Summary of Key Persecution Facts:
Name : Liu Zhenchang (刘振昌)
Gender : Male
Age : 48
Occupation : 家用电器商店的职工
Date of Most Recent Arrest : April 16, 2002
Most Recent Place of Detention : Hegang Brainwashing Center (鹤岗洗脑班)
City : Hegang
Province : Heilongjiang
Persecution Suffered : Electric shock, sleep deprivation, forced labor, brainwashing, illegal sentencing, brutal beatings, imprisonment, torture, damaging forced-feedings, interrogation, detention, denied visitation

(Minghui.org) Nearly everyone who knew him had given up on Mr. Liu Zhenchang. He would indulge in bouts of excessive drinking, and his parents, friends and co-workers were extremely worried about him. He would drink on the job and pass out on the floor. He developed a bad temper, and also began to suffer from rheumatism. After he began practicing Falun Dafa, however, Liu Zhenchang changed. He became very responsible and reliable at work, and began taking care of his family.

Sadly, after the persecution of Falun Gong began, Mr. Liu was subjected to illegal arrest, prison and torture. Mr. Liu Zhenchang was arrested in 2002 and imprisoned for ten years. Right after Mr. Liu was released, instead of being allowed to return home, he was taken to a brainwashing center for nearly two months. Personnel from the Provincial Politics and Law Committee and the 610 Office also went to his home to harass his family.

1. Practicing Falun Dafa Causes Prodigal Son to Change His Path

After Mr. Liu began practicing Falun Dafa, he changed from a prodigal son who drank excessively, was indifferent to his family, and wasn't disciplined at his work place to a person who was sober, cared for his family and was very responsible at work.

Mr. Liu had a lot of illnesses because of his excessive drinking. After bouts of excessive drinking he would begin losing his eyesight and suffer from stomach pain every day. He developed heart disease and sometimes had an irregular heart beat. Whenever he was drunk, he would lie on the shelf of the store where he worked or even on the ground and sleep. After doing this for a long time, he developed lower back pain and rheumatism.

He had a very bad temper and his parents were really worried about him. Mr. Liu's colleagues also sighed, “His life is going to be ruined if he keeps drinking like this!”

Just when every one gave up on him, Falun Dafa was able to thoroughly change Liu Zhenchang.

After just practicing for one week, the heart disease, rheumatism and insomnia that had plagued Liu Zhenchang for many years all disappeared. After practicing Dafa for one month, he quit drinking. His parents were ecstatic and his colleagues were all happy for him. His happiness and the wonderful feeling of having an illness-free body were beyond words.

2. Nightly Torture and Persecution

On April 16, 2002, the Hegang City police arrested Mr. Liu. The police raided his house and videotaped the scene. The next night, Mr. Liu was taken to the Second Detention Center.

After he entered the cell, the head prisoners stripped off Mr. Liu's clothes, leaving him naked. Then, they kept pouring freezing water over his head and body. They did not stop until he collapsed from hypothermia.

Mr. Liu was not allowed to sleep; instead he was made to sit in a small rectangular space made of bricks. He was not allowed to move or go out of this rectangular space. He was not allowed to bend down, put his hands on his knees, or even blink his eyes. Four people were assigned to monitor him, and they kicked him repeatedly if he moved even slightly. After one person kicked him in the chest, Mr. Liu nearly died. He could not breathe for a long time.

During the day Mr. Liu sat in the board covered area, and while others were resting at night, he sat on the icy cold floor. From early in the morning to night, he was only allowed a few minutes of sleep before another day of this severe torture.

3. Torture—Arms Handcuffed Behind the Back

Mr. Liu was tortured for several days in a row. His arms were handcuffed behind his back, while guards punched his legs, shoulders, neck, and kicked him. He was hit so hard that the bone protruded from his left leg. He was in so much pain that he fell to the ground.

Torture Illustration: Handcuffing Behind the Back

One of the guards used the edge of a cup lid to stab the areas between Mr. Liu's ribs, causing him to pass out from pain. Another guard handcuffed his hands around his back and stabbed him again. Mr. Liu dropped to the ground on all fours. The guard kept pulling the handcuffs upward, and he was stabbed again. Mr. Liu was in so much pain that he writhed all over the floor.

Sometimes the guards tortured Mr. Liu for one entire day or night, but other times the torture went on for 24 hours straight.

4. “Metal Rod” Torture

The guards tortured Mr. Liu with a metal rod for two week. His legs were stretched out with a metal rod over a meter long and he was forced to sit in that position for days.

The guards persecuted Liu Zhenchang again and handcuffed his arms behind his back from evening until 2 or 3 a.m. His hands turned black because of the handcuffing and were were so swollen that it took four people to open the handcuffs. One of his arms, which had been bent over his back, could not go back to its original position.

In early July, Mr. Liu was transferred to the First Detention Center. Deputy head Wang Qinglong forced him to kneel down, but he refused. Mr. Liu was then chained to a metal rod affixed to the ground. Both of his hands were cuffed to one side of the metal rod and his legs were stretched open, with his body at a diagonal angle. The pain was indescribable. Some people's thigh and hip bones permanently protrude after this torture.

5. Mr. Liu Persecuted in Jiamusi Prison

Torture Illustration: brutal forced-feeding

The court sentenced Mr. Liu to ten years, and he was taken to Jiamusi Prison. His clothes were stripped off and burned and he was forced to wear the prison uniform. However, he refused to wear it, and went on a hunger strike to protest his illegal imprisonment. After 5 or 6 days the guards force-fed him. They pried open his mouth with a mouth opener and poured extremely salty food in while pinching his nose. The salt didn’t dissolve because there was too much. Later the police attempted to force Mr. Liu to “transform” using extreme brainwashing tactics, and they didn't let him sleep or talk.

In 2007, Mr. Liu was force-fed after going on a hunger strike for 2 months. Team head Su Jiafeng slapped Mr. Liu’s face with the sole of his shoe even though he was hospitalized. His temple was swollen after the beating.

6. The Hellish Brainwashing Center

On April 22, 2012, after being imprisoned for 10 years, Mr. Liu should have been reunited with his parents. They had waited for ten years to see their son. Instead, he was arrested again and taken to the Hegang Brainwashing Center. Brainwashing Center head Zhang Zilong barbarously tried to make him “transform.”

Mr. Liu’s 78-year-old mother came to see her son. She stood outside of the door of brainwashing center calling out her son’s name. Zhang Zilong pretended not to hear her. However, he kicked Mr. Liu when he answered his mother. He forbade Mr. Liu to exchange even one word with his mother through the door.

Mr. Liu didn’t eat or drink for 6 days, during which time Zhang Zhilong shocked Mr. Liu's hands and mentally tortured him almost every day.

After two months of being persecuted in the brainwashing center, Mr. Liu returned home. However, personnel from the Provincial Politics and Law Committee and the 610 Office still frequently went to his home to harass him.