Three Years of Hardship and Torture Cannot Change Practitioners' Hearts

A Guangxi Province Falun Dafa practitioner began practising in December 1997 and continued to practise openly, even after the persecution began on July 20, 1999. In October 1999, she went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong, where she was arrested. While detained at a Beijing Detention Centre, she went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution. This practitioner was later sent back to a city detention centre in Guangxi for one and a half months. Since May 2000, she was illegally detained in Guangxi Female Forced Labour Camp and in a city detention centre, during which time she firmly cultivated Falun Dafa and protested the persecution by going on hunger strikes. She experienced a myriad of tribulations and was later able to escape that den of evil with her righteous thoughts. In her own words, the following story details some of the persecution she suffered:

Guangxi Female Forced Labour Camp (May 2000 to June 2002)

1. Tied Up, Hung Up, Incessantly Beaten and Deprived of Sleep

I was once tied to a tree from morning until midnight, every day, continuously for an entire month. When I was tied up, both of my hands were forcibly stretched back to hold the tree, crossed and tied, then hoisted from the tree. [This is a variation on a typical torture method known as "Hung up with Hands Cuffed Behind the Back." With both hands cuffed behind the back, and both feet either off the ground or with only the toes touching, one is hung from a basketball support or house beam by the handcuffs. Both hands and arms soon lose sensory perception, and both hands will eventually go dead from lack of blood circulation.] Some practitioners had obviously fainted from this torture, and yet were said to be "sleeping." As time passed, increasingly more practitioners were tied up in trees, so that the entire small woods and even the poles in the labour section were fully loaded with practitioners. Falun Dafa practitioners' spirit of defying brutal force and their persistence in clarifying the truth pervaded the entire forced labour camp. The prison guards grew fearful that their cruelty would become too well known, so they changed their torture method to tying up the practitioners in rooms, in order to both conceal the crime and to keep practitioners separated from one another. In the beginning, I was tied up for either as long as I had requested to practise the exercises, or for as long as I had already practised. Later on, however, regardless of whether I even practised or not, I would be tied up in the evening and not untied until breakfast the next morning.

Immediately after breakfast, I began my day of forced labour. By order of the prison guards, there were other prisoners monitoring me as I worked, to make sure that I stayed awake. They would beat me whenever I closed my eyes. One day, I did not eat my lunch and instead used my lunchtime to close my eyes. For this, I was unexpectedly tied up because they apparently did not want me to be healthy. At that time, I had already been deprived of sleep for many days. It was really hard to resist the sleepy feeling, and I just wanted to close my eyes for awhile, fully realising that they would probably tie me up to a tree for doing so. The two prisoners that had been monitoring me beat me and pulled me up by my hair. When they tied me, they pulled both of my hands toward the two opposite sides and tightly tied them up. My legs were also tied up. Sometimes, I was tied up and half-hung, so that I could just barely touch the ground with my toes. There was nothing around me on which I could lean and gain any support. It was so painful that I kept sweating and could hardly fall asleep. The prison guards also told the prisoners to tie the ropes tightly, and if any prisoner was found to have secretly loosened the rope, she would be punished by having an extra ten days added to her prison term. I could barely withstand the sleepiness, night after night. No matter how hard the work inspectors or duty personnel pushed me, or how hard the criminal prisoners beat me, I still forced my eyes to close, to sleep for awhile. However, they stretched my hands and legs wider apart and also pulled the rope tighter. It was so painful that there was no way I could close my eyes. If I had not cultivated Falun Dafa, I would have been wondering how many times I could possibly die. Every morning when the rope was loosened, my hands and legs were numb. Deep black imprints were left where the ropes had been. The bruises they left became red and swollen. Only after all the prisoners in the cellblock interceded on my behalf, did the prison guards finally allow me to simply sleep.

Before long, however, the prisoners in charge of monitoring me began torturing me again. Just before I was ready to fall asleep, they would ask me whether I still practised Falun Dafa. Disregarding whether I had even answered them, they tied me for three nights, and then asked me again whether I still practised, threatening to tie me for an entire week, regardless of my answer, unless I promised to give up practising. I ignored them and prepared to fall asleep. They just pulled me up and tied me. After ten days of this, they no longer asked me anything, but routinely tied me up very tightly as soon as I had finished working each day. When I was half-hung, there was no point of support for my whole body other than my tiptoes. This time, after tying me for several days, they said they would let me go to sleep as long as I did not awaken earlier than they did. One day, I was beaten just because I had gotten up before them to fold my blanket. Another time, because I had been caught talking, the person on duty and the prisoners stuffed a dirty rag in my mouth, sealed it with tape, then beat my face and mouth, which became red and swollen. The person on duty also threw some hard-soled boots at my head.

Sometimes, I was tied up from day until night and also half-hung. One night, after we were forced to see a TV programme that slandered Falun Dafa, I was told to write a review of the programme. I refused, and said that I wanted to practise the next morning. The team leader said, "You will be tied up if you practise." He ordered the personnel on duty to come over and make me stand on a chair while they hung me from the crossbeam of the labour section. After tying me up, they removed the chair. Several practitioners were tied up this time, and some of them had been tied up continuously for a week. Several times, I was also tied in a kneeling posture, with my feet pressed flat and bundled to an iron rod along with my hands.

Some practitioners were punished by being forced to stand in the blistering sun for long periods. For several months at a time, some practitioners were not allowed to sleep for more than two hours per day. In one instance, the prisoners in charge of monitoring did not allow Falun Dafa practitioners to close their eyes, even for a second, or they would be punished by being forced to "stand still" and also have an additional day added to their prison terms. [The so-called "Punishment by Forcing to Stand for a Long Time" means that the victim has to stand, facing a wall all day long except for the time spent eating, sleeping and using the toilet, from the time she rises until the next morning when she is allowed to go to bed. This abuse usually lasts several days. If someone cannot withstand the intensity of prolonged standing and loses consciousness, the guards will then force-feed her with drugs.]

2. Solitary Confinement

One day, because I was overheard telling another practitioner that the brainwashing was immoral, I was confined to a solitary compartment for over ten days. There were no chopsticks supplied with the meal, so I did not eat. Later on, the person on duty ordered me to dump the food into the toilet bowl. I refused, but asked her to please take it to feed the pigs. The following day, the prisoner served my rice in a filthy bowl.

I was confined in a solitary compartment for the second time because I practised the Falun Dafa exercises. The team leader abused me with foul language. Several practitioners who had been brainwashed attempted to brainwash me. They saw that I was thinly clad and it had just turned cold, so they gave me a coat. But the team leader did not approve and did not allow me to have it, or a blanket either. I was so cold that it was impossible to fall asleep. After enduring this for several nights, I finally requested a blanket, but they just gave me some old batting.

3. Indecently Insulted

The prisoners in charge of monitoring practitioners stripped me naked and tied me up with both of my hands pulled in opposite directions. They put a stool between my legs and tied my feet. Two prisoners indecently fondled my body with their hands. At the same time, they beat and abused me saying, "So, you want to fight with the Party and the prison guards! Do you think you can you win? Can you leave this place? Tonight, we will not stop fondling you until you write the statement of guarantee." [A statement to declare that she is remorseful for practising Falun Gong and guarantees not to practise Falun Gong again, not to go to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong, and never again associate with any Falun Dafa practitioners.] "If you do not write it tonight, we will continue with this tomorrow. We do not intend to sleep tonight."

They also invited other prisoners to come and watch them beat and fondle me. Only one person came over to beat me, to whom I said, "Do not do such a thing. There is no benefit to you if you do it." But they did not listen to me. Then I called the prison guards to untie me and told them I had something to say. It was a very long time before the prison guards asked the person on duty to untie me.

4. Restricted Activities: Speaking, Going to the Toilet and Taking a Shower

Since the Falun Dafa practitioners adhered to their belief and refused to be brainwashed, all of their daily activities were restricted. They were not allowed to talk, look at each other or even smile. Sometimes, two practitioners would be found walking a bit too close to each other, so they would be abused. Even if we wanted to go to the toilet, we had to ask for permission. During our menstrual periods, the regulation did not allow us to go to the toilet at night. Sometimes, we were not even allowed to go during the day either. The police guards said, "Why did you not transform [get brainwashed]?" Even when we were allowed to go to the toilet, they also hurried us and abused us. Some elderly practitioners were pulled up, beaten and abused, even when they had not yet finished using the toilet. Since I was often prevented from going to the toilet for long periods of time, I suffered from incontinence. We were also not allowed to take showers or receive any money from our family or friends. The prisoners monitoring me were free to ransack my bag and pockets at any time, so my money was often stolen. Some prisoners often helped themselves to my daily necessities as well. Sometimes, friends and relatives would try to send daily necessities to me, but the prison guards would not accept them for me. By following the prison guards' orders to monitor Falun Dafa practitioners, a criminal prisoner could have her prison term reduced and her workload cut in half. If a prisoner could successfully force Falun Dafa practitioners to compromise their belief, then her prison term could be reduced even more.

5. Overload of Work and Forced Overtime

We had to work for over ten hours each day. Sometimes, in order to finish the designated workload, we had to work overtime till midnight or sometimes later, even through the night. Generally, we made handicraft products for export. This painstaking labour overtaxed the nerves and the eyes. Some people's eyes became severely damaged from the work. Falun Dafa practitioners as old as sixty or seventy were also persecuted in the same way.

6. My Term Was Extended for a Year Without Any Reason

Initially, I was illegally sentenced to a year of forced labour "re-education," but because I adhered to my belief, another year was added to my sentence. Liang Suzhen, Team Leader of the prison guards, told me that the law stipulated the additional time. She also told me later that I was released because I had gone on a hunger strike. When the prison guards in the forced labour camp had tried to brutally force-feed me one morning, they could not insert the tube. Nevertheless, they kept trying all morning long.

Guangxi Detention and Brainwashing Centre (June 2002 to February 2003)

After my release from the forced labour camp, I was sent directly to the Detention and Brainwashing Centre in a city in Guangxi, where I was detained for eight months. Finally, I broke out because I had gone on a sixty-one-day hunger strike to protest the persecution. After the eighteenth day of my hunger strike, I was force-fed about ten times. They also transferred personnel from the forced labour camp and the Political and Judiciary Committee to assist in force-feeding. This procedure was administered as follows: They pinned my hands and feet and forced me to lie on a sofa, then pinched my nose with their hands, which terrified me, as it rendered me unable to breathe. Sometimes, they would insert the tube and then pull it out, vigorously moving the tube up and down, and deliberately inflicting excruciating pain. During one force-feeding, I began bleeding, yet they continued. Afterwards, while they were cleaning the tube, they said, "We saved your life; you should be thanking us." They really had a way of confusing black and white. Just after almost torturing me to death, they still had the insensitivity to say they had saved my life! For many days after this horrible experience, it was very painful for me to speak and I passed blood. Before allowing me to recuperate, however, they administered a second force-feeding. When the male head of the forced labour camp hospital inserted the tube into my nose, my oesophagus and stomach were still painful. When he pulled out the tube, it was covered with blood, so he knew there were internal injuries. This doctor told me that it was "just old blood" and that it would feel better if I would eat some food.

I also had seen that tube, and said, "My oesophagus and stomach are injured. Let me out of detention. Otherwise, you will shoulder the responsibility if I die." However, he did not listen to me and began inserting the tube again, causing me to bleed profusely. There was blood all over the inside and outside of my shirt and pants, and on the sofa. When another detainee, standing nearby, saw my situation he could not help but shed tears, and begged the doctor not to continue the force-feeding. This procedure caused me to bleed internally five times. While a male doctor at the labour camp hospital was forcibly feeding me, he abused me and also slandered our Teacher.

All of the above are my personal experiences and things that I have witnessed. Coercion cannot change the human heart. No matter what brutal and abhorrent means they may use, they cannot change practitioners' hearts.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2003/11/3/59988.html