Terrifying Scenes of Persecution in Qiqihar City

Since July 1999, Qiqihar City officials have continued to persecute Falun Gong practitioners at the direction of Political and Law Committee head Ma Zhanjiang, 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong) head Li Jiaming, officials from the city police department, and officials from many districts in Qiqihar City.

Within the city, many police stations have also taken part on many occasions. They include the following stations: Longsha Police Station, Xingongdi Police Station in Tiefeng District, Longhualu Police Station, Shuguang Police Station, Wenhualu Police Station in Jianhua District, Xinjianglu Police Station, Beijuzhai Police Station, Qingyunjie Police Station in Longsha District, Jiangan Police Station, Xinlijie Police Station and Zhengri Police Station. Two stations on the outskirts of Qiqihar City are notorious for persecuting practitioners – Hongan Police Station in Fula’erji District and Yuejin Police Station in Nianzishan District.

These offices not only persecute local practitioners, they have also extended the persecution to many other cities, townships, and villages covering the cities of Harbin, Daqing, Mudanjiang, Suihua, and Daxinganling. Officials from these departments collaborate with the courts and procuratorates to sentence practitioners to prison or forced labour terms for a minimum of one year to a maximum of 13 years. This persecution has destroyed countless families.

Qiqihar police officers torture practitioners with wooden sticks, hitting their legs till the bones break. They scald their shoulders with hot-water-filled stainless steel cups, then move to other parts of the bodies when blisters appear; bind them to beds; force them to sit on metal chairs for long periods; pour cold water on them in the winter; shock the women's breasts and genitals with electric batons; tape their mouths shut; gag them with socks; deprive them of sleep; and beat them with metal rods and hammers.

Practitioner Mr. Xu Linshan was drenched with cold water during the winter. He was forced to sit on a metal chair, handcuffed. The prison officials poked his chest with the sharp end of a broken bench. Mr. Xu's chest was badly torn up, and his clothes were soaked with blood. Tailai Prison guards in Qiqihar City force-fed him with concentrated salt water. He eventually died as a result of torture.

Practitioner Mr. Pan Benyu was once persecuted in Nianzishan Forced Labour Camp. Guards hit him in the head daily with hard plastic pipes. He lost his memory. In the bitter cold, they poured water on him for over an hour, and he shivered uncontrollably. He was beaten unconscious in Fuyu Forced Labour Camp, then scalded. They whipped his face with a leather belt until it was badly mangled. He was kicked in the stomach until he lost consciousness and had blood in his stool. Later on guard Wang nearly beat him to death. He was sent to a hospital for emergency treatment.

At 8:00 a.m. on July 9th, 2009, prison guards fired gunshots at practitioner Ms. Guo Yumin. Everyone witnessed this. Her daughter fainted when she was told this shocking news and could not attend her university exams that day. The regime officials even attempted to apprehend Ms. Guo's children, but gave up after neighbours and passersby censured them for their actions.

Female officer Li from Hongan Detention Centre in the Fula’erji District pulled practitioners' hair and beat them brutally, pulling out much of their hair. Male officer Liu Dongsheng switched off the lights in the interrogation rooms and sexually molested female practitioners under the pretext of conducting a body search.

In 2003, the labour camps carried out a torture-filled campaign to try to force practitioners to give up their belief. Many of them were handicapped as a result of the torture. Two practitioners—He Chunhua and Kong Linghua—became mentally unstable.

On February 16th, 2004, Shuanghe Forced Labour Camp officials Xiao Jindong, Hong Zhenquan, and Wang Yufeng instructed team leaders Wang Mei, Wang Yan, Guo Li, Zhang Zhijie, Fu Chengjuan, and Liu Shurong to brutally persecute practitioners. None of the guards were permitted to go home for a month, and guards from other areas were brought in to torture practitioners day and night. Thirty practitioners were taken to the fourth floor and brutally tortured.

They tied the practitioners' arms to a metal chair, their arms twisted into a circle and their hands handcuffed together. Their legs were roped together. The practitioners could not stand, sit, or kneel. Their tormentors lifted them by the rope that tied both their hands and legs, then suddenly let go, inflicting great pain. Watched by everyone, the abusers shouted at the practitioners, “We have already contacted the crematorium; if you die, you will be cremated and your death will be considered a suicide.” Guard Wang Yufeng ordered others to brutally beat practitioners with large clubs.

Practitioner Ms. Wang Yanxing was beaten so badly that she was breathless. Ms. Zhang Liqun’s arms were bruised. She was unable to stand up straight as a result of the beatings. Ms. Xu Hongmei could not walk; Ms. Gao Shuying lay on the ground and could not get up; Ms. Jiang Yuzhu was unrecognisable from the many injuries; 42-year-old Ms. Wang Guofang from Daqing City was beaten to death and vomited a lot of blood before she succumbed. The officials lied to her family, saying she had committed suicide. Ms. Cheng Chunmin suffered inhumane torture and, in the end, was declared missing.

Below is an excerpt from 30-year-old Ms. Xu Hongmei's pre-death notes, describing the gross abuse and mistreatment she was subjected to.

“In the middle of the night I was suddenly awakened. Guard Zhang Zhijie dragged me to a room on the fourth floor. Words defaming Falun Gong were pasted everywhere. Guards walking up and down patrolled the corridor outside the room. I saw practitioners in every room tied to metal chairs in a kneeling position, heads down, blindfolded. Guards stood beside them shouting and threatening them.

“Officer Xu lifted me up, then threw me onto the ground. He kicked me fanatically and beat me while pulling my hair. I felt as if my scalp was being torn off my skull, and clumps of my hair came out. I was bruised all over. When he got tired from beating me, he tied my hands behind my back and hung me from a metal pipe above my head, then shocked me with electric batons, shouting, 'I will not stop shocking you until you wet your trousers.' I could hear the screams of pain coming from the other rooms; it was as if I was in hell. Several days later, convicts carried me back to my cell. They watched me with tears in their eyes. I could no longer hold back my tears. Other practitioners were similarly tortured for over a month.”

Ms. Xu Hongmei and practitioner Shen Zili died in the hospital the same day – February 27th, 2007.

On September 9th, 2005, former central Political and Law Committee head Luo Gan visited Shuanghe Labour Camp to “educate” regime officials. Soon after, former police department deputy head Bai visited Qiqihar City. Instigated by these two high-ranking male officials, the city officials began a brutal persecution campaign in March 2006.

On March 29th, 2006, ordered by bureau head Liu Gang, officers from Tiefeng District Police Department in Qiqihar City suddenly carried out a mass arrest of practitioners. Within a day, 51 practitioners were arrested. Many Falun Gong books, brochures, personal belongings, and property were confiscated. Later on, these practitioners were brutally tortured and detained in labour camps and prisons.

Officials from Qiqihar City continued to persecute practitioners until 2010. Within a short period of three months, more than 40 practitioners were arrested.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2011/3/16/237621.html