By a Dafa practitioner in Changchun, China

(Clearwisdom.net) On March 5, 2002, the magnificent feat of broadcasting truth-clarification videos through a cable T.V. network greatly shocked the evil. The vicious police stopped dealing with criminal cases, and instead they indulged in a frenzy of arrests of Dafa practitioners, throwing them into jail as long as they found Dafa books in their homes, even incarcerating elderly Dafa practitioners in their 70s and 80s.

One day, right after dinner, the police claimed to be conducting a household survey and tricked us into opening the door. Without showing any identification, the police ransacked our home and confiscated my Dafa books. They tried to take me away by force and lied to me that they would release me shortly after I reported to the police station. I refused to go, so they deceived my husband and asked him to go in my stead. My husband believed them and agreed to go. As a result, they came back and kidnapped me right after they put my husband in their vehicle. I reproved them for lying, but they had already lost their human nature under the control of the evil. They separated me from my child, who was left with an ill grandfather, and put me into the police vehicle.

After arriving at the police station, they illegally interrogated my husband and I. Later, they released my husband for the sake of my child. They continued to interrogate me, and I clarified the facts to them. They asked me to sign the interrogation report and summons warrant. I solemnly refused, saying, "I didn't do anything wrong. I won't sign." They threatened me but I was not afraid and firmly refused to sign. Then they sent me to a detention center.

Large groups of Dafa practitioners were brought into the detention center each day. Many were brutally beaten by the vicious police and suffered various kinds of tortures. Some practitioners were injured so severely they could not walk and were carried into the detention center. Some were kicked, showing black and blue marks on their buttocks and legs; others were shocked with electric batons on their faces and necks, and some had to endure the tiger bench torture [Practitioners are forced to sit on a small iron bench that is approximately 20 cm (6 inches) tall with their knees tied together. With their hands tied behind their backs or sometimes placed on their knees, they are forced to sit straight up and look straight ahead. They are not allowed to turn their heads, close their eyes, talk to anyone or move at all. Several inmates are assigned to watch over the practitioners and force them to remain motionless while sitting on the bench. Usually some hard objects are inserted underneath the practitioners' lower legs or ankles to make it harder for them to tolerate this abuse (see illustration on

http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2001/11/24/16156.html)], some were hung up and beaten, and some had their heads put into plastic bags to be suffocated.

Large groups of Dafa practitioners were detained in the detention center, and almost all of them faced forced labor or jail sentences. The vicious police shouted crazily, "Beating you to death is nothing, and your death will be counted as suicide," "If you die, your family won't be notified and your body will be immediately cremated." They didn't treat Dafa practitioners as human beings at all.

During those days when I first got in the detention center, I was intimidated by the insanity of the evil. When I recalled that I was forcibly separated from my four-year-old child I couldn't hold back my tears. The bitterness resulting from not being able to give up my selfishness brought me tremendous heartache. However, Dafa practitioners' being together, exchanging experiences, encouraging each other and studying the Fa together helped me to quickly become diligent. I began to recite Teacher's new articles. When I recited "Fa-Rectification Period Dafa Disciples" I made an improvement breakthrough in my xinxing [mind and heart nature] level. I understood the mission, the greatness and sacredness of being a Fa-rectification period Dafa disciple. As a Dafa particle, Dafa has created my life. I made a vow in history to help Teacher to save sentient beings, and I should cherish this Fa-rectification opportunity, as it has taken billions of years to come. Dafa practitioners should safeguard Dafa and be worthy of the name of Fa-rectification period Dafa disciple.

When I had the Fa in my heart, determined righteous thoughts arose in my mind, and I no longer felt bitter or perplexed. I would let go of the attachment of life and death to break out of the cage. At this time, a fellow practitioner who had been on a hunger strike for 14 days was transferred to my cell. She exchanged experience with us from the perspectives of the Fa and further helped me to improve my xinxing. Dafa practitioners should take control in front of the evil. Teacher said, "No matter what the situation, do not cooperate with the evil's demands, orders, or what it instigates." ("Dafa Disciples' Righteous Thoughts Are Powerful," Essentials For Further Advancement II) I decided to listen to Teacher. No matter what kind of dangerous situation I would face, I would never cooperate with the evil and would completely deny all the arrangements made by the evil old forces.

After I made up my mind I took actions, step by step. First of all, I could not regard myself as a prisoner. Since that day, we refused to sit on stools or work along with the common prisoners, and held a hunger strike.

Sitting on a stool is a punishment for prisoners to reflect on their crimes or mistakes. We are the most righteous beings. How can we regard ourselves as prisoners? Isn't this humiliating Dafa? Three practitioners including myself stepped forward first and were attacked by evil thugs led by the cell head. However, there were many Dafa practitioners in the cell and our hearts were united. The power of righteousness restrained them from doing whatever they wanted. We patiently clarified the facts to the common prisoners and told them the reason we held a hunger strike was to protest, not to commit suicide. It showed the perseverance and greatness of safeguarding the Truth. Just as Teacher said, "Indestructible righteous faith in the cosmos's Truth forms benevolent Dafa disciples' rock-solid, diamond-Like bodies, it frightens all evil, and the light of Truth it emanates makes the unrighteous elements in all beings' thoughts disintegrate. However strong the righteous thoughts are, that's how great the power is." ("Also in a Few Words," Essentials For Further Advancement II) The field of righteous thoughts from Dafa practitioners shocked and suppressed the evil.

Before, I could recite the Fa but I didn't really understand the profound meaning behind the Fa. However, I knew I should listen to Teacher. Although I was timid, I nevertheless broke through by doing as Teacher had told us step by step. When I really put it into practice, I truly understood the implied and profound meanings behind Teacher's Fa.

At that time, it was very cold, but the three of us didn't feel cold at all, although we sat on the floor. In the night we slept lying on our shirts. On the second day of the hunger strike I felt weak and powerless. I conjoined my hands [jie yin] and recited, "To live with no pursuits, to die with no regrets; All excessive thoughts extinguished, cultivating Buddhahood is not difficult," ("Non-existence" from Hong Yin, unofficial translation) and I continuously strengthened my righteous thoughts. Soon, my energy returned and I was full of life.

One day, a practitioner was brutally beaten and had bruises all over the body. The three of us stood by the window and shouted, "We want the criminal who beat Dafa practitioners to be punished." With practitioners' strong demand, the prison doctor came in and examined the injured practitioner, and arranged for people to take care of him. Later, we realized if this practitioner had not cooperated with the evil and had powerful righteous thoughts maybe she wouldn't have suffered such serious persecution. As there were a lot of Dafa practitioners in this detention center, they didn't dare to be too rampant, but at that time, Dafa practitioners didn't realize this fact and suffered terrible persecution. This was a good lesson to be learned.

On the fourth day of my hunger strike, another practitioner was on her eighteenth day of hunger strike. The administration section chief, along with several guards, came to our cell and yelled at us. They ordered prisoners to carry us to the back. The three of us held each other but one practitioner was still dragged to the back. She shouted, "Falun Dafa is good." The other fellow practitioner, who was on her eighteenth day of a hunger strike and I held onto each other tightly, so we were not separated. We demanded unconditional release, for we had done nothing wrong. The vicious police tried to trick us into separating from each other in order to torture us, one by one. They said to the practitioner, "Didn't you ask to be released? Follow me, I'll let you go." How can a clown deceive a Dafa practitioner? This practitioner said from the depth of her heart, "I ask for the release of all Dafa practitioners." Hearing this, other practitioners shed tears and the vicious police officer couldn't say anything. He threatened to send male criminal prisoners to come and give us "a lesson," but we were rock-solid, determined, and didn't have any fear. We silently recited the Fa-rectification verse and told him, "You are not worthy to test Dafa. What you say does not count! What my Teacher says does!" In the end, no male prisoner came. The vicious police stopped interfering with us from then on.

No matter how well or how poorly I did, I knew I was progressing instead of falling behind on the path of cultivation. One day I had a dream in which I quickly returned home. I woke up and realized it was Teacher's hint for me. From then on, whenever I was not determined, I suppressed my fear, acted according to Teacher's requirements, and I was able to break through with determination.

The first time I was interrogated in the police station I refused to sign the interrogation report; the second time I refused to answer any questions and solemnly denounced the base behavior of the vicious police; the third time, in front of the police, I tore up the warrant, in which I was said to be sent to a labor camp. I did all this in an open and dignified manner. I gave up my "self" and completely stood on the viewpoint of the Fa, and thoroughly denied all the arrangements made by the evil forces.

Because there were too many practitioners in the detention center to be controlled, we were sent to labor camps in different groups. Every time I recall this, I feel sad because Dafa practitioners didn't improve as a whole body and didn't rectify the environment in time. I think if all practitioners had participated in the group hunger strikes or resisted the persecution in some other ways, more practitioners would have broken free. Many practitioners passively endured and as a result were being further persecuted.

The practitioner who first began the hunger strike was carried away on the 21^st day. She broke out later. Two days later, a guard claimed she wanted to talk to me. I wasn't careful for I wanted to clarify the facts to her and was tricked into her trap. They kidnapped me into a car and sent me to a rural hospital to be force-fed. On the way to the hospital, I clarified the truth to the guards and exposed the evil, as I did later to the nurses and doctors, who pitied me and didn't want to force-feed me. I was still force-fed though, because my righteous thoughts weren't strong enough. They sent me back to the labor camp but not to the original cell, for they were afraid other practitioners would hold a group hunger strike to protest the force-feeding they did on me. They put shackles weighing 10-15 kilos on me that forced my hands and feet stay together and sent me to a single cell upstairs. I was shackled so I could neither walk nor move, and I had to obtain help when I needed to go to the bathroom. Four prisoners took turns watching me and I told them about my cultivation experience; how I was arrested, and how my young child was forced to be separated from his mother. They shed tears when they heard my story. In fact, in the detention center, every criminal inmate came to know that Falun Dafa is good. They came to admire Dafa practitioners. Some prisoners even started to cultivate Falun Dafa and said they would go to Tiananmen to rectify the Fa. For such righteous thoughts, Teacher arranged for some to receive the good fortune of being released early.

The next day, I shouted and demanded the thugs take off the shackles, and denounced their base actions. They were afraid I would continue to resist the persecution and filled out a fake release warrant. I wanted to get out early and was deceived, and in the end I was sent to a labor camp. I held the labor camp warrant in my hand and loudly condemned the vicious police for their being devoid of any human nature and exposed their lies.

(To be continued)
Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.cc/mh/articles/2002/12/27/41769.html