Individual Accounts

  • Wife of Xu Zhi from Baiquan County, Qiqihar City, Heilongjiang Province, Recounts the Persecution of Her Husband Since 2000

    I had a happy family before the Chinese Communist regime started its suppression of Falun Gong in 1999. My husband, Xu Zhi, has been arrested, detained, sentenced to prison, and brutally tortured many times. The officers at Hulan Intensive Training Centre ordered prison inmates to torture Xu Zhi to try to get him to renounce Falun Gong in writing. They repeatedly beat my husband from head to toe with rubber hoses. Due to the excruciating pain in his head, he had to sleep at night without leaning his head on any surface. The pain in his legs made him limp. There is no longer joy or happiness in my home. My family has been destroyed as a result of China's persecution of Falun Gong.
  • Ms. Liu Chunyan Detained and in Critical Condition--Elderly Mother Publishes Open Letter Asking for Her Release

    The following is an open letter written by Ms. Liu's mother, demanding her daughter's release: As a previously critically ill patient, my daughter became healthy, both mentally and physically. It was Falun Gong that changed and saved her. She has no other intentions but to compassionately tell people about her own experience benefiting from Falun Gong. Her only hope is that people will understand the beauty of Falun Gong and learn about the brutal persecution that the government is carrying out against Falun Gong. What she said was all true from her personal experience, and it was done in a just and honourable way, she didn't violate the Constitution, and she no laws. Furthermore, you know as well as I that she didn't hurt anyone in doing so.
  • The Persecution of a Retired Military Officer

    In 2002, Mr. Feng Xupeng, a retired military officer from Shanghai, was arrested and imprisoned for giving out DVDs that exposed the persecution of Falun Gong. Due to the brutal tortures he suffered, he can't do any physical work, gets easily tired, and his legs shake. His wife left him after being subjected to tremendous pressure by the authorities. Mr. Feng currently doesn't have a place to stay and is in financial difficulty. He recounts his persecution: "I was imprisoned for two years and six months in Shanghai City Third Forced Labour Camp. I had to do slave labour from dawn to dusk--making lawn lamps and wrapping stationary appliances for companies overseas. I was frequently beaten and kicked by many inmates."
  • Torture in Dalian City Forced Labour Camp

    A practitioner who was tortured in Dalian City Forced Labour Camp recounts his ordeal: "In 2004, the leader ordered the person in charge of me to pull my arms apart and handcuff me between two metal beds. I was also forced to sit on a small stool and deprived of sleep. Two inmates were assigned to monitor me around the clock to try to make me renounce Falun Gong. At that time, except for my face, my entire body was covered with scabies, which itched beyond description. Bloody pus seeped out of the infected areas, but I was not allowed to wash. I had a splitting headache and quivered from the pain I felt everywhere. I often was in tears because of the pain--I simply couldn't help crying. They refused to release me."
  • A Farmer's Account of a Decade of Persecution

    Ms. Peng Wangqin a 46-year-old farmer, was arrested on January 13th, 2010, when speaking to people about Falun Gong and was taken to the Wuhan No. 1 Detention Centre on January 25th, 2010. Gross abuse under persecution nearly killed her. She vomited blood every night for more than a month, spanning from right before the Chinese New Year until March 25th. Forced feeding injured her stomach. Following her release, Ms. Peng vomited immediately after eating anything. Her throat and tongue were swollen, and her teeth were loose from the torture. A guard threatened to take her to the toilet and force-feed her there, at noon, on the day of her release.
  • A Practitioner Recounts Psychiatric Abuse and Physical Torture at a Mental Hospital, Labour Camp and Prison

    I went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong after July 20th, 1999 (when the persecution began), and I was arrested and held at the Harbin City No. 2 Detention Centre. Because I refused to write a guarantee statement to renounce practising Falun Gong I was taken to the Puning Hospital where I was forced to take psychotropic medication. I had to swallow three pills each time, and I became incontinent and fell asleep afterwards for two days and one night. I was arrested again after I went to Beijing for the second time and held at the Wanjia Labour Camp for one year. I held several hunger strikes in protest and was force-fed and given two injections of chlorpromazine. I was savagely beaten when I refused the drugs.
  • Mr. Yang Zhanjiu Arrested and His Wife Beaten to Death in Yushu City, Jilin Province

    On March 5th, 2010, Mr. Yang Zhanjiu and his father-in-law were arrested and then interrogated by the Yushu City's domestic security division. On the same day, the police, who waited inside Mr. Yang's home, also arrested two other practitioners who went to visit him. Mr. Yang's wife, Ms. Li Shuhua, was brutally tortured to death in a detention centre seven years ago. Those responsible are still at large.
  • Falun Gong Practitioners Tortured to the Point of Mental Collapse in Masanjia Forced Labour Camp

    Ms. Wang Shuxia and I were in the same cell at Diaobing Detention Centre in 1999. She was a kind and beautiful young lady. After she was taken to Masanjia, she was mentally disoriented upon returning home. Officials from the Diaobing Police Station were well aware that she was mentally traumatised, but they still sentenced her again to Masanjia for two years. Within two days after arriving at Masanjia, she was tortured to death. Ms. Su Juzhen was mentally traumatised. I saw the scars on her body and heard her screaming as she was being beaten with electric batons. She could no longer recognise anyone. Masanjia caused her death as well.
  • I Suffered Brutal Torture in Hulan City Prison

    After the persecution of Falun Gong started in July 20th, 1999, like thousands of practitioners, I distributed leaflets exposing the persecution of Falun Gong, telling people about the beauty of Falun Gong and exposing the persecution. I also suffered from brutal persecution. On August 23rd, 2002, police arrested me. I was sentenced to four years in prison. Since I refused to renounce Falun Gong, guards ordered inmates to brutally torture me. Once, the inmates tied up my arms and legs and beat me. My ribs were broken, the muscles on my thigh were torn and the soles of my feet were all black. I was not even able to climb onto my bed. Another time, they burned my nose with lighters and beat my face; my face was distorted afterward. I was compelled to do forced labour, deprived of sleep and made to stand continuously for over eight hours.
  • Woman Suspended By Handcuffs For Seven Days at Forced Labour Camp

    In 2008, Ms. Liu Hong was imprisoned for practising Falun Gong. While incarcerated at Wangcun Women's Prison, she was brutally tortured and hung up by handcuffs, with only her toes touching the ground for seven days and nights. As a result, she almost lost the use of her hands. She recounts: "Guards intensified the persecution because I refused to be "transformed." They tightened the handcuffs on my wrists. In a few moments, my fingers swelled and felt like they were about to burst open. It felt as if tens of thousands of needles were pressing into them. It was extremely painful. Cui Hongwen released one handcuff so that I could write the statements to renounce practising Falun Gong. They finally let me down on September 12th, after seven days and nights."
  • 56-Year-Old Li Chuanlan of Yushu, Jilin, Describes Her Torture Experience

    Fellow Falun Gong practitioner Liu Shuyan and I went to distribute Falun Gong leaflets exposing the persecution on April 29th, 2009. On our way home we were arrested by police. We were detained in Yushu Detention Centre. I started a hunger strike on June 5th to protest my detention. I became very weak after ten days and they took me to the hospital and injected me with an unknown drug. My abdomen then became very bloated, and my mouth severely cracked and blistered. I heard continuous ringing in my ears and I couldn't see. They also deceived our families by telling them that they would let us go if they got their signatures. Once they got the signatures however, we were again put into detention.
  • Masanjia Forced Labour Camp Still Brutally Persecutes Falun Gong Practitioners

    "My name is Wang Jinfeng and I am 46 years old. On March 5th, 2008, for the second time I was sent to Masanjia Forced Labour Camp. First they used brainwashing so that I would agree with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) lies and be voluntarily 'transformed' [forcibly renounce Falun Gong]. On March 20th, I was sent to the sweatshops where clothing is made. They force practitioners to do hard labour. Each one suffered unbearably both mentally and physically. The workshop was filled with a horrific atmosphere. Ma Guimei, a drug addict and criminal inmate, helped the guards. She beat up and verbally abused other inmates at will."
  • The Two-Year Persecution of Ms. Bai Xia in Wanjia Forced Labour Camp in Harbin City

    I was arrested by police when I was distributing information about Falun Gong in Bayan County. I was detained in the detention centre until November 2004 and then taken to the Wanjia Forced Labour Camp to serve a two-year term. In Wanjia Forced Labour Camp we were forced to watch videos slandering Falun Gong. In the afternoon, we were forced to perform hard labour, and in the evening, we were forced to discuss the video we watched in the morning. Once, after I said that Falun Gong is not a cult and that all my mother's illnesses disappeared after practising Falun Gong, they put me in a small, dark room. Three guards (two women and one man, team leader Yao, who is in his 40s) beat me brutally and then hung me up. Yao shocked me with an electric baton around my neck. It was so painful that I screamed. Later my face became swollen, with many big blisters.
  • Falun Gong Practitioner Mr. Jiang Limin from Changchun City Persecuted

    Since July 20th, 1999, for almost 11 years now, I have been brutally persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) because I practise Falun Gong. The persecution has injured me physically and mentally. It has also caused my family members emotional pain and suffering, as well as financial difficulties. On November 19th, 2000, I went to Beijing to appeal for the right to practise Falun Gong and was arrested. At Xuanwu District Detention Centre and was brutally tortured. An officer named Jiang called over four or five other policemen. One grabbed my head and used a toilet brush to hit the right side of my face fast and hard. He did not stop until he was really tired. He hit me about 50 to 60 times, and my face under my right eye was swollen with purple and blue bruises.
  • The Ten-Year Persecution of Ms. Chang Shige from Changchun

    Ms. Chang Shige has endured inhumane torture countless times during the past ten years of the persecution. Now she has been forced to leave her family and move from place to place to avoid further persecution. She describes the persecution in Teibei Detention Centre: "Due to the poor ventilation, many of us developed a contagious eczema-like disease. It first started with tiny red itchy bumps, then festered, and finally decayed. Because there were too many people in the room, it was impossible to walk around or even to stand up. I spent most of the time in a sitting position. After one week, I was hardly able to walk. In order to force us to "transform" [forcibly renounce Falun Gong] the guards encouraged criminal offenders to beat us."