Ms. Ye Biyu Recounts Imprisonment, Brainwashing, and Harassment by the Communist Regime from 2000 to Present Day

Name: Ye Biyu
Gender: Female
Age: 50
Address: Songcheng Township, Xiapu County, Fujian Province
Date of Most Recent Arrest: May 7, 2003
Most Recent Place of Detention: Xiapu Detention Centre
City: Xiapu County
Province: Fujian
Persecution Suffered: Forced labour, brainwashing, torture, extortion, home ransacked, interrogation, detention

Ms. Ye Biyu was subjected to harassment, arrest, torture, detention, forced labour and imprisonment for steadfastly believing in the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and practising Falun Gong during its persecution these last ten years.

Eight officers from the Xiapu County 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong), Songcheng Police Sub-department and Junxing Community forced their way into Ms. Ye's home on February 13th, 2012, without showing identification nor legal documents. They confiscated over 40 Falun Gong books, and other personal belongings.

These Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials then broke into two other practitioners' homes, where they confiscated more Falun Gong material and other personal items. Officers from the Xiapu 610 Office then arrested Ms. Ye and the other practitioners.

This is Ms. Ye Biyu's personal account of persecution:

Illnesses cured by practising Falun Gong

I began practising Falun Gong in May 1998, after a friend's recommendation. I used to suffer from rheumatic heart disease, and whenever the illness recurred, it took about one year of treatment to bring it back under control. As I got older, the illness recurred more often, and I had to take medication on a daily basis to control it. When the medicinal effect wore off, the pain was difficult to endure.

I almost died one time from an allergic reaction to penicillin. Due to the long-term use of penicillin, my body became deformed from the swelling. My husband worked away from home most of the time, and my child was still young, so no one was able to take care of me. I still remember when my illness recurred for the third time in October, 1998. I took medication for over 20 days, but without effect. All I could think about was when this suffering would end.

In my despair, I remembered the Falun Gong that my friend recommended, and thought that I should give it a try. I bought a copy of the Falun Gong book Zhuan Falun and started to read it. Gradually, I was captivated by the contents of the book. The more I read, the more I wanted to continue to read it and the happier I became. Time slipped away without my noticing. I forgot to take the medicine, and forgot about my pain. After finishing the whole book, I felt very comfortable and enjoyed relaxation and happiness that I'd never had before. Gradually, the pain in my joints disappeared and I became very energetic. I wondered how this was possible - that the words printed in the book could cure my illness. It was really a miracle! I then threw away my bag of medicine.

Falun Gong was spreading all over the country at the time, so I was quickly able to find a practice site. I used the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance to guide my life. I was considerate and forgiving of others, and showed tolerance whenever problems arose. After a few months, my health miraculously improved. I didn't need medicine, injections or hospital stays. My family, relatives and friends all knew that I had been very ill, and that I had returned to health by practising Falun Gong.

Four months after I started practicing, all of my illnesses had disappeared. Fourteen years have now passed without requiring any medicine. I am eternally grateful to Teacher for saving my life.

Arrested and beaten for appealing in Beijing

On the first anniversary of the persecution of Falun Gong, I thought that I should appeal for the practice. So on July 20th, 2000, I went to the Beijing Appeals Office in an attempt tell the government officials there the facts about Falun Gong, and to talk about my own experience of the practice. I hoped that they could allow us to keep our most basic rights to practise our own beliefs. However, my frankness was met with persecution.

Upon my arrival at Tiananmen Square, I was arrested even before I was able to find the Appeals Office. The following day, a team headed by Yang An from Songcheng Township took me back to Xiapu County. When we arrived at Songcheng, Lin Gaoshi, the former township leader punched me and almost knocked me over. A friend of mine tried to get him to stop. I was detained for 15 days and was forced to pay them over one thousand yuan¹ for their traveling to Beijing to collect me. My 12-year-old child was also questioned by officers from the domestic security division and was extremely frightened.

Sentenced to one year in 2000

A week after I was released in August 2000, I was arrested again and, without being charged, was sentenced to a forced labour camp for one year. I was supposed to be taken to Fuzhou Forced Labour Camp, but since I had been detained in Xiapu for a long time, they decided to hold me in the Xiapu Detention Centre.

Incarcerated in a brainwashing centre in 2001

In November 2001, several months after I returned home, Yang An again led a group of people who forcibly took me to the Shuimokeng Brainwashing Centre in Zhouyang Township, Xiapu. I was detained there for over a month. During my incarceration, I was made to watch video programmes and read articles that slandered, attacked and defamed Falun Gong. They also forced me to write a guarantee statement promising not to practise Falun Gong again. Whenever I didn't cooperate with the guards, they would shout and swear at me. I was also verbally abused and insulted when I declared that the guarantee statement I was forced to make was invalid. When I was eventually released and returned home, officers Gao Guosheng and He Songquan from the domestic security division continued to harass me.

Sentenced to three years

Officers from the domestic security division ransacked my home on the evening of May 7th, 2003, and took me to the Sansha Township Police Station. They handcuffed me and hung me up in an iron cage for two days in an attempt to extract a confession from me. I was later held in the Tuorong County Detention Centre. The weather was still very cold in early May in Tuorong. I was only dressed in a short-sleeved shirt and short pants, and there was no blanket provided for sleeping. A kind-hearted person shared her blanket with me, which helped me to endure that difficult period of time.

After being detained there for seven months, officers Ou Xiaomin and Ruan Shixian took me to a court hearing in Xiapu. They confiscated over 900 yuan that my family had given me to purchase extra food at the detention centre, and said they would give it back to me when we arrived in Xiapu. However, six years later, they still have not returned the money.

Due to collaboration between the 610 Office, police department, the Procuratorate and the court, several practitioners and I were sentenced to three-year terms. After the Chinese New Year in 2004, another practitioner and I were taken to Fujian Provincial Women's Prison, which is well known for persecuting practitioners. A physical examination revealed that I had high blood pressure and heart problems, so I was returned to Xiapu Detention Centre. Not long after, I was taken back to Fujian Women's Prison. I failed the physical exam again and was returned to Xiapu Detention Centre, where I was held for three years.

There was only one cell allocated for women at Xiapu Detention Centre, with an area of only a dozen square meters. However, sometimes as many as 12 people were locked in there. We had to sleep on our sides at night, as this was the only way that everyone could sleep on the floor. If anyone went to the toilet, it was nearly impossible for them to find a place to lie down again. The situation was even worse during the summer. There was only one damaged electric fan which was extremely noisy. We could hear the sound of profanity and people crying all the time, and were forced to do hard labour for over ten hours a day.

I did the Falun Gong exercises every day during my detention, and my high blood pressure and heart problems soon disappeared, without taking any medication. My face was glowing with health and I was full of vitality. Inmates around me thought that Falun Gong was supernormal, and I was able to tell them the facts about the practice and the persecution. I also told them that good behaviour will be rewarded and bad behaviour will meet with retribution. Many inmates believed in Falun Gong, and said that they would be good people after returning home. Some even wanted to learn the exercises, while others quit the CCP and its affiliated organisations.

Continuing to be harassed at home

When I was released in June 2006 after several years of persecution, I thought that I'd be able to live a normal life again. However, the harassment never stopped. My phone was tapped and I was followed whenever I went out. The harassment is even worse during the so-called sensitive dates. My husband had witnessed the wonderful changes in me, both physically and mentally, so he stood by me to resist the persecution. He even argued with the authorities to protect me. Officials also went to my parents and in-law's homes to harass and threaten them. As a result, my parents, brothers and sisters were subjected to a great amount of stress.

My home was ransacked in 2012

Eight officers led by agents from the 610 Office, and officers from the Songcheng Police Sub-department and Junxing Community members forced their way into my home one morning and began ransacking it. They trashed every room. When they noticed that one of the rooms was locked, they told me to open it, but I refused. I tried to explain the facts about Falun Gong to them, but they didn't want to listen. They found the key and confiscated over 40 Falun Gong books, jewellery and other personal belongings kept in the room. They then left without providing a receipt of the confiscated items.

Freedom of belief is a universal right recognised around the world, but the CCP ignores the law and decency in persecuting Falun Gong practitioners. Since the persecution began in 1999, many fellow practitioners in Xiapu County have been detained, taken to forced labour camps, imprisoned, suffered from torture, or had their homes ransacked. Some have even been killed.

Note

1. "Yuan" is the Chinese currency; 500 yuan is equal to the average monthly income of an urban worker in China.