My name is Liu Jinghang. I am a former associate research fellow in the Remote Sensing Application Research Institute of the Chinese Science Academy. I am now over 60 years old. Because I practise Falun Dafa and believe in "Truthfulness, Benevolence and Forbearance," I was arrested by Jiang Zemin's regime six times without any legal reason, and my home was searched three times. I was sentenced to three years in jail and detained in as many as ten different places. I have personally experienced and witnessed the persecution and genocide against Falun Dafa practitioners by Jiang Zemin's regime.
Clarifying the truth about Falun Dafa at the Haidian Police Department
On the evening of February 6th, 2004, police suddenly appeared to search my home, and I was taken for the sixth time. I was detained at the Haidian Police Department in Beijing City. When they interrogated me, I found out that they were after me because I participated in organising practitioners' activities for Fa-rectification in Tiananmen Square on Chinese New Year's Eve 2002. At first they threatened me, saying, "This is a big and important case that Jiang Zemin has personally demanded to be 'investigated thoroughly'" and, "This time you should not expect to get out." I was very calm, because I knew everything I had done was for Falun Dafa and there was nothing shameful or wrong in it. I knew there was Teacher and the Fa, and I had nothing to fear. So I was always calm and smiling.
For seven days they interrogated me at bedtime. They were just trying to deprive me of sleep. But I was a practitioner, and I was able to keep my head clear. I repeatedly told them that Falun Dafa had no organisation and I did not order anyone to do anything. I told them that every practitioner's actions were their own personal choice and that I did not know any practitioners overseas. Although the police were very rude, I still kept smiling and stayed calm. Whenever I got the chance, I told them my personal experience of cultivation and how it helped to improve my moral standards as well as Falun Dafa's miraculous effects keeping me fit and healthy. Oftentimes I was the only one talking, and they just kept silent and said nothing. I felt the power of Falun Dafa suffocating the evil intentions of the police.
The police at the Haidian Police Department could no longer keep the interrogation going. On the seventh day, I was handcuffed and pushed into a police vehicle. They told me with malice, "Your name is now directly on file with Jiang Zemin and the 610 Office. Do you know where you are going? It is a place specifically for people sentenced to death, Section #7!"
Stopping the evil in the Beijing Police Department Detention Centre
Section #7 is the most horrible place that Jiang's faction has devised to persecute Falun Dafa practitioners. Once you step inside, you can immediately feel the influence of evil and murder. It was very terrifying. I slept next to inmates who had committed murder and those who were sentenced to death. I could touch the chilly shackles. When you were in the cell, you could hear the sounds of shackles dragging in the hallway. Everyday someone was dragged out to be executed. I could also hear the painful cries of those being beaten by the guards. Everyone in the cell was depressed and ill-tempered. Fights would break out over minor matters. The fighting was really terrifying.
Many rumours spread around the cell. For example, it was said that Section #7 sometimes executed inmates with injected poison. Also it was reputed that the guards wanted to sell the inmates' organs, so it would be a bad sign if one went through frequent physical examinations. Someone even said that the cell at the end of the hallway was haunted because there were too many wrongful deaths in Section #7. While the rumours remained rumours, I did find that every one of the interrogation officers, guards, and captains in Section #7 had gray and gloomy faces.
The interrogating officers also told me that there was this doggerel verse about the place and then recited it, saying, "Entering the K building (the Section #7 building is shaped like the letter K), you just want to keep your head. Seeing the red carpet, you know you will be sentenced to death or a stay of execution. As soon as people hear that they will be sent to Section #7, they are too scared to cry." And so forth. The guards were just trying to scare me in the beginning and make me give up my practise. For a person like me who had always been in a circle of intellectuals, I could not even understand some of the words used by the inmates, not to mention those terrifying stories. If I were an everyday person, I would have been really scared. But I was a Falun Dafa practitioner, and with Teacher and Falun Dafa in my heart, I feared nothing. I recited Teacher's poem "Non-existence":
To die with no regrets;
All excessive thoughts extinguished,
Cultivating Buddhahood is not difficult.
(Hong Yin, provisional translation subject to improvement)
Usually when inmates walked by the guards at the gate of the detention centre, they had to squat down with their arms around the heads. But I did not squat down because I was innocent, not a criminal.
"Section #7" was truly the "Advanced Academy" of the correctional system. The interrogation room was very big, with a red carpet and all kinds of equipment. There were monitoring systems in separate rooms. Some guards played the nice guy and some played the bad guy. They sometimes threatened you and sometimes tried to cheat you. But whatever tactics they were using, I just handled them in the same way as those at the Haidian Detention Centre. I did not need to think or prepare. I just believed that I was doing the right thing and that I was innocent. And once I had the chance, I would clarify the truth about Falun Dafa to them. They asked me why I was so "addicted" to Falun Dafa. I then told them that I had had many chronic diseases from the time I was twenty. I was ill for about 35 years. I had practised many kinds of qigong but none of them were effective in keeping me healthy. Only Falun Dafa had the miraculous effect of healing my diseases and helping me to keep fit. I told them that, since I took up the practise of Falun Dafa, I never needed to take any medicine and did not cost the government anything for medical expenses. They asked why a scientist like me had become "superstitious." I then told them that Falun Dafa was the most intricate and extraordinary science and it was not a superstition. I also told them about the limitations of modern science, Chinese ancient science, and my own miraculous experiences. They said that Falun Dafa disturbed social stability. I then showed with my own examples how Falun Dafa benefited the nation and society and caused no harm. I told what I had done in regard to Chinese people's two most important personal interests: work place promotions and housing. I told them I had given up an opportunity for promotion to Research Fellow so others might advance. I also described how my husband and I also gave up the right to better and bigger housing because of the intense competition for housing in my work unit. I also was not concerned about my salary and just worked hard on my research. Three times I received the Chinese Science Academy 2nd Class Achievement Award. The guards became speechless and lost their bluster.
Then one of their department directors said, "Don't you know that the Communist Party does not like to hear different opinions." Obviously he knew the Communist Party very well and he also knew that Falun Dafa practitioners had committed no crimes at all. It was just that the Communist Party does not like to hear different opinions, so they had to ban and persecute Falun Dafa.
In the end he said, "I see you are a nice lady. We do not want to sentence you to jail. But if I release you, can you guarantee that you would not come out to participate in any activities? You can just stay home to do the practise if you like it." I replied firmly, "No, I will not write such a guarantee." He said, "You don't have to write it. Just say it verbally." I knew it was the bait to try to make me give up cultivation. I shook my head and said, "I won't say it. I judge with the Falun Dafa teachings as to whether I should participate in any activities. If it is in accordance with the principles of Falun Dafa, I must do it. If it is not accordance with these principles, I won't do it no matter who asks me. I have committed no crimes. Why are you detaining me here? You should let me go home." Later the prosecutor also called me to the hallway and told me, "If only you say you will not go out to participate in any activities, you will be released." But I refused.
When the inmates in the cell heard that, they all thought I was being too stubborn. They said, "You should just go home as soon as possible. Don't stay in this place of torture." I told them, "For my beliefs and practising Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance, I would rather stay in jail than say that I will no longer participate in Falun Dafa activities." Although they could not fully understand me, they all admired practitioners' righteousness and firm belief. All the other inmates in the cell were felony offenders in jail for murder, drug dealing, robbery, corruption, and so forth. I was the only one who had not committed any crime. I was detained in such a horrible place just for trying to be a good person and believing in Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance. They all felt that Jiang's faction was too cruel and unreasonable.
Letting people know the true facts about Falun Dafa in prison
Jiang's faction realised that threats and enticements would not work. So they had the guards torture me and deprive me of my basic rights in an attempt to wear down my will power. But these tactics did not succeed. On the contrary, I was able to spread Falun Dafa to more people.
According to Chinese Criminal Law item #64, the authorities should inform the detainee's family and work unit of the reason and location of the detention within 24 hours of being detained. But the police never informed my family or my work unit from the beginning to the end. When my family asked about me at the police station and my work unit, as well as the neighbourhood committee, they all answered that they did not know and they had no way to find it out. A person just disappeared into thin air. My family was very anxious. The so-called law became pure decoration and wastepaper. I also could not get any information about my husband and other family members.
In Section #7, I had only one set of clothes. All my cash had been confiscated, so I did not even have any personal items such as toilet paper, a toothbrush, etc., which the detention centre makes inmates purchase. I had only water and my fingers to clean my teeth, and I had to let the water drip off my face after washing it. The inmates could not stand seeing my situation, and they lent me all those personal items. I felt that I should not become their burden and that these things were very precious in this place, with the others having been detained for so long. So I just borrowed the absolutely necessary items such as toilet paper, a piece of soap, and a small towel. Since I had no extra clothes, I had to wear my coat without anything underneath after washing my clothes.
According to the rules in Section #7, everyone could write one letter per month to her family asking for money. The letter would be examined by the guard and then sent out. They let me write such letters and pretended to send them, but I never heard anything back and did not know how my husband was doing.
The food in the detention centre lacked nutritional value. Everyday we only got a cup of salty water with several pieces of rotten cabbage leaves. If you had money, you could buy some supplementary food. There were many people with edema. There were also people with lung diseases, hepatitis, and nephritis. But I had no money with me, so I could not get anything to supplement my diet. The inmates saw how difficult my situation was, and they often tried to give me some food. But I gently refused them all. My first thought was that they were also not in an easy situation and needed the nutrition, and my second thought was that I had Falun Dafa, so I feared nothing and nothing could defeat me. Everyday I recited the introduction to Zhuan Falun,"Lunyu," Hong Yin and other articles by Teacher and followed the standard of Truthfulness, Benevolence, and Forbearance. The inmates were very sympathetic towards me and thought I was very virtuous. An inmate who could no longer keep silent eventually told me that all my letters were in the hands of a guard named Li and had never been sent.
The Chinese prisons I experienced were all very crowded. Section #7 was easy to get into but hard to get out of. It was very crowded. A wooden board three meters wide had 12-14 people sleeping on it. Still there were some others who had to sleep on the floor. People there could only sleep on their side and could not lay their bodies flat. In the cell where I was, there was an inmate awaiting his death sentence, who was always restrained in heavy handcuffs and shackles. Two inmates were charged with murder. One of them was always shackled, and another one had her hands and feet cuffed together so that her body was always bent. There was an inmate with a robbery charge who had her hands cuffed behind her back. Those inmates with cuffs and shackles occupied relatively bigger spaces. When sleeping, everyone's spot would be assigned and marked. Nobody could go over the marks. Nobody liked to sleep next to those people with shackles, because they did not want to be hit by the shackles accidentally. So I was assigned to sleep next to the inmate whose hands and feet were cuffed together. I did not say anything about it. I did not have any dislike or fear either.
The detention centre also forced inmates to take turns on the night shift. If the person on duty was discovered taking a nap or with her eyes closed, she would be punished. The second half of the night shift, from 2:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m., was the toughest. On the second day there was no day off for the person on the night shift. It was very tiring, and nobody wanted to do the night shift. I was one of the older people in the cell, but I was a practitioner, so I was often assigned to do the second night shift. I did not complain. I used the time on duty to practise the Falun Dafa exercises and introduce Falun Dafa to those on the second night shift with me. I taught them the Falun Dafa exercises and Teacher's articles.
Although I had less food and sleep and was older, my resolve did not waver at all under this persecution. Regardless of the crimes the inmates in my cell had been charged with, I did not discriminate against them. Instead, I treated them with tolerance and kindness. I often helped those with handcuffs to comb their hair, put on clothes, and take showers. I took it upon myself to do things like mopping the floor, folding the bedclothes and cleaning. The inmates saw that I could endure many hardships even though I was older and an intellectual. They also saw that I always considered others first, I was never picky, and I was always understanding and treated them well. So they all liked to talk to me and find out more about Falun Dafa. From my behaviour, they understood that practitioners were all good people and that the persecution against Falun Dafa by Jiang's faction was not justified. I used every opportunity to clarify the truth to them in a positive way. They all felt very encouraged, full of hope, and willing to listen. They asked many questions, and many of them said they would like to learn Falun Dafa. I then taught them Hong Yin. Almost all of them could recite from "Be an Upright Person," "Endure the Hardship," "Difference between Human and Enlightened," and other articles. I often used the time allotted for watching TV to do the sitting meditation. The inmate who was supposed to watch everyone just pretended she did not see anything. Nobody reported me to the guards.
Nine practitioners were detained in different cells and we made it possible for people in all the cells to understand Falun Dafa. Many people there learnt Falun Dafa. Jiang's faction never imagined that while they were frantically persecuting practitioners, they were losing people's hearts. Wherever practitioners were, we would clarify the truth there and validate the Fa with dignity.
The fear of Jiang's faction
As spring turned to summer, an inmate in my cell was due to leave the prison. She offered to send a message to my husband for me. It was risky, because she would be searched when she left. She hid my home phone number with her and took it out. She then called my husband and told him about my situation in Section #7. She asked my husband to send me money and clothes right away. My husband felt so much sorrow he cried. He went to Section #7 with money and clothes. But the guards denied that they were detaining anyone named Liu Jinghang and refused to take the money and clothes saying, "Don't say that. We don't have such a person here. Just go." But my husband did not give up and came back the next day. He was rejected again. On the third day, he went there again and repeated that he just wanted to give an old woman some money and clothes so that she could stay alive. He said, "No matter how terrible her crimes, she should not be persecuted like this. Not to mention that she committed no crimes at all." The guard seemed to be affected by his plight and told him, "I see that you have come many times. It was not easy. I'll tell you the truth. Case 204 was a secret, a big important case, assigned at a high level. Your wife is 'classified' and forbidden from exchanging any information with the outside. This is a hard and fast rule and we can't change it. Don't hang around here crying. It is useless. Go home and don't come back. Otherwise you will also be connected with this case." Then they pushed my husband out. I never heard anything from my husband nor saw any of the clothes he tried to send me. Later the Beijing Police Department arrested my husband and detained him in the Section #7. He was abducted on the morning of June 26th, the very day I was transferred to the Beijing Xicheng District Police Department Detention Centre. So we did not get to meet up with each other and still did not know each other's situation.
Breaking through the persecution
Spring in Beijing is very short. It was very hot by the end of May, and there were many people in the cell. The ventilation system was very poor, so it was too muggy to bear. All I had to wear were the clothes I was wearing when I was arrested in the winter, a sweater and a down outfit. I sweated badly and had prickly heat. However, I had no other clothes to change into. I thought that I shouldn't give into the persecution. I should use the wisdom Falun Dafa gives me to break through the persecution. I thought about making my own summer pants. This, however, was forbidden in the prison. Nowadays, there are all kinds of modern monitoring equipment in the prison. And the guards kept very close watch on practitioners. They often came for inspection and searched the cells. It seemed very difficult, since I didn't even have any tools or material. However, I knew that if I was determined, I could accomplish it.
Even though all the inmates had been ordered to watch me, I was sure that they would be on a practitioner's side and help me. I then told them my thought. As I expected, once they heard that I wanted to make pants for practitioners without letting the guards know, they all reacted very warmly and supported me
They suggested that I use my green quilt cover to make two pairs of single layer pants above the knees. I said that one pair would be enough. They said that I must have two pairs to be able to change and wash. I used a piece of red soap as a liner pen to draw lines on the cloth. How to cut the cloth? Scissors are absolute contraband and impossible to obtain. So we pulled the cloth tightly and utilised the edge of the concrete wall to cut the cloth along the drawn lines. A female inmate from Xinjiang Province, who was in prison for selling drugs, was very handy. She knew that Falun Dafa was good and that practitioners were all good people. She tried her best to help me. She used the rubber soles from a pair of shoes to mash on a piece of metal toothpaste tube she had kept. She worked it on the concrete floor and made a pin. Even though both her hands and feet were cuffed, she still helped me sew the pants. It was hard for me to describe my feelings. About ten days later, the pants were finally made. It even had a pocket. Everybody could not wait for me to put the pants on. They fit well. Everybody was very happy and asked me to keeping walking around with them on. It was just like a holiday, and I was very touched. Even though the material was very rough, we all thought that they were very pretty.
Everybody in the cell dared to defy Jiang's order to strictly monitor practitioners and, despite the danger of been punished themselves, did their best to help me, because they all knew the truth about Falun Dafa. They all knew that practitioners were truly good people. That was what they did, sincerely, for a practitioner who was being persecuted.
Until June 26th, when I was transferred to the Beijing Xiyu Police Bureau with eight other practitioners, I wore those green pants that were made by everybody in the cell. Along with the pink, long-sleeved blouse, I attracted a lot of curious attention. I brought this pair of pants with me from the Xiyu Police Bureau to the Youth Correction Centre. They are very precious and have very special meaning for me, because they are historical evidence of the persecution conducted by Jiang's regime against practitioners and, even more, evidence of people's change of heart after they learnt the truth of Falun Dafa.
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