Account of Torture Suffered by Ms. Xia Jinyu from Qinghuangdao City of Hebei Province

Name: Xia Jinyu
Gender: Female
Age: 57
Address: Unknown
Occupation: Retired

Date of Most Recent Arrest: July, 26th, 2001
Most Recent Place of Detention: Qinghuangdao No. 2 Detention Centre
City: Qinghuangdao City
Province: Hebei Province
Persecution Suffered: Detention, physical constraint, interrogation, beatings, living under surveillance

Xia Jinyu is a fifty-seven year-old retired woman from Qinghuangdao City, Hebei Province. Ms. Xia was held in detention for forty days after taking care of a Falun Gong practitioner on July 26th, 2001. The following is her description of this experience.

At approximately 3:00 p.m. on July 26th, 2001, I took care of a Falun Gong practitioner who had a fever. Her husband was taken to a forced labour camp, and another practitioner came to see her too. Later, three plainclothes policemen broke into her home and tried to arrest that practitioner, with the intent to take her to the police hospital for further persecution. Another practitioner resisted their attempts and they did not arrest her, but we were taken to the police hospital.

Our company's security officers Liu, Ma Xingsheng and Ma Xingwang went to the hospital. They took me and another practitioner to the police station. One officer stayed to monitor the practitioner who had the fever.

At around 7:00 p.m., we were both handcuffed to metal chairs in separate rooms. The officers went out for dinner, and then returned to interrogate us. Mainly, they wanted us to identify other practitioners. I told them: "There were so many Falun Gong practitioners before the persecution. After the persecution, no one has told me that they practise Falun Gong - I don't know." Then, the officers threatened me, saying that they would send me to Xinjiang. They also said that they were "criminal" policemen, and would make people suffer worse than death.

A middle-aged officer struck me, saying that what he did was good for me. I questioned them as to how that could possibly be good for me. Even though I was under arrest, I wouldn't have allowed others to suffer such torture. Then, that officer stood up and hit me again. The left side of my face was bleeding; the right side was stained with blood. After midnight, they took me to a room infested with mosquitoes and handcuffed me to a metal stool.

The next morning, they took me to their office and asked me if I knew a certain person. I said that I didn't, and then they asked me if I knew the old woman who was arrested with me. I told them that I didn't know her name. They checked to see if my response matched the older woman's statement; I saw her handcuffed to the metal stool. Then, we were taken to the Qinghuangdao No. 2 Detention Centre. We were detained for forty days.

During this period, my blood pressure rose to dangerous levels, and I was unable to eat. The officials still wouldn't release me. I was given three meals a day of powdered soup or a bun mixed with something inedible. I could not eat or digest it. No vegetables were provided, just salty water with several pieces of leaves and cucumber. The tap water contained a strong bleach odour, and wasn't drinkable. I asked the officials why they wouldn't release me. They replied that Jiang Zemin, [former leader of China and instigator of the persecution] was in Beidaihe for summer break, and they would release me after the summer holidays. However, I was kept in confinement after the summer break; officials said that Beijing University was holding a school sports meeting. I wasn't released until September 4th, under the condition of my college's guarantee.

I have been monitored continuously since my release. I have suffered many indignities, and have been injured in both body and spirit.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2010/1/29/217172.html