The Deadly Torture Suffered by Falun Dafa Practitioner Zhang Xiaohong, as Told in His Own Words Before He Died

Falun Dafa practitioner Zhang Xiaohong died as a result of persecution and torture on August 4, 2003.

Mr. Zhang Xiaohong, 29 years old, lived in Nanbu County, Sichuan Province. He worked as a woodcraft artist. The following is his description of the persecution he suffered over the last several years. He related this to us in a low and shaking voice, because he had lost the ability to write for himself.

Ever since I began practising Falun Dafa in 1996, I was deeply attracted by the immense Dafa [Great Law]. My body and soul completely changed. I conducted myself strictly according to the requirements of Dafa and considered other people first in everything I did.

On July 20, 1999, Jiang's regime launched their frenzied persecution of Falun Gong. In October 1999, several fellow practitioners and I went to the appeals office. Upon learning that we were Falun Gong practitioners, the police immediately arrested us and sent us back to our local government offices, where we were detained. The director of the detention centre, Jing Tiequan (1), dragged me outdoors, pushed me into a chair, and struck me at least 30 times with a rubber baton because I stated that I would continue to practise Falun Gong and that I would keep explaining the truth about Falun Gong. Jing Tiequan jumped up in the air to beat me harder. My buttocks were beaten so badly that they became purple and extremely swollen. I had both of my legs shackled. I was not able to stand, sit, or sleep. I was detained for 36 days and fined 4,000 Yuan before I was finally released.

On December 17 of the same year, several police officers broke into my house and searched all the drawers. Several people pushed me to the floor. I was again taken to the Dongcheng Police Station. Several people kicked and punched me. I was sent to the county detention centre. I explained the truth about Falun Dafa in the prison cells. At the same time, I conducted myself well and set a good example. Soon, everything became clear [to the people around me] and they understood Falun Gong. Two months later, I was sentenced to one year of forced labour and sent to the Fifth Squadron, Fourth Brigade of the Xinhua Labour Education Farm, in Mianyang County, Sichuan Province. There, they tortured Falun Dafa practitioners by forcing them to do heavy labour. During the day, practitioners were made to work 12 hours; at night, we were criticized in front of others. Later, I realized that we could not passively tolerate this type of abuse. From then on, whenever we were criticized, we shouted, "Falun Dafa is good!" We recited Teacher's articles or lined up to do the Falun Gong exercises.

To resist the hard labour, we went to the squadron leader and tried to reason with him. When he did not listen to us, we went on strike, refusing to eat or participate in the re-education classes. We only did the Falun Gong exercises. The police beat us, dragged us around, hung us up by handcuffs or ropes, or forced us to sleep on painful metal beds. No matter what they did to us, we refused to comply with their demands. At that time, our legs were injured because we had been dragged around. On one occasion, several people lifted me up and threw me towards a brick furnace, saying it would not matter to anyone if I died. Later, conditions improved a little.

I was released before completing my original term. In July 2001, the police arrested me while I was distributing printed materials explaining the truth about Falun Dafa on the train from Guangzhou to Chongqing. At the train station police office, I refused to have my picture taken and refused to tell them my name and address. I also refused to accept food or drink and simply requested that they release me. On the third day in the police station, they found a business card in my bag and thus they learned my address. They took 680 yuan in cash, which was not returned to me after it was handed over to the local police. They also confiscated a set of carving knives (300 yuan value). They then called the police from my local station, asking them to take me back and send me to a detention centre. All the while, I was maintaining a hunger strike. I also told them the facts about the so-called Tiananmen Square "Self-immolation." On the eleventh day of my hunger strike, I fainted because of the heat.

I was then sentenced to two years in a labour camp and sent to Xinhua Labour Camp, first to the Second Squadron of the Sixth Brigade, later to the Fifth Squadron of the Fourth Brigade, and then back again to the Second Squadron of the Sixth Brigade. The guards forced practitioners who refused to be "transformed" to stand upright for long periods of time. Whoever refused to stand would be violently beaten. For example, they would assign two inmates to hold the practitioners' arms to make them stand. They also ordered practitioners to sit with their legs stretched out while touching their hands to their toes. Whoever refused, was forced into that position. During the hottest summer days, practitioners were dragged out into the sun after lunch. Practitioners were also forced to run all the time. Whoever refused, was pushed and pulled by a team of two criminal inmates who were constantly rotated. In addition, practitioners were not allowed to drink any water. During the nights, practitioners were not allowed to sleep and were watched by inmates who took turns monitoring the practitioners. One time, I was assigned to do cleaning work. I saw slanderous words about Dafa and our Teacher on the blackboard and I wiped them away. When the guards noticed this, they beat me so badly that my head was bruised and bleeding. They used an electric baton with several hundred thousand volts to shock me on sensitive areas (the root of my ears, navel, lips, and the arches of my feet). My flesh was burned. They also tied me tightly with thin ropes until I lost consciousness. When I woke up, my body was covered with blood. Later, they asked me to "repent," and to write concession letters. I said that I had done nothing wrong. They hung me up in the exercise yard for a whole night and extended my detention term by 25 days.

After this incident, I could no longer eat. They sent me to the city hospital for a check-up, where they said that I had no problem. In April 2003, I was sent to the labour camp hospital with two inmates assigned to watch me. They constantly tried to pressure me to write the "Three Statements" (2). They said that if I refused to write them, I should not even think about ever leaving this place. I told them that I wouldn't write these statements because they are against my conscience. Around May 10, the hospital reported to the labour camp that I was at risk of dying. The labour camp sent some people to investigate. Seeing that I was only skin and bones and my voice had become so weak, and afraid of being held responsible for my death, they immediately asked for the phone numbers of any of my relatives. I told them that I left home two years ago and I didn't remember any phone numbers. They immediately notified the police bureau of Nanbu County and got my family members to take me home. After signing an agreement of medical parole, my family members took me home.

This is the story about the brutal persecution of Zhang Xiaohong by Jiang Zemin's regime.

Whoever knew Zhang Xiaohong would only speak well of him. After he was taken home, everyone was shocked about what had happened to him. Once a healthy young man, he had been tortured until he resembled a hunchbacked old man. He even had great difficulty speaking. He had completely lost the ability to take care of his needs. Despite the loving care of his family, his life could not be saved. Two months after he was taken home, he passed away. His death was completely unjustified and senseless.

After his death, his family took his body to the local police station to seek justice. The police detained the family without giving them any opportunity to have their say and ordered his body cremated. Whenever the family tried to explain themselves, the police would brutally beat them. The family members were detained for more than twelve days.

The former leaders and assistant leaders of the Fifth Squadron, Fourth Brigade and the Second Squadron, Sixth Brigade are all responsible for torturing Falun Gong practitioners and for the death of Zhang Xiaohong.

Notes

(1) Jing Tiequan's involvement in the persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners has previously been reported on the Clearwisdom website. He was dismissed from his previous position and has been transferred to the Beicheng Police Station, where he continues to torture Falun Gong practitioners.

(2) Practitioners are coerced under brainwashing and torture to write these as proof that they have given up their belief. Created by the "610 Office," the Three Statements consist of a letter of repentance, a guarantee to never again practise Falun Gong, and a list of names and addresses of all family members, friends and acquaintances who are practitioners.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2004/7/26/80339.html