Older Falun Gong Practitioners Ms. Wang Zhujun and Ms. Shi Xiuyun Mistreated in Harbin

Ms. Wang Zhujun and Ms. Shi Xiuyun both practise Falun Gong, which brought physical health to both; yet, they were arrested, imprisoned, and tortured for following their beliefs.

Wang Zhujun's Experiences

Wang Zhujun, 62, is a salesperson at the Materials Company in the Acheng District, Harbin. She started practising Falun Gong in 1997. Before that she had different health problems such as dizziness, arteriosclerosis, and digestive problems. She experienced dizziness frequently and at times was unable to open her eyes because opening her eyes led to severe vomiting. Her condition could not be cured by any medication. However, she fully recovered not long after she started practising Falun Gong—and she gained renewed energy.

The Chinese Communist Party started persecuting Falun Gong on July 20th, 1999. When Wang Zhujun went to Beijing seeking justice for Falun Gong in September 2000, she was arrested and detained at Harbin Police Station in Beijing. She was then sent to the 2nd Detention Centre by Acheng Peace Police Station. She went on a hunger strike for two weeks to protest her incarceration and was force fed three times.

The abuse and lack of nutrition resulted in her becoming physically weak. Later, Acheng Peace Police Station charged her family 5000 yuan¹ for her release. When she returned home, her company forced her to attend the Yagou Brainwashing Camp for one day, where the guards tried to make her declare in writing that she would no longer practise Falun Gong. Ms. Wang refused and was taken to the 1st Detention Centre. Six months later, in September 2001, she was sent to Wanjia Forced Labour Camp for one year. In the camp, she was covered with scabies, which became progressively worse until she had oozing sores. Within two months, Wanjia Forced Labour Camp had to let her go.

When she was posting informational flyers about the persecution of Falun Gong at a bus stop in July 2002, police officers arrested her and took her to the 1st Detention Centre. She again went on a hunger strike in protest. Policeman Luo brutally beat her with a white plastic stick until it broke and Ms. Wang's legs became purple-black. Two weeks later, she was given a three-year term in a forced labour camp. She was taken to Wanjia Forced Labour Camp in December 2002.

At Wanjia, she was ordered to squat every day and stay in that position until midnight. Because she refused to write a guarantee to stop practising Falun Gong, a guard grabbed her by her hair, slammed her against a wall, kicked and beat her, hung her up, and shocked her with an electric baton.

She was tied to an iron chair for three days and hung up three times. Once, a guard directed prisoner Fu Lina to slap Ms. Wang's her face a dozen times. She was forced to sort ice cream sticks and nuts. She was not allowed to sleep without finishing her work. She had to carry 50 kg (110 lb.) bags of nuts and was beaten if she couldn't carry the weight. She suffered tremendously both physically and mentally. She was not released until March 2005.

Shi Xiuyun's Suffering

Ms. Shi Xiuyun, 71, lives in Beixin in the Acheng District of Harbin. She started practising Falun Gong in 1996. Soon after, her heart disease, cerebral arteriosclerosis, digestive problems, nephritis, arthritis, and other diseases were all healed.

She and some other practitioners went to the provincial government petition office on July 20th, 1999. They were arrested and detained in a stadium with thousands of other practitioners. They were then sent to a school in the Daowai District, where they were made to sit out in the sun for a whole day. Acheng Police Station officers detained the group overnight and released them after they signed some documents. Back home, officers from the local police station and agents of the 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong) often harassed Ms. Shi at her home, which caused great psychological damage to her family.

She went to Beijing to appeal against the persecution of Falun Gong on October 2nd, 2000. She was arrested and detained in the Beijing "Model" prison for a night. She was taken to the Acheng Office in Beijing and held there for 11 days. Her family had to pay 3,000 yuan for her release. She was taken back to the Acheng 2nd Detention Centre and detained for over 10 days.

Ms. Shi went on hunger strike for three days to protest the persecution she was being subjected to. After her family paid the police 4,000 yuan she was released.

When she and her daughter-in-law were producing Falun Gong leaflets exposing the persecution at her son's home in Mudanjiang in 2002, someone reported their activities. Police ransacked her son's home and confiscated the Falun Gong books and CDs.

When Ms. Shi and her daughter-in-law were distributing Falun Gong leaflets at Baotou on July 20th, 2003, they were arrested by a district guard and taken to the 7th Police Station. They were taken to the Hohhot Guchengwan Police Station the next day, where they were detained for four months. Her daughter-in-law was sent to a forced labour camp for a term of two years. Ms. Shi was also sentenced, but she was allowed to stay outside the labour camp. When she returned to Acheng, the Xicheng Police Station released her after taking her fingerprints and cancelling her residential account.

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://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2010/10/1/230409.html