos slandering Dafa. I refused and tried to walk out of the room, but they forcefully pushed me back and held me down. When I closed my eyes, they tortured me. Sometimes they held "criticizing conferences" against Falun Gong. I tried to walk out and was forcefully restrained.

They also tortured me mentally by putting pressure on me. Usually, ten to twelve people monitored me around the clock. Sometimes when I woke up at night, I saw someone staring at me, which was very disturbing. Wherever I went, someone followed right behind me. (Charles showed the reporter how close they followed him.)

I was used to large personal space from living in the U.S. At that time, a guy taller and stronger than I followed me everywhere, including when I used the restroom. He put his nose into every aspect of my life. Sometimes when I sat on my bed with my legs crossed, he immediately pulled my legs straight. When I asked him why, he said because you practice Falun Gong, you could not sit like that. I protested and said, 'I have the freedom to practice.' Anyway, I wasn't practicing. But he insisted. You can't imagine the feeling, being under this kind of pressure at all times, and having every movement monitored. It was as if I did not have room to even breathe. This is actually a form of mental torture.

The persecutors took turns to brainwash me

After some time, a guard was brought in on orders from above. He forced me to talk with him. When I refused, he cursed at me, calling me a criminal and forced me to obey. They also took turns to brainwash me. First they forced me to watch a movie that slanders Falun Gong, and then guards talked with me in groups, one group after another, without giving me any time to rest.

Charles remained firm in his belief, in spite of the methods used by the CCP

From June to December in 2003, the persecutors in Nanjing Prison used the above methods to torture me, in an effort to make me renounce my belief. I was firm in my belief, and knew that I was doing a righteous thing. Therefore, their torture made me even more firm in my belief. Realizing this, the persecutors changed their methods.

Beginning in January 2004, they tried to have me agree to the terms of the trial, without mentioning Falun Gong. They used many methods to make me admit that tapping into the TV network to clarify the truth violated Chinese laws. For example, they used the rules and regulations of the prison to try to subtly sway me. They hoped that I would admit to being a criminal. They also asked me to fill out criminal's appraisal forms and take my fingerprints. I refused, but they forcefully took my fingerprints. They also forced me to memorize the rules and regulations of the prison. Cooperation with the persecutors would have meant that I admitted that I was guilty as charged.

(To be continued)