(Clearwisdom.net) As the Chinese New Year was approaching, I read news on a website in China claiming a certain percentage of Falun Gong practitioners had been "reformed" and were living a so-called normal life. We cannot help but ask, "What do they mean by 'reformed'? We all know that Falun Gong practitioners abide by Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance and they are known to be good people. Even the police who beat them know this. So what do you want to reform them to be? Besides, a person has the right to believe and think whatever s/he wants to; so, what right does anyone have to force them to 'reform'?"
People do not live only to fill up their stomachs; they also have a spiritual side. Many true stories have proven the importance of spiritual belief for one's life. For instance, when some people were trapped in the desert and got lost some of them died quickly, not merely because they ran out of supplies but because their spirits were destroyed, while others with great faith, determination and fortitude survived. So we can see how important spiritual belief is to a person. If a person has mental burdens, he will live a tiring and hard life. It stands to reason, then, when a person's spirit is destroyed, he is no different than a "walking corpse" and is worse off than dead. Therefore, ancient Chinese people said, "The greatest sorrow is the death of the heart."
Under what circumstances would a person betray his belief in the truth? Under normal circumstances it is not possible. It can only happen when his willpower is destroyed. When a person who formerly believed in the truth suddenly "reforms," his/her mind is already destroyed. The righteousness displayed by Falun Gong practitioners is what Jiang and his gang of scoundrels are most afraid of, because their corruption is completely exposed in contrast; therefore the Jiang group uses all kinds of means and even brutal torture and murder to "reform" practitioners. Once a person's willpower is destroyed, he can only play the role of a slave and does not possess any spiritual strength at all. By destroying practitioners' spirit, the Jiang group is murdering practitioners' minds instead of their physical bodies, which can be called "killing without a knife" and it is covert and extremely vicious.
It is not at all inappropriate to call such reform tactics "mental rape." For people who believe in truth, their faith is incomparably sacred to them and cannot be violated. Now, most Chinese people don't have faith so they can't feel for the practitioners, as they cannot empathize with the pain when a person is forced to attack his own faith with outside lies.
What is most despicable is that Jiang forces these brainwashed or "reformed" people to praise him, which is no different than a villain who rapes a girl and then forces her to praise him in public, saying how caring he is! Jiang shows off his crimes as good deeds; that is truly disgusting.
Can these brainwashed people truly live normal lives? The condition of one's mental state directly determines the quality of life.
We probably all have had the experience of feeling happy after we helped others in our daily life, as if our world had broadened. Falun Gong practitioners live their lives according to the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance; they do good things and avoid doing bad things. They live an open and dignified life. Their inner feelings can truly be described as "wonderful." When the persecutors force them to change their lifestyle, not only are they forbidden to talk about "Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance," they are also forced to tell lies and blaspheme Falun Gong and their most respected teacher. The contrast between good and evil is too obvious. Some people who were forced to "reform" clearly felt how they became corrupt from being once pure, and the resultant tremendous psychological pain was unbearable for most people. It is as if you had just cleaned yourself in a warm and fragrant shower and then were suddenly thrown into a manure pit full of maggots and bugs. One can imagine the feeling of such an experience.
These brainwashed people actually live a very miserable life. First, they cannot escape the mental pain. Aside from the aforementioned mental torment, they have to face a guilty conscience at all times, feeling bitterly remorseful. Secondly, they used to fight for their faith. After they are forcibly "reformed" they clearly see that their mind has been crushed and they lose confidence and faith in life. Third, they used to trust in their faith whole-heartedly, but after losing what they should have held fast to the most, so they can no longer take anything seriously.
After being brainwashed, some people became hysterical. They would throw things around and yell, and some would even curse and hit people. In fact, this occurred because their minds were twisted and their thinking no longer normal. Some reverted to the bad habits they used to have before practicing Falun Gong. They have lost the self-restraint they gained from practicing Falun Gong, and they have now given up on themselves. Some have become cynical, poisoning their souls by living a degenerate and hedonistic lifestyle. Think about it, can the life of a mentally twisted person be called normal?
Besides, because the persecutors worry about the so-called "change of mind" they often check up on the brainwashed practitioners and continuously "pour salt into their old wounds." The persecutors will not allow them to live a truly normal life.
The Jiang group's forced brainwashing is in and of itself an ugly crime. It is destruction of human nature. We hope all Chinese people can recognize the true nature of this destruction and bring Jiang, the arch criminal of the Chinese nation, to history's judgment.