The Long-Term Persecution of Ms. Zhang Shujie from Tongliao City, Inner Mongolia

Ms. Zhang Shujie, 37, is employed at the Electricity Power Plant in Tongliao City of Inner Mongolia. She started to practise Falun Gong in 1996. Within one month of starting to practise, her heart diseases and failure to menstruate disappeared. She became healthy.

In July 1999, when the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started persecuting Falun Gong, Ms. Zhang went to appeal in Beijing. She wanted to tell the public and the government that it is not wrong to practise Falun Gong and that Falun Gong benefits both the people and the country. Unfortunately, the police seized her on her way to Beijing.

In May 2001, the Baokang Public Security Bureau detained her for seven days at a local detention centre. After that, Bai Yuhua, Hebagenna, and Yu Qinglin from a local public security bureau put her into another detention centre and held her there for 10 days. Later, she was taken to the Tonghua City Brainwashing Centre for another seven days. The public security bureau extorted 300 yuan¹ cash from her workplace.

Local policeman Song Shouan, and 610 Office² personnel Hebagenna, Yu Qinglin, Xiao Zhong, and Bai Yuhua harassed her in her home and at her workplace. Her co-workers were so annoyed by them that they asked them to leave. Police officer Song Shouan tried to persuade Ms. Zhang's landlord not to rent a room to Ms. Zhang. The Baokang Public Security Bureau tapped into Ms. Zhang's phone line and put her home under surveillance. Ms. Zhang was monitored.

Around noon on November 5th, 2005, police broke into and ransacked Ms. Zhang's home. They took away all Falun Gong books. The police also ransacked Ms. Cui Yuling's home, which is next to Ms. Zhang's. 610 Office agent Hebagenna used an ax to destroy the door of Ms. Cui's home. Shao Yuhong stole Ms. Cui's deposit certificate and other items. Ms. Zhang; Ms. Cui; and another practitioner, Ms. Li Guizhi, were taken to a detention centre. They were not allowed to get their winter coats when they were seized. They had to spend a day and a night on a wooden board without anything to keep them warm.

It was in the cold of winter. To torture the practitioners, the police ordered criminal inmates Chen Xiaolan from Baiyintala village and Shan Daixiao from the 3rd Area of Zhurihe Pasture to pour cold water on them. They stripped the practitioners and poured basins of cold water on their heads. Policeman Bai Yuhua was on duty at that time. After the torture, Bai ordered Ms. Zhang to put on her clothes and stand outside in the freezing cold.

Ms. Zhang went on a hunger strike to protest the abusive treatment. The police took her into a hospital and force-fed her for five days. Ms. Zhang became emaciated and her face was pale. The torture resulted in Ms. Zhang having a sudden heart attack. Her heart rate reached 130 beats per minute. Ms. Zhang was forcefully given an intravenous injection. One policeman was assigned to persecute her specifically, trying to "transform³" her using various methods, including deception, threats, and enticements. A month later, without any any legal procedures having been followed, Ms. Zhang and two other practitioners were given notices informing them that they were sentenced to two to three years of forced labour. On December 5th, 2005, they were secretly taken to Tumuji Forced Labour Camp.

Authorities informed the practitioners' families after the practitioners had been sent to the labour camp. On the way to the camp, Ms. Zhang was very cold and asked the guards to allow her to buy a pair of winter shoes, but she was ignored. After the practitioners arrived at the forced labour camp, they were immediately confined in a brainwashing session for seven days. After the session was over, they were sent to do hard labour. They were forced to work over eleven and a half hours every day and had to finish their work quota. Given the intense hard labour and mental pressure, Ms. Zhang showed symptoms of a lung infection and had difficulty breathing. Despite such poor health, she was not spared from the hard labour. After enduring two years and two months brutal mistreatment, Ms. Zhang was deeply wounded both physically and mentally. Her legs lost much feeling, and black spots appeared on her face. Her original employer took away her two years of her salary, causing her to lose more than 20,000 yuan in income.

On January 25th, 2008, Ms. Zhang was released. Two to three days later, policeman Yin Wei told the Baokang Police Station to dispatch several officers to break into Ms. Zhang's home. Fortunately, Ms. Zhang had already moved out. Several days later, Yin Wei went to Ms. Zhang's workplace but could not find her. Yin then called Ms. Zhang, threatening her that he knew where she was and that he was in charge of the area.

These are the facts regarding the persecution of Ms. Zhang Shujie during the last nine years.

Note

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

2. "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.

3. "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/2008/5/10/178157.html