Persecution of Ms. Zhang Guoqin from Yushu City, Jilin Province

Name: Zhang Guoqin
Gender: Female
Age: 48
Address: Yushu City, Jilin Province
Occupation: Unknown
Date of Most Recent Arrest: September 23rd, 2002
Most Recent Place of Detention: Heizuizi Women's Forced Labour Camp
City: Changchun
Province: Jilin
Persecution Suffered: Detention, interrogation, forced labour, beatings, sleep deprivation, brainwashing, torture, imprisonment, solitary confinement.

Ms. Zhang Guoqin has been repeatedly harassed and arrested by officers from the Yushu Municipal 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong), Domestic Security Division and Peiying Police Station. She has been held in detention centres twice and forced labour camps three times.

The following is her account of the persecution she has suffered:

I had breast cancer when I first started to practise Falun Gong in 1998, and heard that those who practised it had recovered from all sorts of illnesses, so I gave it a try. My breast cancer soon disappeared and so did my other illnesses. My friends and relatives have witnessed the wonders and greatness of Falun Gong. I have been given a second chance at life.

My family and I have suffered a tremendous amount of hardship since the persecution started on July 20th, 1999.

Arrested at home

On the morning of September 28th, 1999, officer Zhao Wenfeng from Peiying Police Department and another eight people from the community centre broke into my house and forcibly took me to Peiying Police Station. Zhao interrogated me and said, “We arrested you because you practise Falun Gong. Even though we know it is wrong, we have to do it.” I was then transferred to the Political and Security Department of the Public Security Bureau, where I was charged with “disrupting social order” and was detained for 63 days in a detention centre.

About 130 practitioners were held at the detention centre, and guard Jiao Shuxia conducted body searches on each of us. It was late autumn and the weather was getting very cold. Every two practitioners had to share a small, thin blanket, and were often woken up by the cold. For meals we often had to eat a corn bun with dead cockroaches and flies in it, and there were worms in the cabbage soup. We were forced to cut grass, peel corn and harvest cabbages. We also had to wash the guards' bed sheets and clothes.

At 7 a.m. we were taken to a fish pond at a detention centre in Engyu Township, more than 20 miles away. There we filled bags with silt from the dried pond and deposited them in the nearby dam. Our hands blistered and the skin broke. Guards Gao Yong and Sun Jingfu always ordered us to work quickly. I soon got a fever and couldn't sleep, but I was still forced to work the next day.

My first time in a forced labour camp

On October 6th, 2000, I went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong. I was arrested at Jinshui Bridge and sent to the Tiananmen Square Police Station on October 13th. An officer from the Beijing Liaison Office in Changchun collected me and took me to the Religious Section of the First Department of Changchun Public Security Bureau on October 18th. Chen Xingguo, chief of the Political and Security Department in Yushu Public Security Bureau, and police officer Shi Hailin came to Changchun the same day to collect me. I was then taken to the Yushu Detention Centre. Shi Hailin swore at me and repeatedly punched me in the face.

Chen Xingguo, Shi Hailin and another police officer, Guo Shuqing, took me to the 1st group of the 6th team at Heizuizi Forced Labour Camp in mid November. I was deprived of sleep and inmates repeatedly shouted at me to try to get me to renounce my belief. I then had to sit on a small stool and do forced labour. I was mentally and physically exhausted. My left arm became swollen and I had a serious fever. I was sentenced to forced labour for 6 months and 4 days, and was released on bail for medical treatment on April 17th, 2001.

Tortured on a Tiger Bench

I was reported to the police for distributing Falun Gong materials at Qianjin Township in Yushu on August 15th, 2001. When I was arrested, the head of the Qianjin Township Police Department drafted a confession and forged my signature on it. He then sent me to the municipal public security bureau, where Shi Hailin kicked me in the shins and punched me in the face. Zhou Xianguo, head of the department, pulled my hair and severely beat me around the head. While hitting me, he shouted, “We don't care about killing, arson, robbery, or prostitution. But if you practise Falun Gong, it is absolutely prohibited!” I was then sent to the detention centre.

On August 16th, Chen Xinguo; Zhang Zhen, deputy head of the Criminal Investigation Department of Changchun Municipal Public Security Bureau; Qi, head of the Religious Section of the 1st Department of Changchun Municipal Public Security Bureau; and Wang Zhi, member of the Religious Section, came to the detention centre and took me to the office of the Political and Security Section. Police officer Zhang Zhen made me lean over and handcuffed me to the heating pipes. He severely beat me around the head and smashed the back of my head against the leg of a desk. When my mouth began to fill up with blood, he forced me to swallow it. Shi Hailin also beat me around the head and swore at me. Qi Li handcuffed my arms behind my back. As I was being taken outside to a police car, Shi and Zhang were constantly punching and kicking me. Zhang didn't allow me to close my eyes, and kept hitting me in the car as we drove to Changchun. When my lower lip began to bleed, Zhang quickly wiped the blood with a tissue, so nobody outside could see it.

When we arrived at the office of the Religious Section of the First Department of Changchun Public Security Bureau, three young policemen were waiting for us. They forced me onto a tiger bench¹, handcuffed my arms behind my back and tied my legs together, so that they were suspended in the air. They then put 5kg weights on each of my feet and fastened an iron bar just above my stomach, so that I couldn't move. Zhang then put a dirty rag in my mouth to prevent me from shouting, as he stomped on my feet, beat me with a rubber whip and punched me in the head.

I was tortured from the afternoon until late in the evening, when they became tired. The pain was beyond belief. Zhang shouted, “All the torture instruments we use on death-row criminals, we have used on you Falun Gong people. Even though you put my name on your Minghui website [Chinese version of the Falun Gong website Clearwisdom.net], I still torture practitioners. There are several bodies in the basement.” On August 17th, I was tied to the tiger bench for a whole night, until 8 a.m. I lost all feeling in my legs, and they became swollen. Zhang Zhen and Wang Zhi then drove me to the Tiebei Prison in Changchun.

I was transferred to the Changchun Third Detention Centre on September 1st, 2001. I had a piece of corn bread and vegetable soup for meals, and was always hungry. When we slept at night we were packed in like sardines, and had to sleep head to toe with many other practitioners. The room was cold and wet, without any sunlight, all year round.

My second time in a forced labour camp

Shi Hailin and another police officer from Changchun took me to the Heizuizi Women's Forced Labour Camp on September 16th, 2001. The doctor at the camp refused to accept me after giving me a medical examination. Shi then pushed me into the corridor and went back to speak with the doctor. Ten minutes later he called me into the doctor's room. The doctor said, “If you don't break away from Falun Gong, you will just die here.”

Wang Limei, deputy head of the 5th team, told inmates to get me to renounce my belief. I was locked in solitary confinement, and was not allowed any contact with other people. Ten days later, I was made to do forced labour in the workshop. Inmates monitored me while I was working, going to the toilet or having meals. They didn't allow me to smile, nod or speak to other people. I was only allowed to go to the toilet when nobody else was there.

Li Wenna, head of the team, Wang Limei and guard Xiao Aiqiu instigated inmate Feng Ninging to torture practitioners. Feng forced us to pick up beans and make paper bags, and watched over us to see who was slow at work. She could abuse practitioners at will. Other inmates hated her, but dared not say anything because she was supported by the head of the team.

I was released on bail to get medical treatment on February 1st, 2002, as my health was in critical condition.

Tortured in Yushu Domestic Security Division

Tang Yunfan, public security officer of Mengjia Village, Guangming Township in Yushu, reported me to the police, and received an 800 yuan reward. On September 23rd, 2002, Lu Hongzhi, political instructor of Peiying Police Station, officers Xiao Hongjun and Zhang Heping, and another two officers from Guangming Township went to my brother's home and forcibly took me to the Yushu Domestic Security Division. They handcuffed my left hand to the leg of a coffee table, while officer Sun Tiejun interrogated me. He continually slapped me around the left side of my face, until it became swollen. He dragged me out of the chair by my hair with such force that the left handcuff was forced open and a clump of hair was pulled down. Officers Qi Li, Cai Wenge and Sun Tiejun punched and kicked me. I was pushed onto a chair, and then Cai took out an electric baton from a cabinet and shocked my left breast. Qi took the baton and forcefully struck the upper part of my legs with it. Cai grabbed the baton back and continued hitting me with it. When he got tired, he got a chair and put one of the legs on my big toe, then sat on the chair. They tortured me and tried to extract a confession from me, but to no avail. They then took me to the detention centre.

My third time in a forced labour camp

Zhang Deqing, Shi Hailin, Qi Li and Cai Wenge took me to the Heizuizi Forced Labour Camp on September 14th, 2002. Chen Li, the camp's doctor, noticed that I had difficulty in walking and that my legs were severely bruised and swollen. She refused to accept me because she didn't want to take any responsibility if I died. I was then taken back to Yushu Detention Centre.

On September 29th, Sun Tiejun and Qi Li took me to the Yushu First People's Hospital and sat me in front of the head's office. Sun went upstairs and didn't come back until a while later. Qi Li then took me to the office of Sun Shaofu, the deputy head; a middle-aged male doctor was also there. Sun Shaofu ordered the doctor to issue a false certificate, which was then signed by the doctor and Sun Shaofu.

Officers Zhou Xianguo, Zhang Deqing, Shi Hailin, Qi Li and Cai Wenge took me to the Heizuizi Women's Forced Labor Camp on September 30. Guo Xu, the person in charge there, agreed to accept me and signed the documents.

I was very weak because I had been on a hunger strike whilst in Yushu Detention Centre. I was forced to sit on the cold cement floor, and then Wang Limei and guard Xiao Aiqiu shouted at me, “Sit straight!” Then five inmates beat me and shouted at me to try to get me to renounce my belief, but they did not succeed. Xiao ordered inmate Wang Jing to monitor me. Wang told the other 22 inmates in the cell that no one was allowed to talk to me.

It was late autumn and very cold in the cell. My body was swollen all over. Guard Xiao Aiqiu and doctor Chen Li shouted at me, “If you are going to die, die quickly. If you die, we can bury you here. People have previously died here.” Xiao Aiqiu and Wang Limei tried to force me to recite the prison regulations and write a report of my thoughts in a weekly diary. I was not a criminal and didn't cooperate with them. They then made me do forced labor in the workshop. I had to work extra hours every day and was only allowed to sleep between two to four hours a day.

During the SARS outbreak in 2003, a lot of chicken feathers, duck feathers and goose feathers were shipped into the forced labor camp. The feathers were dyed in different colours and smelled terrible. Production guard Jiang Lijun often forced us to work overtime. If any officials came to inspect us, we finished work at the normal time. But once they had gone, we were required to work extra hours again. Many inmates had terrible coughs and fevers, and itched all over their bodies. I was exhausted and had a fever, but was forced to continue working.

On September 6th, 2003 during dinnertime, I shouted, “Falun Gong is good! Falun Gong is righteous! Restore Falun Gong's reputation!” Wang Limei then extended my sentence by an extra 20 days. I was kept there for one year and forty-three days, and was not released until November 6th, 2003.

Since the persecution of Falun Gong began in July 1999, officers Zhao Wenfeng, Xiao Hongjun, Zhang Heping, Jiang Wei, Li Mingchao and Xiao Yong from Peiying Police Station in Yushu have been to my home several times and ransacked it. They harassed and threatened me not to go to Beijing. They tried to force me to write a guarantee statement, but I refused. I was forced to leave my home to try and avoid further persecution. They have also been to my seven-year-old daughter's school and asked her where I was. She was very fearful of them. My sixty-year-old father went to see Chen Xingguo, chief of the Political and Security Department, and demanded my release. Chen said, “Bring me 6,000 yuan² in exchange for your daughter's release.”

Note

1. "Tiger Bench": Prisoners are forced to sit on a small iron bench that is approximately 20 cm (6 inches) tall with their knees tied together. With their hands tied behind their backs or sometimes placed on their knees, they are forced to sit straight up and look straight ahead without movement for long periods of time.

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://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2010/12/28/234194.html