Testimonial From Shi Hui Shan (Hao Nanni) (05/11/2016)

        I am Hao Nan-Ni. I was persecuted and imprisoned by the Shenzhen Public Security Bureau for four and a half years! The case against us leading to our imprisonment is a case of religious and political persecution. When I came to the United States in June of 2006, three other people were still in jail. Because the Public Security Bureau is still carrying out persecution to this day, those connected with this case who were released from prison are still living under the shadow of this case and are being monitored at all times. Case 4.13 in its entirety is an intentional fabrication of certain people in the Chinese Public Security Bureau and Chinese government. It is a case of religious and political persecution against H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III, who is the highest leader of Buddhism in the world, and against some orthodox followers of Buddhism.

        After I was imprisoned and deprived of freedom, I was interrogated continuously for several months. The Public Security Bureau officers used both hard and soft tactics against me. They extorted, threatened, and tortured me. They tried to force me to cooperate with them so as to frame H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III based on totally groundless charges. Their goal was to fabricate a false case against, frame, and persecute the person who at the time was called Master Wan Ko Yee (Yi Yungao in Mandarin) but who is now the leader of Buddhism, H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III! As they could get nothing out of my mouth other than the genuine truth that H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III did not engage in any fraud whatsoever and has a selfless and magnificent character, they were enraged and said, “Give her a beating and see whether she will talk!” I insisted on not telling any lies, even though they told me to do so.

        Since they did not know what to do with me, they used “seizure of a large amount of Tibetan and Buddhist books and illegal possession of a gun” as “evidence” of my illegal conduct. Actually, the Sichuan Armed Police Division approved the issuance of that one ball bearing gun to a security guard. However, they went so far as to implicate me with that gun. Based on that charge, they sentenced me to three years of reeducation-through-labor. On November 29, 2001, I was taken to the San Shui Women’s Reeducation-Through-Labor Camp. Hanging over my chest was a placard that read, “illegally possessed a large amount of firearms.” There, I labored extraordinarily hard all day long. I was continuously kept watch on, was constantly pressed to do work, and was not allowed to stop working. My going to the bathroom was strictly limited or even prohibited. I had to work incessantly. I worked more than eight hours a day. I often had to work overtime on the night shift until late at night or early morning to “meet the product delivery deadline.” Buddhists were not allowed to sit in meditation even during the rest time at night. Due to bending my head down over a long period of time while performing such work, my cervical vertebrae were badly injured. My neck lost its ability to support the head in an upright position. As soon as I lowered my head, my entire head just hung down in front of my chest, for I was unable to raise it. Yet I was not permitted to ask for leave and had to persist with my work. Thus, every day I was in this type of a situation where I was unable to raise my head. It was extremely painful. I did not receive any medical treatment. This continued until July 8, 2002, when some people from the Public Security Bureau again came to see me. They told me to sign an “approval of arrest” and took me back to the detention house. Only then was I aware that many other Buddhists had been arrested and detained there.

        This time, the interrogations were even more severe, even more frequent, and lasted even longer. It was often the case that I was interrogated for seven or eight hours. There were two times when I was continuously interrogated all night long, during which time they tried to force me to confess. (It was from 5:00 or 6:00 in the afternoon all the way up to 6:00 or 7:00 the next morning.) I was not allowed to move, eat, or drink for more than twelve hours. I was also not allowed to go the bathroom. I could not physically sustain this, so I simply passed out. I had to face round after round of incessant interrogations and attempts to force me to confess. I watched them incessantly smoke, drink beer, walk to the bathroom, eat night snacks, and take turns resting. They did not give me anything to eat or drink. One time at around midnight, they gave me a little food. However, less than an hour after I ate what they gave me, I had terrible stomachaches. I figured they must have given me tainted food. Later on, they fabricated a lot of false confessions and false evidence. They told me to sign off on them. There was no way I could sign my name on that piece of paper! They then continuously tormented me through hunger and through prohibiting me from sleeping or going to the bathroom.

        The Public Security Bureau officers handling the case then tried other means to break my spirit. They feigned concern and sympathy, enumerating various kinds of happiness I could be enjoying while living in the world. They were trying to entice me to think more about myself and my family, to weigh the pros and cons of my situation, and to consider the affection that I have for my family. As one who insists on not speaking falsely and strives to reach the goal of kindheartedness, I truly did not want to hear any more of what they had to say. They were preaching to deaf ears. I told them, “You are telling me to consider my own interests and the interests of my small family. But Master Wan Ko Yee always taught me that I should consider the interests of all living beings, the interests of this huge family of living beings. That is why He is truly the most noble, most magnificent, and purest person!” They then further attempted to touch me emotionally. They said, “Your mother has been crying many tears every day since you were locked up. Your father is now more than eighty years old. Can you bear to see them suffer like this? There is also your son, who has lost his mother and has no one to look after him and teach him. What’s more, he seems to have a rather serious case of autism. Can you just ignore him?” I said, “All of these results were brought about by you, not me!”

        I repeatedly attested to the same things; namely, that we are totally good, upright, law-abiding, and completely innocent people. On many occasions, they tried to force me to write a “letter of penitence.” They said, “As long as you write your letter of penitence stating clearly that you were deceived and manipulated by Wan Ko Yee and that you are now willing to repent and cut off your contacts with him, we will release you right away.” I flatly rejected their offer every time! Because I am a Buddhist, I cannot tell lies that would harm any other person. Furthermore, I cultivate compassion and goodness. That is what H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III teaches. He teaches us to contribute everything we have to humanity and living beings. Only then can we be regarded as being good Buddhists. Thus, there is no way that I would write that kind of false “letter of penitence”! They finally became impatient. They said that their waiting and patience were limited and that I had to submit my “letter of penitence” by the deadline. Two days later, I submitted to them a “statement” that set forth very clearly and firmly where I stood. In it, I stated that I will forever follow and be loyal to H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III (Master Wan Ko Yee) without any regret and that I will never change my mind! It also stated that I would rather forsake everything, even my life, than forsake my Master and the Buddha-dharma!

        After reading that statement, their facial expressions changed. They said that their judgments and conclusions about me had now completely changed. While they used to think that I was simply one who was deceived and manipulated and that it was possible to educate and transform me, they now thought that I actually was “one of the important members of the Wan Ko Yee gang who was even more obstinate than hard-line Falungong members!” They said that people like me would be punished and sentenced with severity, that I would face life imprisonment, and that I would be sent to northeastern China to serve my sentence in prison. They said, “Reform-through-labor camps there are much worse than here. It is more than 30 degrees below zero during the winter there. You will freeze to death!” They also said, “Since you have not cooperated with us, we have no other choice. It seems that you want to stay in prison forever!” My answer was, “You may do whatever you want to do with me, but if you want me to stop learning Buddhism, stop being a good person, and turn my back on the teachings and truth, that will absolutely be impossible!”

        In the end, they could not do anything with me. They then summoned my elderly parents and my son. They ordered them to “coordinate with the Public Security Bureau” in “working to reform my thinking.” They were trying to use the affection I had for family members to “influence me through persuasion” and make me vacillate. Under the supervision of several Pubic Security Bureau officers, my parents had to do and say what they were told to do and say, urging me to “consider the feelings of each of the other family members.” However, my son whispered to me, “Mama, I support you.”

        But I still insisted on not telling any lies. As before, I insisted on telling the truth, telling the facts-that H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III is compassionate, magnificent, and good. However, those Public Security Bureau officers persecuted me even more intensely. They constantly used the tactics of interrogating me over a long period of time, taking turns to continually try to force me to confess, threatening me, deceiving me, hurling insults at me, and prohibiting me from going to the bathroom. Once I had no choice but to defecate in my pants! The Public Security Bureau officers roared with laughter and said, “Take a good look at yourself. Don’t you look like an animal? You are even inferior to pigs and dogs! This is the result of your not cooperating with us!” I asked to change my clothing. They did not approve. The endless threats, coercion, besiegement, and torment ruined me both physically and mentally. I truly could not endure it any more. I was in an extremely weak physical condition. I thought that if I actually was tormented to death by them, I would not be able to succeed in my pursuit of learning Buddhism. How could that be acceptable! Therefore, I later had no choice but to go through the motions of following the wishes of those Public Security officers. In the end, the Public Security Bureau used so-called “making counterfeit seals” to have me “sentenced” to four and an half years of imprisonment, which lasted from April 16, 2001 to October 15, 2005.

        I lived under the continuous strict monitoring of the Public Security Bureau after my release from prison in October of 2005. They ordered me “to go to their office whenever summoned.” While I was in my home, they often broke into my home, examined my identification card, and even sometimes harassed me at 2:00 or 3:00 at night. When I went out of my home, I was followed by unidentified people, who even followed me right up to my door. This has caused me to live in terror all the time. I clearly felt that I could be re-arrested and further persecuted at any time. Having no other choice, I fled to the United States seeking a reliable and safe refuge and for the purpose of returning to my Buddha Master. Thus, I arrived in the United States. I resolved to become a Buddhist nun and find my Buddha Master! In this democratic, safe, and free land of the United States, I did become a Buddhist nun. I am learning and practicing the Buddha-dharma taught by my Buddha Master. I am following the teachings of my Buddha Master to be a truly good, compassionate and sincere person, a person who does not engage in falsehoods and who is without misgivings, a person who benefits society.

        Case 4.13 is a case of sheer political and religious persecution. They manipulated the case all by themselves, putting the case on file as a “criminal case,” which is a fabrication to deceive the public. All of their charges and convictions are totally groundless, contrary to all the facts, and trumped up. Legal experts in China held a large-scale meeting to investigate and discuss this case. All of them signed a document stating that the authorities acted recklessly and that they should correct themselves. However, they refuse to correct themselves. Their charges have been totally refuted by our attorneys in court. This framed and false case of theirs is totally untenable. In reality, the Public Security Bureau, which is supposed to enforce the law, violated the law themselves. They snatched more than seven hundred paintings and calligraphic works that H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha IIII worked hard to create. The value of those snatched works was more than forty billion renminbi (yuan)! It is thought that such property was privately divided among people in many government departments, such as the Public Security Bureau, the Procuratorate (public prosecution organ), etc.

        The above testimonial has been personally written by me and is totally true and factual. If any of it is false, I am willing to bear all consequences and responsibility!

Buddhist nun: Shi Hui Shan (secular name before becoming a Buddhist nun: Hao Nanni)
May 4, 2016