Zhang Hongwei's Wife Describes the Persecution Her Husband Suffered

My husband Zhang Hongwei is a Falun Gong practitioner. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison for going to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong and for explaining the true situation of Falun Dafa in January 2001.

My husband benefited both physically and mentally from his practice of Falun Gong. He became a completely new person, a person with high morality, after he started to practise Falun Gong. During a propane gas explosion, he rushed to the explosion site to rescue people. As a traffic policeman, he gave out traffic tickets for violations and would turn in all the receipts honestly (many policemen would pocket this money). He would not allow a single private cargo truck to pass his post, though others would allow trucks to pass without inspection if bribed. His supervisors praised him for being a trustworthy traffic policeman.

Because he went to Beijing to appeal, he was held in a detention centre in Beijing for nearly eight months. Then, he was sentenced to 11 years in prison and transferred to Tiebei Prison in Changchun City, Jilin Province. Because he refused to be subjected to brainwashing and persisted in his belief, he was transferred to Jilin Prison, where he suffered extremely inhumane torture. He was locked in a small cell for more than two years for persisting in his belief in Falun Dafa. During the two years, he was tortured on a Death Bed¹ for over 50 days. He also was tortured in the "Big Hang-up²" position. Jailers instigated criminals to beat him savagely. He suffered tremendously due to the brutal torture.

Currently, my husband is in extremely poor health and his condition is getting worse. Early this year, a physical examination revealed that he had tuberculosis and suffered from pleural effusion (water collecting in his lungs). He had difficulty speaking and walking. My family requested that he be released on medical parole. The prison authorities denied our request with the excuse that his condition did not meet the requirements for medical parole. In March, his condition further deteriorated. The prison authorities took him for a physical examination. According to the results, he had tuberculosis, class III pleurisy, high blood pressure and heart disease. His life was in jeopardy. The prison authorities reported his case to the Bureau of Prison Management and requested medical parole, but it was denied. The reason the Bureau gave was that according to the law, if the detainee's lungs don't have holes or if he or she does not have haemoptysis, then he or she cannot be released on medical parole. We'd like to ask them, which law, then, allows the jailers to beat detainees? Which law allows the jailers to lock a detainee in a small cell for two years? Which law stipulates that a person should be imprisoned for telling the truth? As his family members, we cannot accept such a statement and we strongly protest it.

My father Song Wenhua was sentenced to forced labour in 2005 for speaking out for Falun Gong. He suffered from cruel torture during his one year and two months detention in the labour camp. He used to weigh 190 pounds. By the time he was released, he was reduced to a skeleton and weighed less than 100 pounds. My father is almost 60 years old. During his detention at the labour camp, he contracted tuberculosis as a result of torture. In June, upon seeing that my father was dying, the labour camp authorities reported his situation to the Department of Justice in Changchun City and requested permission to release my father. However, Zhang Jianhua from Changchun's Department of Justice denied the request; he even said that he would take the responsibility if anything happened to my father. As a result, my father could not obtain any medical treatment while there was still a chance to save his life. His illness further deteriorated and the labour camp did not release him until he was on the verge of death. My father came out of the labour camp in a car because he was unable to walk; he was deaf and had great difficulty speaking and breathing. A few days after his return home, he passed away.

Before my father was sent to the labour camp, he was very healthy. In just one year and two months, he died as a result of persecution. His death was devastating to my family.

Currently, I need to take care of my school-aged son and elderly relatives in the family. For three months, I have toiled to rescue my husband. Because of the prolonged persecution, my family is suffering from financial difficulties. I have lost my father. I cannot afford to lose my husband, as well. I appeal to all righteous people to extend your help to rescue my broken family! I request the prison to unconditionally release my husband Zhang Hongwei immediately!

Note: There are two forms in this torture: (1) With both hands cuffed behind the back and only toes touching the ground, one is hung by a rope that is tied to the metal window frames; (2) One hand of a practitioner is cuffed to one bunk bed and the other hand to another bed, and the two beds are pulled in the opposite directions. One feels extreme pain as the body is pulled. See illustration on http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/11/17/54624.html.

Note

1. "Death Bed" torture: A practitioner is tied to a bed with his hands handcuffed above his head to the bed rails, and his legs tied with thin nylon ropes. The rope is then tightly wrapped around the practitioner's body and the bed, from his legs to his chest. The rope is wrapped so tightly that the practitioner has difficulty breathing and eventually loses consciousness.

2. There are two forms in this torture: (1) With both hands cuffed behind the back and only toes touching the ground, one is hung by a rope that is tied to the metal window frames; (2) One hand of a practitioner is cuffed to one bunk bed and the other hand to another bed, and the two beds are pulled in the opposite directions. One feels extreme pain as the body is pulled. See illustration on http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/11/17/54624.html.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2006/6/16/130557.html