(Clearwisdom.net) I started practicing Falun Gong in 1997. In my daily life, I try to live according to the principles of "Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance" and be considerate of others. Whenever the village or committee leaders and town government assign me work, I get it done the best I can to make it easier for others. Since Jiang Zemin began the nationwide persecution of Falun Gong in July 20, 1999, I have also been brutally tortured by local officials. During the 5 years since the persecution, I have been illegally detained four times. Authorities from the Gucheng Town Government and police station have also cruelly beaten me, extorted 65,000 yuan (1) from my family, ransacked my home twice, and sentenced me to three years of forced labor. In the following account, I will describe the persecution I have suffered so people will be able to understand the viciousness of the people who persecute Falun Gong practitioners in Gucheng Town.
Around 11:00 PM on October 14, 1999, authorities from the Gucheng Town Government and police station broke into my home and took me to the police station. Other practitioners that were also taken away that night were Li Hongze, Li Kongfa, Li Hongjie and Zhao Lehai. At the police station, policeman Zhao Maoyun and the residential policeman Yang Yansheng forcefully stomped on and kicked my ankle and thigh repeatedly so that both my thigh and ankle immediately became swollen. I was in such severe pain that I could not move my body and was unable to walk for weeks. They also slapped my face and while they pulled my coat over my head, they used my belt to whip my back until it was covered with bloody wounds.
On October 15, they sentenced me to fifteen days of imprisonment. On the day I was to be released, the local town government extended my sentence for another ten days and extorted 550 yuan from my family before I was released. Only toward innocent Falun Dafa practitioners who follow the principles of "Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance," does the town government shamefully beat, detain and strip them of their personal freedom and constitutional rights.
On December 5, 1999, the Gucheng Town Government arrested me again because I went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong, as that was my legal right as a citizen. I was detained at the Shouguang City Detention Center for one month. There, practitioners were forced to stand still for nine consecutive days with their arms kept in an out-stretched position.
On January 5, 2000, when my term ended along with 12 other practitioners from the same town, instead of releasing us, the town government abducted us to the town government building. It was ten Celsius (14 Fahrenheit) below freezing outside. The Secretary of Gucheng Village Party Committee Wang Junwen forced Li Kongfa, Li Hongze and I to stand barefooted in the snow wearing only a thin shirt. The snow was at least 20cm (about 7.9 inches) deep. Other practitioners were forced to carry ice blocks while standing on the cement ground. At the same time, the perpetrators hit the back of our hands with wooden clubs. Ten minutes later, they started to fiercely beat us. They dragged me into a dark room and pushed me to the ground. Some held my head down, while others grabbed my arms and pressed down my legs. I was unable to move. Then they took turns beating me using rubber clubs. Afterwards, all of us practitioners had many large bruises on our thighs and lower backs. We were unable to twist our back for more than ten days. Our bodies were so swollen that we could not take off our clothes, nor put on any clothes. The town government detained us for fifteen days and extorted from each of us more than 9,000 yuan (My wife and I had been extorted 18,000 yuan).
One day in late June 2000, other practitioners and I went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong. The Gucheng Town Government and local police station arrested us and detained us in the Shouguang City Detention Center for 45 days.
On the morning of August 11, 2000, Wang Junwen and others took us from Shouguang City Detention Center to the town government. They stripped off our shirts and made us stand half-naked under the hot sun. Later, our shoulders and entire backs were covered with layers of blisters from being severely sunburned. That evening, Wang Junwen ordered his men to brutally beat us. Three men dragged me into a garage. I was pushed to the ground and both my arms and legs were tightly held down so I could not move. More then ten people circled me and used electric batons and rubber clubs to shock and beat me. After they tired of beating and shocking me, three men dragged me out of the garage while I was in and out of consciousness. Four practitioners were so severely beaten that they were sent to the hospital for emergency treatment. Gao Yurong and Guo Shibin were extremely weak from the torture and fainted while they were using the bathroom; Zhao Shiheng and Guo Shibin were unable to move and bedridden for more than three and a half months. They continuously vomited yellow liquid and could not eat anything.
On the second day after the beating, the town government forced my family to pay them 23,000 yuan and threatened that they would continue to beat my wife and me as soon as we recovered. Out of fear for our safety, my family managed to borrow money and gave it to the town government. For practicing Falun Gong and not giving up living the principle of, "Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance," my wife and I had 46,000 yuan extorted from us and I had an additional 65,000 yuan extorted from me. Li Kongfa had 70,000 yuan extorted, Gao Yurong 75,000 yuan, and Guo Shibin 85,000 yuan. We were forced into a very difficult financial situation and put in tremendous debt. A cadre from our village said to a staff of Gucheng Village government, "Your town government is really shocking. Compared to your town government, the mob and robbers are nothing as they only steal the money that people carry on them, whereas the town government dares to even steal from your relatives and friends and do it openly in the public." One time, I asked Wang Junwen from the City Detention to tell me who was collecting the money and he became defensive and angry. He said, "I don't care whether or not a person practices Falun Gong. As long as he can give me the money I want, I will release him."
On September 15, 2000, I was sentenced to three years of forced labor. Immediately after I arrived at the labor camp, my clothes were stripped off and the police whipped my back with a leather belt. Every whip caused a bloody mark on my back. Then, they poured cold water on me and used a fan to blow cold air at me. After that, they whipped me again. A 69-year-old fellow practitioner and retired teacher, Ma Yanwu from Qingzhou City, was also tortured in the same way. The cruel people fiercely whipped Su Xiaoyu from Anqiu City and caused him to lose consciousness. Li Wensheng from Gaomi City was also brutally whipped by them, and pushed into a tank with water and ice. Xiao Jingsen from Weifang City was deprived of sleep for more than twenty consecutive days.
In the winter of 2001, the labor camp started to make blankets for the Hongye Group in Liju County. The labor camp forced Falun Gong practitioners to work more than 13 hours a day and not let me sleep until they met the required quota. Everyone was in so much physical pain from performing the heavy labor that they could not turn their bodies while lying in bed. China's labor law clearly states that four to six hours is set for working hours, but the labor camp ignores the law and deliberately extends the working hours and workload to persecute Falun Gong practitioners. Exposed to prolonged fatigue and not being able to do the Falun Gong exercises, my health deteriorated and I developed Pulmonary Tuberculosis, accumulating fluid in my chest. After more than two years of such torture, I was only released so I could seek treatment for my illness on January 1, 2003. These are the facts about what the TV and newspapers in China claim to be the "gentle and kind" treatment in the forced labor camps.
(1) yuan - 500 yuan is the average monthly income for an urban worker in China.
May 28, 2004
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