First Hand Experience of Cruel Brainwashing at the Beijing Women's Forced Labour Camp (Part 8)

Part 1: http://www.clearharmony.net/articles/200702/38017.html
Part 2: http://www.clearharmony.net/articles/200702/38022.html
Part 3: http://www.clearharmony.net/articles/200702/38038.html
Part 4: http://www.clearharmony.net/articles/200702/38072.html
Part 5: http://www.clearharmony.net/articles/200702/38090.html
Part 6: http://www.clearharmony.net/articles/200702/38091.html
Part 7: http://www.clearharmony.net/articles/200702/38129.html

16. Evil Jiao: "All That We Are Allowed or Forbidden to Do, We've Made You Suffer Them"

Despite being kicked and beaten, forced to stay awake day-in and day-out, suffering hot or cold weather when forced outside, years of being hungry and thirsty, my black hair turning white, dirty clothes and messy shirts, I still smiled. I had--and have--Falun Dafa in my heart.

I'd become the major reason for Jiao's anxiety. Higher officials assigned me to her (originally I was in the First Brigade). She relentlessly tried to "transform me¹" and hoped that I would become putty in her hands. She would have received credit and a big bonus. But I never made her wish come true.

With the passing of time, from being with the people who monitored me at all times, I gradually realised that beginning with Li Lanqing, then the National Party Committee and Labour Committee Leader, together with the Foreign Economics Bureau, and the forced labour camp staff, everyone was paying attention to my "transformation." They told the camp staff that I must be "transformed" with whatever method could be employed. Thus, Jiao's brains were exhausted in devising torture methods. She never stopped forming "teams of assaulting the firm practitioners" but failed every time. She constantly changed to different torture methods, starting with brutal beatings, long term confinement, physical and spiritual torture, and all kinds of brainwashing methods--she used them all.

Finally one day, Jiao said to me disappointedly, "Zhang Yijie, all that we are allowed or forbidden to do, we've made you suffer them."

I then responded. "But, do you know the outcome of your actions?" She looked at me diffidently and with eyes widely open. I said calmly: "Let me tell you, all the things you did to me could only make me stronger and my mind firmer." Jiao had nothing to say to me anymore.

Jiao knew that her evil deeds had done everything but kill me. But she also knew in her heart that even if she had taken my life, she still couldn't destroy my belief.

In reality, she had taken my life in a figurative sense many times. The brutal beatings were meant to take my life. Torturing me day and night for 18 days without letting me sleep, and then 42 days of even more brutal torture, each time more cruel than the previous time... All these tortures were meant to take my life.

The endless taking turns to torture me day and night and having collaborators² who attacked me again and again. I see all these as taking away my life--taking away all of my previous lives!

One night during the 42 days' confinement in an isolation cell, the guards ordered two criminals to take me outdoors where it was freezing and make me run in the yard. It was a cold winter and even colder at night, and I was not dressed for the cold outdoors. At that time, they had not let me sleep for an entire month. I was exhausted from all the torture, and I could not move my badly swollen legs and feet. I was running and stopping. The monitor person pushed and dragged me and constantly kicked and hit me. When I really couldn't move anymore, Zhang Su, a drug addict, madly hit my temple with her fist. I heard a cracking sound, something that clearly was the crack of a bone. "Bang," the back of my head heavily hit the concrete ground. A flash of thought appeared on my mind: "This time it's over!" I passed out instantly.

After a long time, when I regained consciousness, Zhang Cuifen, a large woman, pulled me up. I touched the back of my head and shook my head. There was nothing wrong with me.

I held my temple and thought that I was hit so hard, and that hitting a person's temple is definitely deadly. I really heard the sound of a bone cracking, but my head wasn't damaged at all. I again felt my temple. It was hard to imagine, because it did not even hurt. Then I felt the back of my head. No matter how I touched it and pressed it, I didn't feel any pain. It was as if I wasn't hit at all. These kinds of things happened many times.

The miracles that I experienced during the many times I was tortured showed me that Dafa has given me infinite endurance! Dafa has given me a strong will, strong enough to overcome any difficulties and tribulations! The supernormal Dafa has given me the supernormal ability to bear hardships!

During these seven years of unprecedented persecution of practitioners, there were so many practitioners that challenged the limits of human endurance, an endurance that cannot be explained with today's science. Many practitioners protested with hunger strikes. They didn't eat or drink for two weeks, a month, three months, five months, or even longer than half of a year. This has not been a rare occurrence during the seven years of persecution. Despite inhuman torture for 18 days, continually standing for 42 days and nights, suffering other types of torture at the same time, and being forbidden to sleep, I survived because of my supernormal strong will. The evil Jiao had indeed taken my life. Only because of Teacher's protection could I walk out of that evil place alive. All that they made me suffer in the end had no effect on my determination. I am still, and will remain, a firm practitioner of Falun Dafa.

Jiao lost all hope of "transforming" me. She was afraid of me. My existence was a threat to her and an encouragement for other practitioners. The minute she realised this, she had to get rid of me as fast as possible. By June 2002 I had stayed more than a year with Team No. 3.

On June 28th, I was called to the office. After I entered, I was surprised to see no one from Team No. 3. There were three guards, including Director Shi of the Education Branch. He looked as if he was ready to kill someone.

Shi announced that I would be punished. They had decided to take me to the concentrated training team for a month. They thought that I had been responsible for Li Huixia's practising Falun Gong again and that I spread Teacher's lectures to other practitioners in the camp. I asked them to show me evidence. They naturally could not provide any evidence.

Generally, one's team leaders announced such punishment. But Jiao and the rest of Team No. 3 kept out of sight in this case and deferred all actions to the director. This changed the situation to one similar to a court proceeding. And they even brought in two of the guards to watch me.

When leaving the office, I saw Jiao hiding behind the door. When I looked into her eyes, I noticed that she was frightened. She really looked pitiful, and I remember her behaviour to this day.

That day, I was taken away from Team No.3, where countless Falun Dafa practitioners were tortured. I knew that Jiao would face retribution for her criminal actions against practitioners. I was now detained with the concentrated training team.

17. Enlightenment While Being Persecuted

Suddenly I realised I should clean up my environment. I had been forced to write a daily report. I was not allowed to sleep until I submitted a report. This had gone on for over a year. Now, I refused to write another report.

After I cut the chain, they asked me why I refused to write the report. I answered, "I was forced to write it. Now I don't want to write it anymore. It's that simple." They just took my answer and did not argue with me. I felt as if a large stone was lifted from my heart.

I evaluated carefully my "compassion" and "tolerance" level. I evaluated my past experiences against these two principles many times. I needed to find out if my tolerance helped strengthen the evildoers. Whatever happened to me on Chinese New Year's Eve made me realise that I had to take control of my life. But, I also knew that there was no opportunity for filing a lawsuit. I was watched around the clock. Even if I wrote a letter to the prosecutors they would keep it in the camp and it would go nowhere. At the time I believed that there was no way out of this deadlock. Unfortunately, the guards asked Huang Ping to persecute practitioner Lang Zhongyue even more inhumanly. I felt guilty. My "kindness" toward them made them behave worse. This was the first time I realised that I was in the wrong and I was sad about it.

At the time I was sentenced to forced labour, at the beginning of 2001, we only thought of individual cultivation. I suffered all the inhuman mental and physical torture, evaluating them with the principles of "compassion" and "tolerance." I could give up everything, even my life. I resolved early on that I would not be "transformed." Jiao used to say, "Zhang Yijie would bear anything except 'transformation.'"

Afterward she told me, "We did all we could or we couldn't to you." When she realised that there was no further method she knew of that would change me she resolved to send me to the concentrated training team where I would continue to be persecuted. They extended my "sentence" by ten more months.

Practitioners displayed in their demeanour "Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance". I was telling the truth to the guards and I openly protested the persecution. I resisted the playing of the tapes slandering Dafa.

We practitioners in the concentrated training team cooperated with each other. The environment improved. We were allowed to buy food and make phone calls. I understood that we are one body. As long as we act as one body and keep our righteous thoughts, our environment will be normal.

18. Falun Dafa Is the Righteous Law

There was no clock and no calendar. I had no idea what date it was. At the beginning, I was counting days. Later, I didn't care about the time anymore. But one day my heart was restless and I just felt something was going to happen.

I recalled something from the previous day. We were working. What did the other practitioner try to tell me? Because of the guards, I did not understand what she was trying to tell me. What did she want to tell me?

At breakfast, we reported numbers, sang a song and began to eat. It was a long line waiting to pick up food, and I was at the end. I knew something was going to happen and I watched closely the long line in front of me. All of the sudden, a shout came from somewhere in the line: "Falun Dafa is good!" "Falun Dafa is the righteous law!"

I finally knew what it was. As soon as I was about to shout it, too, I saw someone hit the back of practitioner Ms. Chen, who had shouted "Falun Dafa is good!" I shouted loudly: "Stop beating people! Falun Dafa is the righteous law!"

I believe my shouts shook heaven and earth. All the guards were shocked. Team leader Jia yelled, "Go back!" I saw that the practitioner who had shouted was surrounded by guards and several drug inmate "helpers." They were dragging her toward the office. Generally, that meant a beating.

After I got back to the room, two "helpers" were still in shock. Usually they would jump up and beat me. The guards had given this order to the criminal inmates. But today they looked as if they were in a daze, just as if they had been reprimanded. They did not say a word.

Director Jia broke in and asked loudly, "Zhang Yijie, what are you trying to do?!" I answered: "Nothing. I said, 'Stop beating her . I protest beating people! It's illegal!' Where did you take her?"

Jia said: "She shouted a slogan and it is against the law!"
I said: "Isn't beating people against law? If you punish the person who shouted, you must punish the person who beat others as well. I'm waiting to see how you handle this!"

Jia was angry. He turned and walked away.

A little later, team leader Zhao came in and said, "Zhang Yijie, I did not beat anyone! I did not beat anyone!" I said calmly: "I didn't say you beat Ms. Chen. I did not see clearly who did it, but I saw someone beat Ms. Chen with a fist. If Ms. Chen is punished, I request whoever beat her gets punished, too." Zhao left.

I decided to go on a hunger strike. I looked at the meal but did not touch it. I thought, "I must support Ms. Chen." I said I would wait and see what happened. I was sure Jia and the other leader saw what I was doing through monitoring devices.

Soon, Zhao came again and said, "Ms. Chen returned to the dining room. No one beat or punished her. She only sat in the office for a while and has already returned to the dining room." I asked, "How can I trust you?" Zhao looked quite sincere and said, "It's true. I can bring you to see her if you doubt it. She's eating her meal." I thought about it and then realised that she was not lying. Therefore, I said, "All right. I believe you." Zhao said: "You can eat your meal." And she left.

In the evening when we were watching the news, I saw that Ms. Chen sat at her place. She looked unharmed.

Note

1. "Reform or Transform" Implementation of brainwashing and torture in order to force a practitioner to renounce Falun Gong. (Variations: "reform", "transform", "reformed", "reforming", "transformed", "transforming", and "transformation")

2. "Collaborators": Former practitioners who have turned against Falun Gong under brainwashing and torture. They are then made to assist in brainwashing and torturing practitioners.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.ca/mh/articles/2004/11/30/90383.html