(Minghui.org) Since the persecution of Falun Gong started in 1999, a large number of practitioners have been detained and imprisoned. Incarceration and torture only served to solidify their belief, and their honorable conduct has influenced many. Both inmates and guards began to question the validity of the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) hate propaganda against Falun Gong.
Below is the experience of an elderly practitioner, who refused to yield to mistreatment and torture while in detention. Seeing his perseverance and righteous belief, many people who were initially hostile towards him began to respect him.
Arrested in the Name of “Security" for the Beijing Olympics
I am over 60 and live in Shouguang City, Shandong Province. Police from Shouguang arrested me on June 26, 2014, with the excuse of enforcing “security for the Beijing Olympics.” I was held at the police station for five days before being taken to the Shouguang Detention Center.
Refusing to Wear the Detention Center Uniform
Because I was arrested for practicing Falun Gong and not for committing any wrongdoing, I decided not to wear the detention center uniform. This upset many of the guards. One day, two of them approached my cell. “Are you special?” one of the yelled. “Why don’t you wear the inmates' uniform?”
I replied in a loud and clear voice, “I am detained here because of my belief in Falun Gong. I do not belong here, as I've done nothing wrong.” The guards seemed very surprised that I would respond like that. They looked at each other and then walked away.
A while later, two more guards came by and asked me the same question. I gave the same reply, and they also left.
This happened a few more times, but I refused to give in, so they gave up.
Refusing To Be Intimidated
My wife and I were arrested at the same time. One day while we were speaking to each other from our respective cells, a guard came over and started shouting, “What are you doing?” I looked at the guard and very calmly said: “We were illegally arrested and detained here. We did not break any law. There is nothing wrong with me speaking to my wife.”
The guard was outraged. He threatened me, “If you dare to continue speaking like that, I will kill you.”
I shouted, “Falun Dafa is good! Falun Dafa is good!”
I then heard two of the head inmates chuckling behind me. One of them said, “Falun Gong defeated the guard.” I then saw the guard hurry away.
The Power of Dafa Songs
I was singing Dafa songs in my cell one day, when an inmate working nearby heard me and asked, “Can you come here and sing?” Thinking that would help more people learn about Falun Gong, I agreed. I sang several songs, including “Falun Dafa is Good” and “Seek the Truth.” When I finished, many people said I sang very well and some applauded. I could hear people on the other side of the wall also applauding. I knew that many of them now had a better understanding of Dafa. I was very happy for them.
After I went back a guard said to me, “My friend, can you take a break from singing now? You know I'm on duty today and I would get into trouble if the others heard you singing.” I told him, “No problem, I won't give you a hard time.” One of the inmates heard the conversation and said, “Even the guards are frightened of you.”
Doing the Exercises
One guard who knew the truth about Falun Gong told me that I could do the exercises whenever I wanted. When we met the next time he asked me how the exercises were going.
The head inmate did not allow me to do exercises and told several other inmates to stop me if they saw me doing them. When they tried to stop me one time, I rang the alarm and director Zheng came to check on things.
When Zheng asked what was going on, I told him that the inmates wouldn’t let me do the exercises. “If you want to do the exercises, you have to put on the inmates' uniform first,” Zheng said. When I responded firmly, “I won't wear it because I am not a criminal,” Zheng seemed unhappy and walked away.
I quickly called after Director Zheng, “I will do the exercises now!” Zheng came back and took me to his office. He told me to sit down and offered me a glass of water. He said, “Let's talk as friends. How have I treated you?” I replied, “Everybody says you are a nice person, and I agree.”
We continued to talk about other things, and eventually he said, “If the other guards don't mind you doing the exercises, I won't stop you.” I then began to do the exercises openly in the detention center.
Guards Now Have a Positive Attitude about Falun Gong
Guard Wang once said some disrespectful things about the Teacher of Falun Gong during an interrogation. I said, “Please do not do that. You will run into trouble if you continue saying such bad things.” He did not listen and continued to say them.
“Because you are disrespectful of my Teacher, I will not talk to you anymore.” I then remained silent. After a while he got angry and shouted, “You will be in big trouble during your next interrogation.” He then handcuffed me to the metal railing.
Two senior guards came by and asked what had happened. They held a positive attitude towards Falun Gong because I had explained the facts about the persecution to them before. When I told them about the situation, one of them went and asked guard Wang why he spoke so disrespectfully about the Teacher of Falun Gong, while the other unlocked my handcuffs.
Officer Wang returned several days later and interrogated me. This time he was much nicer. The shackles on my feet hurt as I walked, so I had to stop and adjust them after several steps. Officer Wang patiently waited for me and even offered some suggestions about where to place the chains to reduce the pain. A female officer heard him and was surprised. She even joked, “Hey, Officer Wang. Is this your friend or relative?”
Seeing the positive changes in guard Wang's attitude, I thought he might have had a bad experience that taught him a lesson. He did not use bad words in front me again, and when I told other guards about Falun Gong, he always listened quietly.
Power of the Truth
One young guard changed his attitude towards Falun Gong in a very short space of time. When we first met, he was very vicious and said, “Your son complained to me about your arrest. Next time, I'll bring him here and keep him for a few days.” I felt very sad for this young man, because very few guards had ever said anything so cruel to me.
The next time I encountered this young guard, he looked different. He was inspecting my computer, which they had confiscated at the time of my arrest. When he saw me enter the interrogation room, he asked me to sit down and said in a friendly manner, “I have read some articles on your computer. Is it too late for me to have a good future?”
I assured him, “If you have truly realized that Falun Gong is good and you stop persecuting practitioners, you will benefit and you will have a good future.” He was very happy to hear that. Pointing at the picture of the founder of Falun Gong on my computer, he asked, “Is this your Teacher? He just gave a lecture in the US.” We then began to chat.
When two other guards were on duty one day, I told them about Falun Gong and explained how they could use software to break through the Internet blockade. I said, “If you install it in your computers you will be able to see what Falun Gong really is and be able to make your own decisions about the practice.” I assured them that the software was safe to use.
When they were on duty again, they seemed a little excited. After releasing my handcuffs and shackles, they asked me to show them the exercises.
From these experiences, I came to realize the power of our truth clarification efforts. Chinese people, including the guards working in detention centers, have been exposed to the CCP's propaganda about Falun Gong for such a long time. Only through reading uncensored information and learning the facts can they truly discern right from wrong and make the correct choices for their future.
