Ms. Zhang Fengying from Naziyu Village, Zhucaoying Town, Funing County, Qinhuangdao City, Hebei Province was forced into homelessness for more than three years because she remained steadfast in her practice of Falun Gong and conducted her life according to the principles of Truth-Compassion-Forbearance.
One day, Ms. Zhang took the risk of returning home to take care of her husband, whose legs had become paralysed. She was arrested at her home on December 1st, 2008 by plain clothes policemen and imprisoned at the Funing County Detention Centre.
Since 1999, the Funing County police have arrested Ms. Zhang, ransacked her home, and subjected her to lengthy brainwashing sessions on numerous occasions. She was also sentenced to one year of forced labour and suffered many different forms of torture such as the Tiger Bench1, "tying up"2, and "hung up in a tree"3.
She was also shocked with electric batons, force-fed, repeatedly slapped in the face, beaten and kicked, and tortured with drugs at different hospitals. In addition, she had several thousand yuan4 extorted from her.
Ms. Zhang used to be plagued by several illnesses, making her unable to take care of herself. In addition, she had a short temper. After practising Falun Gong for just a short while, all of her symptoms disappeared. Furthermore, her temperament greatly improved. Not only was she able to exercise forbearance under very trying situations, but she also began to exude a calm, gentle, and friendly demeanour.
On the morning of March 1st, 2005, Ru Hongxi from the Funing County State Security Division and Pan Weixing and Miao Hui from the Zhucaoying Town local police station, along with six other people, intruded into Ms. Zhang's home, confiscating her family property and arresting her. When Ms. Zhang's son and husband tried to protect her, her son was beaten, causing his nose and mouth to bleed profusely.
The police arrested Ms. Zhang's husband and son and took them to the local police station in Zhucaoying Town, where they forced them to apologize for their behaviour and sign a guarantee statement5. The police did not release them until late that evening.
At the Funing County Police Department, officer Ru Hongxi tortured Ms. Zhang into confessing a crime that she did not commit. He repeatedly slapped, beat, and kicked her, causing her to lose consciousness. In an effort to shirk responsibility, the police took her to the hospital emergency room. After she regained consciousness, they took Ms. Zhang to the Funing County House of Detention, where the State Security Division and 610 Office6 personnel interrogated her non-stop in an effort to obtain information on other Falun Gong practitioners.
Seeing that Ms. Zhang had no intentions of divulging any information to them, the chief of the 610 Office threatened her husband and her son, forcing them to come to the detention centre to help persuade her. When Ms. Zhang began a hunger strike to protest the situation, about a dozen people at the detention centre force-fed her.
Two weeks later, Ms. Zhang was taken to a hotel near the Funing County People's Hospital to undergo a ten-day brainwashing session. During this period, the police called her husband and threatened him, saying, "If your wife does not give in, she will receive a five- to seven-year prison sentence," and "You will need to pay for two weeks worth of meals and lodging expenses that we incurred while trying to get your wife to give in."
Sometime during her detention, Ms. Zhang found an opportunity to escape, forcing her to become destitute and homeless. The Funing County 610 Office ordered the Zhucaoying Town local police station to continuously harass Ms. Zhang's family members, disturbing their normal way of life.
In the spring of 2008, Ms. Zhang's husband was diagnosed with osteoporosis, and his legs became paralysed. He was unable to take care of himself. Upon hearing this news, Ms. Zhang went home to look after her husband but was reported by a village resident. She was arrested by Funing County plain clothes policemen on the morning of December 1st, 2008. She was later imprisoned at the Funing County Detention Centre.
The Funing County judicial, police, and Procuratorate organizations plotted to further persecute Ms. Zhang. Her family members went to the detention center on several occasions but were turned away.
When Ms. Zhang was arrested, she was wearing only a light pair of shoes and one layer of clothing. The first time her family members brought warmer clothing for her, the guards refused to accept it. The family was eventually allowed to bring some clothes for Ms. Zhang one week later.
Li Haifeng, chief of the Funing County State Security Division: 86-13313352898 (Mobile)
Zheng Xiaojun, director of the Funing County 610 Office: 86-13315696796 (Mobile) 86-335-6021044
Note
1. "Tiger Bench": Prisoners are forced to sit on a small iron bench that is approximately 20 cm (6 inches) tall with their knees tied together. With their hands tied behind their backs or sometimes placed on their knees, they are forced to sit straight up and look straight ahead without movement for long periods of time.
2. The victim is forced into the lotus position while ropes are tightly tied around the legs then brought over the shoulders. The hands are folded tightly against the back and then tied against the body. After just a half an hour, the victim's feet and hands become swollen and start to bleed, producing excruciating pain. To increase the pain, two policemen stand on the victim's feet.
3. The victim is handcuffed with the hands in an upward position, then further handcuffed against a large tree. This torture method makes the victim feel as if the handcuffs are cutting through their wrists. They suffer agonizing pain and sweat profusely for the entire time.
4. "Yuan" is the Chinese currency; 500 yuan is equal to the average monthly income of an urban worker in China.
5. "Guarantee Statement": A statement to declare that one is remorseful for practising Falun Gong and guarantees not to practise Falun Gong again, not to go to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong, and never again associate with any Falun Gong practitioners.
6. "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.
Related article: http://www.clearharmony.net/articles/200505/26726.html
Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2009/2/13/195365.html
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