The Persecution of Falun Gong Practitioner Mr. Zhang Delong

Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Zhang Delong, 48 years old, is from Tuanshanzi Township, Yilan County. Mr. Zhang's entire family benefited from his practice of Falun Gong. In poor health before, Mr. Zhang's health improved so much that he was able to work in the fields and he was also able to help the neighbours. After the persecution began, Zhang Delong was arrested numerous times.

When the persecution started on July 20th, 1999, Tuanshanzi Township Propaganda Director Yuan Zhonghua took Zhang Delong to a brainwashing centre in Yilan County. Yuan tried to force Mr. Zhang to to write a guarantee statement to give up practising Falun Gong. He was released three days later.

In the Spring of 2002, Mr. Zhang Delong was handing out informational materials about Falun Gong in Qianlang Village, Tuanshanzi Township. He was ambushed by Village Security Director Xing Daxiaozi, and was sent to the township police station and later transferred to the Yilan County Detention Centre. Detainees had to pay for their own food and daily necessities, including toilet paper, tooth paste and soap. During the stay in the detention centre, the guards instigated the inmates to beat Mr. Zhang to the point that they broke his back. In just two weeks' time, Zhang Delong had become emaciated as a result of abuse and torture. He was released after two weeks. His family was extorted for five thousand yuan¹, and Mr. Zhang was forced to write a guarantee statement not to practise Falun Gong.

On March 8th, 2004, Mr. Zhang was handing out Falun Gong materials in Yonghe Village, when Village Security Director Gao Fengshan and five other people took him to the township police station. He was handcuffed to a heating pipe all night. The director of the police station, Zhang Huan sent Mr. Zhang to the county Security Bureau and tortured him on the iron chair² for two to three hours. Mr. Zhang was charged with "disturbing the social order," and was sent to a detention centre that night. After twenty days of interrogation, Zhang Delong, innocent of any crime, was sentenced to three years in a labour camp. He was sent to Wanjia Labour Camp in Harbin City for seven days of intensified persecution, where he was forced to do slave labour and was subjected to physical abuse if he could not finish the work assignment. Later, Mr. Zhang was transferred to Changlinzi Labour Camp No. 3 Brigade in Harbin City. While there, he was deprived of sleep and was forced to watch a video that slandered Falun Gong. In addition, the brigade leader Wang Rufang forced him to squat all day and he was kicked and beaten. Mr. Zhang gave in under the intense pressure, and became "transformed³" against his will.

After two weeks, Zhang Delong was transferred to the No. 1 Brigade. Brigade leader Tian Guanghe forced him to do slave labour packaging powder. He was not allowed to wear a dust mask or other safety equipment. The dust was extremely irritating to the respiratory system, and even the guard standing outside the door could not handle it. Mr. Zhang experienced numerous nose bleeds as a result of exposure to the powder.

After the 2005 New Year's Day, the labour camp tried to force practitioners to undergo blood tests, but they refused. They were transferred to the notorious No. 5 Brigade. The brigade leader was Zhao Shuang, a notorious ruffian. Practitioners were forced to pack toothpicks during the day and they were subjected to "transformation" tactics after work. Mr. Zhang refused to listen to the slander, so Zhao Shuang jumped on him, pulled his arms behind his back, and ordered two inmates to hold his legs, while guard Tang Yang from the No. 2 Brigade shocked his mouth with an electric baton. He was shocked deep down in his throat until he could not breathe and was forced to give in.

During the year, Mr. Zhang was forced to labour long hours every day packing toothpicks. He was required to pack 25 boxes each day, each box contained 10,000 toothpicks. Detainees were not allowed to sleep if they could not finish their assigned quota. The workplace was very dark, and they had to turn the light on even during the day. Mr. Zhang was exhausted and his vision was blurred. Most of the practitioners had to work until dawn and get up to continue working after just two hours of sleep. Under such terrible conditions, many people developed poor eyesight, so the labour camp forced them to buy glasses.

Zhang Delong was released in November 2006 after his son posted bail for his release. His health was ruined, he was so thin his bones protruded, his memory was very poor, and he could not do any work.

While he was in the labour camp, all the housework fell to his wife, who was not in good health. Due to the Chinese Communist Party's implication policy, their relatives were afraid to become involved and became distant. His twenty-four-year-old son was also discriminated against and no young women would date him. Under the tremendous pressure, Mr. Zhang's wife's illness became worse and she passed away on July 13th, 2008, causing enormous pain for Mr. Zhang and his family.

Note

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

2. Iron Chair: The "Iron chair" is made of iron pipes. Victims are restrained on the iron chairs with both arms and legs tied for a long period of time, see illustration at http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2002/1/9/17577.html

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 target=blank>http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2008/9/2/185193.html