Atrocities in Tangshan City: A 66 Year Old Retired Female Teacher is Brutalised in Freezing Weather

Ms. Zhang Muying is a 66-year-old retired teacher living in Tangshan City of Hebei Province. Zhang Muying was arrested when she went to Beijing to appeal against the persecution of Falun Dafa on December 16 2000. She was detained at the Fengrun District Detention Centre.

During early January 2001, in the middle of the coldest weather, hideous torture against Falun Gong practitioners was carried out under the command of Yu Cunrui at the detention centre. Under his orders, all detained Falun Gong practitioners were forced to strip off their coats. They were allowed to wear only thin clothes, slippers or regular shoes. Then they were ordered to stand against the wall to endure physical punishment in -20^oC temperatures (about -4^oF). Armed prison guards in thick coats, leather boots, gloves and hats watched them from behind with clubs in their hands. Guards were frequently rotated to keep themselves warm. They would beat anyone who could not stand the cold or tried to warm their hands in their pockets. Even an elderly lady like Zhang Muying was no exception. She had to stand for 2-3 hours every day for five days. Later she was transferred to the Xiaobali "Transformation School" [another name for a brainwashing class] at the Fengrun District.

At the brainwashing class, Zheng Chunsheng claimed that he received quite a few letters and phone calls from overseas advising him not to torture Falun Gong practitioners. Zheng Chunsheng thought it was Zhang Muying who made the calls. At 2:00 p.m. on April 29 2001, he went to the cell where Zhang Muying was detained, looking for revenge. Two other Dafa practitioners were present, Shen Dexiang and Ma Ruijing. Zheng Chunsheng warned them, "I will beat you all to death, and then use gasoline to burn your bodies. I will just claim that you committed self-immolation." He then slapped Zhang Muying on her face. While slapping her he said, "I will listen to whoever pays me." Zhang Muying asked him to stop beating her, but he replied, "The Party ordered us to beat you up. If you dare to get out of this room, I will beat you to death!"

Later, Zheng Chunsheng hauled Zhang Muying to an unoccupied cell. He dragged her by the hair and threw her against the wall. After beating her severely he pulled Zhang Muying back to her cell for more beating. After the beating he clasped his hands and jokingly said, "I never beat you, see? Who can be your witness? Nobody will be your witness." After saying that twice, he started beating her again. Shen Dexiang and Ma Ruijing tried to stop him, but Zheng Chunsheng kicked them in their abdomens. He then slapped Ma Ruijing's face so hard he started spitting out blood. Zheng Chunsheng was still not satisfied and tried to beat him harder by stripping off his coat. Zhang Muying rushed to stand in front of him to protect him. Zheng Chunsheng smacked her shoulder with both of his hands, pushing her against her bed. Zhang Muying could not stand his brutal force anymore. She heard a cracking sound around her waist and fell down. Zheng Chunsheng poured a bucket of water on her head and charged outside. He locked the door then went away as if nothing had happened.

After this incident, the brainwashing class personnel called for a doctor. An examination revealed that two sections of her vertebrae were damaged. They blocked the news from getting out and did not allow any relatives of practitioners to visit them. On the third day, the head of the "school" came to inspect the cells, but faced with Zhang Muying's accusations, he was speechless. Under the delicate care of other Falun Gong practitioners, the elderly Zhang Muying finally was able to stand up after more than 20 days.

Zhang Muying was unconditionally released after she was illegally detained for 368 days in both Fengrun Detention Centre and Xiaobali brainwashing class. She was forced to pay a 9,500 Yuan fine. They forcefully deducted 10,140 Yuan from her retirement pay. The police also took 133 Yuan from her when they arrested her. Her total loss was 19,773 Yuan [500 yuan is the average annual wage for an urban worker].

In early December 2002, Zhang Muying again went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Dafa. The Fengrun District "610 Office" [an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems] abducted her. The "610 Office" personnel extorted 10,000 Yuan from Zhang Muying's work unit as fines, which will again be deducted from Zhang's retirement pay. Zhang Muying was later abducted to the Tangshan Textile University brainwashing class, where she has been detained to this day.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2003/3/27/47259.html