A practitioner in Jinzhou Labor Camp

December 1999

I am 30 years old. I am from Jinzhou City of Liaoning Province. I am now being detained in a labor camp of Jinzhou City as a convicted thief.

I have a dark history. I left school when I was only 10 years old. I was sent to the City Labor School for stealing things when I was 15 years old. 2 years later, I was given a sentence of 1.5 years in jail as a thief. When I was 19 years old, I was given a sentence of 10 years in jail, again because of stealing. I got released in 1996. In 1999, I was given a detention of 15 days for theft and I escaped from the window. 10 days later, I was caught and taken back to the detention center. Luckily, I was detained together with some Falun Gong practitioners this time.

At that time, the government was denouncing Falun Gong on TV and newspapers and accusing Falun Gong of spreading "dangerous thoughts" that were harmful to people. Therefore, I was very curious about Falun Gong practitioners, and I wanted to know how bad they were and whether they were even worse than I. What I found out, however, was completely against my expectation. They were from all walks of life. There were workers, peasants, officials, and doctors etc. They got detained because they had gone to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong or practiced Falun Gong exercises in parks. They did not look down upon me just because I was a convicted thief. Instead, they told me to be a good person and not to be a thief and not to commit wrongdoings anymore. I was deeply touched by their words. Especially, some of them had no hatred or complaints when they were being cursed or beaten by the guards. They always treated those guards kindly and told them the principles of becoming a good person. I was very surprised and also perplexed. The TV had been telling people how bad Falun Gong was. Then how come so many people had become so benign after learning Falun Gong? I had to admit that they were really nice people from what I saw.

I suddenly felt so regretful that in the past ten years I had committed so many bad deeds. How wonderful it would be if I could be a good person like these Falun Gong practitioners! Then I told my thoughts to Yan Li, Li Huanbao, Liu Wansheng and other practitioners in my cell. They gave me a copy of Zhuan Falun (the main text of Falun Gong). I finished reading it with great eagerness. I had a sleepless night. My past life as a thief for a dozen of years appeared in my mind. I had committed so many unforgivable wrongdoings.

I remembered that my neighbors had praised me for being a good child. However, when I grew up, all kinds of bad thoughts in society and the desire for money started to pollute me and control me and push me into the sinful abyss. In jail, I had been educated about laws and forced to accept labor education. Some kindhearted guards had also tried to help me to change. However, these were all useless to me. Those evil thoughts still controlled me and I could not free myself from stealing. After finishing reading Zhuan Falun, I understood that all the laws and policies in human society could only change one on the surface; only the Buddha Law could change one's heart and make one become really good. I felt so lucky to be able to learn Falun Dafa in jail. I decided to learn to be a good person from then on.

Two days after I had that thought, I saw a golden and shining image of teacher Li. I was very curious and asked a fellow practitioner in my cell. He said, "You have seen teacher Li's law body. Teacher Li is taking care of you." I was so grateful and tearful. "Teacher Li, I am a bad person, but you are still compassionate to me. I swear that I will learn Falun Dafa wholeheartedly and be worthy of the name of a Falun Dafa practitioner."

Later, I was transferred to a labor camp in Jinzhou City. I was concerned very much whether I would meet other fellow practitioners because there were still many questions that I would like to ask them. Surprisingly, I met many other practitioners there! I suddenly realized that Falun Dafa would shed light to every corner of the world and would save every person with predestined luck.

When my family members came to visit me, they become very angry after they learned that I had started to learn Falun Gong. They said, "how come you learn Falun Gong here? Now the whole country is denouncing Falun Gong!" I told them, "You do not understand the truth. Falun Gong is not like what the TV and newspapers said. Falun Gong teaches people to become good people and is supernormal." However, they didn't want to listen to me. They even threatened that they would not visit me again if I continued to practice Falun Gong. I cried upon hearing these words. However, I realized immediately that it was a test for me. I will become a good person by learning Falun Gong and in the future my family members will then know that Falun Gong is indeed good.

Fellow practitioners, I have learned Falun Dafa for three months. The guards and inmates in the detention center and labor camp all know that Falun Dafa practitioners are good people.