The Heavenly Man by Brother Yun, Paul Hattaway Page A

north. My face and hair were drenched with blood. My eyes were blackened and my face swollen. I had no shoes on my feet and the handcuffs had cut deeply into my wrists.
    They took me into a large interrogation room where a dozen PSB officers were waiting to see what kind of a person I was.
    When they first saw my small frame, my swollen bloodied face, and my unkempt hair sticking out, they laughedloudly at me and mocked, “What? You are the heavenly man?”
    The chief officer looked at me with disgust in his eyes. He asked, “Are you Yun? Are you the Yun who’s been running all around the country causing trouble? Today you belong to us. Don’t you dare ever try to escape from us. The law has finally caught up with you!”
    The man second in charge of the PSB arrogantly boasted, “We have a net covering the heavens that is without any holes. You could never escape the long arm of our law! Yun, you have lost the fight today. Your co-workers are already in our hands. Even your fellow criminal Mr. XuYongze is under our control. Your church is totally finished. You have completely failed. You are an enemy of our country and an enemy of the Party.”
    When I heard these words I felt great anger inside. A spirit of faith spoke from within me, “The gospel grows through hardship and will spread throughout the world. The truth will enter everyone’s heart. Truth is always truth. Nothing and no one can change that. It will always conquer.”
    The officers stared at me with total disdain. One man, wearing a sinister smile, leaned forward and whispered, “Yun, haven’t you experienced enough suffering yet? Do you want us to ‘entertain’ you some more?”
    I bowed my head and said nothing. He continued, “You should be aware how serious your crimes are. The policy of our government is to treat you well if you confess your crimes openly and honestly. But if you lie and don’t co-operate we’ll treat you harshly!”
    In my heart I felt strong. I was determined to obey God and not man. I meditated on the Scripture, “The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid?” Psalm 27:1.
    The deputy leader spoke again, “Even though you’ve committed so many serious crimes against our nation, we will have mercy on you and give you a way out. If you honestly report, in detail, about all your work, your co-workers, and the activities of your movement over the years, I guarantee we will release you immediately and you can go home to be with your wife and mother for the New Year festival.”
    He thought I was an uneducated peasant, so he tried to trick me with big words and with government policy. It was just seven days before the start of the Lunar New Year holiday.
    When the deputy leader spoke, I inwardly wanted to say these words, “You guarantee my release if I confess all my ‘crimes’? I guarantee you will die and go to hell if you don’t repent of your sins and believe in Jesus Christ.”
    However, I held back those words and said the following, “For the last few days I’ve been tortured, beaten, and almost starved to death. Sometimes I couldn’t even breathe because of the pain inflicted on me. I haven’t eaten properly for a long time. Now you want me to tell you everything I’ve done for years. How can I do that in my present condition? Please give me time to think, rest and recuperate. When I’ve finished reflecting on my past I’ll let you know.”
    The officers were impressed by my logic. They thought my request was reasonable so they let me go back to the cell to think over my activities. They asked me, “When will you be ready?” I replied, “I’ll let you know the very moment I’m ready.”
    I was taken to the number two prison cell, passing through four iron gates. Encircling the prison was a high red-brick wall topped by electric wire. Armed guards closely watched the prisoners from watchtowers at all four corners of the