(Minghui.org) I was arrested and taken to a detention center on August 11, 2011, then taken to the detention center's transition cell at 11:00 p.m.
As soon as I entered the cell, four bald inmates (all the inmates must have their heads shaved) approached me and threatened to beat me. The head inmate asked, “Why are you here? How old are you?”
I told him, “They arrested me because I practice Falun Dafa. I'm 63 years old.” He said, “You only look 50 years old.” They did not touch me.
The head inmate assigned me to sleep on the floor. The cell was crowded and there was only room for the inmates to lie down back to back and on their sides. I could not sleep.
The next morning, they asked me about Falun Dafa and how to practice. I explained that it is a self cultivation practice, and I showed them the five sets of exercises.
The inmates in the transition cell did not have to do forced labor, but they had to recite the detention rules. I refused to recite them. Instead I kept sending righteous thoughts.
Fifteen days later I was transferred to detention cell #32.
The detention cell inmates customarily beat the newcomers. As soon as a new inmate arrived, the other inmates beat him.
The cell's head inmate was from my village and he knew that I practiced Falun Dafa. He told the others, “This man is a Falun Dafa practitioner. You are not to touch him, or they'll be repercussions.” I was not beaten.
The inmates in the regular detention cells were assigned heavy workloads every day. Each inmate worked from 6:30 a.m. until midnight, in a 2 feet 8 inch by 2 foot area. Each inmate had to fulfill his quota. The slower ones worked until 3:00 a.m. Those who failed to meet the quota were beaten.
I was also assigned the heavy workload, as well as two hours of duty. I told the head inmate, “I didn't commit any crimes. I won't do the work and I'm going on a hunger strike.”
After he heard this, the section chief said, “Luming (my alias), don’t cause me trouble. I have a family to feed. Tell me what you want.”
I told him, “I haven't committed any crimes. I won’t do the work and I don’t want to be on duty.” He said, “Then just do what you can and I won't assign you a workload. You don’t have to be on duty.”
Because of this I had time to send righteous thoughts and to recite the Fa. I also talked to the others about Falun Dafa and the persecution. I taught them to say, “Falun Dafa is good.”
One inmate's foot hurt so badly that he could not walk. Every day, the other inmates carried him to the dining area and to the clinic for treatment. He also did not have to work.
One day we chatted, and I told him about Falun Dafa and the persecution. He carefully listened and said, “Falun Dafa is good! Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good!”
We talked until lunchtime. He forgot about his injured foot, stood up, and started walking towards the dining area. At that moment he realized that his foot had stopped hurting. He was amazed. All the inmates witnessed this miracle.
The head inmate had another inmate stay with me. This inmate told me that he worked in a gambling place. The owner shifted the blame on him, so he was arrested. The owner had bribed the detention center personal so he didn't have to do the forced labor.
When he asked, “Why are you here?” I told him that I practice Falun Dafa, and told him about the persecution. He accepted everything I said.
He was not allowed to buy any extra food even though he had money. (The food fed to the inmates was terrible. Inmates could buy extra food, but it was nearly outdated and twice the price as outside.) I bought food and shared it with him. He was very moved, and sincerely thanked me. I said, “You don’t need to thank me. I'm a Dafa practitioner and I’m following my Master’s teaching to be compassionate and considerate of others.”
His term was up, but before he left, he wanted to transfer 6,000 yuan to my account. I told him, “Thank you for your kindness but please don't do it. Instead please remember ‘Falun Dafa is good! Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good!’” He assured me that he would.
When an elderly man was assigned to my cell, the head inmate jokingly said, “Luming, here comes another student for you.” The man was big. He had no facial expression, looked haggard, and kept coughing.
When I asked him, “Why are you here?” He sighed and told me his story.
He was a chief at a watch component factory. He was in his 60’s and was to retire in two years. After construction at his company concluded, the construction company owner gave him 100,000 yuan.
He submitted the money to his company and the accountant was responsible for depositing it into the account. But instead, the accountant embezzled the money. When the Procuratorate discovered what happened, the accountant returned the money but told the Procuratorate that the elderly man had approved it.
The Procuratorate arrested him and interrogated him. They did not allow him to sleep for seven days, trying to force him to admit wrongdoing. They transferred him to the detention center after he refused to say that he did anything wrong.
He showed me his deformed fingers from the forced labor, and told me that he couldn't sleep, couldn't eat, and had developed a cough. In addition, his wife was hit by a car and there was no one to take care of her. He was on the verge of a mental breakdown.
He wept and said, “I've worked hard all my life. How could I end up like this?” I comforted him, “Don't cry. Things reach their lowest point just before they turn around.”
He asked me why I was there. I told him that I was arrested because I practice Falun Dafa and believe in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. He told me that he practiced Buddhism, read a lot of Buddhist scriptures, and believed that everything happens for a reason.
I said, “We must have a predestined relationship then. If you sincerely say, ‘Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good’, you will have a good sleep tonight.” He immediately started reciting it.
The following morning he said, “I haven't slept so well for a long time!” I told him about Falun Dafa and he listened. His mental state improved rapidly. He began sleeping well, and he also stopped coughing. All the inmates in our cell witnessed the amazing power of Falun Dafa.
He was then transferred to a different part of the detention center, and assigned to do bookkeeping instead of the manual work. He was very grateful that I told him about Falun Dafa, and said, “Thank you. I'll always remember what you told me.”
Several dozen inmates were assigned to my cell during the year I was detained there. I treated them with compassion and told them about Falun Dafa. I explained how the Chinese Communist Party had ruined our traditional culture, and talked to them about the heavenly principle that good is rewarded and evil is punished.
Most of them accepted what I said. After they sincerely said, “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good,” they experienced many amazing things.
The head inmate was the head of a gang and he had been detained for three years. He was supposed to be sentenced to life in prison, but his sentence had been reduced to twelve years.
Another inmate was formerly a college student, but killed someone. He helped me write my appeal. When he was only sentenced to nine years and he couldn't believe it. The other inmates congratulated him.
Two other inmates had been sentenced to the death penalty, which was later changed to lifetime sentences.
The inmates saw me off when it was time for me to leave. When I shouted, “Falun Dafa is good!” they all followed, and shouted, “Falun Dafa is good!” Our voices pierced the darkness of the detention center, and I was deeply moved.