Falun Gong Practitioner Ms. Wang Sumei Persecuted

Name: Wang Sumei
Gender: Female
Age: Unknown
Address: Huangshi City, Hubei Province
Occupation: Unknown
Date of Most Recent Arrest: March, 2009
Most Recent Place of Detention: Tangxunhu Brainwashing Centre
City: Wuhan
Province: Hubei
Persecution Suffered: Detention, interrogation, torture, forced to stand for extended time, forced labour, extortion, beatings, sleep deprivation

Since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started to persecute Falun Gong in 1999, Ms Wang Sumei has been constantly harassed by local police in her residential area. She has been sent to a forced labour camp, detained, and interrogated at Tangxunhu Brainwashing Centre in Wuhan City, and interrogated at the local police station. Throughout these ten years her family members have been living in fear and her relatives have not been able to lead normal lives.

The following is Ms Wang's account of her ordeals in her own words:

On the evening of May 19th, 2003, officer Zheng Guocai and another officer arrested me and took me to the police station. I escaped when they were not paying attention, but after just a few steps, I was caught and handcuffed to a chair until May 21st, when I was taken to a detention centre.

On May 2nd, Zheng Guocai told me that he was sending me to a brainwashing centre, but I was actually sent to Huangshi Second Detention Centre. The next day guard Cheng Hong told me to buy a set of personal items, including a blanket, but I refused. She hated me because of this, and when I tried to practise the exercises at night, she put me in shackles.

Several days later they asked me whether I would continue to practise Falun Gong. I said I would. Bigger shackles were put on my feet. I could barely walk. My feet were swollen and hurt terribly, and I could not change my underwear. I once fainted during an interrogation.

In the labour camp I was forced to stand completely still for long periods of time, forced to attend military training, and had to do slave labour. I became sick due to the work and persecution.

In July, guards told me to pack my clothes and get ready to leave. But Chen Hong refused to exchange the vouchers I had for cash. She berated me loudly. After leaving, I learned they were sending me to the Second Team of Sayang Forced Labour Camp, which is the worst team in the worst camp.

After arriving there, a drug offender whose last name was Ma followed me everywhere. I was not allowed to leave the prison cell alone and, under orders from guard Liu Qin, had to get permission to even go to the toilet. I was not allowed to sleep until after two o'clock in the morning. If I did not follow their orders, they would beat me and force me to stand and squat for long periods of time. One night I was forced to stand until dawn. Guard Cai took one look and then left, pretending she did not see anything. (Even according to the labour camp rules this hardship is not allowed.) Due to the long periods of standing and the sleep deprivation, I found it hard to breathe, my heart beat very fast, and I almost fainted.

Guard Liu Qin tried to use collaborators¹ to "transform" [forcibly renounce Falun Gong] me several times. She asked me to cooperate, but I refused, so they started to control me very strictly. In the mid autumn of 2003 I developed gallstones. It was very painful, and I could not get out of bed. The second day she forced me to sit up. I was made to attend military training and stand in the military position. After several day's military training, my stomach was so painful than I could not eat, but I still had to do the heavy work.

I learned that my local police station also extorted over one thousand yuan² from my family, telling them it was to cover the detention centre costs. This works out to be a cost of 30 yuan per day. I checked with my husband. Zheng Guocai took the first thousand yuan, and another policeman took the rest, neither giving any receipt. Later I asked Zheng Guocai about this, but he refused to admit he took the money.

After I was released and returned to Huangshi, I learned that another practitioner was detained after I was arrested. Her relative was told by Zhou Xianjun that I informed on her, so her relatives hated me and spread vicious rumors. Many people looked down on me when I returned home. After this practitioner came back, she spent quite some time explaining the truth, and finally her relatives believed her.

Arrested Again, Persecution-Induced High Blood Pressure

In the morning on a March day, a local policeman whose surname is Cai and a temporary worker from the community came to my home. They called District Political Commission Secretary Jin, and Deputy Director of the police station Hu to join them.

Jin and Lu slandered Falun Gong in front of us, while Jin and Hu searched my home. They took away Falun Gong articles. Lu said he would send me to Wuhan's brainwashing centre. I adamantly refused, but Cai and Hu pushed me out of my home and into a car. My shoes fell off during the process. They drove me to Tangxunhu Brainwashing Centre.

During the physical exam, my blood pressure was 200. I felt dizzy, kept going to the restroom, and could hardly stand up. Doctors took my blood pressure several times. Because it stayed high, the centre authorities told Jin to take me back. For a long time after returning home, I found it hard to walk any distance.

Arrested and Home Ransacked Again

In July, 2009, ten people from Huangshi National Security, the district police, the public security bureau, and the 610 Office [an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong], plus a temporary worker from the community, came to my home. After showing me a legal warrant, they left my husband alone, but said if I went with them I would be back by nightfall. While traveling in the car they slandered Falun Gong.

I was taken to the Haiguanshan Hotel and interrogated. I refused to cooperate with them. They used psychological methods to attack and threaten me. They tried to force me to cooperate, taking turns, saying they would send me to the detention centre if I refused to talk.

Their interrogation and threats caused my blood pressure to rise alarmingly. I had a dry mouth and coughed. I also developed diarrhea and could not eat lunch. At one o'clock in the afternoon, they again threatened that they would send me the detention centre, but later I was taken home. They confiscated my Falun Gong books, videos, and leaflets exposing the persecution of Falun Gong. They told my husband to sign the list of things they had confiscated, but refused to leave a receipt.

Note

1. "Collaborators": [former practitioners who have turned against Falun Gong under brainwashing and torture. They are then made to assist in brainwashing and torturing practitioners.]

2. "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/2010/10/10/230762.html