The Persecution Suffered by Practitioner Ms. Wang Huaixiang from Weifang City, Shandong Province

On July 20th, 1999, Weifang City resident Ms. Wang Huaixiang, along with other Falun Gong practitioners, set off for Beijing to appeal on behalf of the practice. However, she was arrested at the Weifang City Train Terminal by the police and detained for two full days. She was also searched and the police confiscated over 2,000 yuan¹ from her.

On January 5th, 2000, Ms. Wang went to Beijing to appeal again, and was arrested by the Weifang City Liaison in Beijing at the Beijing Appeals Office. She was detained for a day and a night at the Weifang City Liaison's Office. There, she was not given any food, and all the money she had with her was confiscated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) authorities. Later, her work unit sent her to the Hanting Detention Centre for persecution. Ms. Wang was released after being detained for 15 days and forced to pay 750 yuan for so-called "living expenses" while in detention. Her work unit, however, detained her for another week.

One night in September 2000, Ms. Wang Huaixiang and several practitioners went to the Hetan Town Government facility to distribute leaflets exposing the persecution. Someone, however, reported them to the authorities. As a result, they were cuffed to a radiator inside the town government office for a day and a night, without any food or drink. Ms. Wang's family was forced to pay a fine of 3,000 yuan for her release.

In September 2001, Ms. Wang went with other practitioners to the Hanting Town Government compound to distribute Falun Dafa leaflets. They were reported to the authorities and subsequently sent to the Hanting Detention Centre. There, she was tortured with all kinds of means. She was purposefully given very little food. She was not allowed to read any Falun Gong related materials or do the exercises. If she did the Falun Gong exercises, she would be tortured via the "cross" torture method, the death bed², the "grand cuffing," etc.

The "cross" torture device consists of three wooden boards 20 inches in width. Two horizontal pieces are nailed down perpendicular to the third piece, with the upper horizontal piece being longer than the other. The victim's wrists are cuffed to the upper wooden board while both ankles are shackled to the longer horizontal board. The victim cannot move and experiences excruciating pain, and then numbness all over. The "death bed" is similar to the "cross" torture in that the victim is tortured in a similar position but on a bed. Practitioner Chen Kejuan has been tortured on the "death bed" for two weeks and on the "cross" for over a week.

The "grand cuffing" torture method is routinely used on death row inmates. It is also used on Falun Gong practitioners. The victim is bent at the waist and his/her hands and feet are locked together with an iron chain weighing over 10 kilogrammes (22 lbs.). Sometimes three or four victims are locked together in this position. The victims sweat heavily after a while and lose consciousness. Practitioners Zhang Yujuan, Yuan Qingxia and Wang Li have been tortured with the "grand cuffing."

During Ms. Wang Huaixiang's detention in the Hanting Detention Centre, she was also frequently interrogated by Yu Jianzheng, chief of the Hanting 610 Office. She was subjected to mental torture during the interrogation. After 39 days of detention, the Hanting 610 Office³ tried to transfer her to a forced labour camp.

Ms. Wang did not bow to the perpetrators, but instead kept a strong belief in Dafa. When the detention centre chief Guo Guangsen asked her to sign and fingerprint the forced labour sentencing paper, Ms. Wang refused. Guo Guangsen then ordered the police to cuff Wang from behind and hold her hand to force her to sign and finger print the paper. Ms. Wang kept sending forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil in other dimensions that was persecuting her and refused to be sent to a forced labour camp. With Teacher's benevolent protection and help, she failed her health examination and the forced labour camp would not accept her. Guo Guangsen however did not give up. He bribed the officials at the labour camp to accept Ms. Wang by giving her a second health exam. Ms. Wang also did not pass the second health screening, so the camp refused to take her. As a result, Guo Guangsen had to take Ms. Wang back to the Hanting Detention Centre. The 610 Office released her after extorting an 8,000 yuan fine from her family.

At home, Ms. Wang is still frequently harassed by the Hanting Town CCP agents, who call her at home nonstop. They also go to her home on politically sensitive days. It has been impossible for her to recover and to live in peace.

Note

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

2. "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.

3. "The 610 office" is 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.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2007/5/21/155303.html