Ms. Wang Zhiying, 56, from Weihai, Shandong Homeless for More Than a Decade Due to Persecution

Name: Wang Zhiying
Gender: Female
Age: 56
Address: Weihai City, Shandong Province
Occupation: Unknown
Date of Most Recent Arrest: 2001
Most recent place of detention: Detention Centre
City: Weihai
Province: Shandong
Persecution Suffered: Detention, fired from workplace, extortion, handcuffed behind the back, beatings.

Wang Zhiying has been homeless for more than 10 years to avoid being arrested for upholding her belief in Falun Gong. She has suffered both mentally and physically from the persecution. Below is her account of what happened.

Learning Falun Gong

I began practising Falun Gong in 1997. Before then, I had many illnesses, including stomach ulcer, antral gastritis, severe neurasthenia, heart diseases, spine hyperplasia, joint pain, tinnitus, blurred vision, and gynaecological problems. I wasn't able to work for more than a decade. I took medicine often and frequented the hospital. Just as the pain seemed too great to bear, Falun Gong saved me. It was a turning point in my life.

In 1997, someone lent me a copy of the Falun Gong book Zhuan Falun. I was drawn to the spiritual truths in the book. I followed the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance to be a good person. All the illnesses that had plagued me for so long disappeared. My friends and family saw the changes in me, and began to practise Falun Gong, too. They also experienced tremendous changes and Falun Gong brought us all great happiness.

Persecution

The persecution against Falun Gong began on July 20th, 1999. The Chinese Communist regime fabricated lies to slander Falun Gong. Many practitioners were detained. Because I tried to call for justice for Falun Gong, I was detained for 15 days. My workplace fired me. I was also extorted by the police twice, for a total of 400 yuan¹, when I was caught telling people about the persecution.

In 2001, because I refused to give up my faith, my husband Song Jiangong and I were forced to leave our home. Only our daughter, who was in high school, remained at home. We rented a room in another place, but police from the local 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong) found us and broke in. A policeman named Huang Huadong and others (names to be verified) grabbed me by the hair and handcuffed me from behind. Two policemen stepped on or knelt on my lower back and legs. I immediately lost feeling in my left leg. Even now I still feel numb and cold in my left leg. Because of the torture, I could not breathe and fainted. I was taken to the detention centre. The police also took our Falun Gong books, thousands of yuan, three mobile phones, and a photocopier.

On the fifth day of my detention, when I was visited by my family members, I had the thought that I needed to leave the detention centre. I turned around and walked towards the gate. During detention, I ate almost nothing and was extremely weak. My left leg was also injured and I had difficulty walking. I slowly dragged myself towards the gate. When I reached the gate, I thought, “It would be great if a car could be here.” At that moment, a taxi showed up. When I got in, the driver said, “I didn't know I could pick up passengers here. This is my first time in this area.” I was able to leave the detention centre in a dignified manner.

Since my escape, the police had been looking for me all over the place. My family and friends were all harassed. The police even contacted police in Northeastern China to search the houses of my family members who I had not seen for many years. They made my family and friends' lives miserable. Since then, I was forced to wander without a home. For many years, I have suffered greatly, both mentally and physically.

My husband Song Jiangong was sent to the Wangcun Labour Camp for two years. He was tortured. The guards that tortured him were Sun Doujun and Wang Xinjiang, among others. They used very brutal means to try to destroy my husband's will and force him to renounce his faith. For more than a month, they only allowed him to sleep for one hour a day. When our family members came to visit, my husband could hardly stand up. His face was all swollen. He had to lean on two policemen in order to walk to see the visiting family members. During detention, before he was sentenced to forced labour, his old boss visited him. His boss told the detention centre, “This employee was a good person before he practised Falun Gong. He is an even better person after practising Falun Gong. What can I do to have him released sooner?” His boss' kind effort did not change the outcome. My husband was sentenced to two years of forced labour, until he turned against Falun Gong.

During detention, due to the torture, his hair turned white in a very short period of time. He was forced to renounce Falun Gong. After reading some Falun Gong articles, he realised his mistake. In the labour camp, he twice wrote statements reaffirming his faith in Falun Gong. After each time, he was tortured even more. In addition to not being allowed to sleep for more than one hour a day, he was also forced to stand for long periods of time. Eventually, due to the tremendous torture to his body and mind, he had a complete mental collapse. He turned against Falun Gong and has yet to come to his senses.

His 84-year-old father passed away while he was detained. He wasn't able to see his father even once before his father passed away.

Continued harassment

In 2008, police from Beigou Police Station knocked on the door of my family home. No one opened the door. The police called the 610 Office. Liu Jinhu from the 610 Office came and threatened to break the lock if they were not let in. My husband opened the door. Liu Jinhu and others took my husband and another friend to the police station and kept them there until late in the evening.

In 2011, the police station, residents committee, and Liu Jie from the 610 Office also visited the workplace and home of my family members to harass them. Over the years, my family members endured enormous pressure and pain due to the persecution.

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/2011/8/12/245245.html