(Clearwisdom.net) On July 20, 1999, Jiang Zemin began to wage the persecution against Falun Gong. Many practitioners went to Beijing to appeal and clarify the truth, and I was one of them. I obtained the Fa in 1997. I wanted to tell people that Dafa is great, but was stopped at Beijing's South Train Station by police and sent back.
Later, fellow practitioners printed out Falun Dafa truth-clarifying materials to distribute. Since materials were scarce, I paid to copy them. If the shop refused to print them, I would clarify the truth to them and help them to take care of their children so they could print the materials at night. I distributed dozens, hundreds, sometimes thousands of pieces of literature during the day. Because of intense police scrutiny, when a shop refused to print them, I would hand-write materials myself and distribute them.
In the fall of 2000 several practitioners and I went to Beijing to appeal. At the appeals office, after much trouble I got a form to explain the reason for my appeal, filled it out and submitted it. A man came out, shouting. He arrested us and took us to the police station. From there we were sent to the provincial office in Beijing for illegal detention. I clarified the truth to them, telling them that practitioners strive to be good people, and Dafa is being subjected to unfair treatment. They said, "We know that you are all good people, learning Truth, Compassion and Forbearance. We are also compassionate toward you, but this is an order from the higher-ups, and we have to follow it." Our work unit had to pay 30,000 Yuan, and the city police department's deputy chief took us back to Shandong.
I was sent to a detention center and clarified the truth to the prisoners. Many of them learned the Fa and practiced the exercises. Some said that after being released they would study Falun Gong. Later, my family got me out by paying 1000 yuan for "gifts." At home, my family watched me closely. I used the time for a haircut, going to a public bath place and grocery shopping to clarify the truth. I thought that telling one person is also an achievement, as offering salvation to one person is one life rescued from destruction.
One day in 2001 I went to a university's residential area to distribute literature, and someone reported me. The police department sent seven or eight people to search my home. They confiscated 3 Dafa books, over 200 copies of truth-clarifying materials and one series of Master's tape recordings. They arrested me and interrogated me about the source of these materials, who my contacts are, whom I practice with and other such questions. I thought that no matter what, I would not tell them about fellow practitioners. A chief named He was drunk and punched me in the head. I almost fell to the ground. He violently kicked my legs with his heavy boots and verbally abused me at the same time. Another section chief named Zhao grabbed my head and slammed it against a wall. I silently sent righteous thoughts continuously and asked Master to strengthen me.
Those lawless people tortured me from 7 until 2 o'clock, not allowing me to drink water, use the toilet, or sit down. I could only squat, with my hands raised. They asked the same questions again and again. Eventually they sent me to detention center.
Four practitioners were already in that cell. Each day we studied the Fa, practiced the exercises and sent righteous thoughts. At the same time we clarified the truth to other prisoners. They followed us to send forth righteous thoughts, study the Fa and practice the exercises. We also clarified the truth to the guards. A female division head named Wang was very violent toward practitioners. Once I talked to her for two hours, telling her that beating people generated karma, persecuting Dafa practitioners constituted a greater sin, and other facts. After that she said she wouldn't beat people and would treat practitioners better. Another division head developed kind thoughts toward Dafa after fellow practitioners clarified the truth to her. She sent new articles around to the cells and gave me Dafa books. I talked to her, asking her if practitioners from different cells might have a gathering to share experiences, and she immediately agreed.
In the detention center I wrote letters home, asking them not to spend money to get me out. They didn't listen to me and spent 3,000 yuan to get me out. I was sent to a brainwashing class where the perpetrators slandered and defamed Falun Gong all day long. I didn't listen. Instead I silently sent forth righteous thoughts. When they asked me to give my opinion, I refuted their slanderous remarks. One assistant supervisor tried to brainwash me in private. I clarified the truth to him, talking about the miracles of Dafa. I talked even more than he did. Next day he said in class, "She (pointing at me) is reforming me." I clarified the truth whenever I met people. The authorities attempted to force me to write the Three Statements and the Five Statements (to renounce Falun Gong), otherwise I would be sent to a long-term brainwashing class. I adamantly refused.
Calming down and looking inward, I asked myself why I was reported and being sent to the detention center and brainwashing class. Where was my omission? I found it! I was not afraid, but I should pay attention to safety! Faced with such harsh situations we should use our heads. After reading the Falun Dafa books or listening to the tapes, we need to keep them in a safe place.
On the evening of the 28th I suddenly felt uncomfortable in my stomach. I vomited for several hours. The head of the class was afraid and found a doctor to check me. Since I was vomiting blood, they wanted to send me to a hospital. After my husband discussed this with them and told them that my relative was a doctor and head of an institute, we were allowed to go home and get treatment on our own.
I again handwrote truth-clarifying materials to distribute. A young girl spotted me when I distributed them at a market. I didn't realize this at the time. She followed me to my building and was asking my daughter-in-law about me. My daughter-in-law saw my handwriting, so she led the girl to a quiet place, bought her some gifts and sent her away. My daughter-in-law was afraid of the police finding me, so she sent my husband and me to my sister's home far, far away. We stayed there for six months. Four or five people monitored me, but I used my toilet break [an outdoor toilet] to go out and clarify the truth. For every visitor to my sister's home I tried every method to clarify the truth to them.
Later on we returned home. In just a few days, the evildoers came to my home to get me. I ran to my friend's home, but they followed me there and arrested me. They took me to a long-term brainwashing center and forced me to watch slanderous video programs and write "sharing papers" on how my thoughts might have changed since I got to the detention center.
There were all kinds of tools for torture in the brainwashing center. One morning, six fellow practitioners were dragged outdoors and handcuffed to trees. They had carried on a hunger strike for many days to protest the illegal treatment. It was very cold in November, but some of them were wearing only a single layer of clothes and were barefoot. Some had their stomachs exposed to the cold air, and everyone's hands were cuffed behind their backs to the tree, with a pillow placed between their heads and the tree. Some of them were very skinny due to long-term torture. It was a miserable sight to behold. One fellow practitioner who went on a hunger strike died during the process of force-feeding.
The leader Gao said, "We do not call this a prison, but it is a prison. It is not called a labor camp, but it is a labor camp. I'll have you work with all your might, and if you die, you deserve it. You have no recourse to sue me!." A fellow practitioner in his 30's was severely beaten to the point where his ribs were broken. He was held in the brainwashing center for over nine months.
Every brainwashing session lasts 20 days and costs 1,000 yuan. If not "reformed," one is forced to attend the next session again. The food was as simple as Chinese cabbage, a bun and preserved vegetables, but they tell the outside that they provide six to seven dishes for us to eat every day. In fact, they eat six to seven dishes every day, but we do not.
We clarified the truth to the guards and doctors, and told them that by persecuting Falun Dafa practitioners they would suffer karmic retribution. We kept clarifying the truth to them, and over time their attitudes improved.
I developed diarrhea and dizziness a little over ten days after my arrival. The physical checkup showed that my blood pressure was 120/90. At the check-up the next day, I asked Master in my heart to help me get out of there. Amazingly, my blood pressure became 170/120. The doctor reported this to his boss. My family members then arrived and tried to get me out, and I requested to be released as well. Another practitioner was also "sick" and did not participate in the study. When she was undergoing the physical exam I remembered Master's words, "The next person's things are your things, and your things are his things." ("Teaching the Fa at the Washington, D.C. Fa Conference") I immediately sent forth righteous thoughts for her and asked for Master's help to raise her blood pressure temporarily. Indeed, her exam showed her blood pressure was 180/120. On the eighteenth day, at 5:00 p.m., we both got out of the evil den and went home.
I went to Beijing twice. I was illegally detained at the detention center twice, and I was detained in a brainwashing center twice. Each time I remained firm in my belief in Master and the Fa, and under Master's merciful watch I broke out of the evildoers' den without writing any "Guarantee Statements." This is the result of the mighty power of Master and Dafa.
One day when my husband and I were riding bicycles and going down a slope, a man riding a motorcycle hit me while making a turn. I fell to the ground and was disoriented momentarily. They helped me stand up. I felt extreme pain in my bottom, back and feet. The motorcycle rider asked me if I was badly hurt and wanted to go to a hospital to be examined. I felt my bones were alright and remembered the story in Zhuan Falun about the older woman who was dragged by a car for a distance of over ten meters and brought down to the ground. I said, "There's nothing wrong. You can leave. But remember that I do this because I am a Falun Dafa practitioner, otherwise you might have had to pay hundreds of yuan to have me treated. Remember, Falun Dafa is good!" He said, "I'll remember. Thank you!" After he left, I found that my bicycle was badly damaged, and my husband cursed him. An onlooker also said, "How could you let him go? You should have him apologize and spend some money." I said that I was fine and the pain would go away in a few days.
On another occasion I went out of town for business. I saw some people kicking a ball back and forth while waiting for my bus. I walked over and clarified the truth to them. They said, "O.K, we will remember!"
I went to do business in a privately owned factory and told the owner, "Falun Gong is upright. The Tiananmen self-immolation incident, the so-called suicide and killing are all fake and staged." He said he didn't believe it, but he wouldn't be against Falun Gong, and he wouldn't report me either. I went to a school and clarified the truth to the principal for an hour, and asked him not to tell his students to criticize Falun Gong in any way, such as writing an essay. He agreed. He said that he had received a notice from higher-ups to make his students write essays criticizing Falun Gong, but he didn't do it.
Master's newest article said, "Let go of human attachments and save the world's people." I will follow Master's words and do the three things well (study the Fa, clarify the facts and send righteous thoughts). I have studied Zhuan Falun several hundred times, but I still couldn't memorize Lunyu. I used to think it was because I was old and had a poor memory. Now I am determined to memorize the Fa. Now I can memorize Lunyu, as well as a few pages of Zhuan Falun. I generally don't miss the set times to send righteous thoughts along with practitioners all over the world. I make dinner ahead of time, have my family eat first, and I start eating after sending forth righteous thoughts. I send forth righteous thoughts 18 times a day at most, but at least eight or nine times. As for clarifying the truth, I do it actively. No matter how much I have done, I know I was doing it for myself, not for Master. Master has mercifully given us everything, and I cannot be unworthy of it. I will become a qualified Falun Dafa practitioner during the Fa-rectification period.