(Minghui.org) When Ms. He Xiuzhen finished her one and a half years of forced labor term on June 11, 2010, for her faith in Falun Gong, she was taken straight to a brainwashing center, where she was tortured for 44 days, until she was on the verge of death.
Ms. He, a 79-year-old resident of Cangxi County, Sichuan Province, recounted her ordeal from 12 years ago.
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Arrested and Given Forced Labor Term
My name is He Xiuzhen. I’m 79 this year. I’m a native of Cangxi County, Sichuan Province.
On the night of November 28, 2008, Li Rong, the head of Cangxi County 610 Office, and Yue Gang, the chief of Domestic Security Division, led several officers to my home, where I was living by myself. They smashed the front metal door I just installed and broke in. They ransacked my home and confiscated my Falun Gong books and other personal belongings, and then took me to the Lingjiang Police Station.
The police handcuffed me and other practitioners arrested around the same time to the metal chairs, and interrogated us for two days without giving us any food or water, or letting us sleep. We were then taken to Guangyuan City Detention Center.
The police accused us of distributing Falun Gong materials and gave each of us a 1.5-year forced labor term. I was taken to Sichuan Women’s Forced Labor Camp (a.k.a, Nanmusi Women's Forced Labor Camp), where I also served my previous three forced labor terms.
The guards and inmates in the labor camp all knew me very well from my previous incarceration. They were aware of my steadfast belief in Falun Gong. I refused to do the forced labor work. I also shared my thoughts with other practitioners who were detained there. All of us in the same cell agreed that we should resist the persecution by not doing the forced labor. Guard Zhang Xiaofang threatened and sweet-talked us, but we did not budge.
Zhang later changed her strategy and ordered inmate Yang Litai to beat us. Yang wrote slanderous words about Falun Gong and its founder on a piece of black cardboard and tried to hang it around my neck. I took the board from her and tore it. Furious, Yang grabbed me and pushed me against the wall cabinet. She pushed me so hard that a cabinet door came off. I also had a 7-inch long cut on my back, which was bleeding badly.
The inmates also beat up another practitioner Ms. Zeng Shurong, and she was covered with bruises. They once choked her so hard that she almost passed out.
After my forced labor term expired, the authorities extended my term for another 13 days. On June 11, 2010, the day of my release, Li Rong, the head of Cangxi County 610 Office, and Tao Caihua, a female community office staff member, took me directly from the labor camp to a brainwashing center, also known to the outside as the Guangyuan City Law Education Center Law School.
44 Days of Ordeals in Brainwashing Center
I was taken to a small room in the basement of the brainwashing center the next day. Those who took me there included a man in his 30s with the given name Xiaoyun; Liu Xiaorong, in her 30s, from Cangxi Longwang Supply and Marketing Cooperative; Li Hui, in her 30s, from Guangyuan Intermediate Court; Jiang Yiming from Jiange Helin Town Residential Committee, a Mianyang native; a Wangcang native named Zhang Xuan, and a Northeastern woman with the last name of He.
The small room was about 85 sq. ft., pitch black, without windows or light. It was humid and full of mosquitoes and spiders. There was a big water puddle in the middle of the room and a cement slab about three by four feet along a wall. I was forced to stand or sit still on it all the time.
He Yong, a brainwashing center director, Hu Yuanqiong from Yuanba Procuratorate, Zhang Xuan, and a doctor surnamed Yi worked in two groups and took turns brainwashing me every two hours around the clock.
They played the video or audio programs defaming Falun Gong at the loudest volume. The loud sound shook the basement and was unbearable. My head became painful and fuzzy. They forbade me from closing my eyes and verbally abused me if they saw it. I tried to tell them the truth about Falun Gong. They refused to listen and continued to verbally abuse me.
At first, they gave me food and water without any condition. But later, they began to order me to write a thought report each time I needed food or water. I refused to comply and they stopped the food and water supply. Starved, I was also deprived of sleep and not allowed to use the restroom or even close my eyes. Over time, my body became severely swollen. But I still had to endure the same torture day after day.
One day, they suddenly pretended to be kind to me and took me out for some fresh air. I was taken back to the basement after half an hour. They asked me to stand on the floor covered with newspapers. I was wondering what was going on. At that moment, a deputy chief lifted the newspaper under my feet and showed me what was underneath. It turned out to be the picture of Falun Gong’s Master. I quickly stepped aside.
They lifted me and moved me to stand on Falun Gong books, knowing that Falun Gong books and pictures of Falun Gong’s Master are all precious to practitioners. I quickly stepped away again. I was anxious and felt exhausted afterward. I collapsed to the floor. They pretended to be nice to me again and said I should not sit on the floor. They brought me a chair, but the seat had the picture of Falun Gong's Master on it. I knelt down by the chair and could not stop my tears.
After 44 days of sleep deprivation, my head hurt. I was weak and often had panic attacks. On the 44th day, my stomach hurt so badly that I collapsed and was on the verge of death. They had to call an ambulance to take me to the emergency room. I was found to have gallstones, and my organs were damaged. After I underwent some treatment, my daughter was called to take me home.
After I got home, I was unable to sleep for a long time. My body has still not fully recovered after all these years. One of my legs is still swollen and painful.
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