(Initially written in late April 2003, edited on May 28)

(Clearwisdom.net)

I was kidnapped and taken to the local police station when I was visiting a fellow practitioner at his home in October of 2000. Later I was illegally sentenced to two years of forced labor and successively confined to four forced labor camps in Jilin City, Liaoyuan City, the Fenjin and the Chaoyanggou forced labor camps in Changchun City. I will never forget the scenes of the vicious police officers at their stations, detention centers, and forced labor camps, brutally and inhumanly persecuting Dafa practitioners, and Dafa practitioners rationally protesting and steadfastly safeguarding Falun Dafa. The following are several typical events.

Police Station Head Says, "Let's Do It 'One to One' Tonight. There will be No Evidence Left if You Die."

Three of us went to a fellow practitioner's home at 3:00 p.m. on October 24, 2000. As soon as we entered the door, four or five police officers broke in and took us to the local police station for interrogation for the entire night, without telling us why. They tried to force us to acknowledge that we had done something wrong. When we refused, they used all their methods of brutal torture to force us. The following are just two examples.

Ms. Li Shumei, a 53-year old primary school teacher, was the volunteer assistant for the exercise site in the Longdong community. The police handcuffed her on a "Tiger Bench"¹ alone in the basement for a day and a night, denying her drinking water and restroom privileges. Mr. Zhang Shousheng is a 48-year old worker. At 3:00 a.m. on the 26^th, the head of the police station took over the interrogation. The first sentence he said was, "Let's have 'one to one' tonight. If you refuse to acknowledge your guilt, you will die in vain if you die. You think it over, to admit your guilt or not!" Zhang Shousheng said, "Don't you force me to falsely make up stories!" The officer grabbed his head and thumped it against the wall, causing Zhang Shousheng to lose consciousness. Then he kicked and trod on Mr. Zhang with leather shoes after he fell to the floor. When he got tired of this, the officer asked, "Do you want to confess?" Zhang Shousheng shook his head. The officer became enraged. He opened the window to let in the cold air. Then he took off Mr. Zhang's clothes and poured water on him, saying, "You want to be stubborn, I will let you freeze." Zhang Shousheng curled up on the cold concrete floor. It was November, and the temperature in Jilin City that night had already dropped to below -20 C [-4 F]. The officer went to bed in his room after pouring water on Mr. Zhang. When he woke up about five in the morning, he suddenly realized that Mr. Zhang was naked and exposed on the concrete floor. At about six o'clock in the morning, Mr. Zhang was released. He almost lost his shape, with his face nearly blue and his movements almost robotic.

According to the law, a police station has the right to detain a person for only 48 hours. But this police station intimidated and interrogated seven of us for at least three nights and two days. When they could not postpone it any longer, they sent us to detention centers and custody centers after carelessly fabricating evidence.

The Death of Wang Lixin

One afternoon, after I had been detained in the Jilin City No. 3 Detention Center for more than ten days, the police pushed in a Dafa practitioner in handcuffs. His name was Wang Lixin. This fellow practitioner had refused to eat, drink, or answer police questions from the very moment he was arrested. On the third evening, he still refused to eat. The group leader of the prisoners said, "Aren't you making trouble for us?" The leader's assistant added, "If you were in any other group, you would have been beaten half to death by now. Then you would eat for sure!" Wang Lixin said with a smile, "We practice Falun Gong and to be good people, yet we are arrested. I don't understand. I feel blocked in my heart, so I cannot eat." His compassionate expression and words won him approving glances from other Dafa practitioners. One fellow practitioner asked him while washing his face for him, "Do you need any help?" He said, "As long as I have Master and the Fa, I don't need anything else."

Wang Lixin was sent to No. 6 group on the fourth day, immediately after he was force-fed. Someone heard the guard talking to the No. 6 group leader, "Beat him to death if he still refuses to eat. I will be responsible if anything happens!" Consequently, when Wang Lixin refused to eat that night, the No. 6 group leader and his two assistants beat him up. He was beaten so severely that he was rolling on the floor with his hands hugging his head. On the fifth day, two criminal prisoners carried him to be force-fed. While they were passing by the door of the No. 5 group, I could see Wang Lixin's eyes were swollen shut. He could barely stagger, needing assistance to walk, and was moaning. But Wang Lixin shouted, "You torture Dafa practitioners inhumanly, and you will be punished for that!" although his voice was hoarse and the words unclear due to force-feeding with too much salty water or a misplaced forced-feeding tube. At night, we could hear Wang Lixin's dry coughing and gradually weakening murmurs. The murmurs stopped at dawn, and then came the nervous and disorganized steps in the corridor.

Later on, we heard that this young Dafa practitioner had been tortured to death. Wang Lixin, 32-years-old and unmarried, was a laid-off worker of a Jilin City Factory. He bought a computer to collect and send articles to Minghui Net and to read Master's articles. He was arrested while distributing truth clarification materials on the street. In order to cover up the truth, Jilin City Justice Bureau re-assigned the head of the police station and the guard of the No. 6 group to other work units. The No. 6 group head and his two assistants had already been transferred.

In January 2001, I was notified to pack my bags and was sent to the Huanxiling Forced Labor Camp. I was detained in a team that specialized in torturing Falun Gong practitioners.

"3.14 Atrocity": Over 50 Practitioners Severely Wounded and 15 Practitioners Fainted from Torture

In order to make the persecution easier to organize, on March 7, 2001, Jilin City Labor Camp authorities assembled 198 Dafa practitioners from different divisions into a division specializing in the persecution against Falun Gong. They divided us into three teams: strict control, general control, and loose control. The loose control team was on the ground floor, strict control team on the second and general control team on the third floor.

The day after the division was established, Falun Gong practitioner Pan Jingwen from the No. 2 group of the strict control team was beaten and detained in solitary confinement because he didn't straighten his legs when sitting on a plank. Because of this unreasonable punishment, the No. 2 group held a hunger strike. We also heard the news and decided to hold a hunger strike too, to support the No. 2 group in their act of justice.

On the third day of the hunger strike, Division Chief Liang and the Judicial Bureau Chief showed up. They told three representatives from each of the two groups to go to the division office. Liang is in his 50's and used to be a soldier. He has a quick temper and a loud voice. He first admitted the strict control team officials made a mistake by beating the practitioner. Then he asked the representatives, "Whatever opinion or request you have, you can tell me." We said three things: first, immediately stop the unreasonable torture of Pan Jingwen; second, from now on, no more beating of practitioners; third, change the rule about straightening up the legs when sitting on a plank.

Liang agreed to the first two requests; regarding the third request, he said, the rule was made by the judicial bureau and he dare not change it before he asks about it. We saw his standpoint was not clear so we sat on the floor and showed him, saying, "when we straighten our legs, the center of gravity of our body moves back; our bodies lean backward, yet we have to keep our back and waist straight as required. No one can tolerate this for a long time. This is cruel torture in disguise."

The issue of straightening the legs is the core reason for our hunger strike, so Falun Gong practitioners had to say it even if Liang didn't want to hear it. Liang pondered for a while and said, "As long as you don't do the meditation or Dafa practice, you can relax your legs or straighten them as you wish. This is a temporary decision. We'll make further announcements after I consult about it." The head of the judicial office said, "How is this? Chief Liang agreed with you. Now go back and ask everyone to start eating!" This first hunger strike lasted three days.

Three or four days later, fellow practitioners on the third floor heard about the hunger strike held by the strict control team, so they also held a hunger strike to support us. The guards originally thought the practitioners of the general control team were "well-behaved." Chief Liang discarded his promise of no more beating; he directed the guards to brutally beat practitioners. A dozen guards in the whole division began beating the practitioners. We heard the beating and the practitioners' screams from the floor above, and our hearts sank.

We shouted, "Don't beat people! It's against the law!" We shouted and stomped on the floor to let the practitioners on the first floor know something had happened. We asked to see the division chief, but were refused. In the following two to three days, no one showed up. We decided to hold another hunger strike. We notified the practitioners on the first floor, and began a uniform hunger strike. Beginning on March 13th, the entire division began the hunger strike. The whole building was dead silent. It turned out the officials were holding a meeting to come up with a new persecution tactic.

At 9:00 a.m. on March 14, the beatings started again on the third floor, and the sound was louder than during the two previous days. The fellow practitioners' screaming was miserable. We saw these fellow practitioners from our window. Their heads bled. They were carried into a van by several people and were taken to a hospital. We could no longer keep quiet and shouted for them to stop these atrocities.

Right after the third floor grew quiet, the metal door on our floor flung open. The Administration Section Chief Zhen, and Zhao Kezhuan, from the education section entered. They brought officers from the two sections, along with a dozen guards, each person holding an electric baton or a mace club (this is a rubber club, filled with lead, with spikes on the surface. This club causes internal organ damage and has been listed as abolished torture tool, however the labor camp is still using it). They were followed by Division Chief Liang. He brought more than twenty additional guards, each one also holding electric batons and a mace club. They acted like fanatics and beat everyone while shouting, "I'll let you shout! I'll let you knock the pipeline! I'll let you hold a hunger strike..."

More than 30 thugs brutally beat unarmed Dafa practitioners for nearly an hour, although none of us returned the blows. Then they called roll and each practitioner called was dragged to the office by two guards who stripped the practitioner naked, pinned him down, and beat him. They beat the practitioner as long as he refused to give up the hunger strike. Seven practitioners became unconscious on the spot, and two practitioners' heads bled, they sustained fractures and fainted. They were sent to a hospital. Afterwards, around 90 practitioners in the whole division were beaten, more than 50 were severely wounded and 15 became unconscious. Five practitioners were sent to clinics and hospitals for emergency treatment.

Afterwards, the officials enforced martial law on all detainees including the criminals, and forbade all visits. Truth cannot be kept hidden. Many of the 500 workers at the labor camp were relatives and friends of Falun Gong practitioners, and many of them sympathized with Falun Gong. Several days later, the whole Jilin City learned the news. Some people said, "The labor camp people beat and killed many inmates..."

The labor camp is built at the foot of a mountain, and people can see the courtyard of the labor camp when standing on the hill behind the wall. Everyday, hundreds of people stood outside the wall and condemned the labor camp authorities asking, "Why not allow visits? Did you do something shameful?" Some people went directly to the City Judicial Bureau and some threw rocks into the courtyard. The labor camp officials hid in their offices and dared not face the people.

This is not the first time the enforcers in Jilin City Labor Camp have persecuted Dafa practitioners. In year 2000, Dafa practitioner Li Zaiji was tortured to death. It was exposed on Minghui.net and caused great disturbance in the international community. An American journalist came to Jilin to interview people. If the news is exposed this time, the enforcers won't be able to stand it. So they divided the one hundred practitioners who were beaten into two groups of fifty people, and the first group of Dafa practitioners who were severely injured was sent to Liaoyuan, Siping, and Tonghua, while the second group was sent to Heilongjiang Province. They did this in secret and notified us to pack up ten minutes before taking off. They told us nothing about the destination or what they were going to do with us. Several practitioners had to be carried into the cars because they were terribly wounded. Practitioner Huo's back was beaten with a mace club, he had a fever, and he coughed ever since being sent to Liaoyuan. An x-ray revealed that he had punctured lungs and his life was at risk. The Liaoyuan Labor Camp was afraid of taking responsibility and immediately notified his family to pick him the next night.

Co-Signed Names to Appeal Twice

In the Liaoyuan City Forced Labor Camp, fifteen Dafa practitioners from Jilin City were labeled as the "stubborn individuals." The labor camp used different methods to prevent us from contacting the practitioners who had been forcibly brainwashed. Eating our meals in the canteen gave us opportunities to communicate.

Our fifteen Dafa practitioners was an individual group. They had four persons to watch over our group. One of them was named Dong Zhe. He had once been a Falun Gong practitioner but had gone astray under the high-pressure of the persecution. We were quite close in our ages and communicated well. Although he was temporarily muddleheaded, his heart belonged to Dafa, and he secretly helped me a lot. Thus, we were able to quickly open up a good environment to validate Dafa.

After he read Master's article "Coercion Cannot Change People's Hearts," he cried and openly announced his deep regret for his past wrongdoings. In order to make his work more convenient, practitioners and I persuaded him not to make the announcement immediately, but wait until all the practitioners who had gone astray knew the truth as well. He expressed his willingness to withstand the burden for the sake of Dafa. I hand copied a few of Master's new article and Dong Zhe helped to distribute them to practitioners in other divisions.

After Zhang Youwen and five other Dafa practitioners in the No. 3 division read Master's new article, they immediately wrote their solemn declarations. Some other practitioners were also thinking of writing their solemn declarations. Han from the No. 3 division used rope made of fine cable wire to whip Zhang Youwen. It was believed that even the strongest Falun Gong practitioners could not endure three whips. Han wanted to use this torture method to persecute the awakened Falun Gong practitioners. Later Zhang Youwen said that he had used righteous thought to face the torture. He had felt only a little bit of pain during the first three whips, but after that he did not feel any pain at all. After 15 severe scourges with the whip, Zhang's back hip was severely injured. The vicious team leader was afraid of any serious injury or disability being inflicted, so he called a stop to the whippings. People from the No. 3 division had run out of tricks, so they transferred Zhang Youwen to the education section. Section Chief Kong, under the influence of alcohol, hit practitioners violently. After he became tired from hitting practitioners, he asked the guards on duty to wipe the blood and wrap up the wounds. He once threatened Zhang Youwen. Zhang replied: "I am determined; I will not change even you beat me to death." The answer made Kong's face turn white; he cruelly tortured him for more than half an hour. They had already tortured him for more than two hours on and off. Zhang Youwen did not give in, so as punishment they locked him in a cage-like cell for 15 days of confinement.

I found the opportunity during recess, washing, bathing, and bathroom breaks to check on Zhang Youwen's injury and learn about his experiences of being tortured after he announced his solemn declaration. At the time, a practitioner who was transferred to the education section as an official clerk, and who had, against his will, compromised under the cruel persecution, handed me a booklet called "The Civilized Execution of Laws." This little book contains information about laws related to the constitution, criminal law, forced labor education, and international human rights agreements--especially the human right laws that related to policemen. It was extremely useful. We decided to punish those evil policemen by law, since we had all the evidence needed to prosecute them. We drafted a "Punish the evildoers and release Zhang Youwen" appeal letter. All practitioners actively signed their names and Dong Zhe delivered the letter to the labor camp chief. The chief immediately verified the accusation with Kong and criticized him. Since then, practitioners have continuously publicized their solemn declarations and have no longer been tortured. In about two months, nearly all the practitioners who had gone astray awakened and rejoined Dafa practitioners. Dong Zhe was the last one to hand over to Kong his solemn declaration that had been written a long time ago. Kong realized that his control was gone. He had no choice but to make Dong Zhe the second group leader.

Fa-rectification has been progressing extremely fast; those Falun Gong practitioners who had gone astray have been quickly awakening. This was really because of direction from Master's article.

The second appeal letter was written in mid-July of the same year. A criminal prisoner had discovered that a practitioner had Master's new article in his pocket. Without permission, the prisoners forcibly searched his pocket. The practitioner safeguarded Master's article. However, the policeman who was on duty punished the practitioner in confinement, and those prisoners who had searched the practitioner's pocket were at ease. Although this incident was not too big and did not have much of an effect, we could not let them making use of the criminal's conduct to persecute Falun Gong practitioners. Therefore, practitioners quickly drafted an appeal letter entitled "Immediately Release [name withheld]." All practitioners cosigned the letter and gave it to the camp chief. After the chief understood the details, and under the pressure from Dafa practitioners, he released all practitioners from confinement.

The co-signed appeal letters have shown us: Dafa practitioners are one whole body. Only when Dafa practitioners unite together can we overcome all evil and effectively validate Dafa.

Unlocking a Better Environment

In August 2001, the Liaoyuan City Forced Labor Camp sent me to the Fenjin Forced Labor Camp in Changchun City. The Fenjin Forced Labor Camp is an "advanced camp" of the judicial department of the state. The persecution of Falun Gong practitioners there was worse than in Liaoyuan Forced Labor Camp, especially because of the "clippers." When I first heard about "clippers," I asked them "What are 'clippers'?" Gao answered, "We will arrange for four people to watch you day and night. You have to listen to and follow all the orders of the 'clippers'." I angrily answered, "What crime have I committed that I require day and night supervision? You wouldn't even treat a prisoner who has received the death sentence in this way!" Gao said, "This was the order from the bureau, we just follow the rules."

At the beginning I was not used to the arrangement, and I ate and got water by myself. The guards saw me doing this and said nothing, but they scolded the "clippers." The clippers talked to me earnestly, "We do not want to give you a hard time, however, if we do not follow our orders, the officers will criticize us and take away our privileges. Maybe you could just cooperate with us. Once you get used to it, you will feel better." The labor camp knows that Dafa practitioners always think of others and they make use of this and arrange the "clippers." When they pressure the "clippers," it is just like giving me pressure. As Dafa practitioners, we do not pick our environment. However, it is our responsibility to make the best of our environment. We use our wisdom in dealing with the "clipper." We should take every opportunity to clarify the truth and vigorously defend Dafa.

First of all, I have built up a closed relationship with the "clippers," and am considerate of their worries and needs. Secondly, under a harmonious atmosphere, we talked more about the principles of life, and cultivation stories. We have helped them understand the true meaning of life as well as the purpose of being alive, and we explained the consequences of kindness and evil as initiative to be a good person. This way, the "clippers" have become my allies; if any people did not respect Falun Gong, they would defend it; if anyone tried to take advantage of me, they would stop them. When I was copying the Fa or studying the Fa, they neither interfered nor questioned me. When I practiced the exercises, they watched out for me; at night when I meditated, the clippers would sleep. If someone comes to check on the clippers, I would wake them up. Basically, I have not stopped practicing the exercises; I have even memorized more than 20 of Master's new articles.

Inside the labor camp, telling the truth was very difficult. Most prisoners in the labor camp had committed burglary or robbery; they did not care about anything other than money and women. If you tell them about Dafa when they didn't ask about it, they would say you're trying to publicize Falun Dafa. Because of this, I used different approaches and let things happen naturally. I would find the most suitable time to talk or cut-into conversations with different individuals, to tell them the truth or spread Dafa. I would also pay attention to any articles in newspapers and magazines that I could relate to the principles of Dafa, and either copy them or cut them out for the purpose of telling the facts. I have not only told the facts to the guards but also to the policemen of the military unit, effortlessly introducing the principles of Dafa to them. I also took opportunities to draft letters to my son and daughter to spread Dafa. I have prepared three reports of about 500 words each, to show to the guards and team leaders. I have also written 2 long letters to my children. After submitting the first letter to be sent, because they found the word "Falun Gong," the letter was confiscated. In the second letter I included all the Dafa principles that I understand. Not one time did I directly mention "Falun Gong," but the whole article was written about Dafa's principles. I let the "clippers" read them first, and I also let those nice people read them. Because these are the letters to my children, they are all willing to read them. Because these prisoners have learned the truth, our relationships have improved. After I finished circulating the letter, I gave it to my wife when she came to visit me and she mailed the letter to my son and daughter. This letter will be the most valuable spiritual treasure that I leave with them.

Just like that I have spent a year of telling the truth in the Fenjin Forced Labor Camp, and lived with "clippers." I find that I have more freedom with the "clippers" than without them. It has helped in spreading Fa, telling the truth, studying the Fa, and practicing the exercises.

"The Third Battle for the Reformation of the Steadfast" Fizzled Out

In October of 2002, I was transferred to the Chaoyanggou Labor Camp in Changchun City again. The "new life class" found the new Master's articles that I had, over twenty of them, which caused quite a stir in the labor camp. I was beaten so bad that my eyes were swollen and I lost my hearing completely. They also extended my term one extra month. Within 20 days I was allocated to No. 2 Class of No. 2 Division. The labor camp had a total of 7 divisions. No. 1 and No. 2 Divisions were the most vicious towards Falun Gong practitioners. I made up my mind, "I would rather die than betray Dafa or say bad things about Master; I absolutely would not do it no matter what."

In the lobby of the first floor, a red electronic banner constantly flashed the slogan, "Fight the re-education transformation battle well." It was the authority's psychological warfare. Soon, all the Falun Gong practitioners who were resolute were gathered at the meeting room in the No. 4 Division for a class. On the first day, labor camp chief Wang gave a speech. His words bespoke of bloodshed and were filled with venom and butchery. He declared the commencement of "the third battle for the reform of the steadfast."

The first two rounds of large-scale persecution took place at the end of 2001 and during the first half of 2002. In our No. 2 Class, there was a college student who had been through the two rounds of cruel torture. He was beaten until he passed out, and was taken to the clinic and brought back to consciousness. They asked him straight away, "Are you going to reform?" He shook his head, uttered the word "no," and passed out again. During the second large-scale persecution, No. 1 Divisions came upon a very steadfast Dafa practitioner. All the torturing methods, including electric baton, leather whip and tiger bench, were utilized to no avail. Finally steel needles were inserted beneath all ten of his fingernails; he passed out a number of times from the pain but refused to say what they wanted him to say. The infamous cruel division had exhausted its bag of tricks.

The persecution began with brainwashing by forcing us to watch slanderous materials. At night when going back to the class, the targeted practitioners must sit on the cement floor and were monitored by the guards on duty. No one was allowed to close their eyes, and if anyone was caught napping or with their eyes closed, they would be yelled at, or worse, punched and kicked. During the day, as usual they had to attend the brainwashing class. In the brainwashing class, the police patrolled back and forth. Anyone caught falling asleep would be dragged out and dealt with by their division. Later on, due to practitioners' strong opposition, they had to cancel the sleep deprivation torture.

The brainwashing class went on for a total of six days; the overwhelming majority of the Dafa practitioners did not relent to the evil. The brainwashing class did not conclude with a closing ceremony or a formal announcement for its demise; it just fizzled out. They had exhausted their bag of tricks.

Ever since I was placed in the Chaoyanggou Labor Camp, all I heard from the vicious police were, "If you don't change, you can't get out of here." "If you don't reform, it is a life sentence for you." "So-and-so has exceeded his term for over seven months and he has not been released." For these, I was well prepared mentally, so my heart was not moved; I no longer agonized over the slow passage of time. In January 2003, unexpectedly, my wife came to visit me and received the "notice of release" in the visitor's room. She took care of all the paper work and took me home. The guard from the No. 2 Division remarked, "No one had ever been released from here without either being reformed or being picked up by the local '610 Office!' You are the first." I knew why without the slightest doubt: It was all from the guidance of Dafa and the compassionate protection by Master!

1"Tiger Bench": one of the torture methods used on practitioners wherein their knees are tightly tied onto a small metal bench, usually with a hard object inserted underneath the lowers legs or ankles to make it harder for them to remain upright.