On December 15th, 2000, my spouse and I [female] went to Beijing to validate Dafa and to clarify the truth. Upon arriving at Tiananmen Square around 10:30am, we immediately pulled out two red-colored banners with yellow characters that read "Falun Dafa is Good" and we shouted, "Falun Dafa is good!" Two plainclothes policemen rushed toward us and took away our banners, and then they pushed us to the ground and began to beat and kick us. Next, they forcefully shoved us into a police van. In a short period of time, the van was packed with Dafa practitioners. Some had blood covering their faces and coming out of their mouths. In the police department, the practitioners held the banners and recited "Lunyu"[the forward of Zhuan Falun] and Hongyin [Teacher's poem collection] together.
A few hours later, six of us were sent to the police department of Chongwen District. The police conducted a body search. When they searched my shoes, there was a piece of paper with contact numbers. They tried to grab it once they saw the paper, but I immediately put the paper into my mouth. Two policemen wrestled me to the ground with my face towards the floor and clutched my neck. I could hardly breathe. I thought in my heart that I should not be afraid of this. Once this thought came, I felt a passage for air. They then pinched my mouth, but I struggled to swallow the paper of contact numbers; thus, they did not get what they wanted. During that time other practitioners shouted, "Don't beat people!"
Policewomen from Chongwen District Police Station forcefully strip-searched us [females]. We were forced to give fingerprints and photos; none of us cooperated with them. Then they confined us to an iron cage. They found a practitioner's identification card and repatriated her. While we were detained, we recited the Scriptures [Teacher's articles] and did the exercises throughout the night. When the morning came, we asked to be released but, in response, seven or eight policemen handcuffed us. Then each Dafa practitioner was dragged to the backyard of the station by two policemen. Five of us were handcuffed to the trees and building columns. Another practitioner and I were handcuffed to a tree; I stood while she sat on the cold ground. Another practitioner was handcuffed to a wide tree, so her hands and arms were stretched to an agonizing extent. Furthermore, there were broken branches piled around the trunk of the tree, thus making it difficult for this practitioner to stand or to sit. We still shouted, "Return the clean reputation to our Master! Return a clean reputation to Dafa!" The police then used rotten Chinese cabbage and dirty rags to block our mouths. They also said that this was a residential area, so we were not allowed to shout. In order to let more people know the truth, we shouted even louder. Because of the weather and the prolonged time in handcuffs, one practitioner fainted. Then the police removed her handcuffs and put her on the cold ground. After 2pm the police handcuffed us together and dragged us into a police van, then headed to the Chongwen District Detention Center. The police said that we were very resistant and that they should "take good care" of us.
After we arrived at the detention center, they conducted another body search and numbered the practitioners who refused to tell their identities. We were assigned to cell No. 7. Once we entered the cell, the prisoners demanded that we tell them our names, but we refused. The head prisoner's last name was Liu. She was preparing to lead the other inmates to beat us. They said, "If you do not tell your names today, we will have to show you a good time!" They yelled and shouted; nevertheless, we tried to introduce Dafa to them. They did not listen and said, "We have seen many Dafa practitioners, and we understand everything; all we want is to have our [prison] terms reduced." The prisoners said that no matter how well we practiced Falun Gong, we had to tell them our names and addresses, so that the police officials would reduce their terms by one month. They would do it even if it were only a few days.
Then the vicious prisoners grabbed our heads and rammed them into a wall. They showered us with cold water and relentlessly kicked and hit us. We reminded them benevolently about the consequences they might incur for what they were doing. However, they hastily responded, "we are not afraid of death and not afraid of going to hell; we just want our prison terms reduced." We recited Hongyin and "Lunyu;" I thought to myself: with Teacher and Dafa on our side, what should I be afraid of?
The prisoners then pushed two Dafa practitioners to the floor of the bathroom, stuffed toilet paper into their mouths, and tied their hands with strips from a mop. They poured basins of icy water onto the practitioners' heads; they did this to all seven of us; the worst one received 40 basins. We were soaked with water. Our bodies shivered and our teeth chattered from the frigid water. Then they forced us against the wall, with our heads facing downward so that our necks and bodies made a 90 degree angle while both hands backwards touched the wall. Yet, we did not cooperate with them, so they maliciously kicked and beat us. After the attack, my two forearms looked dark purple, and my right leg became dark and bulged. The vicious prisoners beat another practitioner so severely that she lost control of her bowels.
Despite this extreme abuse, we still did not reveal our identities. Infuriated, the prisoners pushed us to the floor, but we held onto each other to make it difficult for them to assault us. They used their feet to step on our faces, stomachs and chests. One Dafa practitioner's face became dark purple; the two eyes could barely open. There was blood mixed in her saliva and her hands became swollen. They tortured us for 7 hours using the most gross, vicious means. They stopped after 2:30am. We went to sleep in our wet clothes.
In the morning, our sweaters were dry. The prisoners told us after they woke up that it took 2 hours for them to go to sleep last night; that they knew Falun Gong practitioners were good people; and that they had to attack us in order to have their prison terms reduced. They also hoped that we would rectify the Fa as early as we could ......
Jiang Zemin has formed these criminal groups, which force its members to stay away from "Truthfulness, Benevolence and Forbearance" the precious foundations of the virtues of human beings. Jiang Zemin has forced more and more people to ignorantly persecute Dafa practitioners for their short-term interests, thus destroying themselves, and suffering deeply from their conscience. This is what hurts us the most. It is time for all kind people to wake up: Jiang Zemin is not only persecuting Falun Gong practitioners, but also all the people who come to this world.
Provided by practitioners from China