Former Bully Now Bullied by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for Practising Falun Gong

Name: Ding Xuesen
Gender: Male
Age: 32
Address: Jiamusi City, Heilongjiang Province
Date of Most Recent Arrest: June 14th, 2008

Most Recent Place of Detention: Suihua Forced Labour Camp
City: Suihua
Province: Heilongjiang
Persecution Suffered: Forced labour, brainwashing, beatings, hung up, torture, forced-feedings, home ransacking, interrogation, detention

From a very young age, Mr. Ding Xuesen was aggressive, and he smoked and drank. He was a bully in school and often involved in group fights. After practising Falun Gong, he was no longer aggressive and became a person with high morals. However, after the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched the persecution of Falun Gong, Mr. Ding was brutally tortured because he believed in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.

Mr. Ding said, "I became an immoral bully because I felt that life was hopeless and I didn't know the reason for living. After beginning Falun Gong practice in 2001, I knew the meaning of life and I changed into another person. I think Falun Gong is truly magnificent and righteous. I must cultivate in Falun Gong.”

Recounting Torture in the Detention Centre

On the morning of June 14th, 2008, I went to the Railway Police Department on business. I overheard Chen Wanyou from the 610 Office [an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong], and Wang Fengjun, the director of the National Security Division of the Railway Public Security Bureau, plotting how to persecute Falun Gong practitioners. I recorded the conversation but was caught and arrested.

I was handcuffed to a bench, and an officer from the National Security Division and Yang Ronghua from the National Security Division slapped my face, injuring my mouth.

Wang Fengjun and his driver returned in the evening. The driver slapped my face. I asked him, "What is your name? I will report you." I could see he felt guilty and dared not hit me again, nor did he dare to look me in the eye. I told him that I wanted to see their supervisor. Wang Fengjun said, "We don't have a supervisor." He told other officers not to give out their supervisor's name.

At around 9:00 p.m., I was taken to the Railway Detention Centre. A tall male officer threatened me and ordered me to squat. I just stood there and didn't move, so he pushed me to the ground. He also searched me before taking me to the cell.

Wang, the deputy director, threatened me and ordered me to squat. I refused, so he kicked me twice.

The next day, they demanded that I drill holes in chopsticks. I didn't consider myself a criminal, so I refused to do the work. I also refused to wear the prison uniform. In the detention centre, I told the inmates about Falun Gong and the unprecedented persecution. Four inmates quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations.

I went on a six-day hunger strike, so director Wang slapped my face. Between three and four police officers, and three to four inmates, held me down for force-feeding. Some held my jaw, others forced my mouth open with a wooden stick, and still others held my head and pinched my nose. I could not breathe and opened my mouth. They then poured yellow liquid down my throat. It was very salty. It was messy. I bled a lot and was exhausted and in pain. They repeated the force-feeding the next day.

Zhang Yunlong from the Jiamusi City Public Security Bureau and a young policeman interrogated me. Zhang Yunlong shouted, "You stole national confidential documents. You will be sentenced to death. However, if you report on others, we will let you go home. Believe it or not, I will not allow you to sleep for one week. I will make you have nightmares daily. I will make you condemn your Teacher [Teacher Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Gong ]." I told him, "I don't believe you can do that."

Zhang Yunlong from the Jiamusi City Public Security Bureau, and Yang Bo, former guard at Suihua labor camp, now involved in persecuting practitioners in Harbin, then interrogated me. Yang Bo said, "I once helped get many people released from the detention centre. I can do the same for you if you provide me with certain information about practitioners."

The detention centre food consisted of cornbread and some cabbage leaves in water.

I was detained for 34 days.

Beaten at Suihua Forced Labour Camp

At around 6:00 a.m. on July 28th, 2008, police officers took me to the Suihua Forced Labour Camp in Heilongjiang Province. I arrived at noon. Diao Xuesong, director of the second division of the first team, ordered inmate Sun Chengfu to take me to the storage room on the second floor.

Inmate Sun Chengfu handed me a pair of torn pants and a shirt, and told me to put them on. When I refused to, he kicked me and pushed me down. When I got up, many police officers and inmate Sun Lifeng came in. They beat me and pushed me to the ground. Gao Zhonghai stepped on my head while others beat me and kicked me. I was wearing only underwear. I still had injuries from that beating when I was released a year later.

People who were involved in the torture were Gao Zhonghai, instructor of the first team; Long Kuibin, assistant instructor; Diao Xuesong, director; Jing Qingfu, guard; Wang Xiaobin; and inmates Sun Chengfu and Sun Lifeng.

Instructor Gao Zhonghai said, "How dare you shout 'Falun Gong is good.'" They grabbed my hair and dragged me from the storage room on the second floor to the cell on the first floor. I shouted, "Guards are beating me!"

Once in the cell, they handcuffed me to the upper level of a bunk bed with both my arms stretched out and only the tips of my toes touching the floor. They took turns beating and kicking me. It was excruciatingly painful. The handcuffs cut into my flesh, causing an infection and ulceration of my wrist. The mark is still visible. Inmate Sun Chengfu taped my mouth shut and inserted two burning cigarettes into my nostrils.

I managed to remove the tape and said, "I need to see your supervisor." Instructor Gao Zhonghai answered, "I am the instructor." I responded, "I have to hire a lawyer because I didn't violate any law." This time he said, "You can. But it depends on how you behave. You may only have to wait for a short time or perhaps up to six months." Jing Qingfu then continued the conversation, "You can hire a lawyer, even if you don't give up your belief. But you need to follow the rules. You must write the three statements, which has nothing to do with Falun Gong."

A month later, I retracted the so-called three statements I had signed, so Jing Qingfu, and inmates Sun Lifeng, Fan Zhizhong, and Zhi Yufeng beat me. I was also tortured by being made to sit on a small stool.

I was forced to do physical labour, including making mats. I was ordered to sing songs praising the Party before mealtimes and recite certain words when answering during interrogation or when asking to use the toilet.

Witnessing the Torture of Other Practitioners

Guards ordered inmates to beat and insult practitioners daily. I witnessed what I've recounted below.

1. On my first day at the camp, practitioner Mr. Zhu Mingjun from Baoqing County was beaten by inmate Shi Yufeng. He bled and the blood spilled on my sheets.

2. Practitioner Mr. Wang Dongxu from Hegang City was purchasing something in the camp store. Because he spoke one sentence to practitioner Mr. Cai Shuhu, Shi Yufeng beat him until his mouth bled. It took many days for Mr. Wang to recover.

3. Shi Yufeng kicked practitioner Mr. Li Rongdao many times.

4. Shi Yufeng beat practitioner Mr. Di Huibin from Hegang City and pushed him to the ground. When Mr. Di tried to get up up, Sun Lifeng kicked his head and held him down.

5. Practitioner Mr. Wang Hongzhong from Jiamusi City had his face slapped by Sun Lifeng because his voice was not loud when he sang.

6. Practitioner Mr. Li Ronghong from Jiamusi City shouted, "Falun Gong is good!" and was beaten.

7. During the 2009 Chinese New Year, practitioner Mr. Yang Xiaofeng's wife came to visit him all the way from Huanan County, Jiamusi. The camp guards extorted 100 yuan, claiming that it was for a present for instructor Fan. His wife caved in to the pressure and divorced him.

Remembering Different Issues

Shi Yufeng told me in private, "Instructor Diao said, 'Don't talk to them [practitioners], just beat them up. As long as you don't beat them to death, I will take responsibility for your actions.'"

Before Diao Xuesong was transferred out, he threatened everyone, "Although I am not physically present, my soul is here. You cannot bear up under the torture."

Inmate Yang Ming came to know practitioners and realized that they were kind and had high morals. He couldn't tolerate Fan Zhizhong and Shi Yufeng torturing practitioners and extorting money and personal belongings from them. Diao Xuesong threatened him with punishment if he continued to speak up for practitioners.

Staff at the camp claim that they clean twice a week, which is not true. They also claim that inmates are given meat daily, which is totally untrue. They claim that the doctor examines inmates daily. All these claims are lies.

A Mother's Sorrow

My parents divorced when I was two years old and I lived with my mother. During my detention, my mother suffered the pain of losing her beloved son, but also was harassed by officials in our area.

My mother wrote in her diary: "I endured much suffering to raise my child. He is the mainstay of my life. When he was arrested, I felt as if it was the end of the world. I went to the Public Security Bureau to ask about the whereabouts of my son. They insulted and harassed me."

"On June 23rd, 2008, I went to the Railway Police Station and asked why my son was arrested. Wang Fengjun claimed that if I cooperated with him, I would be able to see my son soon. They came to my home and ransacked it but didn't find anything. I said, 'I want to see my son and let him know that he is missed.' Wang Fengjun refused my request and said that he would no longer help me. I cried helplessly. and said, 'Why did you lie to me? You asked me to cooperate with you, so I could see my son. Why aren't the law enforcement personnel truthful? Why did you deceive me?' Wang Fengjun's response was to insult and curse me.”

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2011/1/3/234475.html