Darkness and Light -- Escaping the Swamp of Jiang's Psychological Persecution (Part 2)

By Chen Gang

(Clearwisdom.net) (Continued)

Why is it that the police spare no effort engaging in such inhumane conduct? First of all, they are also victims of the lies and hatred created and instigated by Jiang and his followers. In addition, Jiang's regime and the Gestapo-like "610 Office" link the persecution of Falun Gong, the brainwashing and the so-called "rate of reform" with benefits such as promotion, salary increases, bonuses and housing conditions for government officials and the police, forcing them to diligently carry out the persecution. For example, in labor camps, a police officer would get a 1,000 Yuan bonus for each practitioner he manages to "reform," and if he fails to "reform" practitioners assigned to him in time or if a "reformed" practitioner repudiates an earlier statement and declares it null and void, 1,500 Yuan is deducted from his salary! The police in labor camps are usually poorly educated. The education-through-labor system, which bypasses court hearings and directly deprives people of personal freedom, should be banned in the first place in today's society, because it directly contradicts the "rule of law." If the Jiang regime had not chosen the labor camps to persecute Falun Gong, the labor camps would have been much neglected. The salary and fringe benefits in labor camps are generally rather low and people with a bit of ability would normally avoid these places; therefore, the police working in labor camps are usually poorly educated and they are not even clear themselves about their professional duties. They beat people, curse people at will and take pleasure in torturing people. The police who are fair-minded and who do not want to get involved in the persecution are regarded as poor performers and are asked to step back or even to retire.

As a result, labor camps have been turned into places where falsehood, wickedness and brutality run rampant. They are not at all like what is claimed in Jiang's propaganda: "The police treat Falun Gong practitioners like a teacher treating his student, like a doctor treating his patient," and that labor camps are like "life-giving spring breeze and rain." A lot of people find it hard to understand how it could be that many Falun Gong practitioners who used to be so steadfast could be "reformed" in the labor camps. Why is it that well-educated people with much life experience and knowledge, who used to be so determined and would speak out for Falun Gong at the risk of losing their families and lives, could be ridiculously "educated" and "moved" by the police? In fact, these people are puzzled because they don't understand the physical and mental tortures employed in labor camps, patterned after Jiang Zemin's instruction on the persecution of Falun Gong: "Ruin their reputations, bankrupt them financially and eliminate them physically."

While in labor camp, because I refused to give up my belief in Falun Gong, I was only allowed less than four hours sleep every night. Sometimes they deprived me of sleep for 15 days. Even so, they would still force me to do manual labor during the day or physically torture me for long periods of time. Seeing that I would not give in, they asked collaborators [former practitioners who have turned against Dafa due to brainwashing and torture] to persuade me with all kinds of warped arguments. Once, in order to force me to renounce my belief, they tortured me with high-voltage electric batons for a long time, scorching a large area of the skin on my head and body. Simply because I refused to recite books slandering Falun Gong, the police sent me to the intensive training team, where I suffered harsh mistreatment. I protested against the persecution, and the police deliberately hurt me while force-feeding me. For example, when they force-fed me through my nose (a tube was inserted through my nose into my stomach) they deliberately pulled and twisted the tube to create extreme nausea and pain. After force-feeding me corn porridge, the tube was covered with blood.

In February 2001, the police instigated over a dozen collaborators to beat me without mercy. Among them there was even a fellow practitioner I knew before I was sent to the labor camp. I was covered with wounds and my face became misshapen. They then sealed my mouth with tape and tied my legs together and my arms behind my back. They bent my body forward and tied my head and my legs together tightly. My back was in such great agony that I felt I was being suffocated, that my life was hanging by a thread. When I could not endure the extreme pain any longer, I collapsed mentally and gave in against my will. In the following two weeks, I could barely walk, and another practitioner, Lu Changjun, who was tortured the same way, became disabled and could no longer stand up.

I will never forget the painful scene: Because I was covered with wounds and my back was injured, I lay in bed like a dead fish, unable to move. I heard constant painful screams from other Falun Gong practitioners who were being tortured, and tears were streaming down my face. I thought even hell could not be worse! But what hurt most was deep in my heart! Since Jiang Zemin started to persecute Falun Gong with the whole state apparatus, I lost my excellent job and my loving family was torn apart. I was sent to labor camp for no valid reasons and was deprived of all dignity and rights, suppressed and insulted and living a painful life worse than a slave day and night. Even in such a terrible environment, the vicious and crafty police still would not leave you alone and would keep up the torture until they destroyed every bit of dignity you kept for yourself, your innocence and your beliefs. They forced me to become someone I despise, they sullied my dignity and soul and trampled on my desire for beauty and wisdom, and they forced me into a state in which I felt deeply ashamed, painful and disappointed. I felt as if a group of demons were laughing at me while torturing me, "You deserve to live in hell! This is what you are worthy of, being humiliated and manipulated at our hands! You will never get out of here!"

How much I missed my family at that time! Yet I dared not think about this. I knew why my parents gave me the name "Gang," which means firm and strong. That was their heartfelt wish after being persecuted during the Cultural Revolution: A human being should have moral integrity and backbone! However, I disappointed them! I dared not think of my revered Master Li Hongzhi. I had vowed to follow and practice "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance" and to achieve the value of my life based on this, but I knowingly went against my conscience and Master's teachings! How could I be worthy of Master's teachings? I dared not think how to face my colleagues, friends, neighbors, and anyone I knew. I didn't want to let them know that I was a coward, a perfidious weak-kneed person. For a time my will collapsed, I was almost drowned by anxiety, helplessness and depression, and I almost lost the desire to live. Within a short period of time, I became old and feeble, my hair turned gray in two to three months, as if I was over 10 years older. Although I later declared that I would be steadfast in my belief, I was forced to give in eventually. Nevertheless, because I reported the labor camp's crime of beating people to the point of making them crippled, the labor camp police harbored resentment and extended my term for six more months with the excuse that I "interfered with the supervision order."

During that time, my spirits were at their lowest. Luckily I was clear in my mind that Falun Gong does not allow us to do anything bad, and "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance" is good. I clearly saw through those who totally betrayed Falun Gong, in order to show they had completely "reformed," beat or swore at people frequently, and behaved even worse than hooligans. They could easily discard dignity, integrity and morality, just to get a bite of food, avoid labor, or get a word of praise from the labor camp police. All they displayed was shamelessness and vicious buffoonery. What was reflected in those people is the essence of this vicious persecution: turning previously good people into violent hooligans and ruffians! I thought, who is indeed the evil cult? The Party rules with violence and deceptive dictatorship, plus mental control that suffocates people minds, and irrational and cruel suppression and exploitation. Isn't it the most wicked and destructive evil cult? I told myself, "I want to be different from those people, I still want to be a good person and follow Master Li's teachings to walk towards the direction of 'Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance'." With this thought, I struggled in darkness with my wounded body and mind.

Some pitiful people who accepted the absurd brainwashing and dared not follow Falun Gong teachings any more, yet could not divert themselves from the extreme mental distortion and pressure, eventually suffered mental breakdowns. I witnessed six people like that, including my good friend Zhu Zhiliang. After being forced to "reform," he became schizophrenic. He used to be a very smart and capable engineer holding a master's degree; however, after getting out of the labor camp, he could not even recognize his parents and wife, and he could not speak logically.

(To be continued)

For Part 1, please see
http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/12/16/43204.htmlf
Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2003/11/25/61261.html

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