Severe Persecution in Heilongjiang Women's Prison

The following exposes some facts of the persecution by the guards and prisoners against Falun Gong practitioners in 2003 and 2004 at Heilongjiang Women's Prison. The persecution exposed here is only the tip of the iceberg. The persecution is still continuing.

Cruelly Beaten for Refusing to Wear a Prisoner's Uniform

On March 6th, 2003, guards Xiao Lujian and Chen Ruohui ordered prisoners Wang Fengchun, Zhao Yanling, Wang Ling and the head of the prisoners, Zhao Yanhua, to pin labels with the Chinese character for "prisoner" to the clothes (including underwear) of the practitioners. Practitioner Ms. Zhang Yuzhen from Daqing City rejected this and said, "I am not a criminal. I am innocent." Then guards Xiao Lujian and Chen Ruohui ordered prisoners Wang Fengchun, Zhao Yanling, and Wang Ling to hit Ms. Zhang, push her on the ground, and pin the label by force. Ms. Zhang severely sprained her left knee in the scuffle and couldn't take care of herself for three months.

In April 2003 the practitioners who were detained in Ward Eight refused to do hard labour. Ms. Ren Shuxian, a practitioner from Yichun County, said, "We are not guilty. We are being persecuted so we won't do any labour." Zhang Xiuli, the captain of the ward, ordered prisoners Wang Fengchun, Song Libo, Zhao Yanling, and others to hang those practitioners who refused to work in front of the upper berth of a bunk bed. The practitioners were Ms. Ren, Ms. Zhang Shuqin, Ms. Piao Yingshu, and Ms. Wang Hongjie. They were left hanging 24 hours a day for more than two weeks. Their feet became horribly swollen.

One afternoon Zhang Xiuli and guard Huang Jing went to the ward (then called Group Eight) where Ms. Ren Shuxian was hanging by her hands over the bedside for refusing to work. Ms. Ren said, "This treatment of practitioners is wrong. This bad deed will be punished." Zhang Xiuli slapped Ms. Ren in the face face and yelled,"Who says that bad deeds will be punished? I'll show you who will be punished." Guard Huang Jing cursed her and slammed her on the head with a bunch of keys.

After working all day the prisoners came back to the ward. When they saw Ms. Ren hanging in front of prisoner Zhang Sumin's bed, Zhang Sumin and Wang Fengchun cursed the practitioners and used the handle of a spade to hit Ms. Ren on the head. Ms. Ren Shuxian said to Zhang Sumin, "Do not do this to me. It will do harm to your future." Zhang Sumin said ferociously, "I am not afraid. Why not shoot all these practitioners?" Li Yahui, a murderer, slapped Ms. Ren whenever she passed her. In desperation Ms. Ren later jumped to the ground from the second floor and sustained a compound fracture of her foot. The guard didn't hang the practitioners any more after Ms. Ren jumped out of the building. [Note: Although the persecution is evil, harming oneself is against the principals of Falun Gong. A cultivator should not protest this way. Only by righteous thoughts and righteous acts can practitioners disintegrate and dissolve the persecution.]

Ms. Ren Shuxian was constantly cursed and beaten while she was injured. Prisoners Bai Chunfang, Sun Deying, Huang Yianbin, Piao Meina, Xue Ying, Niu Yuhong, and others scolded Ms. Ren badly every day and did everything possible to torture her. In particular Li Guixiang, the murderer, incited Xue Ying to slap Ms. Ren in the face when Ms. Ren was in bed.

Shut up in a Small Room

In August 2003 Zheng Jie was appointed captain of Ward Eight and Zhang Chunhua deputy captain. Zhang Chunhua was specifically in charge of the persecution of Falun Gong while Zheng Jie was the "behind-the-scenes" figure. When the director of the prison passed the workshop, several practitioners stood up and told the director about being persecuted. The guards regarded it as a trouble-making event and confined all those they believed to be leaders of the event to a tiny room. Those so confined were injected with unknown drugs, shocked with noise-makers, and shackled to the ground (with their hands and feet shackled together) for months. The practitioners shut in the small room were Ms. Liu Liping, Ms. Wang Juyan, Ms. Zhang Shuzhe, Ms. Zhao Shuling, Ms. Zhao Xin, and others.

At that time, dozens of practitioners were held in one building. The building faced north and was dark and humid without any sunlight. The north window was left open in preparation to replace the window sash. The legs of several practitioners were tied up together and their hands were bound behind their backs. They were kept sitting this way on the cement for more than two months. Practitioners Ms. Yu Shu, Ms. Ding Yu, Ms. Zhang Shuqin, Ms. Tian Guiqing, Ms. Wang Hongjie, and others were persecuted this way by prisoners Guo Shuxian, Li Guigong, Song Libo, Zhu Yugong, Niu Yifen, and others.

The guards divided the detained practitioners in Ward Eight into several groups and arranged for a "training" session for them. A large number of the practitioners were forced to run fast during the day. Once in an out-of-the-way area between a warehouse and a building, the guards and the prisoners circled the practitioners and forced them to line up in two rows to run fast within the circle. The guards carried electric batons while the prisoners held all kinds of plastic pipes and sticks. Practitioners were hit heavily with each running step.

Deputy Captain Zhang Chunhua shouted at and scolded the practitioners while the prisoners beat them and shouted, "Faster, faster, faster!"

The practitioners who could no longer run had their hands tied and were hung from the windows of the warehouse. They were then shocked with electric batons. Each practitioner was dripping with sweat but she was not allowed to drink water. When the older practitioners couldn't run any longer, the guards told them to squat with their heads against the ground for one or two minutes and then resume running. Practitioner Ms. Wang Xiulan, 68 years old, wanted to buy a bottle of water to drink. They laughed and said, "You'll get water after you repent and quit Falun Gong." Those guards drank and poured water onto the ground and then threw a half empty bottle of water on the ground for the practitioners to run over. When several practitioners asked nicely to have a conversation with the guards, the guards hit them hard as they sneered. A male guard suggested that guard Zhang Xiuli shock the practitioners on their faces with the electric batons. Those who participated were: Zheng Jie, the captain of the Ward Eight, Zhang Chunhua, the deputy captain; Zhang Xiuli, who was dismissed; Xiao Lin of the prison riot squad; three other male guards; several female guards; and prisoners Meng Xianmin, Zhu Yugong, Zhao Yan, Huang He, Wang Fengchun, and a dozen prisoners from the service team.

Beaten and Deprived of Sleep for Failure to "Repent"

Zheng Jie, the captain, inquired daily as to how many people had shown "repentance." Zheng Jie and Zhang Chunhua suggested that the prisoners beat practitioners fiercely if they had not "repented."

A practitioner from Harbin City, in her 50s, suffered from inflammation of her nerve endings due to the severe persecution in the detention centre and she could not walk. After she was confined in Ward Eight, she refused to "repent." Prisoners Huang He and Wang Fengchun beat her feet every day with a square wooden stick until they bled. Practitioner Ms. Piao Yingshu said, "I firmly believe in Falun Gong." The prisoners beat Ms. Piao beyond recognition.

The practitioners were sent under escort to the training site at 8:00 a.m. every day by a group of prisoners, anti-riot police, and the captain. They were not brought back to the ward until 3:30 p.m. When they had to eat their lunch, the practitioners were not allowed to sit down. They had to squat to eat. After eating they were immediately ordered to run or to squat with both arms stretched out by their sides. They would be badly beaten if they could not continue running or squatting. They were tied and fed by the prisoners at breakfast and dinner time. Two practitioners had to share a small steamed bun. In spite of that, prisoner Wang Chunfeng shouted and screamed, "Do not feed her so much." The practitioners were beaten black and blue from head to toe. They limped and supported each other, walking with heavy steps back to the ward. When practitioners returned to the ward at 3:30 p.m., they were forced to sit on the cement floor with their legs tied by two ropes and their hands shackled behind their backs. They were not allowed to close their eyes. The prisoners took turns watching them. If anyone closed her eyes before the next morning, the prisoners would slap her face, beat her with a stick, or pull her hair. As early as 8:00 a.m. prisoners Sun Hongdi, Niu Yifen, and others began the brutal persecution again. Among the prisoners who participated in the beatings and taking turns watching practitioners were Wang Fengchun, Song Libo, Li Guixiang, Zhu Yuhong, Zhao Yan, Huang He, Wang Wei, a person with the last name Zhang, and a person with the last name Liu, and others.

Tortured for Protesting Detention

In December 2003 several practitioners came forward and stated, "We will not do what prisoners are supposed to. We did not commit any crime. We are innocents being persecuted." Captain Zheng Jie and Deputy Captain Zhang Chunhua told about a dozen prisoners including Yang Ping, Huang He, Xue Ying, Li Hua, and Dong Jinghua to take off the practitioners' heavy coats and thick trousers. They then tied them and bound them in a cold room. The murderer, Niu Yuhong, stabbed the hands and feet of practitioner Ms. Yan Huijuan with an awl (as thick as a bike spoke) up to hundred times. Niu Yuhong said that she was ordered to do it by guard Xiao Lujian.

In March 2004 some practitioners refused to work and said, "Because we have not committed any crime, we will not work." Captain Zheng Jie and Deputy Captain Zhang Chunhua ordered the prisoners to drag the practitioners on the ground. The prisoners seized the practitioners by their feet so their backs were scratched badly by the pavement. Practitioner Ms. Li Xiuying suffered a wound 20 centimetres in diameter. Blood poured out of the wound. Some prisoners kicked deliberately at the heads of practitioners while scolding them.

One day Captain Zheng Jie demanded that practitioner Ms. Zhang Yuzhen do hard labor. Ms. Zhang said, "I am innocent. I don't need any form of 'transformation¹.' We are good people." Zheng Jie forced her to squat in the office while the prisoners took turns watching her.

More than 20 other practitioners said, "We are not prisoners, so we should take off the prison uniforms." Zheng Jie and Zhang Chunhua sent a large number of prisoners to strip off all the clothes, including the underwear, from the practitioners. They put on the prison uniforms without any underwear underneath. They then tied up the practitioners. Those practitioners who refused to answer roll call were hung by their hands to the front of the bed while their hands were tied behind their backs. Practitioner Ms. Shang Xiufang was not released even after she soiled her trousers. They burned all their underwear including bras. Practitioners wrote letters to the leader of the prison and put the letters in the public mailbox. Zhang Chuhua found them and took them out.

Note

1. "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")