On the Verge of Death Multiple Times – Ms. Liu Zhi's Personal Account of Persecution (Part 3)

Continued from Part 2: http://www.clearharmony.net/articles/a111575-On-the-Verge-of-Death-Multiple-Times-–-Ms-Liu-Zhi-s-Personal-Account-of-Persecution-Part-2.html

“The Most Painful Life” at the Hospital Ward

Prison guard captain Liu Jie (刘杰) sent me to Liaoning Women's Prison's hospital ward on January 13th, 2012. She cursed me again, “You will lead the most painful life here.” Liu didn't get her bonus at the end of 2011, because I refused to “transform” [forcibly renounce Falun Gong].

In the hallway of the prison hospital, Liu admonished me in front of ward captain Bian Yuan (边媛), No. 1 division captain Yuan Guiling (原桂玲) and many other onlookers. “She's one of the few who refuses to 'transform.' Others have all abandoned their beliefs,” Liu said.

I was left in my wheelchair in the hallway from 9 a.m. to after 3 p.m. January is very cold in Shenyang. I curled up as much as possible to try to stay warm, and I didn't have any lunch. After 3 p.m., an inmate carried me to room 305 on the third floor. Most of the inmates on the third and fourth floors were mentally ill.

My feet were still swollen. Three fingers on both of my hands couldn't bend. I was unable to control my urination or bowel movements, but I was also constipated. I couldn't walk, stand or sit on my own without holding onto the wall or a piece of furniture. I needed assistance putting on and taking off my clothes, and using the toilet.

“You Didn't Transform”

One day around the beginning of April 2012, I was carried to the toilet. I sat on the toilet and tried to pry my excrement out with my fingers. Just as my hand and rectum were full of faeces, an inmate forced me out, saying that others had to use the toilet.

I yelled, “I need to wash first.” The inmates allowed me very little time to wash myself and then dragged me back to room 305. I was thrown onto the bed. I lay on my back. My torso was on the bed, while my legs dangled off the edge. I couldn't move.

I said, “I know you did this just to humiliate me and give me a hard time. What have I done wrong?” An inmate answered, “Well, you didn't transform.”

“Following the Government's Instructions”

For six months, between January 13th, 2012, and July 2012, I was allowed only three showers. Between July 2012 and March 2013 when I went home, I was not allowed a shower at all.

My incontinence became worse. I often defecated in my trousers. They changed my adult nappy every time I urinated, but they didn't let me wash myself. My bottom became festered. The inmates and guards made fun of me.

While I slept on June 5th, 2012, the inmates put plastic bags containing my soiled nappies next to my face. I asked an inmate why. She said, “The government asked me to do so” and that she had to “follow the government's instructions.”

The torture in prison had caused my incontinence, yet it was used against me. I bought some fruit and vegetables on May 13th, 2012. The prison withheld some of the apples and cucumbers, citing my incontinence. They released the items to me a month later on June 13th. The apples were pretty much rotten by then, and the cucumbers were dried out.

On July 6th I had difficulty breathing. I was given a little oxygen and sent back to room 305. It occurred to me that I might be dying.

No Transformation, No Medical Parole

Starting from December 14th, 2012, I noticed strange additions in my food. My drinking water also smelled like medicine. Even the food that my daughter brought for me tasted strange.

On January 2nd, 2013, I had difficulty breathing again. I was immediately placed on a drip. On January 5th, I lost the ability to speak. I didn't know what drugs had been put into my drip, but I became dizzy. The prison hospital administered drips to me from January 2nd to February 19th, 2013. I frequently threw up when I ate.

At the end of 2012, my family tried to apply for medical parole on my behalf, but were told by prison staff that “Liu Zhi doesn't transform or admit her crimes. Therefore, she won't get medical parole. It's only possible if she admits that practicing Falun Gong is a crime.”

Dying, I Was Discarded

In the afternoon of March 8th, 2013, the prison called an ambulance to send me home. Seeing that I was dying, my elder brother and my daughter refused to take me home. They demanded that I be sent to the No. 4 Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University for emergency treatment.

The prison heads forced my brother to sign release forms for me, otherwise I couldn't be sent to the hospital. My brother signed the paperwork, but then because of my critical condition the hospital refused to admit me. The prison heads drove away and left me at the hospital.

My family called another ambulance to take me to my brother's home. Because I stayed at his house, my brother was often harassed and told that I could be taken back to prison at any time. My brother once replied to the threats sarcastically, “That's fine. Should I call an ambulance and send my sister your way?”

To avoid further persecution and to give my brother peace, my daughter and I moved out and rented our own apartment.