(Clearwisdom.net) During the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) persecution of Falun Gong over the past 11 years, Ms. Li Qingying has been illegally arrested, subjected to brainwashing, detained, and harassed for her belief in Falun Gong. The following is her testimony of the persecution she has suffered.
Falun Gong Gave Me a New Life
Before I started practicing Falun Gong, I was a selfish person. I didn't get along with my sisters-in-law and complained about my mother-in-law's unfairness towards me. I had a hard time coping with stress and poverty, and tried to commit suicide by overdosing on sleeping pills. After being rescued, I still felt hopeless.
September 22, 1998 is the most memorable and fortunate day of my life. It was the day that I started practicing Falun Gong. Through studying the Fa, I came to understand how to be a good person, how to look inward when things go wrong, and how to be good to others. It changed me completely, enabling me to get along well with my sisters-in-law and mother-in-law, to eliminate my bad habits and to care for others. All my illnesses also disappeared. I was able to responsibly take care of everything at home, and my husband could travel out of town without worrying about me. All our friends and relatives were happy to see the changes in me, especially my husband and our son. They were happy to see me smile every day. Within only a few years, our financial situation also improved. We built a house, bought a farm truck, and our son got married. Everyone was grateful to Teacher and Falun Gong.
The Persecution of a Good Person
After the CCP launched its persecution of Falun Gong on July 20, 1999, I didn't understand why a government would want to ban such a good cultivation practice that benefits people. In order to clarify the truth to the government, I went to Beijing. There, however, I was arrested at Tiananmen Square and taken to the local office in Beijing. I was strip-searched, and police officers confiscated all of my money. The next day, the police took me to the Nanshan Detention Center in Shulan City, where I was detained for 15 days. Then I was taken directly to Fate Township's brainwashing center, set up at a nursing home.
In the brainwashing center, fellow practitioners and I were not even allowed to go to the toilet early on. We went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution. We weren't allowed to talk and were required to face the wall with our hands up, stand with legs spread, or kneel for a few hours each day. We ate corn bran and cold Chinese cabbage without oil. CCP agents and their collaborators yelled at and scolded us. Because I encouraged other Falun Gong practitioners to stand firm, 610 Office chief Jiang Siyi isolated me in a cold cell. Other practitioners were released, but I was still held there. I was finally released from the brainwashing center after 36 days.
On New Year's Day in 2000, police officers Xie Fengtong and Zhao Dechang arrested me and two fellow practitioners and took us to Fate Township's hostel. They wanted us to sign a document promising to give up cultivation, but we refused. Two days later, they transported us to the Nanshan Detention Center, where we were persecuted for 23 days. We were released after a hunger strike of 8 days.
In the fall of 2002, my sister-in-law came to complain about our mother-in-law, because there was some friction between them. After sharing with her my understanding based on the Falun Gong principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, I gave her a copy of Zhuan Falun to read. Neither of us could have anticipated that our mother-in-law would report us to the town government. Police officer Cao Yushi, along with others, came to arrest me and my sister-in-law and took us to the local police station. There we were mistreated by Liu Xuebing, who said that we were “disrupting social order.” I told her that I was in fact maintaining social order and keeping the family peace. At that point police chief Long transported us to the Shulan City Police Bureau. My sister-in-law was released 2 days later, but the police wanted to keep me there for 15 more days. However, 3 days later, I was released.
On May 6, 2009, Fate Township police chief Xia Chunlin, along with other officers, stormed into my home while I was alone. They ransacked my home, turned everything upside down, and upon finding some Falun Gong books and materials, they took me to the Shulan Detention Center. My husband went to request my release, but the officials there refused. I went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution. Two days later, I had symptoms of a heart disease, so officials took me to the county hospital for a checkup. I was then released.
In May 2010, local 610 Office chief Li Biao and the police chief, along with others, stormed into my home again, arrested me and dragged me to the brainwashing center. I was then forced to sign the so-called three statements to renounce my belief in Falun Gong against my will. Even though I was forced to sign against my will, I was still very regretful that I did the wrong thing.
Two days after my release, the police chief and others came to my house again, asking me to share my understanding of what I had “learned” in the brainwashing center. My son was afraid that the police might take me away again, so he asked me to go inside and let him do the talking. I did as he requested, but then I thought that I didn't want to do another wrong thing. I said to them, “I have been doing things based on the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, the most righteous principles. Without my faith, I wouldn't be able to live anymore. My spirit totally collapsed from your brainwashing.” One of the policemen tore up the paperwork from my son's testimony and recorded what I said instead. Then the officers left angrily. About an hour later, they came back again with the assistant police chief and said that I had to give a different statement. Fortunately, I was able to get away and left home to avoid being arrested again.
In the past decade, the CCP agents from our village and town have frequently harassed me and my family, causing us great harm.
