Jailed Eight Times in Detention Centers and Twice in a Forced Labor Camp, Yet I Have Never Renounced My Faith

By a Falun Dafa practitioner in Shandong Province

(Clearwisdom.net)

Right before the Chinese New Year in 2002, the labor camp authorities asked everyone to write about their experience in the labor camp. I used this opportunity to clarify the truth and wrote down the facts about Dafa and the persecution I experienced at the labor camp. All the division heads read my article and Division Head Sun said, "When did we not allow you to sleep [as you wrote here in your article]? You must re-write it." Right after she said this, she could not move her neck. I said to her, "This is karmic retribution. Why don't you believe it?"

Then, I pointed at Liu Jinhu and said to everyone in the room, "This is a well-known vicious policeman in our local area. The whole world knows about him. He pulled my hair in the detention center, and hit my head. He cursed at me and beat me. He even jailed my husband for no reason. Karmic retribution for his many crimes will come in time." Then I said to him, "You really should change your behavior." He turned his head away and became silent.

-- Excerpts from the article

In November 2001, the police found our rental statement when abducting a fellow practitioner. A large group of police officers surrounded our Falun Dafa truth-clarification materials production site, where two practitioners and I were staying. The police broke through the wall next to the anti-theft door and barged in. They took more than 2,000 yuan from my jacket pocket and took all of us to Weihai Detention Center. The guard on duty ordered the inmates to search us, and they took away 6,000 yuan from my sweatshirt pocket, my watch, and a belt. The next day, they gave me a receipt of all the things they took from me, which were my hard-earned, personal belongings. I held a hunger strike to protest the persecution. On the fourth day, guard Deng Yongfu ordered two male inmates to force-feed me.

Seven people stood next to a metal chair in the courtyard, including the detention center doctor, Song Changshuang, two guards on duty, three male inmates and a female inmate Duan Jianping, who was the head of Cell 202. Song Changshuang said impatiently, "Hurry up, or I won't be able to go home on time." The male inmates reluctantly handcuffed me to the metal chair. They tied my upper body with a rope, shackled my feet then put them through a metal board connected to the chair. One male inmate whispered to me, "Please don't hate us." Song Changshuang ordered Duan Jianping to pin my head down before he inserted a tube into my nose. I sent forth one thought, "You can't force-feed me." I shouted and struggled with all my strength, Duan Jianping pressed my head down and I almost suffocated because the tube had gotten stuck in my esophagus. Song Changshuang then ordered the male inmates to feed me with a large syringe, and the contents of the syringe spilled all over me. I struggled and they tried to force-feed me five or six times; I screamed at the top of my lungs. Duan Jianping put her whole upper body on top of my head in an attempt to keep me still. As a result, I could not breathe, but was finally able to take a breath after what felt like an eternity. Song Changshuang said, "She is being uncooperative again." He turned around and walked away. He knew it was the third force-feeding for me, and that he never succeeded.

The male inmates pulled out the tube and said, "We don't dare to disobey them. We have no choice." I opened my mouth and my throat hurt terribly. I could not speak. I was taken to the cell. Some inmates were crying, some looked grave, and some helped me clean my face and clothes. They had all heard my screams. Duan Jianping had a heart attack that evening and was rushed to a hospital.

The next day, I vomited nonstop while lying in my bunk, and I had a fever and chills. Doctor Song Changshuang took my temperature and said, "There is nothing wrong with her." Song Changshuang was going to take me to have an injection, but I held on to the metal railing with both hands. Two guards came to pull me, but could not tear me away. One guard mumbled, "She is paper thin, where does she get all this strength from?" They called in two male inmates and a female inmate, and they lifted me up and carried me to the one-room clinic. They put me on a metal bed and handcuffed my hands to the head of the bed. They held my legs, pulled down my pants and gave me an injection. Silently, I shed tears. One guard said, "You have a fever and your temperature is over 40¼sup>oC [104¼sup>oF]. If we don't give you an injection, who is going to take the responsibility if you die?" I said, "Let this injection be given to you instead." He said, "Fine!" The next day, he was coughing incessantly and he had a pile of medications on his desk. I said, "Treat Dafa practitioners with kindness and create less karma for yourself, then you'll be cured without taking any medication."

My First Arrival at the Labor Camp

After I ran a fever and vomited for seven days, Liu Jie and other perpetrators from the 610 Office of Huancui Police Department came to my cell and announced that I was sentenced to forced labor. Bi Kesheng, the head of the police department saw that I was very weak, and he was afraid the labor camp would refuse to take me, so he told the doctor to force-feed me one more time if needed. Early in the morning on November 17, assisted by inmates, I went to the front hall to claim my belongings. Female guard Yin Jie said, "You have one belt and one watch that are kept here, is that right?" I said, "I also had 6,000 yuan." Yin Jie said, "Liu Jie from the police department said the money won't be returned to you."

I was so weak I could hardly speak. Several male inmates helped me into a car. Five other practitioners were also sent away and we were handcuffed together in groups of two. The police gave me a large roll of toilet paper. Several boxes filled with bread, sausages, bottled water, fruit and other types of food were placed at the front of the car. The police officers who were transferring us started eating and drinking, and Yin Jie pointed at me and said, "If you want to eat or drink, just let me know, but the other practitioners cannot." At the time, I did not know that they bought all the food with the money they took from me. I constantly coughed and vomited during the trip and my chest felt as if it was on fire. I had to keep wiping my face with toilet paper.

When we arrived at Wangcun Forced Labor Camp and I was given a physical examination, the doctor said, "We can't accept her. Her heart rate is too fast." Yin Jie said immediately, "It's because she held a hunger strike. She'll be fine after she eats something." Some of the other practitioners also didn't qualify for entry due to their health condition, but Yin Jie used her connections to force the labor camp to accept us. She gave me 300 yuan and left in a hurry. I was taken to the office of Women's Division 6. Sun, the deputy division head, found the receipt for 6,000 yuan in my pocket, and she pretended to be kind by saying to me, "Take good care of this so you can ask for your money back when you go to the detention center." A female guard brought a form and asked me to fill it out, I refused. Sun suddenly changed her tone of voice, saying, "You think I'm afraid of you just because you are stubborn? Isn't your sentence three years? We'll fix you in time." Right away she sent me to solitary confinement and sent collaborators to monitor me. In the evening, she saw that I was having difficulty breathing and she had me taken to the dormitory.

I was woken up before 5 a.m. the next day, when the rest of the dorm was still asleep. I didn't know why they only woke me up. When I was at home, I did the sitting meditation at 5 a.m., so I started to double-cross my legs. Before I could put one leg on top of the other, someone suddenly shouted at me, "You can't do the sitting mediation!" The whole room was now awake, and I continued to double cross my legs. The person who shouted at me ran up and pulled at my legs, but could not move them an inch. I looked her in the eye.

She yelled at me almost hysterically, "Where do you think this is? You are not allowed to do the exercises here." I said, "Isn't this just a labor camp? It can't be an execution house, can it?"

She raised her voice, saying, "Do you know who I am? I am the head of the dorm. You have to listen to me here." I said, "I thought you were the head of the labor camp."

She said, "You say you practice Truth, Compassion and Forbearance? Did Li Hongzhi teach you to talk like this?" When I heard her mention Master's name, I said, "You have betrayed Truth, Compassion and Forbearance. Who are you to talk about Truth, Compassion and Forbearance?"

The division head on duty came in to stop me from doing the exercises. I was put into solitary confinement and was forced to sit on a stool that was six inches high. Three collaborators who were sent to monitor me didn't allow me to move. I felt sorry for the collaborators who used to be my fellow practitioners. As I watched their twisted mentalities being manipulated by the evil, I thought I would try to use this opportunity to help them. I ate a little porridge, but I kept coughing. On the third evening, they started to forbid me to sleep. They even sent a "reform expert" and people with high social status and educational background to brainwash me. During the day, they came in groups of five or six and at night they would come in groups of three or four. I realized then that the chances of awakening the collaborators  conscience were very slim, and that I should leave the labor camp to save people instead of passively enduring this persecution. My only choice was to hold a hunger strike to protest the persecution. They exhausted all means trying to make me eat. Division Head Liu had toured the country to give reports on her experience of "reforming" Falun Gong practitioners and she was extremely wicked. She said to me, "It's no use for you to do this [hunger strike]. You turned your area upside down [meaning: you had great influence in your local area]; you should have at least received more than ten years. The doctors here are very skilled at force-feeding. We are not afraid of you holding a hunger strike. Some of the practitioners held here went to Beijing 11 times, some held a hunger strike for more than 40 days and were more determined than you, but they all were reformed in the end. You are no exception."

Four days and four nights passed and I became extremely emaciated. It was excruciating for me to sit on the stool for any length of time, but I was determined in my faith. I took no notice of the lies of the prison authorities and collaborators. The division head and deputy division head asked me, "Why don't you eat?" I said, "You have illegally detained and persecuted me, you don't allow me to sleep, and you slander Minghui.org [the Chinese version of Clearwisdom.net] and say their reports are untruthful. What I experienced has proved that you deprive Falun Gong practitioners of sleep, brutally force-feed them and you treat human life as if it were not worth a straw. Every report on Minghui.net is true." I went on to list some facts of the persecution. They said, "From now on, we'll let you sleep, but you have to eat."

One evening, the class head, a graduate from Beijing University and a professor were in charge of brainwashing me. They were completely manipulated by the evil and were very cruel. I closed my eyes and ignored them, but the professor pulled my ears and said, "Don't sleep. You can't sleep here." The class head said to the others, "She must be reciting Falun Gong teachings since she's not talking. We should keep saying things that slander Falun Gong in her ear and that will work for sure." I wanted to laugh, but also felt pity for them at the same time. I said to them, "Stop wasting your time. If you respect yourselves, then close your mouths because I will not listen to a word you say." The class head said in a menacing voice, "You will have to listen because we will say it [slander against Dafa] anyhow. It's not for you to decide!" I closed my eyes again and began sending forth righteous thoughts and reciting Dafa teachings. I recited whichever teaching came to mind. I felt as if my ears were plugged, because the voice of the class head, which was the loudest, was as small as that of a mosquito and none of her words entered my head. The class head kept shoving me and grabbing at my clothes. After midnight, they were exhausted and I was falling asleep. The class head continued to torture me and didn't allow me to sleep. She ran to the restroom and came out with a basin of cold water. She submerged a towel in the water and threw the towel in my face. I was startled from my sleep and could no longer tolerate the endless torture. I tossed the towel aside and pointed at her, saying, "Don't you dare touch me again."

She took two steps back and asked in a frightened voice, "What are you going to do? This room is monitored." I said, "But you were not afraid of being monitored when you tortured me, were you?" She said, "The division head asked me to come." I said, "Which division head asked you to do this? I'll go and talk to her at dawn. You yanked my hair, pulled on my clothes and didn't let me sleep. Don't you ever sleep?" She made excuses. I recited Dafa teachings out loud. At daybreak, I went to the division head and told her what had happened the night before. Those three have not been sent to brainwash me since. The class head, who already had heart disease and high blood pressure, made frequent hospital visits.

Because of the relentless persecution, I started to cough violently and I vomited blood. They took me to a hospital and a medical scan showed an abnormal growth in my lung and infection in the airways. I knew that this was not a real illness and I must maintain righteous thoughts. After this thought emerged, I felt Master's boundless benevolence, and I was almost moved to tears. The prison authorities brought back injections and first they did a skin test on me. I thought, "No injections." I came out positive for the skin test. They then tried to use other drugs. They brought in a whole box of drugs and several division heads pinned me on a bed and gave me injections. Two or three division heads and collaborators gave me an IV infusion. The back of my hand, my feet and arms were covered with needle marks, and the skin in those areas was black and blue. Because I had been on a hunger strike for a long time, they could not find my blood vessels. They brought in a collaborator who used to work in a hospital and asked her to stick the needle in me. I said to her, "You can't do this. You can't help them persecute me." She said, "I must listen to the division head. I'll do whatever they tell me to do."

The drugs didn't have any effect on me. The division head patted my head and said, "No one has been held here this long and still remained so determined. What will I tell my superiors since I failed to complete my political assignment?" I said, "You should release me." She said, "I can't make that decision." I said to Master in my heart, "This is not where I'm supposed to be. I must get out and validate Dafa."

Right before the Chinese New Year in 2002, the labor camp authorities asked everyone to write about their experience in the labor camp. I used this opportunity to clarify the truth and I wrote down the facts about Dafa and the persecution I experienced at the labor camp. All the division heads read my article and division head Sun said, "When did we not allow you to sleep [as you wrote here in your article]? You must re-write it." Right after she said this, she could not move her neck. I said to her, "This is karmic retribution. Why can't you understand?" She pointed at me and said, "You are a real counter-revolutionary." The division head in charge of internal work said, "You are very good at writing. There are really talented people among Falun Gong practitioners." During this time, I clarified the truth to the division heads. I told them about my experiences of practicing Falun Dafa and the benefits Dafa bestowed on my family and me; I talked about faith and morality, and I talked about life, family, health and goals from their point of view. My mind was righteous and I stayed calm and rational. They didn't say anything, but I could tell they were acknowledging my words. One division head phoned my husband and said, "We can't change her. Come here and take her home!" After 34 days of righteous thoughts and righteous actions, I broke free from the labor camp in an open and dignified manner. I quickly recovered my health after doing the exercises and studying Dafa for several days, and I plunged back into the current of clarifying the truth and saving people.

My Second Time in the Labor Camp

On the afternoon of March 2, 2003, while the National People's Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) were in session, someone reported me to the police. The policemen knocked on my door, but my husband refused to open it. Police officer Liu Jie sent someone to open the door with a special police key and they broke in. The political instructor from the police station, Lin Zhiwen, yelled at my husband, "Why didn't you open the door?" I stepped in front of my husband and answered, "We have our rights!" Then, Lin ordered 4 to 5 policemen to carry me away. Lin threatened to arrest my husband too if he did not cooperate with them. The policemen carried me into the car, and when we got to the police station, they ordered me to get out. I didn't have my shoes on, and wore only a thin sweater. I refused to get out of the car, and then they drove directly to the detention center. I kept sending forth righteous thoughts on the way to the detention center. The driver honked the car horn loudly on purpose to interfere with me. Liu Jinhu asked me if I knew that my term in the labor camp was not due yet, and I said that I did not know, looking squarely at him. When we arrived at the detention center, a policeman asked me to get out again. I said, "Why don't you walk on the cold ground in bare feet." After a long while, they carried me to the lobby while cursing.

The next morning, the guards had the criminal inmates find a pair of slippers for me, and took me to the yard, where Liu Jie and Liu Jinhu were already waiting for me next to a car. Liu Jie said, "Your husband refused to send clothes here for you. We are going to take you to the hospital for a physical examination." (Later, I learned that he asked my family for money, not clothing, and they refused.) I said to Liu Jie, "Don't you ever think of leaving yourself a way out for your future when you torture Dafa disciples? You also have parents and a family, don't you? " He changed the topic quickly.

Liu Jinhu and a female police officer escorted me, and at night they again took me to Wangcun Forced Labor Camp. When Liu Jinhu went to do some paper work with a female officer, others were waiting in the car. So, I took this opportunity to clarify the truth to them. I told them how the self-immolation incident was a hoax and I told them about the many tortures practitioners endured in the labor camps and detention centers. Everyone in the car was listening quietly. Somebody even asked questions, and I answered them one by one. The driver was smiling and said, "She knows a lot. We really cannot fool her."

It started snowing and thundering, with strong winds. After a long time, Liu Jinhu came to the car and said, "You really gave me a lot of trouble. Nobody wants to accept you here." I said, "You shouldn't have brought me here in the first place." The female police officer in the room looked helpless. Although Liu Jinhu tried hard to convince the camp to accept me, every division in the camp refused to do so. Liu Jinhu told them, "She became more active after she was released last time." Then, I pointed at Liu Jinhu and said to everyone in the room, "This is a well-known brutal policeman in our local area. The whole world knows about him. He pulled my hair in the detention center, and hit my head. He cursed at me and beat me. He even jailed my husband for no reason. Karmic retribution for his many crimes will come in time." Then I said to him, "You really should change your behavior." He turned his head away and became silent. The management section of the labor camp assigned me to Division 5, and charged 1,000 yuan. Liu Jinhu paid the money without any hesitation. Later, he asked my workplace for the money, and my workplace stopped paying my salary due to this.

Everyone knew me in the labor camp. When the division head saw me, she asked immediately if I was going to go on a hunger strike again. I told her that I would. I knew all the tricks of the labor camp. The only difference was that, this time, I was jailed in a small compartment that was less than 5 square meters. I made up my mind to actively suffocate the evil, and deny all the arrangements by the evil, no matter what loophole they tried exploit. With compassion, I talked to the collaborators who tried to "transform" me. I said to them, "You should cherish the opportunity for us to be together. I know your purpose and motivation, so please don't bother to try to transform me. You don't know the current situation about Fa-rectification and Master's new articles. So please listen to me."

I told them about the situation of Fa-rectification in China and overseas, the responsibility of Dafa disciples and the content of Master's new articles. I recited Master's new lectures and sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate evil. I was surprised that I could recite them so fluently. After four days, one of them was really touched by me. She held my hands and told me in tears that she had a constant headache since she was assigned to "transform" me. She was reported by the other two and was not assigned to "transform" me since then.

I started a hunger strike as soon as I was arrested, so I was very dehydrated. My voice was hoarse and my lips were dry. The division head said, "Why don't you eat? It is impossible to get out of here this way, as you did last time." I looked her in the eyes and said, "I can tell you frankly that since I was sent here again, I have no plan to go home. I can validate the Fa right here." Then, she said, "We can talk about your complaints, but please eat first." I showed her my arm, and said, "See? The local policemen tore my clothes and didn't even allow me to put on my shoes. Did they bring me here just to eat?" She said, "Of course not. The purpose is to solve the problems of your thoughts." I said, "It is exactly the jailing and persecution that has made me understand who the real evil is. I will remain even more steadfast in cultivating Falun Dafa." She said, "It is no good for your future if you insist. You are following Li Hongzhi so closely. Won't you still care about your husband and kids? " I said, "It is Dafa that gave me good health and a happy family. There are so many families that are suffering and so many couples that have had to be separated due to the persecution. My husband and I know very clearly who the chief criminal is that caused all of this and who is helping the tyrant to do evil." She said, "Let's put these problems aside. Drink some water first." Then she opened the door and left.

On the fifth morning, the division head asked angrily if I had eaten, and one collaborator shook her head. Then the head said sarcastically, "Fine. This is just great." Then, for the next four days, a couple of policemen and 2 deputy division heads took turns trying to force me to eat. They also assigned several collaborators to break my will with lies and slander. Finally, they resorted to force-feeding again.

They put the prison uniform on me and took me to the hospital with my hands cuffed. Several elderly collaborators came along to have their own illnesses treated. In the hospital, the division head asked an elderly collaborator, who has serious high blood pressure and cataracts, to fill my ears with lies and slander. I kept sending forth righteous thoughts. Finally, the division head asked me, "What are you thinking? Do you understand what she has been saying?" I answered, "Her mind is not clear and she has mental problems." The division head was infuriated, but she had to control herself in the hospital. After the physical examination, the doctor said that I had an infection in my lungs, so I could not be force-fed, and could only have an IV drip.

I was shackled to the bed and monitored 24 hours a day by policemen. My lower back was in extreme pain from the tortures I had suffered. I remembered what Master said in the article "To All Students at the Nordic Fa Conference,"

"Every person you come into contact with in society is someone to clarify the truth to, and what's manifest in clarifying the truth is Dafa disciples' mercy and their salvation of the world's people."

I started clarifying the truth to the team heads and doctors who were watching me. The division head said, "She is really good at talking, and different from others." The director and the political head of the labor camp also came to "transform" me. The director said, "So many people have been transformed, and you are still insisting that you are right. Are you better than all of them?" I answered with a smile, "You are the director, and they are the team heads. Can we say that you are better than all of them? You cannot make such a statement." He smiled too. During those days, it was really chaotic in the division. Several team heads had to come to the hospital to monitor me every day and the head of the division had to be on duty too. She said, "We will go back to the camp tomorrow. Let's put down all our disagreements for now, and you can hold your understanding, but please eat first." After coming back to the labor camp from the hospital, several team heads tried to convince me to eat, but I still refused. Team head Zhou asked, "Tell me when you will eat, so that I can have some hope." I said, "I will eat as soon as I step out the gate of the labor camp." Team head Han said, "You will be 20 years older then."

Two days later, they took me to the labor camp health center for an IV drip. After making several needle holes on my hands and feet, the doctors could not find my veins, which made three of them sweat. Finally, they were able to barely insert the needle into my arm. When I was lying on the bed in the health center, I kept sending forth strong righteous thoughts. On the fourteenth day, which was the last day of the NPC and CPPCC's session, I was released by the labor camp unconditionally. The division head called my husband and said, "We cannot transform her. Please take her home." I did the sitting meditation in the car on the way home. We got home around 11:40 p.m. After sending forth righteous thoughts at 12:00 a.m. I did the sitting meditation until 2:00 a.m. Although I had been tortured for 14 days, I did not collapse. I started doing what a Dafa disciple should do the next day, without taking any rest.

Looking back at my incredible cultivation experiences in the last 5 years, I have a lot of understandings. It is just like what Master said in "Teaching the Fa at the
Great Lakes Fa Conference in North America" (Guiding the Voyage),

"In the future when you look back--if you can reach Consummation, that is--you'll find that it was nothing and was just like a dream."

What has made me able to walk on the path of Fa-rectification and saving sentient beings to this day is the solid belief in Master and what Master said,

"...you still have to be able to steadfastly continue on your path of cultivation without letting anything in human society interfere with the steps you take on your path of cultivation." ("Path" Essentials for Further Advancement II)

I have been jailed eight times in detention centers and twice in a labor camp, yet I have never renounced my faith. Everything I have written here is just the tip of the iceberg of the persecution suffered by Dafa practitioners. I will strive to be more clearheaded and rational. I will learn my lessons and walk well every step in the future. We are Dafa disciples in the period of Fa-Rectification, assisting Master to rectify the Fa and save sentient beings. How lucky I am to be a part of such a great era.

March 14, 2005

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