My Experience in a Detention Centre and Brainwashing Class in China

By a Dafa practitioner from China

May 31, 2002

I am a female Dafa practitioner from Liaoning Province. I started to practice Falun Dafa at the end of 1998. When the irrational persecution against Dafa started in July 1999, I went to Beijing to appeal for Dafa on October 4, 1999. I was arrested, beaten and detained when I arrived in Beijing. During the detention I went on a hunger strike and stopped drinking fluids to protest against the persecution. In the meantime, I kept studying the Fa [principles of Falun Gong], practicing the exercises and reciting Teacher Li’s articles. The guards took turns torturing me since they believed I was the leader of the Falun Gong practitioners detained there. They transferred me to a drug-rehabilitation centre. There, I kept on the hunger strike to protest the illegal detention and persecution and spread Dafa to other people. On the fifth day of my hunger strike, the authorities released me unconditionally. After I went back home, police officers threatened and harassed me on every holiday and so-called "sensitive date." [Note: "Sensitive dates" are days when a political anniversary or a national holiday is celebrated, or an incident concerning the whole country is observed, or dignitaries are visiting certain areas].

On February 6, 2002, just before the Chinese Spring Festival, seven or eight police officers suddenly broke into my home. They searched my home from top to bottom and found Dafa books and banners. They arrested me for having those things. One of the police officers said sarcastically, "What a relief! Now I can throw you in prison!" […]

At the detention centre I was cuffed onto an iron bed for an entire night. I thought about my actions and realised some shortcomings. Afterwards, I made my mind up to do better and not cooperate with any illegal arrangements. The next day I was put into cell No. 19. Out of the 13 people detained there, seven were Dafa practitioners. They told me how practitioners on a hunger strike were tortured, including being beaten in the face, tied on the "dead-man's bed," [For a description of torture methods used by the Chinese officials, click here] grabbed by the hair to have their head hit against the wall, and other abuses and mistreatments.

Hearing this I was a little bit scared. I started to recite the Fa from Non-existence, Mighty Virtue and Eliminate Your Last Attachment(s). I started a hunger strike and also stopped drinking fluids to protest against the persecution. On the fourth day the guards found out that I was on a hunger strike and started to curse and beat me. In order to shirk responsibilities, they attempted to force me to eat. I didn't cooperate with them. Five or six men together forcibly tied my hands and feet to a "dead-man's bed" and tried to force-feed me. I still didn't cooperate with them. They grabbed my hair and pushed my head hard onto an iron bar at the end of bed, then pinched my nose and tried to pry my teeth apart with a steel rod. I recited the Fa by heart. When they failed to open my mouth, they started beating me. When they had tired they took breaks but soon resumed the beating, trying to pry my mouth open and also continuing with the torture. I lost consciousness. The guards were scared. They took me off the "dead-man's bed" and found that I stopped breathing. My pulse was weak and I was on the verge of death, but in my heart I knew what was going on and I didn't feel any pain. The guards were afraid of being legally responsible for my death so they sent me to a hospital. The doctor said I needed hospital treatment. At that time I was not able to move for four to five hours. The doctor said I was in a deep coma. My main consciousness was quite clear and it knew everything. Unexpectedly, I was sent back home on February 10, the fifth day of my hunger strike and two days before the Chinese Spring Festival.

On May 17, 2002, around 9:00 a.m., the police suddenly broke into my home again. Five or six of them forcibly carried me out in my underwear and slippers, not even allowing me to put on a coat. When I was outside I shouted, "Falun Dafa is good! Falun Dafa is the righteous Fa! Return our Teacher's innocent reputation!" The evil police forcibly put me into their car. One of them grabbed my hair and slammed my head against the vehicle door. In the car I kept speaking with them and clarifying the truth. While listening to my words, the driver lost his way. Later, they sent me to a brainwashing class at a military "reception" hotel. The atmosphere and environment there were totally opposite to the detention centre. The fierce torture I had experienced in detention centre turned into "nice, caring education" here. In order to persecute Dafa, they exhausted all resources and means. What a pity! I kept on spreading the Fa and telling the truth to them. I also practiced the sitting meditation. At that time many people came into my room. One of them said, "Do you know what this place is? How dare you practice here! Hurry up and put down your legs!" They came to haul me by my arms and legs. I said, "I am used to practicing, I can't do without it." Then I looked at them straight in the eyes with my heart in the Fa. As a result, they found excuses and said, "This is your first time. It is not your fault. Don't practice anymore!" Then they left. At that time I realized in my heart the power of the Fa. "Indestructible righteous faith in the cosmos's truth forms benevolent Dafa practitioners' rock-solid, diamond-like bodies; it frightens all evil, and the light of truth it emanates makes the unrighteous elements in all beings' thoughts disintegrate. However strong the righteous thoughts are, that's how great the power is." ("Also in a Few Words")

In the brainwashing class I started a hunger strike and again stopped drinking fluids. When the class started in the afternoon, the person in charge told why the brainwashing class was formed; how much money the city government contributed; how many people from each department were needed, and finally came to the requirement of the "Five Statements." He said this class would last until September. Each session would last one month. Those who don't write the "Five Statements" by the end of each session will be sent to forced labour and sentenced. The so-called "five statements" are statements to curse Teacher, curse Dafa, provide a list of fellow practitioners' names and guarantee to break from Dafa. But there is more, such as never again go to Beijing to appeal and never again to associate with other practitioners and stop the practice. At about dinner time they started to persuade me to eat again. I told them "I won't eat because I am not a criminal. All I am doing is trying to be a good person; Falun Gong practitioners have never endangered society. I said it was you who deprived me of my freedom and separated me from my family. I don't even have the right to be a good person. The decision whether to eat or not is the only freedom and right I have left. The reason I don't eat is to protest against your injustice and unlawful actions. Jiang wasted so much of the country's money on the persecution of good people. Do you know how many people are starving out there?" They left me alone immediately after they heard what I had said.

I kept on the hunger strike and at 7:00 p.m. in the evening, my body appeared abnormal. I felt nauseous, was vomiting blood, had a fever and my whole body started twitching, but my mind was very clear. In my mind I kept reciting the Fa. As I am writing about this, my face was bathed in tears. Truly, there is no language for me to describe this. The two female staff members became scared. They brought in a doctor and told him I had tuberculosis. They were busy trying to treat me and did not go to sleep until after midnight. At this moment, I suddenly felt very conscious. I got up and practiced the sitting meditation for about one hour. At about four o'clock in the morning I started vomiting blood again.

In the brainwashing class, every time when I had the opportunities to talk to other Dafa practitioners I said to them, "This is the first session of the brainwashing class. We should definitely do well and stop them from continuing the class. This way we can save many other Dafa practitioners from being persecuted. We should definitely listen to Teacher's words and completely deny the evil force's arrangements. If we can't do well, what result will it bring to the Fa and other practitioners?" Unfortunately other practitioners still followed the evil's orders, eating and drinking like usual, participating in the entertainment activities and even trying to persuade me to eat and drink. I was so worried about them! How come they forgot about Dafa? It was the evil that forced us to leave our home; in return they said we didn't care about our family. Therefore, I must go back home, get rid of the evil's control and arrangements.

At noon, the Community Party Chairman and Director, local police station chief and supervisor all came. They packed my belongings and put me into a car, telling me they would take me to the hospital. On the way I felt my face, hands and feet getting rigid. I started twitching again. The police car had to stop until I felt better. After several stops like this it finally reached its destination, but I didn't know where that was. In order to shift responsibility, they sent me directly home and told my family members that I went on a hunger strike and was sick. My family members were shocked to see how a perfectly healthy person could be abused to manifest such a critical condition within one day. They held on to me, hugged me and cried; and they finally understood who is evil. Tearfully, my family members called my name and shook my body. When I finally woke up I didn't know I was at home. I seriously questioned the police, "Where is this? How do you want to persecute me next?" They said, "This is your home." I replied, "It is no good going home either, because you will come back and harass me again later." They said "We will never again persecute you from now on." Then I saw my family members and realized I was really home. My third hunger strike lasted only 22 hours and I successfully left the brainwashing class.

Source:
http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2002/6/13/23061.html
Chinese version available at:
http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2002/6/1/31134.html