Ms. Liu Shufen and Her 72-Year-Old Mother Jailed Separately at Heilongjiang Women's Prison

When Liu Shufen was eight years old she developed a bump on her head and had unbearable headaches. She was sent to many hospitals but none of them was able to give a definitive diagnosis. She was also given numerous medications, but nothing worked. Her father later contracted oesophageal cancer. Her mother was also burdened with numerous illnesses; even light house chores would make her sweat badly. The whole family lived in pain.

Liu Shufen and her parents

In 1996, Ms. Liu's family started to practise Falun Gong, and soon both mother and daughter had all their illnesses disappear. Ms. Liu's father also experienced great improvement in his health.

Since October 1999, however, Liu Shufen has been subjected to endless persecution. In mid-May 2002, she was sentenced to 8 years in prison, and sent to Heilongjiang Women's Prison. Her father was overcome with grief and passed away in 2006, and her mother is currently jailed in the same prison.

Liu Shufen was once on hunger strike for seven months

Liu Shufen is currently 36 years old, and she used to work in a shopping mall affiliated with Daqing City Transportation Company. Below are some written accounts of the persecution she has suffered, which Ms. Liu managed to have sent out of the prison:

On May 11th, 2002, I was arrested. Later I was sentenced to 11 years and sent to Heilongjiang Women's Prison, where the guards, in their attempts to "reform¹" us, instigated criminals to verbally and physically abuse Falun Gong practitioners. We did not feel safe, and were under tremendous pressure.

On December 2nd, 2002, I was transferred to the training team (a place where the guards used all means available to force practitioners to "reform"). For eight days, I was made to sit on a cement floor, with my hands cuffed behind my back and my legs tied up with ropes. Every day from 4 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., the guards came several times to have so-called conversations with me. They also used books to hit my face, which became very swollen as a result. The rest of the time a group of criminals watched over me. On the 19th I was put into a confinement cell, with my hands cuffed and my legs shackled. I was only given thin corn soup at each meal time.

From December 18th, 2002 to January 8th, 2003, I was again put into a confinement cell, during which my hands were cuffed behind my back, and I was hung-up by the handcuffs (a torture called "big hang-up," see the photo below) In 2003, I was handcuffed to my bed numerous times for practising Falun Gong exercises.

Illustration: Big hang-up

On March 8th, 2004, I was put into a confinement cell, where my hands were cuffed behind my back and I was hung up all day long. The criminal in charge of the cell beat and cursed me at will. She didn't allow me to wash myself, and only gave me corn soup to eat. I wasn't taken back to my cell until April 11th. On May 3rd, 2004, guards Zhou Ying and Liu Yan led criminal Hou Liping to subject me to the "big hang-up" again. After I was finally let down, I had no feeling in my limbs, and I was carried back to my cell. On December 1st, I condemned the corporal punishment imposed on practitioners. As a result, a few days later, I was carried to another room, where some criminals twisted my hands behind my back and cuffed them to a bed. They then dragged the bed around, which caused excruciating pain, and I almost passed out. I tried to press on the surveillance monitor to report their torture, but it only made them beat me more fiercely. From December 13th to 21st, 2004, the guards ordered criminals Tan Hongwei, Liu Ying, Liu Chao and Wen Mial to monitor me, and they subjected me to the "big hang-up" any time they wanted. The handcuffs cut deeply into my flesh. I wasn't allowed to sleep or use the toilet during the torture sessions.

On March 15th, 2005, I was again sent to a confinement cell. According to law, detainees cannot be detained in the confinement cell for more than 15 days. However, it was commonplace, in this prison, for Falun Gong practitioners to be detained in confinement cells for several months in a row. On June 6th, I went on a hunger strike to protest; they started to force feed me on June 9th. Criminal Shang Xiaomei intentionally used great force in pushing the feeding tube into my stomach, causing bleeding to my esophagus and heartburn. At the same time, they pried open my mouth and injured my teeth, jaw and tongue. Every time after force-feeding, they simply rinsed the tube without sterilization. Sometimes they used the same tube on 4 or 5 practitioners at a time. On July 29th, I was let out of the confinement cell, but I still continued with my hunger strike. Shang Xiaomei force-fed me three times a day. During my hunger strike, the guards isolated me and asked criminals to monitor me. This time my hunger strike lasted 7 months. Later I was transferred to a division specifically for sick people, and put into a room where Li Guixiang and Wang Xin watched over me all the time. They had slanderous, anti Falun Gong materials in the room, and never allowed anyone to get near me.

On January 18th, 2006, the guards ordered criminals Hou Liping, Jiang Yajing, Zhang Li, Wang Liying, Song Yanbo and Zhang Meizheng to hold me down, and tortured me from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. I refused to participate in the roll call that night, and some criminals stuffed my mouth and dragged me out. I thus went on a hunger strike again. This time, using the excuse of tending to practitioners' nutrition needs, they blended steamed buns with cooked Chinese radish and garlic, and force fed the paste to us. They claimed that was the new policy of the prison, and it was intended to help us fight infection. Since these foods had very strong odours, they greatly upset our empty stomachs. Every time, during and after the force-feeding, we felt extreme discomfort in our nose, throat, oesophagus and stomach. We often threw up as a result.

When Liu Shufen was born, her father was already in his late 40s. Therefore, he cherished her greatly. Knowing that his daughter was suffering torture, he was deeply pained; as a result, his health deteriorated until he became bedridden and couldn't take care of himself. He often was incontinent. Every time when someone came to visit him, the first thing he said was, "Do you know when my daughter will come back?"

In 2002, Liu Shufen's father learned that his daughter had been severely tortured in the prison. Despite his deteriorating health, he took a taxi to the prison. However, he didn't even have the strength to walk into the prison gate. He had to crawl all the way into the prison. Even so, the prison guards didn't let him see his daughter.

In 2006, the elderly Mr. Liu died in great sorrow.

Liu Shufen's mother was sentenced to prison, suffering severe injuries

Liu Shufen's mother, Wang Yanxiang, is 72 years old. After Liu Shufen was sentenced to prison, she not only suffered emotionally, but also had to take care of her husband. In 2006, after her husband died, she lost all her income and led an even more miserable life.

On July 5th, 2007, Wang Yanxiang was taken away from her home, and the police didn't release her until five days later. Another practitioner, Liu Shengyi, was arrested at the same time, and was tortured to death. On September 27th, 2007, Wang Yanxiang was deceived by the police, who drove her to Honggang District Court where she was abruptly indicted. Afterwards, in order to avoid further persecution, Ms.Wang didn't dare to live at her home for long periods of time. Daqing City police looked everywhere for her, and they even had a locksmith pry open her door. On the morning of April 7th, 2008, Ms. Wang heard someone knock on the door. She didn't know what to do. Out of fear of being arrested, she jumped from her third floor, causing multiple fractures in her ribs and left leg. She had also sustained internal injuries to her lungs. After finding out what happened, some neighbours took her to Longnan Hospital. On May 27th, the police arrested her again, barely one month after her catastrophic fall. They also sentenced her to three years of prison.

On June 11th, 2008, Wang Yanxiang was sent to Division 11 of Heilongjiang Women's Prison. Despite the fact that she was elderly and still had injuries to her ribs and legs, the prison forced her to go through brainwashing sessions. At the same time, they tried to block this news from Liu Shufen.

However, Liu Shufen still learned that her mother was detained in the same prison. She requested to see her mother. After the prison refused, she went on a hunger strike. Two days later the prison gave up and allowed her to see her mother. Ms. Liu bought some food for her mother, but the guards in Division 11 refused to take any of it to her, claiming that her mother already had everything she needed. When Liu Shufen requested that her mother be transferred to the same division so she could take care of her, she was rejected by the guards.

In early October 2008, Liu Shufen asked some friends to make a jacket and blanket for her mother. But Division 11 refused to let her visit her mother. After she made numerous requests, they had a guard take the things to her mother. Liu Shufen still didn't get to see her mother.

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")

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2009/5/19/201185.html