Persecution Against Ms. Zhang Xiaoli and Her Family in Hebei Province

Ms. Zhang Xiaoli, 43, is a teacher in Nanwang Village, Donglu Township, Qingwan County, Hebei Province. She started practising Falun Gong before 1999 and benefited physically and mentally. After the persecution started in July 1999, she was fired from her job because of her determination to continue practising Falun Gong.

In May 2003, when SARS was spreading in China, Zhan Shuzeng, the head of Donglu Township at that time, led a group of people to search Ms. Zhang's home and found a copy of Zhuan Falun, a sealed CD, and a flyer exposing the persecution. Under pressure, Zhang Xiaoli's husband, Hu Zhanfeng, the next day turned in a Guarantee Statement¹ that he had written. At that time, Zhao Shuzeng said he would not investigate the issue further. To avoid harassment and to help the family financially, Ms. Zhang left her home and worked in Baoding City for six months afterwards.

In 2004, Fan Wenzhi, who was the Chairman of the People's Congress Representative in Donglu Township, became the new head of the township. He promised Ms. Zhang Xiaoli's husband that his wife would not be troubled if she returned home to work in the fields. The husband readily believed him and asked his wife to come home. At 9 p.m. on September 8th, 2004, when Ms. Zhang was doing some housework at home and hadn't even had dinner yet, Fan Wenzhi, accompanied by more than 20 people, broke into her home. Ms. Zhang was taken away for no reason and with no legal authorisation. When her husband asked why they were taking her away, Fan Wenzhi said that they were just taking her to the township office for questioning and would soon send her back. Her family could ask him about anything later.

In the car, Fan Wenzhi told Ms. Zhang Xiaoli to criticise the Teacher of Falun Gong and promised her that she would be released immediately if she would just say one word against him. She refused. That night, Fan Wenzhi sent her to the Qingwan County brainwashing centre. While she was in the brainwashing centre, Fan Wenzhi tried many times to blackmail Ms. Zhang's husband for 10,000 yuan² but failed. Her husband, Hu Zhanfeng, tried to reason with Fan but refused to be blackmailed, which made Fan furious. He pointed his finger at Hu Zhanfeng and threatened viciously, "I will destroy your family."

In the brainwashing centre, Ms. Zhang refused to be brainwashed and started a hunger strike on October 27th to protest the persecution. On the third day, Fan Wenzhi sent some people to force-feed her. She was berated and beaten when she refused to cooperate with them during the force-feeding. A month later, when she was in a coma and her life was in danger, Fan Wenzhi still managed to send Ms. Zhang Xiaoli to Bailizhuang Forced Labour Camp in Baoding City and had her sentenced to three years of forced labour on November 5th. The labour camp officials at first refused to accept her because of her poor health, but Fan managed to get her accepted. Her family was not notified. Her husband only found out about it when he went to the brainwashing centre to visit her.

In the labour camp, she was still brutally force-fed. The guards stepped on her limbs and held her head down to force-feed her. She vomited blood afterwards. Later they had to give her a blood transfusion. She continued to vomit during the transfusions and had extremely bad headaches, and was very weak. For many days, her mind was not clear and she didn't even know she was in a forced labour camp.

The reasons Ms. Zhang was sentenced to forced labour were fabricated and untrue. Her sentencing statement listed the following incorrect evidence: Ms. Zhang's age was listed as 56, but in fact she was 12 years younger. She was accused of having three copies of Zhuan Falun at home, but in fact there was only one. Several CDs and many flyers were supposedly found at her home, but in fact there was only one CD and one flyer. It said that she eluded arrest for six months, but she was not on the wanted list during the time she worked in Baoding City.

On November 15th, the labour camp finally granted permission for a visit and her family members were allowed to see her. They were shocked when they saw her. She was lying on the floor in the Women's Division office. Previously a little plump, she was very thin. She was unable to speak or move. Her breathing was rapid and her pulse was unsteady. She could not open her eyes, and her stomach hurt when a little pressure was applied. She was very healthy before, but now she was reduced to such a state. Her family was very worried and asked the labour camp officials to get her medical treatment. Camp officials said they would not unless the family paid for it. After returning home, Ms. Zhang's husband; her oldest son, Hu Shan; and several other relatives went to Donglu Township government office and asked Fan Wenzhi why Ms. Zhang Xiaoli had been sentenced to forced labour. The officials couldn't give any reasonable explanation. To avoid responsibility, they said, they had just wanted to threaten Zhang Xiaoli but didn't expect such consequences. Fan Wenzhi and other officials, including the head of the township, Duan, said they would report to higher authorities and try to get bail for Zhang Xiaoli so she could receive medical treatment as soon as possible.

Hu Zhanfeng believed them and returned home to wait for her release. More than a week passed and he still hadn't heard anything further. He and his son, Hu Shan, went to Donglu Township government office again. Fan Wenzhi avoided meeting them. Hu Zhanfeng went to the work unit where Fan Wenzhi's wife, Lu Lihong, worked but she was not there. Hu Zhanfeng had no other recourse but to visit Fan's home to ask what was going on. He got the address from Fan's father. Fan Wenzhi was very angry and made a call to others to come and deal with the situation. Hu Zhanfeng had to leave and return home.

When Falun Gong practitioners heard the news about Zhang Xiaoli they distributed flyers to alert people about her unfair treatment. However, while Hu Zhanfeng was waiting for his wife's release, disaster struck his family again. At 10 p.m., on December 1st, Hu Zhanfeng's older son, Hu Shan, was dragged from his bed and taken to the Donglu Township government office. Hu Zhanfeng was not at home when this happened. Hu Shan, just 16 years old, was brutally beaten. They forced him to admit he practised Falun Gong, too, so that they could get evidence that Ms. Zhang Xiaoli's whole family practised. When Ms. Zhang's relatives went to see the child, they saw he had a bloody nose, a swollen face, several bumps on his head, and many wounds on his body. He had been beaten by Wang Shen and others from Donglu Township Police Station. At last they sent him to the Qingwan County detention centre, where he was detained for one year. At that time, he was still in middle school. His education was interrupted because of the detention.

Hu Zhanfeng had to leave his home with his 12-year-old son. While wandering from place to place to avoid arrest, he worried about his wife and his older son. He wrote appeal letters and sent them to officials in Donglu Township. Fan Wenzhi arranged for the police to monitor his phone calls and they tracked him down. At 4 p.m. on December 27th, 2004, Hu Zhanfeng was arrested at his temporary residence. He was brutally beaten and sent to Qingwan Detention Centre. Fourteen days later, he was sentenced to 18 months of forced labour. His supposed crime was "threatening the government." Later it was changed to "threatening the normal lives of others."

During his detention, guard Li Changle extorted 260 yuan from Hu Zhanfeng's older sister, claiming it was for meals in the detention centre. Wang Zhanming, Cui Chaoyang, and Guo Lei from the National Security Division of Qingwan County Police Department sentenced him to 18 months of forced labour. The reason for the sentence was that his handwriting was the same as the letters and the contents in the letters were similar to Falun Gong flyers, and therefore he was "threatening the government." Hu Zhanfeng didn't agree to such a ridiculous sentence and tore up the paper. He was brutally beaten and had many wounds on his face and body. Then he was dragged into a police car and taken to Balizhuang Forced Labour Camp in Baoding City.

Hu Ze, Mr. Hu Zhanfeng's younger son, suffered also. He watched his father, the only family member left, be taken away and beaten. He cried and ran through the streets. The next day a kind-hearted family took him in. More than a month later, he returned to his home in Nanwang Village. Since there were no parents to take care of and educate him, he became lax in his studies at school and often went on the Internet. He wandered around all day long and lived a lonely and meagre existence.

Ms. Zhang Xiaoli refused to give up her belief and suffered brutal torture in the labour camp. She was put in a solitary confinement cell and tortured with the Death Bed. After her husband, Mr. Hu Zhanfeng, was also sent to the forced labour camp, when she met her family members on January 11th, 2005, she could only cry. The whole family's bitter experiences are indeed grievous. Due to the long term persecution, her health has become very bad. On May 25th, 2005, she was diagnosed at No. 252 Hospital in Baoding City with two tumours, one the size of a goose egg and the other a chicken egg, in her abdomen and uterus respectively. There was also a cyst on her ovary. She could not eat anything and would vomit anything she ate. She only weighted about 50 kg. The hospital doctor recommended her release for medical treatment, but the labour camp refused. When her parents, who were over 70 years old, and her disabled younger brother came to the labour camp to visit her, they were rejected and told, "Zhang Xiaoli is not allowed to see anyone." When her father asked to bail her out for medical treatment, the labour camp officials said, "We will give her medical treatment. If we cannot treat her, you can take her back."

Four months later Mr. Hu Zhanfeng finally saw his wife on September 26th, 2005. At that time, she had already become mentally disordered. She kept repeating the same word and kept crying.

On December 6th, 2005, Ms. Zhang's older son, Hu Zhan, was released. The two sons lived together without any income. After 14 months of detention, Mr. Hu Zhanfeng was finally released. His home was in poor condition. The roof had leaked and many things, including clothes and the TV, had been stolen. Mr. Hu Zhanfeng had been a doctor for over 20 years, but since he was sentenced to forced labour, his license was terminated and he lost his job with the Nanwang Village clinic. He has tried to talk to Fan Wenzhi more than 30 times and Fan still hasn't resolved the issue. Currently, Mr. Hu Zhanfeng and his older son work at temporary jobs.

In June 2006, the news about Ms. Zhang Xiaoli in the labour camp came out. She had been tortured many times, including being hung up and getting electrical shocks. On the night of June 13th, guard Bai Jie handcuffed her to the bed frame and kept her from sleeping all night. She was given electric shocks. At 4 a.m., her painful screaming woke up everyone in that building. She still has deep handcuff marks on her wrists. She is in a stupor and is not in a normal mental state.

Such a good family has been destroyed due to the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong. Fan Wenzhi is the key person in implementing the persecution against Ms. Zhang Xiaoli's family. He manipulated his power to heartlessly persecute this family. While Ms. Zhang and her family members were in detention, their relatives, friends, and other good people appealed to the government on their behalf. After Fan Wenzhi heard about this, he went to Nanwang Village, where Zhang Xiaoli's parents live, and tried to find out who was involved. He claimed he would arrest anyone who was involved.

We ask that fellow practitioners work together and help to rescue Ms. Zhang Xiaoli.

Related people and work units:

Fan Wenzhi, head of Donglu Township People's Congress, Qingwan County: 86-1347323077 (Mobile),
Home Address: Unit 2, Second Floor, Middle Building in the residential court of the Arms Department. The residential court faces Qingwen County Component Factory across a street.
Fan Wenzhi's wife, Lu Liying, works at the county Epidemic Prevention Station.

Bailizhuang Forced Labour Camp

Address: 1995 South Street, Lianzi District, Baoding City
Tel: 86-312-5939039
Visitation Office: 86-312-5939048
Administration Department: 86-312-5939011, 86-312-5939021

Note

1. "Guarantee Statement": A statement to declare that one is remorseful for practising Falun Gong and guarantees not to practise Falun Gong again, not to go to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong, and never again associate with any Falun Dafa practitioners.

2. "Yuan" is the Chinese currency; 500 yuan is equal to the average monthly income of an urban worker in China.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2006/9/5/137144.html