Remaining Steadfast in My Belief after Going Through Two Years of Inhumane Persecution

In 1996, after being introduced to Falun Dafa by a relative, I began to read the book Zhuan Falun [The main text of Falun Gong]. When I read it for a second time, I fell asleep. When I woke up, all I saw was a golden light. Deep down I knew that what I had read was a true cultivation way. From then on I made a commitment to cultivate all the way to the end.

However, in July of 1999, my neighbourhood committee came to harass me. They wanted me to hand over all my Falun Dafa books to them. I said, "I will not give the books to you. No matter who comes, I am not afraid. This book is beneficial to people and to society." On September 5 of the same year, I decided to go to Beijing to peacefully appeal. Before I finished my appeal in the national appeals office in Beijing, I was sent to the administrative office in Beijing, and then sent directly back to my hometown where I was illegally detained for fifteen days. I was forced to wear shackles for three days simply because I practised the five sets of Falun Gong exercises. When I was released, the local police station extorted 5,000 Yuan [Approximately 10 months salary of an average urban worker] in cash from my family.

On October 27, 1999, I was sent by the police substation to the local "forced labour education" camp. I was forced to attend the brainwashing class for seven months. In the brainwashing class, I was forced to stand on a radiator pipe as punishment for practising the Falun Dafa exercises. The authorities tried to make me say, "I give up practising the exercises" before allowing me to step down from the pipe. I refused to comply and endured it. Regardless of how tired I was or how painful it became, I did not say a single word. The thugs used electric batons to shock me and maliciously asked, "How are you now? Do you still want to practise?" I kept silent; I was determined in my heart not to give up, even in the face of death. In this way, those lawless officials had no choice but to give in.

One day, the authorities forced all the Falun Dafa practitioners to attend a meeting. During the meeting, a political official read materials cursing Falun Dafa and defaming Teacher. I immediately stood up and spoke with the force of justice. I said, "These are all groundless lies. The TV station distorted my Teacher's video lectures." I said that if we could watch the original video, we would be able to see the facts. I told them, "Since our Teacher introduced the Falun Gong to the public, Dafa practitioners from all walks of life have exemplified the principles [of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance]; they are the best people in the world. They have proven that Dafa has many benefits and brings no harm to society or to the people." The official knew that he was in the wrong. As he left, he said, "It is only you who are so stubborn!" and slammed down his literature. When it was mealtime, all of us Falun Dafa practitioners stood beside the table ready to go on a hunger strike in protest. We demanded that the official who had defamed Falun Dafa be dismissed, shocking the authorities.

Every day, I continued to practise the exercises, recite the book, copy the new articles and determinedly safeguard Falun Gong. However, gradually some practitioners gave in and even turned against Dafa. The brainwashing class instructors assigned criminals to pose as Dafa practitioners in an effort to 'destroy' Falun Gong practitioners and used excuses such as "not getting involved in politics," "not fighting against people," etc., to justify writing "guarantee" or "repentance" letters. This was terrible. For those Dafa practitioners who remained steadfast, the authorities used intimidation, electric shocks, and other forms of torture to try to force us to stop practising. One Dafa practitioner was stripped of all clothing except his underwear and handcuffed until midnight with his limbs outstretched. I resisted the evil persecution, firmly telling the team leader that he could not mistreat Dafa practitioners in this way.

In May 2000, after they saw that I was still determined to cultivate, the officials transferred me to another forced labour camp and sentenced me to one and a half years. The supervisor from my workplace came to this forced labour camp to see me. He told me that if I wrote "a guarantee letter" stating that I would not to go to Beijing to appeal and not practise the exercises outside, then I could have my freedom. I said, "I will never write any guarantee! It is a citizen's legal right to appeal. It is my right to practise the exercises freely in public."

During this period of time, my wife passed away since she could not endure the evil persecution. Our son was left alone at home, unable to manage his daily life. Despite this heavy blow and the frenzied persecution, I continued to recite the Fa [tranlated: "Way" or "Principles". Here it refers to Falun Gong books and articles] everyday and did not give in, even in the face of death. Later, the evil persecutors adopted other cruel measures and did not allow me to sleep for nine days and nights, still trying to force me to give in. In addition, I had to perform manual labour until midnight. I was tired and sleepy, and my mind was numb. I was unable to do the work. When I walked, I seemed to on the verge of falling down. No matter how viciously they persecuted Dafa, I had only one thought in my mind: "Assist our Teacher to safeguard the Fa. I will remain determined in cultivation and will never give in."

On the morning of the ninth day, the director of the forced labour camp, the section chief and the team leader all talked to me. They asked me if I had any "understanding" to share with them. I firmly told them, "No." I also talked about Falun Dafa to them, expressing my determination to cultivate to the end. I told them that there was nothing wrong with being a good person, and there was no crime in appealing peacefully. I refused to write any "guarantee letter." The director told me with admiration, "You are very determined! From now on, you can sleep and work normally."

In May 2001, near the end of my term at the forced labour camp, the neighbourhood committee came to visit me at the camp. They said that if I wrote the guarantee, I could be released. I refused again with determination. In November 2001, I was released unconditionally.

For two years and one month, from October 8, 1999 to November 11, 2001, I was detained illegally. These two years of inhumane persecution were only a moment in the history of this persecution. However, this period represented a solid page in history, in which I assisted in clarifying the truth and upholding the principles of Falun Gong.