Seven years is a short time for a happy person, but it is a very long time for a person experiencing anguish and tribulations. The past is almost too painful to recall, yet it is so vivid, as if it just took place yesterday.
I Went to Beijing to Appeal Three Times in 1999 and Was Persecuted
Back in June of 1999, the local police and spies harassed me constantly. As a result, I could not study the Falun Dafa books or do the Falun Dafa exercises without interruption, so I decided to go to Beijing to appeal for justice.
It was early when I arrived in Beijing, so I rested in Zhongshan Park. Soon, a few armed police officers walked over to me and pushed me into a van. They drove me to the Beijing Armed Police General Headquarters. They put me in a room where many other Dafa practitioners were held. They laid some rope on the floor next to us and forbade us from stepping outside the rope. If we did not obey them, they would attack us physically and verbally.
The police called us over one by one and registered us. They took us to a stadium in a bus. When I got off the bus I saw two rows of people--police and reporters. We walked between the two groups of people as flashbulbs went off all around us. As we entered the stadium, the police told us to sit on the ground. Fully armed police officers guarded the stairways. Officers from regional liaison offices in Beijing picked us up at 7:00 p.m. and sent us overnight back to the corresponding local cities.
I went to Beijing for the second time in September 1999. Officers from the Fuyou Street Police Station arrested me and held me for three days before sending me to the Changping Custody Centre. Upon arriving at the custody centre, the guards forcibly body-searched me.
When they found money on people, they would force people to make purchases at the centre. I found out later that the Communist Party feared public discontent toward its countless atrocities as it was approaching October 1st. Each year prior to this day the Party would evict out-of-towners from Beijing and send them back to their local cities. Each police officer is issued a quota of 50 arrests a day. If he falls short of the quota, his year-end bonus is reduced. The police went to extreme means to arrest people in a desperate attempt to keep their bonuses. One woman in her 40s told me, "I sell breakfast food at a stall in Beijing. The police knocked over my stand and arrested my husband and me." Another woman said, "I was selling vegetables in the market when the police arrested me." Other detainees included people who came to Beijing hospitals for medical treatment and people who had travelled to Beijing to get married.
The police ordered inmates to monitor the detainees, who were forced to squat in the courtyard during the day. The inmates would beat whoever moved and refused to follow orders. In the evening, the police packed buses full of detainees like sardines in a can and sent them back. The Communist police are vicious toward common citizens and even crueller toward Dafa practitioners who refuse to tell their names [Note: Because of the Chinese Communist Party's practice of implicating and harassing family members and work units of Falun Gong practitioners, practitioners often refuse to give their names when they are arrested, in order to protect their families and associates]. They used corporal punishment such as beatings, electric shock and also sleep deprivation on these practitioners. Three days later I was sent back to my city where I was detained for another 15 days.
I went back to Beijing in October 1999 and was taken to the Xicheng Detention Centre in Beijing. On arrival I had to immediately remove all clothing. They thoroughly searched me and cut all metal adornments on my clothes. They also took away my belt, and I had to hold my trousers up. They searched me again before sending me to my cell.
The head of the cell coerced me to recite detention centre policies. He wouldn't let me sleep unless I could memorise the policies. Once, when I was taken out to be fingerprinted a male guard told us to squat, holding our head between our arms. I said something to another practitioner, and the guard beat me savagely. One practitioner in his 50s asked for permission to do the Dafa exercises. Zhou, a female guard said, "If you hit your head against the metal gate and survive, I'll let you do your exercises."
Eleven of our Dafa practitioners refused to do slave labour. We recited the Falun Dafa teachings and did the Dafa exercises together. The detention centre head told us to go to the courtyard and said we could do the Dafa exercises there. It was cold that November. We did not have warm clothing and wore simple plastic-soled shoes. Soon, the detention centre head brought a pile of handcuffs and handcuffed us, one by one. First, he handcuffed us in front; then he handcuffed our hands behind us. After 30 minutes he saw we were not going to beg him, so he handcuffed in a crueller way: one arm pulled over the shoulder to the other arm that was pulled up from behind.
The guards handcuffed us for four hours. When the handcuffs came off, our hands looked like they didn't have a drop of blood in them. My right thumb was numb for six months. The detention centre officials also force-fed Dafa practitioners who went on protest hunger strikes. They beat practitioners who petitioned to study and do the exercises. They also used other corporal punishment and sleep deprivation and torture tools on us.
I was taken back to Tieling on November 13th, 1999 and held at the Tieling Detention Centre where I was forbidden to study the teachings or do the exercises. Practitioners who tried to do the Dafa exercises were tortured. One evening, practitioner Zhang Yan and I were assigned to be on night shift duty. Zhang Yan did the first four sets of Dafa exercises on the floor, and I did the meditation exercise in bed. Soon, cell head Yue came. She grabbed Zhang Yan's head and rammed it into a wall with brutal force. She also hit Zhang Yan until she was severely bruised and disoriented. Cell head Yue then walked over to beat me. She kicked me to the floor and slapped my temples with the soles of hard plastic slippers until I almost lost consciousness. She did not stop until she ran out of strength.
Then one of the division heads named Liu Zhongchen came to our cell and forced six Dafa practitioners including myself to kneel in front of a wall before he whipped us with a belt. He also shocked the arch of my feet with electric batons. He did not spare an older practitioner in his late 50s. He also immobilised Zhang Yan in place with a torture tool. This tool looks like this: One end is a thick iron ring that was placed around Zhang Yan's neck, and the other end was a metal chain fixed to the rings of a bed. Zhang Yan could not raise her head when wearing this torture tool and had to lie down all the time.
Persecution at Three Labour Camps
In early December 1999, I received a notice saying that I was sentenced to one year of forced labour. I was taken to the Tieling Forced Labour Camp along with two other practitioners. We were body-searched right away. The guards took Teacher's [Teacher Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Dafa] articles from me. They cut my hair short, flush with my ears. They used vicious means, including freezing, electric shock, sleep deprivation and other tactics to persecute Dafa practitioners who persisted in doing the Dafa exercises.
I was transferred to the Liaoyang Forced Labour Camp on January 30th, 2000. The officials there not only body-searched me, they also pulled out the stuffing from my quilt and from my pillow. They took my Dafa books. Deputy division head Yin slapped my face over and over because I had not handed the books in myself.
Endless work ensued. The Party used us as machines and forced us to work 12 hours a day. We were forbidden to sleep if we did not meet our quota. Even on holidays we were not allowed to sleep until after midnight, as a means to keep us from doing the Dafa exercises. We were often taken out to do manual labour such as digging holes to plant trees, level the ground and dismantle cement bags. We were forbidden to sleep after returning from this heavy manual labour and instead had to continue to do handiwork until past midnight. There was no exception for those who were sick.
Once, when the officials played a Dafa-slandering video, I refused to watch it. Guard Huo Yan called me out and beat me before locking me in solitary confinement. They forced me to sit completely motionless, with my arms wrapped around my knees. It was summer, and the pressure on my buttocks resulted in open sores. Soon, pus and blood glued my underwear to my buttocks. I had to peel the scab away each time before I could go to the toilet. They also never gave me enough food -- only a small corn pancake and a bite of corn porridge. Furthermore, they played Dafa-slandering audiotapes on a daily basis.
I was sent to Group 3 at the Masanjia Forced Labour Camp again on October 19th, 2000. Guard Wang Xiaofeng sent several collaborators1 to "reform2" me. They bombarded me with twisted Dafa-slandering theories. Several days later, when they saw that I did not "reform", they stripped away their mask of feigned kindness and forced me to squat, do handstands and did not let me sleep. Wang Xiaofeng told the collaborators to beat me. They stood in a circle, with me in the middle, and attacked me in the style of the "Cultural Revolution (1966-1976)." They verbally assaulted me, shoved me around and grew increasingly violent. Collaborators Wang Xiuzhi and Wang Xiaofeng vehemently hit my head and face with books, splitting my lips and making my head swell. I had several bumps on my head.
The guards often took Dafa practitioners to deserted classrooms and isolated places to beat them. They took practitioner Sun Juan to a hotel, kicked her to the ground, straddled her, grabbed her head and rammed it into the floor. They beat practitioner Wang Jianhua so severely she had to receive IV infusions for one week. When she returned, her face was still swollen, and the corners of her eyes were black and blue. Practitioner Wang Jinlan was in her 50s, but the officials often punished her physically and did not let her sleep. The guards also often played Dafa-slandering videos and forced us to watch them.
I finally went home on October 19th, 2001.
Another Incarceration at the Masanjia Forced Labour Camp
I was reported in January 2002 while distributing leaflets exposing the persecution and was taken to the Political and Security Section at Tieling County Police Department. One older man who looked like an owl called over a few young police officers and told them to interrogate me. I refused to cooperate with them, and the man slapped my face. I shouted, "Falun Dafa is good!" He told two tall, brawny men to beat and kick me. I was not afraid and continued to shout, "Falun Dafa is good!" They could not figure out what to do with me, so they sent me to the Political and Security Section at the Yinzhou District Police Department.
I still refused to cooperate with the officials. Officers Liu Daiying and Yang Dongsheng handcuffed me next to a wall, wrapped my head in a plastic bag and hit me with books. But, I never followed any of their commands, so they sent me to the Tieling City Detention Centre. One evening when I was doing the Falun Gong exercises the guard on duty saw me and came over to beat me. He also tried to immobilise me with chains. Two other practitioners and I together resisted the persecution and shouted, "Falun Dafa is good!" The guard was frightened and ran away. We went on a hunger strike the next day to protest the abuse, and they brutally force-fed us and immobilised us with chains.
They sentenced me to three years of forced labour in March 2002 and took me back to the Masanjia Forced Labour Camp. I was held at Group 1, Division 1, headed by Wang Xiaofeng, who was promoted to division head for his efforts in persecuting Falun Gong practitioners.
They immediately found two collaborators and tried to "reform" me. I turned them away without hesitation. They all knew me from the previous detentions, so they no longer tried to "reform" me.
One morning when I was doing the Dafa exercises in my cell an inmate saw me. He called on several collaborators who dragged me outside. I shouted, "Falun Dafa is good!" They dragged me into the office and threw me on the floor. One collaborator took off his socks and tried to put them in my mouth. I closed my mouth. He pinched my nose so I could not breathe. Soon, Wang Xiaofeng came and he told the inmate to send me to solitary confinement cell. A long, narrow and hard bench was the only thing inside that cell. They handcuffed my hands to each end of the bench and forced me to sit on the bench. I was incarcerated in the solitary confinement cell this way for 25 days.
On the morning of April 8th, 2002 I delivered Teacher's articles to fellow practitioners. Inmate Gong Xiling reported me to guard Xue Feng. I was taken to the ground floor where Dafa practitioners are tortured. I was handcuffed to a heating pipe for three days and I had to stand the whole time.
They also posted banners with slanderous words attacking Master and Dafa. Several Dafa practitioners including myself shouted, "Falun Dafa is good!" Collaborators Li Qing and Duan tied silk strips over our mouths, wrapped our heads in quilts reeking of urine, and sealed everything in place with tape.
We were later locked up in solitary confinement cells. By this time, the long narrow bench had been replaced with a large metal chair especially designed to torture Dafa practitioners. The metal chair has many semicircular bars welded onto it that holds the arms and legs of the victim in place so he cannot move at all. The officials let the practitioner in the chair use the toilet twice a day. At other times the practitioner has no choice but to relieve himself in his trousers.
Seven days later Wang Xiaofeng took me back to the ground floor. He told Li Qing and Duan to tie my hands behind my back to a bed pole because I did the Dafa exercises. They made me sit on a small plastic stool. From that day on, for more than two years, I never slept in a bed again. Due to sitting in a crooked posture for a long time, my limbs swelled and hurt terribly whenever I made a slight movement.
Practitioner Zhang Yunxia was in her 60s but the officials abused her all the same. Practitioner Su Yiwen had heart disease, high blood pressure and a bloated stomach, but the officials still tortured her. Practitioner Zhang Chunmei was also handcuffed to a heating pipe and forced to sit the same way I was. Her hands swelled like balloons, and they turned black. Even her face swelled. Practitioner Sun Jinjun was force-fed. The officials pried her mouth open with a spoon until her teeth came loose. They inserted a wooden stick into her mouth and poured corn porridge down her throat.
In July 2002, the guards persecuted Dafa practitioners who refused to wear a prisoner's uniform. Group 3 heads Wang Xiaofeng and Huang Haiyan led six collaborators and pinned Zhang Yunxia to the floor with her face down, removed her clothes and put the prisoner's uniform on her. Then they handcuffed her hands to each end of the long bench and did not let her go to the restroom.
A meeting was held for everyone at the Masanjia Forced Labour camp on August 22nd, 2002, during which the officials illegally issued an arrest warrant for Dafa practitioners Li Liming, Li Dongqing and Song Caihong. They tried to intimidate determined Dafa practitioners this way. Many guards came. They surrounded the conference room. I refused to go to the meeting. They dragged me there. In order to prevent me from shouting, "Falun Dafa is good" they gagged me and taped my mouth. Dafa practitioners constantly stepped forward during the meeting to speak out for Dafa. The guards were vicious-- they kicked these practitioners to the ground and beat them. They dragged the practitioners inside the building and handcuffed their hands behind their back to a heating pipe. They gagged the practitioners with cleaning rags and taped their mouths shut.
After the meeting they sent me to a solitary confinement cell yet again. There were nine solitary confinement cells. All of them were filled with Dafa practitioners who had stepped forward during the meeting, whom the persecutors thought "displayed the worst behaviour." There were camera monitors and also loudspeakers in the cell. The radio blasted fabrications slandering Teacher and Dafa, day and night, at the highest volume without a break. It was deafening. They reduced the number of daily restroom visits allowed Dafa practitioners from three to two and forbade us to wash ourselves. This solitary confinement lasted 30 days. My feet swelled so badly, the skin was about to burst. The blood vessels on my feet were bright red and hurt very badly when my feet touched the ground. My calves were red, hot and swollen. My hands and arms also swelled like balloons.
Guard Xue Feng took me back to Group 1 on September 18th, 2002. They were watching a documentary and ordered us to discuss the video afterwards. Collaborator Ge Yunling said bad things about Falun Gong and accused Falun Gong of getting involved in politics. I clarified the truth to her. She refused to listen and cursed Dafa. They struck me to the ground, held me and tied my hands behind my back. They put a filthy towel in my mouth and tied it with a strip of cloth. Wang Xiaofeng and a female guard named Xiang videotaped me and told the others to take me to the ground floor. In the evening, deputy Division Head Wang Shuzheng took me to the office and tried to make me stand the whole night but did not succeed, so she handcuffed me to a heating pipe, very close to the ground. I had to sit on the icy ceramic tile floor.
Cruel "Reform"
Another round of persecution, the "Battle to Take the Fort", began at Masanjia in early December 2002. The guards were not permitted to go home during that time and had to eat and sleep at the labour camp.
Wang Xiaofeng called me over on December 9th, 2002 and threatened me. He said, "You cannot practise Falun Gong anymore; if you do, I'll teach you a good lesson!" I refused to comply, and he told me to go to the ground floor and handcuffed me to a heating pipe. He gagged me with a cleaning rag and taped my mouth shut. Then he proceeded to shock me with high-voltage electric batons. Soon my hands bled while he kept accusing me of making trouble. My blood stuck to the electric baton. He removed the tape from my mouth and began shocking my mouth. My lips doubled in size, and I could barely open my mouth.
He shocked the soles of my feet, but I did not fall down. He said to Xue Feng, "Before When I shocked people's feet before they would fall down instantly; what's wrong today? The battery must be running low." Xue Feng found two more electric batons and tried them on me, but they still did not work and had even less electric power than the first one, so he put the two electric batons away. He took out a notebook and tried to take notes, to prepare for further persecution. I refused to cooperate with him. He sent me to solitary confinement cell. It was very cold that winter, and they did not let Dafa practitioners wear heavy coats. They opened all of the doors and windows to freeze us. Our food was a small piece of hard cornbread and several pieces of salted vegetable for each meal. They did not give us water. They ceaselessly played audiotapes slandering Dafa.
Wang Xiaofeng and Xue Feng took me back to the regular cell after 22 days. The next day was Chinese New Year's Day. The guards were on vacation, so they let me out of the solitary confinement cell. I was somewhat mentally traumatised from the torture. In addition, my weight had dropped to 88 lbs. I could not hold onto anything because my hands were black and the size of grapefruits, and they were covered in frostbite. My feet were so swollen that I had to wear extra large slippers. My ankles also swelled, became ulcerated and seeped pus. Scars remain on my feet even now. My knees hurt as if they were stabbed with knives whenever I moved. I could neither squat nor stand when I went to the restroom and also sweated profusely from pain. Despite my condition, Wang Xiaofeng did not let me sleep in a bed and continued to make me sit on a small stool with my hands tied behind my back.
They were not lenient toward other practitioners, either. They tortured them with freezing, hanging-up, electric shock, sleep deprivation, and other corporal punishment. They forced practitioners to sit in the full lotus position (both legs crossed, one on top of the other) for long periods of time, to savagely persecute them. They took practitioner Huang Shufen from Group 2, Division 1 to the triangular storage room, where they handcuffed her arms behind her back, put a rope through the handcuffs and hung her by her hands from a metal structure on the ceiling. They pulled the rope up and down with Huang Shufen tied to the other end hanging in the air. They did this repeatedly until both of her shoulders were dislocated and her right wrist bone was completely shattered. They put a plaster cast on her before her bones were correctly set. As a result she could not use her right hand for more than one year.
The officials hung practitioner Zhang Haiyan from Group 5, Division 1 from a heating pipe with her feet barely touching the ground. They hung her for three days, during which they bombarded her with audiotapes slandering Dafa. She could not endure the torture any longer, but she also did not want to betray her conscience, her Teacher and Dafa in exchange for temporary relief. Nevertheless, during a toilet visit, in desperation, she threw herself against a heating pipe, and blood gushed out from her head. She was taken to the nurse's office and given simple treatment before they quickly hung her up again. The next day she threw herself against the heating pipe again. This time she suffered a mental collapse and could not speak. Her head now has a 4 cm [1.6 inches] long scar.
The officials also took Falun Gong practitioners to the triangular storage room and handcuffed them to a heating pipe. They shocked the practitioners' chest, armpits, inner thighs, neck, hands, feet and other sensitive body parts until the practitioners give in. They also threaten the practitioners and tell them not to expose the atrocities.
Practitioner Su Yiwen had a heart attack in April 2003 and remained in bed, feeling awful. One day Wang Xiaofeng and Su Hong, heads of Group 4, and Sun, the group head on duty, tried to handcuff Su Yiwen and immobilise her with metal chains. Su Yiwen firmly refused to cooperate with them. I supported her and shouted, "Falun Dafa is good!" They sent both of us to solitary confinement and held us there for 20 days.
Masanjia Forced Labour Camp officials issued an arrest warrant for me on June 28th, 2004 and sent me to Shenyang City Detention Centre. The deputy division head there, Xu Yan, was vicious. She brutally force-fed Dafa practitioners on hunger strike. She poured a huge quantity of salt into the corn porridge fed to the practitioners. Guard Duan Guoyun told the inmates to beat me. They yanked out lots of my hair, which was all over the floor.
Note
1. "Collaborators": Former practitioners who have turned against Falun Gong under brainwashing and torture. They are then made to assist in brainwashing and torturing practitioners.
2. "Reform or Transform" Implementation of brainwashing and torture in order to force a practitioner to renounce Falun Gong. (Variations: "reform", "transform", "reformed", "reforming", "transformed", "transforming", and "transformation")
Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2007/4/2/151929.html
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