PureInsight | April 2, 2006
[PureInsight.org] (Los Angeles
Fahui 2006) My name is Li Xiangchun. My English name is Charles Lee.
After suffering three years of illegal incarceration and persecution by
the wicked CCP, I returned to the U.S. only last month. My three years
experience felt like a dream. It elapsed in a blink of an eye. However,
many things happened during those three years and their impact is quite
profound. As the saying goes, "Saying thank you is far from enough when
one has received immense grace." My gratitude to our Master for
offering salvation to us is beyond human language. However, I still
want to say "Thank You" to Master who was concerned about me and
strengthened me, and to my fellow practitioners who had made great
efforts trying to rescue me. Thank you, Master! Thank you, fellow
practitioners!
On October 4, 2002, on the airplane to China, I enlightened to the
understanding that my conduct was a conduct of a Dafa disciple
validating Dafa. Although the evil was extremely rampant and the
persecution was escalating, we Dafa disciples who had obtained Fa and
gone through the path of personal cultivation should devote ourselves
to validating Dafa and saving sentient beings. Why did I choose to
clarify the truth by means of inserting video programs in cable TV in
China? It was because I believed it would have been the best way I
could use to save the largest number of sentient beings with the best
effect, given the situation at that time and considering my
capabilities. It was also a method that would shock the evil most. When
the evil head was on his state visit to the U.S. and other disciples
were eliminating the evils supporting it by SRFT, I chose to broadcast
truth video in his birth place, which I thought would be the best
timing and best place. So I did. I simply thought it was something I
should do. As Dafa disciples, when we realized the best method in
upholding Dafa from our understanding of Dafa, it was just a natural
thing to do. I had such a simple thought. Of course, there had been
numerous tribulations and interferences when it comes to the details
during the whole process. I will not spend much time talking about how
difficult it was to prepare the required equipment in a short time,
because many of us Dafa disciples experienced a lot of difficulties
when validating Dafa. Of course, Master taught us in Zhuan Falun,
"Actually, I think it depends on the person as to whether it is
difficult or not." "To a genuine practitioner, I would say that it is
very easy and not something too high to reach." What I'd like to share
here is, after I failed to insert video programs, how I further
validated Dafa when encountering the illegal arrest and incarceration.
I obtained Dafa in July 1997. Within two to three months after I
obtained the Dafa, I felt the Fa I was learning could help a
practitioner to cultivate to an extremely high level, so high that it
is beyond imagination. Although I didn't have a very thorough
understanding of Dafa, I came to such a conclusion: the principles
taught in Dafa are harmonized to such an extent, the realm described in
Dafa is so lofty, I couldn't have found any other thing more valuable
than Dafa in my whole life. No matter whether I could succeed in
cultivation or not, I would not regret it if I simply devoted my whole
life to Dafa cultivation. Later, I understood my mind state at that
time could be described as "Having heard the Dao in the morning, one
can die in the evening."
Ever since the wicked CCP started to persecute Dafa, I despised the
evil very much. It was not due to a lack of compassion; rather, it was
the disdain I had toward the stupidity of evil beings who had deviated
from the characteristics of the universe
"Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance" and were committing all kinds of
evils and outrages with a self-contented feeling. After I realized
this, I definitely no longer had any fear towards them, not to mention
giving in to the evil. In "Toward Consummation," Master said: "Some
truly see the Fa-principles of Dafa; while many other students have
found with their human notions various yearnings and wishes in Dafa,
and, compelled by these human attachments, they have come to practice
cultivation in Dafa."
If we truly understand Dafa on the basis of Fa, and truly improve
ourselves with the guidance of Fa principles, there is no way such a
practitioner would be "reformed." In addition, I have experienced
Master's protection and strengthening throughout the entire period of
the past three years. It was not that I saw this with my celestial eye
or with supernormal capabilities. I understood this from the principles
when analyzing the cause and result effect in all kinds of issues.
After I was arrested, I realized that although my attempt to clarify
the truth by using TV programs had failed, I could validate Dafa and
save sentient beings taking advantage of the fact that I was arrested.
It was exactly as Master said in later lectures: "We are making use of
this persecution while we defy it."
The court trial against me itself was illegal. But I will not address
this issue here. After the evil ones tried me on March 21, 2003, I
filed an appeal, in order to deny everything the old forced imposed on
me, at the same time, to give all beings who had been exploited by the
evil to persecute Dafa disciples another chance, because everyone who
read through my appeal statement would know the truth about Falun Gong.
Moreover, I thought that, considering my status as a U.S. citizen, the
approach the wicked CCP could take to the best of its interest and to
secure its power was to reject my appeal and keep the original
judgment, only that I would be expelled from the country earlier than
what was stated in the original judgment. In doing so, they would
have saved their face but it was still an act of persecution of me. I
looked at this issue from the perspective of an everyday person. I
underestimated the evil nature of the CCP. As a matter of fact, evil
always chooses a path which is most devastating to themselves, but they
still think they are doing a smart thing. They believed that through
numerous persecution methods, they would be able to break my will and
force me to give up cultivation, and to accept their illegal judgment.
They believed that by doing so they would be able to give a heavy blow
to Falun Gong, to threaten overseas Falun Gong practitioners, as well
as showing their strength in front of the U.S. government, as if
saying: "I am not afraid of you."
They thought they could handle my case as a normal criminal case so
that they would have an excuse to put me in prison. They tried to avoid
using "practicing Falun Gong" as a charge against me when persecuting
me as an overseas Falun Gong practitioner, because otherwise the U.S.
government would protest and the CCP may also invite other troubles.
What's more, my parents who lived in China were both in their old age
and had poor health. They took all these as factors to their advantage.
So they continued to persecute me.
They thought all the tactics they had accumulated in history in
battling against Chinese people would bring a good outcome. Besides,
they thought the situation of my parents was in their favor. They made
meticulous arrangements. Because I am a U.S. citizen, they could not
put me in the same prison with other Falun Gong practitioners inside
China. They therefore put me in Nanjing Prison where criminals who are
foreign citizens or criminals with Hong Kong, Taiwan or Macao origins
are held. However, in Nanjing Prison, I was not incarcerated in the
same cell as other foreign citizens. Instead, they specifically set up
a "persecution team" and put me in the same cell with evil people who
were very base and were fully exploited by the evil in other
dimensions. In addition, they transferred three experienced persecutors
from other regions to Nanjing prison to be dedicated to the
"reformation project" against me. They also replaced the CCP instructor
in the prison division I was in with a very vicious and hard-nosed
policeman. All this meticulous planning and the following persecution
methods characterized by "Falsehood-Viciousness-Combativeness" could
not in the least shake the righteous faith and righteous mind of a
cultivator forged by Dafa with righteous enlightenment. On the
contrary, the persecution strengthened my righteous faith. All the
persecution methods they took against me were used by me and
practitioners who made efforts to rescue me to clarify the truth.
Because the U.S. consulate kept in touch with me, I kept exposing the
truth about persecution using this information channel.
Because of the existence of such a channel, the evil tried to use the
most furtive and most vicious methods to torture me. Until now, I still
have difficulty describing the tortures I suffered using human
language. Besides the physical torture I suffered which had been
publicized in earlier reports, what tortured me most was the incessant
mental persecution and pressure. For example, I was always monitored by
several criminal inmates. They followed me and sandwiched me wherever I
went and monitored me and rushed me to go through things whatever I
did. Even when I was asleep, someone was standing beside my bed. In
addition, the cell where I was detained and the forcible brainwashing
room were both equipped with monitors. This omnipresent pressure set
the basic tone of the persecution. It is very difficult for those who
have not experienced such environment to envision and understand the
pressure I had been through. To give another example, they force-fed me
under the name of humanity; however, they left thick and hard tube in
my nostril for a straight 30-40 hours. My whole body was tied to the
bed and I could not move a bit. The food they tried to forcibly feed
into my stomach was actually extremely scanty.
Even when I was suffering such torture, the evil police would still
yell at me, verbally abuse me and torture me physically for extended
periods. When my mother was seriously ill, they tried to coerce me to
write certain statements on the form for temporarily leaving the prison
to visit family so that they could make use of such content to spread
rumors against me and against Dafa. Later, they used vicious language
in front of my mother to hurt her feelings. Her illness got worse.
Ironically, they made it seem in front of the U.S. consul such that the
consul thought I received special favors from them.
From the beginning to the end, they had enforced a variety of
brainwashing tactics specifically plotted to persecute me. They
verbally abused me with hooligans' language and took turns to attack me
verbally to humiliate me; however, they claimed to the consul that they
treated every prisoner the same way and it was the so-called
"three-subject study" stipulated by the prison rules. They instigated
others to provide perjury so as to defame me as having beaten others.
Prisoners are often sent to the "strictly-disciplined division." They
were "educated" with electric batons. Oftentimes, they were beaten to
the point that they could not control their body function and screamed
for their parents. When the beating is finished, they have to say:
"Thank you, officer, for educating and disciplining me."
I have suffered numerous tortures. Solitary confinement, freezing
prisoners to death in winter; having prisoners bitten by mosquitoes in
summer. I resisted all kinds of tortures strongly, I had never been
sent to the "strictly-disciplined division," though. However, the
tortures I suffered were even crueler than those inside the
"strictly-disciplined division" in many respects. I was subjected to
long time standing or sitting as a physical punishment. I was forbidden
from reading any book, newspaper or magazine, nor was I allowed to have
any entertainment. When the evil ones thought the posture of my hands
and legs were not up to their requirement, they would beat me and kick
me. The wicked CCP's law stipulated that the punishment of solitary
confinement cannot be longer than 14 days, but I was tortured many days
in a row. The longest time I was in solitary confinement was for 48
days.
However, under Master's care and protection, with the support of fellow
practitioners and those who uphold justice all over the world, with the
resistance of my own righteous mind and righteous conduct, all the
torture methods ended up in failure. Not only that, because fellow
practitioners kept rescuing me and voicing their support, many people
who had been hoodwinked came to know the truth, may predestined people
obtained Dafa and started to cultivate. After a long hunger strike
protest, evildoers had to submit all the documents I wrote to the U.S.
consul. With continuous resistance and having their evil conduct
exposed, the evil police had to quickly bring each of their persecution
attempt to an end. Every time, I could feel the greatness after the
righteousness subdues the evil. The evils were scared. The evil police
who were specifically arranged to persecute me initially didn't even
dare to tell me their names. When I left, they didn't dare to reveal
their phone numbers to me. This is the result of the mighty power of
Dafa.
I was able to get through the tribulation mainly because I kept doing
the three things which Master had emphasized again and again that we
must do well. Although the evildoers forcibly took away the book Zhuan Falun
I brought with me at the airport and despite the fact that I only
remembered the first few pages of Lecture One, I was able to gradually
recall the whole book of Zhuan Falun
and wrote down the content of the whole book. I believe 80% of
what I recalled was correct. The evildoers later took away part of my
notes, and forbade me to read the remaining part, I nonetheless
continued to study Fa during my incarceration.
When they tried to brainwash me, I would recite the Fa and send forth
righteous thought. Moreover, I kept clarifying the truth to them. One
of the criminal inmates who took part in persecuting me said to me:
"You don't behave like a Falun Gong practitioner, because your mind and
logic is very clear." I replied: "Your previous impression of Falun
Gong was completely wrong." My conduct helped many people inside the
prison come to realize what Falun Gong really is and what Falun Gong
cultivators are like. Many of them admire Dafa disciples who refuse to
yield to the wicked CCP. Of course, when using the U.S. consul as
another channel to clarify the truth, it was a truth-clarification in
an even broader scale.
When looking back at my experience in the past three years, I also had
many short comings and gaps; most of them I probably have not realized
yet. Some practitioners and some everyday people asked me: "How come
you served a full three-year term?" Certainly, I could have found
numerous objective reasons. For example, the wicked CCP is cunning,
cruel and shameless; or, my case was different from those of other
overseas Falun Gong practitioners; or, there was gap in the
practitioners who rescued me as a whole, especially that initially some
of the things were not done in a harmonious way and we didn't do well
enough to clarify the truth to the U.S. government. However, the
fundamental reason lies in me myself. Maybe I have unknowingly
partially acknowledged the old force's arrangement. In "Fa-Lecture at
the Conference in Florida, U.S.A." Master said: "In the future you'll
see that everything was very carefully arranged. But it's not me who
arranged this, it's the old forces who did."
After I was arrested, I thought about the situation calmly. Based on
the nature of the evil, what would happen? What would they do to me?
How should I counteract it? How should things be done to generate
greater impact and save more sentient beings as well as helping myself
to be released earlier, etc., etc. These thinking processes were
probably the processes by which the evil enforced their arrangements in
my mind and have me acknowledge these arrangements. Because I grew up
in China, a country which has been controlled by the wicked CCP for
years, I knew a lot about the nature and characteristics of the CCP. At
the same time, I may have been contaminated by many of its notions and
ways of thinking. My three years' experience tells me that I
anticipated many situations and I have handled them well. However, I
was imprisoned in China for three years. The key issue in cultivation
is to enlighten to Fa principles. We must enlighten on the basis of Fa.
Only when we enlighten on the basis of Fa can we tell what is the old
force's arrangement, can we completely deny its arrangement and
disintegrate the evil persecution.
