The Persecution and Torture I Experienced at the Hands of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)

We were a happy family before Falun Gong was banned by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). My husband and I each had a business. Before practising Falun Gong, I was of poor physical health. I also was near sighted, experienced problems in my neck, suffered from heart disease, and had difficulties with my feet. All of my health problems disappeared after I started on my Falun Gong cultivation path, and our businesses became successful.

Harmonious Family Torn Apart by the CCP

In November 2001, the Deputy Director of the Beidi Police Station in Benxi City had some people monitor my home. They installed cameras and took photos of everyone visiting my home. One morning around 3:00 a.m., several policemen broke into our home and ransacked it without showing any ID or search warrant. They confiscated all of my Falun Gong books, tape recorder, bed cover, two rolls of fabric and an incense burner. They also stole my wallet. A policeman also tried to steal a gold ring. My husband became angry and told him, "Leave it! It's mine." The policeman was startled and did not dare touch it.

I asked the police why they ransacked my home. They said that it was because I practise Falun Gong. I told them that I didn't understand this; I have been following the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and had not done anything wrong. I replied that they should not arrest me.

My husband knew that I was innocent. Since then he drank alcohol daily out of anger. He became mentally unbalanced and his peace of mind was destroyed. When I was arrested, my son was only 13 years old. He had to quit school since we could not afford the tuition. My parents-in-law heard that the residential committee would help people with financial difficulties, so they went to the director of the residential committee. However, the director said, "Your daughter-in-law practises Falun Gong, so we cannot help you." My harmonious family was destroyed by the CCP.

Crimes Committed by Police from Beidi Police Station

The policemen took me to the Beidi Police Station and interrogated me non-stop. They wanted me to provide names of fellow practitioners. I told them that I did not know any, so they detained me in a small dark room and handcuffed to a metal bar. I was not able to sit or stand. I remained in this posture from morning until around 10:00 p.m. They realized that I was not willing to provide any information, so they took me to the Bailou Detention Centre.

Despite my being in the detention centre, the police monitored my home. Under the direction of deputy director Zhang Qingman, they monitored my home for several months. They even arrested people I had never met, claiming that they were practitioners. They arrested several people. Although I insisted that I didn't know them, they sentenced three people to prison.

In the detention centre, the guards forced us to perform hard labour daily. We had to meet a high quota. We hand crafted flowers for funerals. We were forbidden to do the Falun Gong exercises. I did the exercises anyway, so the guards beat me.

Because I was detained and not allowed to do the exercises, I went on a hunger strike for more than one month. The guards treated me brutally. They handcuffed me to an iron bed, and chained my feet to it. When the guards gave me an intravenous injection, they claimed that they were trying to find the blood vessel. They hit my wrists heavily. My hands hurt a lot from these beatings. The guards used the thickest feeding tube they could find to force-feed me. They took pleasure in making me feel pain. One time, when the guards took me to a hospital, they forgot to bring my foot shackles. Director Yang told them to call a taxi and made me pay for it. At that time many people gathered around us. Guard Zhang humiliated me by shouting, "Look, this is a Falun Gong [practitioner] who is mentally ill. She wants to be a heroine."

I was on a hunger strike for one month and dropped to only 110 pounds. I used to be 1 metre 60 cm tall and weighed 165 pounds. I was bedridden and could not move. An elderly doctor took pity on me and told the guards, "She is very ill and her life is in danger. You'd better let her family bring some money and take her home." The guards refused and said that I was a "chief instigator" and I was to die in the detention centre.

Sentenced to a 5-year Prison Term

I was sentenced to a 5-year prison term. They did not notify my family and only one policeman from the Beidi Police Station showed up at the sentencing. I refused to sign the document. A public prosecutor said, "It does not matter whether you sign it or not. If you sign, you are sentenced to a 5- year prison term. If you don't sign, you are still sentenced to a 5-year prison term."

The guards reported to their supervisor and suggested to take me to the prison immediately. They took me to the Dabei Prison in Shenyang. The doctors and supervisors in Dabei Prison in charge of checking-in prisoners found me to be very weak and felt that my life was in danger. They refused to accept me. I was taken back to the detention centre. Soon after they again took me to the prison. This time they took me with several other practitioners. Upon leaving the cell, we shouted, "Falun Gong is good! Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good!" The guards cursed at us. The same supervisor was there. This time he held a different attitude. He was very warm to the guards and said, "I have been waiting for you." Later I heard that the guards from the detention station treated the supervisor to meals and sent gifts. That is why he accepted me into the Dabei Prison. The doctors from the prison checked me and said that I was too ill to be accepted. He replied coldly, "Even if she is not acceptable, we cannot allow her to leave."

Tortured in Dabei Prison

Once I arrived at the prison, the guards took us to our cells. Because I had been on a hunger strike for a long time and I was carrying my luggage, I felt faint and felt as if I would pass out any minute. However, section chief Li Hong behind me shouted, "Walk faster!"

After I reached the cell, the inmate in charge shouted as soon as she saw me, "Stand facing the wall!" After I stood for a while, the section chief Wu Li arrived with an electric baton in her hand. Seeing that I was a newcomer, she raised the electric baton, hit the metal arm rest of the stairs, and a big spark flew. I knew that they were threatening me. The guards interrogated me again and told me that doing the exercises or talking about Falun Gong was forbidden. They told me that I had to shout, "Report" before walking through the door. I kept Dafa in my heart and swore never to bow to the evil. Once they realized that I refused to sign anything or obey their orders, they started to torture me.

I was put on long hours of hard labour. I was allowed to sleep only 1 or 2 hours a night and the food was bad. I went on a hunger strike again to protest against the persecution and the long hours of hard labour. The commander took me to a hospital for intravenous feedings. Several guards, inmates and doctors held me down on a bed, and tied my hands and feet to the bed. They ordered four inmates to watch me in turn. It was the coldest season, but inmate Zhang Yuanyuan cut apart my cotton-stuffed jackets and pants. While she was cutting, she said in a sarcastic tone, "Only dead people need someone to cut their clothes like this." Then she cut my shirt and my underwear. They also opened the door and windows to let the cold air in. They inserted a stomach tube and catheter. Every day, Zhang Yuanyuan drew lots of blood. She used the thickest tube she could find to force-feed me with corn meal. The corn meal came back out through my nose. She put so much salt that even her partner Liu Shiying said, "This is too much. You put in so much salt."

I no longer could feel it when I had to urinate and I was bleeding. By that time I lay in urine and blood. The guards and inmates used the most disgusting ways to torture me. My gums deteriorated and my teeth protruded outwards. My head looked like a skull. Everyone got scared when they saw me.

I felt extreme pain in my heart and I could not turn my body. The doctors said that my heart was lacking blood and there was not enough blood supplied to the brain.

Once, a practitioner was violently beaten by a group of inmates. That practitioner had been diagnosed with stomach cancer and she could not eat well. The guards and inmates claimed she was pretending and violently beat her. Then, they left her lying on the cement floor. I tried to stop them. On the second day when we began to work, those inmates reported to the guards and said that I interfered with them. Deputy section chief Li Hong and director Zhang Xia called me into their office. They told me to say "report" before entering the office. I stood outside the office and refused, since I was not a criminal. So they beat me and pulled me into the room. The beat me with electric batons.

Practitioner Ms. Li Xiyun Tortured

I met practitioner Ms. Li Xiyun while in that prison. She is a very kind person. Her son gave her some money, but she seldom bought anything for herself. Instead, she bought food for other detainees who had no money. Because she was made to work too hard, she suffered a heart attack one morning and had problems breathing. The inmates still carried her to the workshop. A guard with the last name of Sun and the inmates claimed that she was pretending and threw her onto a large iron wagon. They sent her to the hospital only after the guards noticed that she had passed out. The guards and doctors in the hospital said, "She should be released on medical parole."

I approached many inmates and clarified the truth to them. After they learned the truth, they said, "Why didn't we know more about Falun Gong earlier? If we had known, we would not have committed such crimes. It would be worthwhile to be imprisoned because of cultivation, just like you!"

The guards tried to torture detainees physically and mentally. They wanted detainees to work like robots to earn money for them. In the workshop, there was non-stop verbal abuse, and detainees were so exhausted that they fell asleep while working. Suicides were not uncommon. The cornmeal we ate was mouldy and the dishes were dirty. The food was cooked without cooking oil. The guards told my sister-in-law who was visiting me that I was sick and needed money. She gave them 300 yuan¹, which they kept. The guards also forbade my family members to bring anything for me. They had to buy things in the prison store, where the prices are several times higher than outside.

Note

1. "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://www.minghui.ca/mh/articles/2008/6/12/180135.html