[Clearwisdom.net]I would like to introduce myself. My name is Li Mei (pseudonym), a 29 year old female living in Shijiazhuang City in the Hebei Province, China. As a college educated former member of the Party, I went, in accordance with the law, to Beijing, hoping that my appeal could help the government resolve the Falun Gong issue. Yet to my utter dismay, this peaceful appeal resulted in an illegal sentence of 3 years of forced labor reeducation at the Shijiazhuang Woman's Labor Camp, Class 4, Group 1, Team 4.

I had previously been a devout lay Buddhist, truly believing that the scriptures contained all the that one needed for spiritual guidance. But no matter how much I chanted or burned incense, I couldn't find the answers to important questions such as: "What is the purpose of human life?" or, "What does it mean to have a Buddha in one's heart?"

I noticed that my mother-in-law's disposition had greatly changed for the better after only one week of practicing Falun Gong. Where previously she would have blamed and chastised me over trifling incidents, she had now become kinder and more tolerant, even acting as a completely different person. The proverb "It is easy to change rivers and mountains but hard to change a person's nature" came to my mind so I wondered: what could be the reason for such a decisive change? Curious, I opened the book Zhuan Falun and was shocked: Here was the true Buddha Fa (Law and Principles)! This book answered all the questions I had about life such as: its purpose is to return to one's true self; Having a Buddha in one's heart is to cultivate one's xinxing (moral standards and self-control), self-examining oneself upon encountering a conflict instead of blaming others; That these are the principles which cure illnesses and increase gong (supernatural energy and awareness). Full of indescribable feelings and weeping with excitement, I realized that the Buddha Fa I had sought was right there in Zhuan Falun! Right then and there, I started to learn and practice Falun Gong.

Subsequent to the July 20, 1999 suppression of Falun Gong I kept quiet and practiced secretly at home. But after seeing the TV news slander Dafa (The Great Way of Falun) and our Teacher (Mr. Li Hongzhi) as well as hearing that practitioners had been arrested and beaten merely for legally appealing, I had to leave home even though my daughter is only five and my husband is not in the best of health. I perceived that all the illegally detained practitioners had parents and/or children, so my situation was no different than theirs had been. Since I, too, had benefited from Falun Gong, how could I be a stay-at-home practitioner when those others had given up their families and jobs to appeal in Beijing? I tearfully left home and began to trod the well-worn path of lawful appeal for the innocence of Falun Gong.

I knew very well that my little girl needed her mom and my husband, his wife! My child's pure words: "Dad, please tell Mom I miss her so much I'm almost sick and let her come home soon" struck a worrisome note in my heart. However, as a Dafa practitioner, I felt it my duty to report selflessly and conscientiously the true story to the government while the campaign of slandering and misinformation was going on.

I, along with other practitioners, staged a hunger strike in the detention center to protest the confiscation of our Dafa books. During this "strike," my blood pressure fell to an unreadable level and I was discharged before the sentence was up. To secure my release, my family paid bail (more like a ransom) of two thousand Yuan ( approximately $200 which is roughly four months' income of an average worker in China).

But Dafa still suffered unjustly so I couldn't stay at home comfortably. Three days after leaving detention, on February 5, 2000 (Chinese Spring Festival), I went to Beijing to join the group practice in Tiananmen Square. My mother wept upon seeing my frail condition after I was taken back to the Shigangdajie police station. Knowing that my family, unaware of my whereabouts in the midst of a festive family reunion, had suffered as much as I, I cried uncontrollably. Being both a mother and a daughter, I understood very well my mother's painful and hopeless feelings. But I believed that, even in this dangerous situation, I should tell the government the truth concerning Falun Gong without hesitation. It was my ardent wish that the government would, moved by my peaceful appeal and loyalty in such arduous circumstances, resolve all issues concerning Falun Gong fairly and properly. Yet, inconceivably, I was cast into the labor camp illegally.

Having neither freedom nor any basic human rights makes this place a hell on Earth. We are not allowed to talk to or visit other incarcerated practitioners, or communicate with the outside. A minor violation of prison rules leads to a brutal beating. Subjected to such heinous treatment, we refused to work and publicly asked to be allowed to practice Dafa and petition for its innocence. As punishment, we were ordered to stand against a wall for 17 hours a day, over a period of 45 days. It did not matter to our jailers that we were exposed to the sun and rain every day and that our legs became severely swollen. They resorted to torture to get us to work. A team leader named Geng Xingjun, along with several others of this rank, pounded on our hips until they were black and blue, as well as shocked us with cattle prods. Another vicious guard named Zhou publicly slapped my face and kicked my buttocks until I couldn't endure the pain and sank to the ground. Later, a female guard named Wang assigned to our team forced me to strip to my underwear and proceeded to thrash me with a stick. Though my legs were so bruised and swollen that the slightest movement was extremely painful, I endured this silently. Merely for studying the Fa and practicing the exercises, a prisoner named Duan Shuying (who has since been discharged) was allowed to drag me by my hair all over the yard! She also beat and kicked me harshly. I was forced to kneel and tied up so tightly that my arm could have been broken at any time. Such tortures had no affect on our desire to remain true to Dafa and instead we became even more determined and firm in our faith. Whatever the circumstances, we will continue our cultivation, especially seeing that it is our duty, no matter what, as Dafa particles to eliminate the frustrated evil that persecutes us.

We have experienced countless horrendous punishments in detention. The sight of the instruments of torture, as well as their actual use, was so frightening that some prisoners had to be sedated and removed to the hospital. Notwithstanding the cruel, inhuman treatment, we never wavered from being guided by, and treating others with "great compassion and forbearance," as our teacher requires. We neither resent nor hate our captors, nor do we fight back. We still have hope that caring people support us and will help.

Wake up, kindhearted people! Even after undergoing horrific hardships, tribulations and persecutions, our minds remain unchanged. We do not regret having suffered if it will awaken your conscience and stir your compassion. After experiencing so many ordeals, we can tell you the following absolute truth from the bottom of our hearts: Falun Dafa is the genuine Buddha Fa! Please comply with it and maintain righteous thoughts about Dafa, as this determines your future.

Please support us! Supporting and promoting Dafa in a positive way will bring happiness and fortune to you. Those who treat Dafa and Dafa practitioners with hatred will face destruction and elimination in the future. Even if you feel lost in a sea of suffering that seems vast, repent and the shore will appear right before you.

Written in jail By A Dafa particle: Li Mei (alias)

November 17, 2000