(Minghui.org) A Falun Gong practitioner was illegally sentenced to prison for five years. While in prison, she upheld her faith in the principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. She handled difficult circumstances with integrity and righteous thoughts. She helped many people learn about Falun Gong. Below is her story.
Inmates Learn about the “Tiananmen Self-Immolation” Hoax
I was taken to Team 11 in Ward 5. I refused to recite the prison rules or wear the prison uniform. For this, Ward leader Yin and two inmates who were assigned to monitor me forced me to stand all day. My feet swelled badly.
Of the 12 inmates on Team 11, most felt sympathy for me, except for one who was given a death sentence with a two-year reprieve.
This inmate ridiculed me and asked if I was arrested for committing self-immolation. I told her that I was arrested because I was told people that the “Tiananmen Self-immolation” was a hoax.
She and others immediately became interested and wanted to know how it was a hoax. I told them that Falun Gong is a high-virtue cultivation practice of mind and body and strictly forbids killing, including suicide.
Falun Gong teaches people to become good and even better by following the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. People who practice Falun Gong enjoy good health and inner peace. The practice benefits both individuals and society as a whole.
I pointed out many of the questionable loopholes in CCTV’s coverage of the alleged event.
They listened attentively and said the Communist Party is no good and only deceives people.
Officer Yin was in charge of Falun Gong practitioners in the ward and was known for being very cruel towards practitioners who refused to give up their faith. She ordered that they be tied up tightly with their body bent forward. Inmates would push the tied-up practitioners under a bed or make them stand still for long periods of time with no sleep or bathroom use.
I felt very sad that these officers acted like this. They had been deceived and brainwashed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In the name of enforcing the law, they didn’t even know they were doing bad things.
Illegal Imprisonment Challenged
Once, after days of being forced to stand for long periods, I sat down on the bed. The two inmates who monitored me reported this to the guard on duty. They feared that they would be blamed for my actions.
Officer Yin arrived in a rage. She yelled at me, “You’ve been here for almost a month and you refuse to follow any orders. The only way you’ll leave is to transform (to denounce Falun Gong), or else you will suffer!”
I asked her very calmly if she could explain some legal issues for me.
“There is a court judgement against you,” she said.
“You see,” I said, “some people cooked up lies against me. I refuted the lies. The verdict should be changed into an acquittal.”
Upon hearing this, she burst out laughing. Inmates around us also tried to hold back their laughter.
Another official who came with Yin said, “Tell me what legal issues you want explained.”
This official was the prison’s deputy director named Lin. I had three questions.
First, there are four fundamental legal principles of law in China. How could the law violate three of the four principles in dealing with Falun Gong practitioners? How could such a law be legal when it goes against the fundamental principles in legislation?
Second, China signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in 1998, which stipulates in item 2 of Article 19: “Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice. Can you tell me how Falun Gong practitioners have violated the Convention?
Third, what kind of law is it that allows those who make up lies to behave in a lawless manner while those who refute lies are persecuted?
Lin asked me about my educational background and said she would like to talk to me again in a few days. She never came back.
Dignity and Integrity as a Falun Gong Practitioner
One leader of our ward was surnamed Zhang. She was in charge of production activities in the ward. She was known to have a terrible temper and the inmates feared her.
Once when she spoke disrespectfully of Falun Gong, I stopped her. She was shocked, as no one dared to speak to her that way.
I then told her that if she wanted to know about Falun Gong I could tell her. I realized she was deeply brainwashed by lies, so I didn’t know where to start. I began to recite Lunyu. Zhang had never heard it before.
When I finished she said, “I never knew you had such a nice voice. Why are you always so quiet?” Her tone had turned very soft, as if she had changed into a different person.
She then told me that she was in a bad mood because she was told to have all the goods finished and loaded in a truck by 9:00 pm, regardless of what it took.
I saw that she was in a desperate situation. “If you don’t treat me like a prisoner, I will help you.” She agreed.
I showed her how to rearrange the production line and where to put more hands. I showed some inmates how to work more efficiently.
Zhang was very happy and joined us as well. We finished at 9:10 pm.
When another ward leader heard this, she thanked me for helping out. She said that if I worked, she would ask Yin to reduce my term.
“Falun Gong practitioners are being unlawfully persecuted,” I said.
“I will not participate in forced labor for a reduced prison term. I helped today only because the situation was desperate, and I want to let people know that Falun Gong practitioners are not at all like what was said on TV.
“I will not do forced labor, nor will I wear a prison uniform, because this is my way of telling people that the persecution of Falun Gong is illegal.”
After that day, no one asked me to do forced labor again.
“Attacking the Fort” Strategy Fails
I had been imprisoned for three years. Prison officials planned an “Attacking the Fort” campaign to force me to give up Falun Gong.
Officer Yin assigned 11 people to watch me. During the day they would circle around me and read aloud slanderous materials against Falun Gong.
They tried to make me to watch defamatory videos or ridiculous speeches. They had one problem. Each time they tried to play the videos, either the screen wouldn’t show any images or there was no sound.
They would not allow me to use the bathroom and fed me a thin porridge for breakfast. It had no effect on me.
Three months later, Yin found that most people she had assigned to work on me began to side with me, especially those who used to practice Falun Gong but had gone astray from deceptive brainwashing. They liked to hear me recite Master’s teachings. They wrote reports that stated I was a very kind-hearted person.
The campaign against me completely failed and the group was dismissed.
I was incarcerated for five full years. During that time, I took every opportunity to tell everyone I met about Falun Gong—inmates, police officers, ward leaders, and prison officials. I hope they will all choose the truth instead of lies.
When I recall my experiences during those years, my heart is filled with deep gratitude to our revered Master.
Thanks to Master’s compassionate protection and boundless grace, I was able to remain strong and righteous in the face of great difficulties and hardships.
