(Clearwisdom.net) I started practicing Falun Dafa in 1997. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began persecuting Falun Dafa practitioners on July 20, 1999, and practitioners began the difficult journey of clarifying the truth and saving the sentient beings. I was arrested by the local police in 2002, and jailed at a detention center, where I was not allowed to study the Fa or perform the exercises. Faced with this evil environment, I realized that I had to do well, and not cooperate with them. I must not waver on my path of Fa-rectification, no matter what happened.
Practitioners at the detention center asked that they be allowed to study the Fa and perform the exercises, but their requests were rejected. The authorities brought in a group of armed police to beat us. One practitioner was young, and they started with her. I shouted, trying to stop them, so they turned their attention to me. They beat me with an electric baton which sizzled when it touched my skin; they whipped me at the same time, causing me to lose consciousness. They stopped only after they were exhausted and their electric baton ran out of power. After I woke up, I found my entire body injured and completely bruised. I had difficulty walking for a long time, yet I didn't waver in my beliefs, because I knew that I was a practitioner, walking the most righteous path.
I continued to perform the exercises and send forth righteous thoughts daily, and clarify the truth whenever possible. As soon as the guards found out, they'd beat me again, but I didn't give up. Police officer Hao Rifeng was very angry with me and said that he would transfer me somewhere else since he couldn't change me. After eight months of detention, I was taken to Dabei Prison in Shenyang City.
At the Dabei Prison, there were even harsher rules. Practitioners were forced to recite prison rules and perform hard labor. They also had inmates monitor each one of us. We were not allowed to study the Fa or perform the exercises. We were not allowed to talk to, or visit each other. When I first arrived, I didn't refuse what they asked me to do; I simply complied. A few months later in October, 2003, the prison was moved to Prison City in Shenyang. We were allowed little sleep, and forced to do a lot of manual work. I realized that I should not be doing this; this was persecution. I was a practitioner and my mission was Fa-rectification. I should refuse all orders from the prison authorities.
1. Persisting in Studying the Fa and Performing the Exercises
There were 26 practitioners in my ward, yet we were not allowed to study the Fa or perform the exercises. I realized that this was unacceptable. We were practitioners, and should not allow evil forces to prevent our practice.
When I first did the exercises, guards punished me by throwing me in a small cell, where they shackled my feet, and my hands behind my back. The shackles behind my back opened themselves after a short while. I realized that the Fa will display the amount of power equivalent to my righteous thoughts. During the two months I was kept in the small cell, in addition to doing the exercises, I recited Hong Yin and the first chapter of Zhuan Falun. My mind was filled with the Fa, nothing else.
I spent New Year's Eve in the small cell in December, deep in winter. The guards didn't give me chopsticks or a spoon for my food, so I had to use my hands. I thought that this was unacceptable. I needed to join with other practitioners and reject the persecution. With this thought, I was let out of the small cell and taken back to the ward. At this time, we received many lectures and articles by Teacher. With guidance from Teacher, 90 percent of the practitioners stood up against the persecution, studying the Fa, performing the exercises and sending forth righteous thoughts.
As a result, many other practitioners started doing the exercises, so the guards placed me under closer surveillance. I was shackled and placed on a cross for three days and nights, yet I didn't waver. After 17 days, I was returned to the ward. Then, officials transferred me to the No. 10 Ward of the printing mills where I was tortured even more.
2. Leading Fellow Practitioners to Reject the Persecution and Elevate as One Body
No matter where I was, I had attachments to eliminate and things that I needed to do. I tried to get in touch with inmates there. They all had to work during the day, so I went there as well, although I didn't actually do much labor. I sought every opportunity to talk to the inmates about Falun Gong. Many of them were completely unfamiliar with it. After I talked to them, they realized that the CCP lied to them.
When I first arrived, a police officer summoned me, and warned me that I could not do the exercises. I replied: "How could I not perform the exercises? It's such a good practice. You shouldn't listen to the CCP. They are lying to you. You have to know what is right or wrong. It's my right to do the exercises. You cannot stop me." I did the exercises every day, although there was always interference. Over time, more inmates understood the truth, and the environment improved. The guards didn't bother me anymore, so I was able to perform the exercises at the printing mill.
There is another building in front of the one that I was held in; practitioners in that building were forced to do labor in a big hall, and listen to brainwashing broadcasts. Those who refused to cooperate were taken out and placed under close surveillance. I decided to encourage the practitioners held in the front building to reject the persecution. Every evening, I practiced the "holding the wheel" exercise under the street lights so they could see me. A few days later, a prison guard reported me to the authorities. They decided to have two inmates watch me around the clock, but I wasn't afraid; instead, I clarified the truth to them. When they yelled at me, I just did the exercises in their office. They were so scared that they ordered some inmates to move me back to my cell. As they were trying to move me, I shouted, "Falun Dafa is good." In the end, the supervisor ordered the inmates to beat anyone doing the exercises. If the inmates failed to comply, they would have points deducted from their records, with no chance of shortening their prison terms. One night, as a result of a beating, I could not walk or even go to the washroom. It took over a month for me to recover. Then, I wrote to the authorities to report the supervisor. The officials were afraid, and pleaded with me not to report them anymore. Since then, I was able to perform the exercises; the guards just left me alone, as long as the authorities didn't find out.
Gradually, the practitioners started to send forth righteous thoughts and refused to do hard labor. At the end of 2006, the authorities eliminated the ward for Falun Gong practitioners, and all of the practitioners were taken to various wards. We started to clarify the truth to the inmates. Out of one hundred inmates, over 80 of them withdrew from the CCP and its affiliated organizations.
At the end of every day, they called the roll and everyone had to get down from their beds to answer. I did not comply because I did not consider myself to be a criminal.
I have been jailed for 6 years now. I would not have survived, had it not been for my faith in Falun Dafa and Teacher's guidance. Later, all of the practitioners continued to study the Fa and perform the exercises. On November 19, 2007, the Shenyang No. 2 Prison no longer held any practitioners; they were all transferred to other prisons.
February 19, 2010