Recollections of a Practitioner Who Walked Out of a Labor Camp Unchallenged

(Clearwisdom.net) After being held for over a year at Shuanghe Labor Camp in Qiqihaer, Heilongjiang province, I sent forth righteous thoughts one day and walked right out of the labor camp unchallenged by any of the authorities. On the bus home, I recalled the days when I was in detention. I remember them all vividly, as if it happened yesterday. Though I have regained freedom, many practitioners are still under detention enduring endless physical and mental torture. I have decided to reveal to the people of the world what I experienced over the past year, exposing the evil deeds of others and the severe conditions Falun Dafa practitioners face in labor camps.

Evildoings in the Labor Camp

Since Shuanghe Labor Camp became a holding center for Falun Gong practitioners, a strange phenomenon has occurred. The non-practitioner inmates no longer regard themselves as prisoners under rehabilitation. Instead, they now work in conjunction with the guards, following their directions to beat and harass Falun Gong practitioners. The inmates are often even more brutal than the fiercest guards. Among them Zhang Jing and Li Xiaoyang are the cruelest. As a reward for torturing practitioners, Zhang Jing's term was greatly reduced and she was ultimately released.

Another underhanded method used at the Shuanghe Labor Camp is to ask those who have given in to the torture and written "repentance letters" to monitor other practitioners overnight in case they study the Fa or practice the exercises.

When I was released from solitary confinement, I joined many others in group practice. Wang Shuxian from Qiqihaer was one who had given in and renounced Falun Dafa. She became angry after watching us practice and jumped into an upper berth trying to hurt a practitioner by attempting to throw her down to the floor. Unsuccessful, she slapped the practitioner on the face. When people asked her afterwards why she acted so irrationally, she said that she had no idea.

Another time when we were practicing together, "reformed practitioners" Wang Yakun from Qiqihaer City and Hao Shuhua from Mudanjiang City, camp official Wang Yan and another inmate pulled a group of practitioners aside and beat them up. One practitioner was beaten unconscious.

Officials at the Shuanghe Labor Camp extend the sentences of steadfast practitioners at will. They announce that those who don't give up practicing will face a life sentence. They intend to extend practitioners' sentences as long as they continue to study the Fa, practice the exercises or go on hunger strikes. Extensions are typically for one or more months. Once a practitioner's sentence was extended by two months because she had told another practitioner that to give in to the evil force was wrong. By the time I left the camp, her sentence had been extended by a total of 7 months. In addition to extending sentences, the guards also lock up practitioners in solitary confinement.

For steadfast practitioners who don't demonstrate any "improper behavior," the labor camp police apply the following policy. If a practitioner does not give up practicing in the first three months of his/her arrival at Shuanghe Labor Camp, his/her term will be extended by 15 days. For those do not give up in the second three months, their sentence will be extended by 30 days and a 45-day extension is given to any who have not given up their practice after in the following three months. Thus after 9 months, a practitioner's sentence can be extended by 90 days. When the State Ministry of Justice issued a judiciary bulletin (2001, file No. 058) calling for the release of all the practitioners whose terms are due, the police in the labor camp denied it with all sorts of excuses, saying that "to release" were not the exact words in the bulletin.

No matter how hard the police try to stop or delay practitioners' release, they cannot stop the process of the Fa-rectification. Using righteous thoughts, more and more practitioners are able to simply get up and walk out of the labor camp unchallenged by the authorities. The evil will be eliminated in the end.

Fa-Rectification in the Labor Camp

At the camp's daily physical exercise session on the morning of the Moon Festival in the year 2000, about 80 practitioners started to practice Falun Gong exercises, with one practitioner reciting Teacher's words loudly. The guards on duty were in a state of panic. They tried to stop the practitioners by dragging them inside. Inmates and some of those who had been coerced to renounce Falun Dafa started to beat practitioners and push them down to the ground, but the practitioners got up and continued with the practice. Those who were dragged inside ran out and joined in the practice again. Several policemen punched and kicked one practitioner, saying words like "I bet I can make you beg me to stop!." A tall and strong policeman kicked a practitioner, knocking her down to the ground, but she got up and continued her practice. They kept on beating and dragging practitioners away. Some practitioners pulled others back and said loudly, "Stop the beating." After they came inside, all the practitioners recited "Lunyu" [Note: Lunyu is the preface of the book Zhuan Falun, commenting on Buddha Law] loudly. Despite the shouts of the labor camp warden, the practitioners continued reciting the entire piece. It was a solemn and stirring scene. Later, the police asked those they thought to be the leading practitioners to have a talk and then led them away into solitary confinement as punishment.

Hard Labor Won't Distort the Righteous Mind of a Genuine Practitioner

I was transferred to Team One where the supervising policeman told me that I now had to work in toxic chemical factory. I was told that if I was to give up Falun Gong, I could go home.

We worked on an assembly line in the chemical plant, dumping 60 pound batches of agricultural chemicals [possibly pesticides or chemical fertilizers] from large vats and cleaning the vats by beating the inner walls with wooden sticks. Nine teams worked together dumping the chemicals. The working conditions were horrific with toxic powder permeating the air and the ceaseless drumming noise of the beating of the vats. It was suffocating. Our only break came at mealtime. The rest of each day was filled with long hours of heavy labor. Some people had swollen faces or dizziness from inhaling the powdered and airborne toxic chemicals. Some bled from the nose. Some had sore throats and couldn't swallow food. We were allowed to wear gauze masks, some people even put on two or three masks. Still, the green powder reached into our noses and mouths. Our eyebrows were green, not to mention our clothes, caps, and shoes. Whatever color of chemical we dealt with, we would be covered in it. Even our underwear was stained by the chemical powder, which wouldn't wash off.

Steadfast practitioners are the ones they send to work in the chemical plant, even 60 year-old women. When there was an urgent order, we would have to work overtime. Some practitioners once had to work until midnight for over ten days. We were fed cornbread with a watery soup. Some practitioners couldn't bear the physical and mental torture and gave in to write statements renouncing Falun Dafa but one practitioner said, "How can we give up practicing only because of hardship! How can we write a repentance letter only because of fatigue!" That practitioner was due to be released in October 2000, but remains in the labor camp today after nearly two years of illegal detention. She, like many other practitioners, endure such inhuman conditions with the hope that it will awaken people's conscience.

Understandings I Gained While Imprisoned

Looking back on the year I spent there, I feel ashamed that I was not able to advance as quickly as other practitioners. Nevertheless, I followed the Fa and looked within myself for areas needing improvement and measured my behavior according to the requirements of the Fa.

1. While many practitioners were released or transferred to other labor camps, I was transferred to the chemical plant in Team One. I was miserable at that time, not because I was afraid of the hardship, but because I didn't do well in cultivation practice. Before many practitioners left, we used to practice together. Though I always joined them, all I did was just follow suit. Through exchanging experiences with other practitioners, I had a better understanding and realized that we should practice in a group. But I was still a little reluctant. Just then, the officer whose exclusive task was to "convert" me tried to persuade and brainwash me. Not having any effect, she said I was lingering and circling in my former place, not making any headway. I realized that I shouldn't be like that any more. Now other practitioners had left, why couldn't I do the practice myself? It felt powerful with the group, but I should be able to continue by myself. So when the dawn came I decided to practice the meditation. I got up and sat with legs crossed. The guard on duty rushed over to pull me down. After she turned back, I sat up and pulled up my legs again. My legs used to be very stiff and I had to work on them for a while before I was able to pull them up. But this time I pulled them up immediately and did the hand gestures. Though I was pulled down again and didn't finish the practice, I demonstrated that I could do it. Later on, in October 2000, we began group practice again.

2. Abandon the Fear of Attachment

Because practitioners have attachments, the evil force will take advantage of them. A lecture group composed of practitioners who had renounced Falun Dafa came to the labor camp. Practitioners imprisoned in the camp who had attachments were moved by their speech and were dragged down in the cultivation practice. More and more people were affected.

The morning after their lecture, a practitioner who was wavering told me her dream from the preceding night. She fell from the bank of a river to the bottom in a paper shell. I reminded her of holding herself up and not giving something up so easily only because she had gained it easily. Upon saying that, tears welled up in my eyes. Just then, the police guard asked her to attend the lectures again. After she returned, they transferred her to another place. The next day she "split off" from Dafa.

At that time the environment was really bad. The trust among practitioners was diluted. A steadfast practitioner today could turn against Dafa tomorrow and betray you to the guard. Overnight you could have nothing in common with someone you used to have so many things to talk about. The evil was rampant at that time. Practitioners were falling down in groups. Something occurred to me, too. I felt my body shaking and I panicked. I started to worry that I might have some attachments that I was unaware of and that I, too, was being dragged into opposition with Dafa. What if I went on the wrong path unintentionally and thought I was still on the way of cultivation practice. I felt weak in those days. I started to look within myself, again, and found that I feared being affected by those betrayers. Wasn't it an omission? Teacher says, "So why not also abandon the fear of attachment, itself?" (No Omission) I realized that it was dangerous to let it go on like that.

When I realized it and abandoned the fear, I was at ease again. And I came to a deeper understanding of what Teacher says, "A cultivator has no role models." (Path) I would not waver no matter who split off from Dafa. And they have nothing to do with me. Only when one follows the Fa as one's teacher, deters interference and goes on practicing firmly can one return to one's real home.

People With Clear Minds

Among the police guards and inmates in the Shuanghe Labor Camp, there are very vicious people as well as kind-hearted people with clear minds.

1. I Will Light Firecrackers for You When the Fa-Rectification Is Complete

There are many vicious police guards in Shuanghe Labor Camp, but there are also some who do not slander or curse Falun Dafa. They show care in practitioners' living conditions and only carry out their required duties at work. They never swear at or beat people.

I heard that a policewoman shouted out to the sky one day when she took practitioners out to work, "Why hold these good people here!" Though she has beaten some one out of habit as a police guard, she still has a clear mind about good and wrong.

There is another policewoman with a kind heart. She couldn't bear seeing practitioners suffer in solitary confinement and went away in tears. I had never heard her say anything against Dafa. On the contrary, one practitioner told me that she once said she would light firecrackers to celebrate for us when the Fa-Rectification is complete. I believe that thought will bring her a bright future.

2. Two Sisters With Clear Minds Refuse to Follow Police Orders

There are two sisters among the inmates who knew nothing about Falun Dafa. A practitioner sleeping near their berth gradually told them about how Falun Dafa teaches people to live their life as good people. With a pure heart, they easily absorbed the ideas in Falun Dafa and expressed their desire to learn. They took part in the group practice once and found the stresses and pains in their bodies appreciably lessened. This helped them in their determination to go on practicing.

Seeing that they didn't interfere with our group practice, the police guard called them out and asked why they didn't stop the practicing. They said, "Even you guards couldn't stop them. Why do you ask us to?" The guard said, "If you don't stop them, I will extend your sentence." They replied, "We cannot make a living when we return home. It's fine if you hold us here longer so that we don't have to worry about food or lodging." The guard was speechless.
Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2001/9/24/16967.html

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