(Clearwisdom.net) Mr. Zhang Kechen is an elderly dentist from Nanmancai Village in Xiedian Township, Guan County, Shandong Province. His family consists of three generations of dentists. His eldest son, Mr. Zhang Guangcai, and wife, Ms. Zhang Xingfang; second son, Mr. Zhang Guangbao, and wife, Ms. Wu Guomin; daughter, Ms. Zhang Qiaohua, and husband, Mr. Gao Mingju; and youngest daughter, Ms. Zhang Qiaochun, and husband, Mr. Xu Hengchao, are all dentists.

After Falun Gong was introduced to Guan County in the early 1990s, Mr. Zhang Kechen (Mr. Zhang in subsequent entries) and all of his children became practitioners.

Since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started persecuting Falun Gong in 1999, agents from the 610 Office have often visited Mr. Zhang's home to harass him and his family. Officials have closed down Mr. Zheng's clinic several times. In October 2000, police illegally arrested Mr. Zhang, ransacked his home and confiscated cash, a TV, VCR, tape recorders, computers and fine furnishings. Four of his family members were sent to forced labor camps. His wife was left at home alone to take care of several young grandchildren.

Persecution Suffered by Zhang Guangcai and Zhang Xingfang

Mr. Zhang Guangcai and his wife Ms. Zhang Xingfang opened a dental clinic in Shahe City, Hebei Province.

Shortly after the CCP started persecuting Falun Gong practitioners in 1999, Mr. Zhang Guangcai went to Beijing to appeal for justice for Falun Gong. He and his wife were subsequently arrested by officers from the Shahe City Police Department. Their three school-aged children were left behind alone. Every day after school, the children went to the police department to ask for the release of their parents. Their requests were refused, however, and they were not given any explanation as to why their parents had been detained.

In October 2000, Mr. Zhang Guangcai was sentenced to two years of forced labor and sent to the Handan City Forced Labor Camp. There, he was tortured for refusing to give up his belief. Guard Wang Xusheng kicked him and broke two of his ribs for taking care of other imprisoned practitioners who needed help.

On June 6, 2004, Shahe City policemen Liu Tonglin, Yu Shuping and others tried to arrest Mr. Zhang Guangcai at his office. His son Zhang Hualong firmly resisted them but was detained as a result; he was prevented from taking the national college entrance exam a few days later. The officers then broke the security door, took 500 yuan in cash and arrested Mr. Zhang Guangcai. At the police department, the officers handcuffed him to a metal chair and punched and kicked him. He was tortured for eight days and then taken to a brainwashing center in Xingtai City. At the center, agents deprived him of sleep and restricted his bathroom use. He was tortured for three months and became emaciated.

Mr. Zhang Guangcai's wife was also detained for three months and suffered various tortures, including sleep deprivation.

On December 24, 2004, officers from the Shahe City Police Department arrested Mr. Zhang Guangcai and his wife in their office again. Mr. Zhang Guangcai was taken directly to the Xingtai Brainwashing Center. During the interrogation, officer Song Jiaxi handcuffed his hands behind his back and shocked him with electric batons; Mr. Zhang Guangcai's wrists were bruised. Song told him, "If you are beaten to death, it will be counted as suicide."

Mr. Zhang Guangcai went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution, but was brutally force-fed by Qiu Youlin, deputy head of the brainwashing center. Mr. Zhang Guangcai had difficulty breathing, developed a constant cough, and felt pain throughout his entire body as a result of the abuse. A hospital exam showed that his lungs were severely damaged. He was sent back to the Shahe City Police Department due to his deteriorating condition. The policemen then sent him to the Handan Forced Labor Camp, which refused to accept him due to his poor physical condition. He was then released.

Ms. Zhang Xingfang was subjected to one year and nine months of forced labor in Shijiazhuang City.

On September 20, 2010, Wang Jianjun and other plainclothes officers from the Shahe City Domestic Security Division arrested Mr. Zhang Guangcai again, while he was en route to the Shahe City Hospital, where his father was being treated for symptoms of a stroke. He was sentenced to one year and nine months of forced labor the next day.

Mr. Zhang Guangcai's wife went to the Shahe City Police Department to appeal for her husband's release, but Wang Jianjun shouted at her and turned her away.

Mr. Zhang Guangcai's wife then hired attorney Liu Zhengqing from the Fulinguotai Law Firm in Guangdong. Mr. Liu prepared the appeal document and went to the Xingtai Forced Labor Camp to visit Mr. Zhang Guangcai on October 9, 2010. However, labor camp official refused to allow the visit because Mr. Zhang Guangcai continued practicing Falun Gong in the labor camp. Wang, the camp's political head, warned Mr. Liu that defending a Falun Gong practitioner was useless. Mr. Liu told him that the visit was permitted by law, and that denial of visitation was illegal. He was allowed to visit Mr. Zhang Guangcai two days later.

On October 12, 2010, Mr. Zhang Guangcai's wife presented an administrative complaint to Qiaoxi Court in Xingtai City. Judge Shi Yuanshun was shocked upon realizing that a Falun Gong practitioner was suing the forced labor committee, and he did not take any action on it. Mr. Zhang Guangcai's wife then went to the higher court, city government, Procuratorate and the National People's Congress to appeal for her husband. However, each office refused to take any action and just kept referring her to other departments. So far, no government office has dared to accept the case.

Persecution Suffered by Zhang Guangbao and Wu Guomin

After the CCP started the persecution of Falun Gong, the Guan County Police Department targeted Mr. Zhang Guangbao, Mr. Zhang Kechen's second son. He was detained several times, twice sent to forced labor camp and subjected to mistreatment during six years of unlawful imprisonment.

In 1999, Zhang Guangbao was twice detained by the Xiedianxiang Police Station in Guan County for appealing in Beijing for the right to practice Falun Gong.

At the end of September 2000, a large number of practitioners from Guan County went to Beijing to appeal. Mr. Zhang Guangbao's wife, Wu Guomin, was arrested at Tiananmen Square and taken to the Guan County office in Beijing. She was later sent to Guan County Detention Center. Officials also extorted 2,000 yuan from her.

Mr. Zhang Guangbao was stopped and detained by police officer Li Hanqing from the Guan County Police Department while he was on his way to appeal. He was tortured by policeman Ma Guoqiang with whips and electric batons. On October 29, 2000, he was arrested again and sent to the Wangcun Forced Labor Camp in Shandong Province and held in the Ninth Section.

In the forced labor camp, practitioners were forced to sit upright on small benches without moving. They were subjected to long-term sleep deprivation, and other abuse. The guards also ordered collaborators to verbally abuse and “transform” practitioners. Mr. Zhang Guangbao remained steadfast and did not give up his belief. The guards set up a special torture room, where he was detained and closely monitored.

For 4 to 5 hours every day, collaborators forced Mr. Zhang Guangbao to sit in the full lotus position, with his legs and hands tied. He was in great pain from sitting in this position for so long. This torture method continued for more than three years. The collaborators also stuffed Mr. Zhang Guangbao's mouth with dirty socks and forced him to sit straight up with a piece of paper held between his legs; if the paper fell, he was beaten. Guard Li Qinfu threatened him, “I will torture you to death and throw your body out in the mountains to feed the wolves.”

Mr. Zhang Guangbao was also deprived of sleep. When he became sleepy, the guards poured cold water on his head, rubbed mosquito repellent oil into his eyes and used broom straws to poke his nose. He was often beaten, forced to stand still facing the wall and deprived of restroom use. In winter, the guards put snow balls on his neck. After drinking, they would put the mug on his head, using his head as a coffee table. Collaborators Wang Yong from Laigang and Zhan Wei from Yantai hit Mr. Zhang's legs with a baton; after a while, he was unable to walk.

On December 25, 2000, guard Zheng Wanxin forced Mr. Zhang Guangbao to hand-copy letters written by collaborators that slandered Falun Gong. Mr. Zhang Guangbao instead wrote his opinion regarding the incorrect statements in the letters. Zheng Wanxin became angry and put him in the Sixth Section of Wangcun Forced Labor Camp, which was used for isolated torture. It was very cold, but Zhang Wanxin did not allow him to wear a coat. He punched and kicked Mr. Zhang Guangbao before handcuffing him to the iron gate such that his heels could not touch the ground. Mr. Zhang Guangbao endured extreme pain as a result of this torture. Ten days later, he was taken back to the Ninth Section.

Two days after the Chinese New Year in 2002, guards Zhang Wanxin and Yue Zhenyu handcuffed Mr. Zhang Guangbao's hands to two beds with his arms pulled in the opposite directions. They would not release him even to eat and instead told the collaborators to feed him. While he was restrained to the beds, Yue Zhenyu along with other collaborators beat his head with batons; they also lit cigarettes and blew the smoke into his nostrils. When Mr. Zhang Guangbao was taken down after 7 days, the muscles in his hands had been damaged and he could no longer pick up or hold anything. He also had severe edema in his legs and feet. Zhang Wanxin told him: “If you don't 'transform,' there are two roads in front of you, one is death and the other is being tortured to insanity.”

Prison guards subsequently escalated Mr. Zhang Guangbao's torture in their effort to “transform” him. They also incited inmates to mistreat him. The inmates were promised reduced prison terms if they “transformed” practitioners. As a result, Mr. Zhang Guangbao was often targeted and beaten; of the 150 inmates held in the section, more than half took turns beating him.

Officials then transferred Mr. Zhang Guangbao to another section used for “transformation” of Falun Gong practitioners. They glued the picture of Falun Gong's founder to a bench and forced Mr. Zhang Guangbao to sit on it. Guard Zhao Yongming picked 20 collaborators especially inclined to persecute practitioners and told Mr. Zhang Guangbao: “If you can convince them [not to persecute Falun Gong], then our 'transformations' were not thorough.” Mr. Zhang Guangbao recited Falun Gong teachings, and soon two other practitioners joined him and wrote solemn declarations to resume their practice. This angered Zhao Yongming, and he added three months to Mr. Zhang Guangbao's prison term. Afterward, he picked the most ruthless collaborators to abuse Mr. Zhang Guangbao. They forced him to stand still in the corridor facing the wall and did not allow him to talk.

After six months of intense pressure, the forced labor camp officials gave up on trying to “transform” Mr. Zhang Guangbao and sent him back to the Ninth Section, where Zhang Wanxin forced him to do manual labor. He assigned Mr. Zhang Guangbao the workload of two people and only allowed a 10- minute break for eating. Mr. Zhang Guangbao was even forced to work in the corridor at night after the others had gone to sleep. Later, he began a strike to protest the persecution and then the guards stopped forcing him to work.

For more than three years, Mr. Zhang Guangbao was closely monitored by former practitioners who had been “transformed.” During the day, they sat right next to him, one on each side, in the so-called “double team.” At night, they took turns sitting on his bed.

Detainees are required to fill out a form before being released from a forced labor camp. Mr. Zhang Guangbao wrote one of the Falun Gong teachings on the forced labor release form. Zheng Wanxin ordered him to fill out another form, but Mr. Zhang Guangbao did not do it. Officials then tried to extend the length of his imprisonment, but did not succeed. Guard Li Gongming grabbed Mr. Zhang's hand and tried to get his fingerprint. Mr. Zhang Guangbao was released from Wangcun Forced Labor Camp on February 19, 2004.

On February 4, 2005, Shahe City police officers and Guan County policeman Chen Yuezhi arrested Mr. Zhang Guangbao, his brother Mr. Zhang Guangcai, and his son Zhang Huafei while they visited his parents for the Chinese New Year.

Mr. Zhang Guangbao spent the Chinese New Year in the detention center. The day after the Chinese New Year, guard Liu Shuxin tied him to an iron chair and viciously slapped his face with shoes. Other guards also participated in the persecution. He was released 10 days later.

After Mr. Zhang Guangbao returned home, he wrote to the relevant departments in Liaocheng City, accusing officer Chen Yuezhi and others of persecuting him. In retaliation, Chen Yuezhi along with officer Xue Lianchun arrested him again on August 15, 2005. Mr. Zhang Guangbao was taken back to the Wangcun Forced Labor Camp at dawn the next day.

Guard Zheng Wanxin threw him into the “critical group” of the Sixth Section of the forced labor camp. Guards Zhao Yongming, Wang Xinjiang, Li Qinfu, Zhang Tao and Feng Wenping did not allow him to talk and forced him to sit on a small stool facing the wall.

Mr. Zhang Guangbao went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution. His family and fellow practitioners came to the forced labor camp to visit him at that time, but the guards refused to allow them to see him. His wife and two children had to call his name from the outside to let him know that they were there. Mr. Zhang was beaten by guards Zhao Yongming and Wang Xinjiang for sitting in meditation. Despite being abnormally thin due to persecution, Mr. Zhang Guangbao shouted,“Falun Dafa is good!” which frightened the guards. Wang Xinjiang handcuffed him to a bed. Guard Zhu from the labor camp infirmary force-fed him, intentionally poking his throat with the feeding tube to inflict pain. One time, the tube was inserted into Mr. Zhang Guangbao's lungs, which disabled him. Mr. Zhang Guangbao was released on February 1, 2008, and was immediately sent to the Liaocheng Hospital for major surgery. His health did not recover from the torture for a long time; he was very weak and his family had to take care of him.

On March 4, 2010, officers Wang Yong and Zhang Zhenzhen came to Mr. Zhang Guangbao's dental clinic while he wasn't there and confiscated his personal belongings. They arrested his wife, Ms. Wu Guomin. His clinic had to be closed again.

Persecution Suffered by Zhang Qiaohua and Gao Mingju

Ms. Zhang Qiaohua (Mr. Zhang Kechen's daughter) and her husband, Mr. Gao Mingju, opened a dental clinic in Gaosanlizhuang, Guan County. Their home was targeted for monitoring by the Guan County Police Department because it had been used as a gathering place for practitioners to study Falun Gong teachings together. Ms. Zhang Qiaohua went to Beijing to appeal for the right to practice Falun Gong at the end of September 2000 and was detained. When she was being released, she heard Li Bolin, the secretary of Pthe olitics and Law Committee, slandering Falun Gong. She kindly said to Li: “Please don't do that. It is not good for you.” Li became angry and shouted: “How dare you! I'll send you to a forced labor camp immediately. In fact, I will personally escort you to the prison.” Ms. Zhang Qiaohua was sent to the Wangcun Forced Labor Camp and detained there for three years.

Over the years, policemen have repeatedly attempted to force Mr. Gao Mingju to sign a pledge to give up practicing Falun Gong. He was forced to leave home and become homeless in order to avoid further persecution.

Persecution Suffered by Zhang Qiaochun and Xu Hengchao

Ms. Zhang Qiaochun (Mr. Zhang Kechen's youngest daughter) and her husband, Mr. Xu Hengchao, opened a dental clinic in Gantun Village in Guan County. Ms. Zhang Qiaochun went to Beijing to appeal for the right to practice Falun Gong at the end of September 2000, but was sent to a detention center in Beijing after shouting “Falun Dafa is good!” in Tiananmen Square. Later, she was taken back to Guan County.

Ms. Zhang Qiaochun was sent to a brainwashing center by the 610 Office in March 2002. After she escaped from the brainwashing center, Shi Xuezeng and Ma Wenchang, who were in charge of the brainwashing, sent people to look for her. She was recaptured and severely beaten to near death by a group of agents led by Bing Fengtai. Subsequently, she became homeless in order to avoid further persecution.

Seven years later, Ms. Zhang Qiaochun and her husband were arrested by 610 Office personnel while shopping at Xinyu Square in Guan County. Ms. Zhang Qiaochun went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution while in detention. When her condition became life-threatening, the guards sent her to the county hospital. She was released afterwards.