(Minghui.org) Ms. Guo, Hongyu, a Falun Dafa practitioner who used to live in a northeastern city in China, learned the practice from her mother. Ms. Guo used to suffer from arteriosclerosis, stomach pains, sciatica and many other illnesses. In 1994, she attended the lectures taught by Master Li in Harbin City. Once she practiced Falun Dafa, she returned to good health. Below is her experience of learning the practice and the persecution that she suffered from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

In May 1995, my mother brought the book Zhuan Falun home. I read it in one day, and felt that I had waited for this book all my life. I also benefited a lot from stepping into the practice.

Held in the local detention center

At the end of October 1999, my parents, my daughter and I traveled to Beijing to appeal for the right to practice Falun Gong, as did thousands of other practitioners. Our intention was to let people know that Falun Dafa is good and ask for the release of imprisoned practitioners.

At Tiananmen Square in Beijing, the police asked us why we were in Beijing. When I told them that we wanted to petition for Falun Gong, we were immediately arrested and taken to a detention center. We were held there for three days. Then, we were taken to the local detention center in our hometown.

At the local detention center, we were forced to do hard labor for over 10 hours a day, making toothpicks for export. We had to sit on the floor to pack the toothpicks, and we were not allowed to wash our hands after using the restroom. I was held there for about one month.

Tortured in Wanjia Forced Labor Camp

In June, 2000, my parents were arrested because they practiced Falun Dafa. The police confiscated their Dafa books at my home. My father was soon released, but my mother was taken to a detention center. The Dafa books are very precious, so my father and I went to Nangang Police Station to ask for the return of our books. As a result, my father and I were arrested. I was first held at a local detention center, where I went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution. The guards force-fed me with salty cornmeal through a tube with an unknown drug. I vomited, had diarrhea and had excruciating stomach pain.

I was taken to Wanjia Forced Labor Camp in October 2000. I was held for 14 months and was monitored by two to three inmates. There job was to constantly talk to me in an attempt to try to get me to renounce my belief. They did this every day for two months.

Ten practitioners did the exercises together one night in January 2001. On the second morning, we were taken to the dining hall, where there were a lot of guards. The director of the labor camp then advised me that I better obey the labor camp rules. I said, “I am a Falun Dafa practitioner; I will follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.”

I was taken to a small cell and was later joined by other practitioners. One practitioner was doing the sitting meditation exercise when a guard entered the cell. The guard then beat the practitioner. I shouted, “Don’t beat the Falun Dafa practitioner!” The guard then started to search me. I had handwritten Falun Dafa books with me and refused to let him get near them. About half a dozen guards started to beat me. They pushed me to the ground and kicked me until they became very tired. I was then tortured on an iron chair, while other practitioners were taken to a small cell. The guards removed our coats and opened the windows to let the cold winter air in. We were later forced to stand upright for four days and three nights consecutively.

We practitioners went a hunger strike several times and demanded our unconditional release. On May 4, 2001, several guards tortured me on an iron chair and force fed me through a tube. My nasal cavity and esophagus were severely damaged and bleeding. Some of us were tortured on the iron chair for more than ten hours a day for a month. My legs and feet were extremely swollen. At that time, we were only allowed to shower once a week.

Three times at the camp, I was held in a small cell for six months. The cell was 2 meters long, 1.5 meters wide and 3 meters high. It was dark, cold and humid. If I didn't practice Falun Dafa, I would have lost my mind and could not have survived in there. I recited Master's Fa every day, and it was Falun Dafa that gave me the strength to survive the torture.

Arrested for carving words on a rock

In September 2006, I carved the words “Please quit the party for your peace and safety” on a rock in Anhui Province, to let more people know about Falun Dafa and the true nature of the CCP. I was arrested and held in the local detention center.

I sent forth righteous thoughts and three guards saw me. I told them, “My life was given by Dafa. I will never give up my belief. Practitioners don’t have any enemies. We are not against anyone. We just want to persist in practicing our belief.” I was then put in solitary confinement and had only one old blanket. There were bugs crawling around on the ground. I practiced the exercises, sent forth righteous thoughts and recited Master's Fa daily to encourage myself. I asked for a pen and paper so that I could write a complaint letter, but my request was ignored until the last day of my solitary confinement.

I was held in the detention center for 15 days. I was then returned home by three people: an agent from the 610 Office, an officer from the local police department and a staff member from the street office. My family and I had to move to another area to avoid being harassed by the police.

My Family was also persecuted

My mother has been arrested three times. The first time was at the end of 1999. She was held in a local detention center for one month because she went to Beijing to appeal for the right to practice Falun Gong. The second time she was arrested was in June 2000, because she was seen practicing the exercises outdoors. She was held in the local detention center until she was sentenced to a 15-month term in Wanjia Forced Labor Camp. The third time was in May 2002, when she was sentenced to 8 years in Heilongjiang Women’s Prison.

My father has also been arrested three times. The first time was in 1999 and the second time in June 2000, when he went to the police station to ask for the Falun Dafa books that had been confiscated from my home. He was held in a local detention center for one month. The third time he was arrested was in July 2001, because he informed overseas media about the persecution at Wanjia Forced Labor Camp. As a result, he was imprisoned in Changlingzi Forced Labor Camp in Harbin for two years.

My father’s health was greatly harmed due to his imprisonment and persecution, and he was under a great deal of stress. When he heard that I had been arrested in Huangshan, he physically and mentally collapsed. At the time, my mother was also imprisoned. My father was 70 years old and he passed away on December 2, 2007, while my mother was being held in Heilongjiang Women’s Prison.

We used to have a harmonious family life, but it was torn apart by the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong. My daughter and I went overseas to escape the persecution.