What's Behind the Guards Saying “Practitioners Don't Want to See Their Family”

When family members try to visit imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners, prison guards often turn them away with, “Practitioners don't want to see their family.” What's behind this statement? The following cases give some insights.

In 2004 at Jinan Women's Prison, Shandong Province, prison guards transferred two Falun Gong practitioners, 61-year-old Ms. Liang Su'e and 55-year-old Ms. Liang Mingfeng, from a senior group to a young adult group. They were forced to perform intensive labour 20 hours a day. When their families went to visit them, the guard said that the two women did not want to see their families. This is clearly a case of prison guards barring Falun Gong practitioners from family visits because they are afraid of exposing the forced labour abuse in prison.

Ms. Jiang Suhua, a practitioner in her 50's, lived in Shihuiyao Village, Yangtian Township, Chicheng County in Hebei Province. She was arrested on February 8th, 2002, and was sent to a county detention centre, where she was told she would be detained for two weeks. Ms. Jiang's family went to visit her many times, but were turned away each time by the guards who claimed that Ms. Jiang herself did not want to see them. After two weeks, the detention centre not only did not release Ms. Jiang, but they still did not allow her family to see her. It was not until February 26th, that a relative of Ms. Jiang's went to the county hospital and stumbled upon Ms. Jiang being resuscitated in the emergency room. The relative informed Ms. Jiang's family about this right away, so Ms. Jiang's family finally saw her. By that time, Ms. Jiang was already unconscious, her systolic pressure was 30mmHg and her diastolic pressure was undetectable, and there was nothing more the county hospital could do to save her. Once they saw Ms. Jiang's family, the guards of the county detention centre released the dying Ms. Jiang. Her family immediately transferred her to the Zhangjiakou City Hospital. Bloody liquid mixed with solid blood clots were drawn from Ms. Jiang's abdomen. There was also a bump on a bald spot on the back of her head. Ms. Jiang could not lift one of her arms, and one side of her body had necrotic tissue from infected ulcers. At 1 a.m. March 3rd, Ms. Jiang passed away. The hospital examination confirmed that Ms. Jiang had most likely been beaten to death.

Again, it is apparent that the reason the prison guards prevented Ms. Jiang from meeting with her family is that they were afraid of exposing the fact that she was being physically abused.

In August 2004 at Harbin Women's Prison, Heilongjiang Province, to protest the brutal persecution in detention, 12 Falun Gong practitioners in Prison Squad 8 began a hunger strike. In an attempt to force the practitioners to eat, the prison guards phoned the participants' family repeatedly. The guards threatened these Falun Gong practitioners: “You make trouble for us, then we will make trouble for your families.” They demanded money whenever practitioners' family members came to visit, with the amount asked for ranging from 300 to 500 yuan¹. They also made families sign forms that claimed that the prison was not responsible for any consequences of the hunger strike. Later, to deceive Falun Gong practitioners' families, the prison guards found various reasons to prevent practitioners from seeing their families, including telling them that the practitioners did not want to see them. Sometimes, prison guards would not even tell the practitioners that their family members had come to see them.

On January 7th, 2009, family visitation day at Kaiping City Forced Labour Camp in Tangshan, Hebei Province, Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Li Zhimin's five family members, including her husband, mother-in-law and sister-in-law went to visit her. Upon learning that Ms. Li's family was outside, prison guards took Ms. Li to an office. Guard Lu Haicun pinched Ms. Li's face very hard and scolded her, “How come you don't want to see your mother-in-law?” It was they who were prohibiting Ms. Li from seeing her relatives, but they turned it around and blamed her. Guard Lu punched Ms. Li in the head until she lost consciousness and collapsed on the floor. After Ms. Li regained consciousness, guard Lu tied Ms. Li to a chair and called the guard on duty: “Don't let her family leave yet, wait a little longer.” Lu had fabricated the story that Ms. Li refused to see her family and that he was trying to persuade her to see them. Another guard then said to Ms. Li's husband, “I will go talk to her and bring her out.” This guard knew that Ms. Li was being beaten and that they were not about to let her family see her in such a state. They treated Ms. Li and her family cruelly, while feigning kindness to her family.

It is very common for prison guards in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) prison system to use such brutal and fraudulent means to deny family visitations for imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners. Over the 13-year persecution of Falun Gong, family members of persecuted practitioners have also suffered tremendously. Falun Gong practitioners are in prison simply because they insist on their belief in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, want to be better people, and bravely explain the facts about Falun Gong to those around them. Yet they are persecuted because they exercise their basic rights of freedom of speech and belief. The CCP tears practitioners from their parents, spouses and children, and then denies them their lawful visitation rights. Some guards have even told practitioners' families, “Those Falun Gong practitioners are dehumanised and have no feeling. They simply do not want to see you.” Who is dehumanised? It is clearly those people who are influenced by the CCP, causing tremendous pain and sorrow for countless innocent families.

Related articles:

http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2005/3/24/58744.html
http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/3/12/45966.html
http://www.clearwisdom.net/html/articles/2010/3/11/115273.html

Note

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