The Maltreatment of Mr. Yang Weihua Before His Death

Name: Yang Weihua
Gender: Male
Age:35
Address: Hulan District, Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province
Occupation: Unknown
Date of Death: June 5th, 2008
Date of Most Recent Arrest: April 3rd, 2003
Most recent place of detention: Changlinzi Forced Labour Camp
City: Harbin
Province: Heilongjiang
Persecution Suffered: Detention, force-feedings, beatings, electric shock, sleep deprivation, forced labour, extortion, home ransacked.

Mr. Yang Weihua from Hulan District, Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province, started to practise Falun Gong in July 1996. After the persecution began he was sent to Changlinzi Forced Labour Camp where he suffered inhuman torture. After he was released, he did not recover from the torture he experienced and was on the verge of death. Mr. Yang passed away on June 5th, 2008. Below is an account of the horrible torture he experienced.

On April 3rd, 2003, Mr. Yang was arrested by agents of the 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong) in Hulan District. In the detention centre, he went on a hunger strike for forty days and then was sent to Changlinzi Forced Labour Camp. While detained there, he was beaten and shocked with electric batons by the guards and criminals in the camp. They did not allow him to sleep for a long period of time, and he was forced to work for over 16 hours a day. His neck was injured when prison guard Zhao Shuang, tried to break it with both hands. As a result of the maltreatment, Mr. Yang became very weak, always felt dizzy and frequently passed out.

In May 2004, he started to have very serious symptoms from high blood pressure (high 240- low 120). Mr. Yang had always looked young and healthy before being detained. However, after having been tortured and tormented so much, his hair turned white, his eyesight grew blurry, his teeth loosened, and he became extremely thin. Because of his condition, people in the forced labour camp had to bring him twice to the Public Security hospital in Harbin City. However, they hid his illnesses for a long time and did not even notify his family members of his condition.

In 2005, when Mr. Yang got out of the forced labour camp, he could not walk well. Afterwards his health started to deteriorate even more. Even though he was under such tremendous suffering, Chen Zhaolin in the National Security Team in Hulan District along with local policemen, still went to harass him.

After July 20th, 1999, he went to Beijing with his mother and sister, who also practise, to appeal on behalf of Falun Gong. Sadly, he was arrested many times for appealing and was fined over 10,000 yuan¹ in total.

At the beginning of 2000, he went to Beijing once again to appeal with two other practitioners, however, he was arrested again and sent back to the local police station. At the Public Security Bureau, he explained how wonderful Falun Gong is in front of all the policemen, and helped many policemen understand the truth.

From 2000 to 2003, the local police constantly monitored Mr. Yang's home from a car parked nearby. The local Chinese Communist Party (CCP) personnel also forced him to sell his house and a tricycle he used for his farm work. During that period, the police ransacked his home, and Chang Jianghai, Xu Hanbin and Chen Jingyue from the national security team severely beat him all over until blood was covering his entire face. Facing endless persecution, Mr. Yang and his mother became homeless for three years until he was arrested once again and sent to another forced labour camp.

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.org/mh/articles/2010/4/2/220869.html