I am a Falun Dafa practitioner. Since Jiang (the president of China) and his followers banned Falun Gong in July of 1999, I have suffered a lot physically and mentally.
We practitioners are good people following the principle of "Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance," but we have been arrested, detained, suffered from hunger, and fined without reason. Families are broken and people are dying.
I was arrested when I went to Tiananmen to appeal and was sent to the police department in Beijing. A tall policeman interrogated me: "It is a wild fantasy for you, someone so young, attempting to see Jiang Zeming. Even officials at the city level rarely have a chance. You dare to come and make trouble for me." Later, I was sent to the Weifang Office in Beijing. They registered me, and then searched me. They took away my 140 yuan (Chinese dollars, about one third of monthly salary of an averaged worker in cities of China). Then they ordered me to sit on the floor in the hall and did not allow me to talk. Thirty-six Dafa practitioners were already there. They had been there for several days. I heard there were new-coming practitioners being brought in or taken away everyday. When night came, we were handcuffed together. We had to spend the night sitting on the floor. The first night, a policeman, who seemed drunk, came over to one of our practitioners and said: "You, life is too boring for you," and he kicked the practitioner, "I'll beat you up if you talk again." Actually that practitioner did not talk at all. But the policeman suddenly lost his temper, fiercely kicking and pulling the practitioner, attempting to put pressure on us. He also said: "I took XXX Party's job, I must serve XXX Party." He cursed us for a while and then left.
Beijing was attacked by a sandstorm during that time. The temperature was very low. It was too cold to sleep during the night. After I had stayed there for five days, the local police from my residence forcefully took me away with them. I said: "I will not leave here. I must appeal for Falun Gong." He (the local policeman) said to me rudely: "You have to go with me no matter if you like it or not. Your mother is crying at home. Your father was arrested by the local police. Your tricycle was towed to the police station. You thought we came here for nothing? You'd better understand, you have to bear our expenses. If you do not listen to us and make trouble for me, I will tie you up, put you in a bag and carry you back. Don't do anything we don't like, otherwise, you will regret it when you get back." I felt so weak and had to let them take me away.
After returning to the substation, I was locked in a small room for two days, and then sentenced to 15 days of detention for "disturbing social order."
We did group practice in the detention center, so they put handcuffs and shackles on us and made us sleep on the floor. After the 15-day detention, we were sent back to the substation, locked in a small room, and weren't allowed any visitors. At that time there were 12 practitioners there from our town, including 3 senior citizens over 60 years old. They also took away our books, so one practitioner asked Shao Mingyi, the head of the substation, to give back the books. In response, both of us were handcuffed to an iron gate, bare-footed, wearing only underwear for two hours. Then he sent me to a small office room, asking me to sit on the floor with my legs stretched out straight and my arms held parallel. I refused, then four of them beat me together, stepping on my legs. The substation head himself hit my foot with a rubber stick 15 times, and didn't stop until blood was running down from my nose. He said: "For people like you, we can beat you to death and bury you in a pit and nobody cares; you deserve it."
After the beating, he cuffed me to an iron gate to freeze until after 10pm, then locked me in that small room. We could no longer bear such torture, so we went on a hunger strike. We stayed there for 43 days, and were released only after my mom sold our grains to make 6,000 yuan (about one year salary of an averaged worker in cities of China) to bail my dad and me out. When we got home, there was barely anything except some pots and pans. Our field ran wasted due to the lack of attention, and my mom was much thinner than before, weeping all the time.
It no longer looked like home. Even so, I am still faithful to Dafa, and I believe that "Good will be rewarded with good, and evil with evil." We worked in the field, watered the crops, and were detained for an unlimited time and tortured inhumanly; there are millions of Dafa practitioners who suffered like this. But we are fearless and believe that evil cannot defeat the righteous. We believe that all the people with righteous minds in this world will give us justice. The Chinese officials live on their people's taxes, but do shameful things to their people; are all Chinese officials like this? What is wrong with the Chinese leaders? Won't it be dangerous if it continues? I remember our Teacher said: "If man does not value virtue, the world will be in great chaos and out of control."
At noon on July 2, 2000, Hou Yuzhu, Zhou Zhongshan and Chen Huaigang from the substation suddenly appeared at our home, and began to search the rooms right away. They said: "Submit your Falun Gong materials or both your dad and you will be taken away." At that time, I didn't want to say anything or do anything, just wept. Zhou dragged me up and I could hardly stand. My mom was then awakened and saw what was happening, but she could do nothing except weep. They told my mom: "If you still do not turn in your books, we will confiscate all of your property." There were many people around at that time. Finally, they arrested my dad and my uncle, whose home suffered the same fate as ours; books and property were confiscated. After 10 days, Song and Han from the substation drove a "110" police car to our home, and asked me to go to the substation. I said: "I won't go. You cannot make me go without a reason. You need to give me a summon or a reason." Song said: "It works the same if we summon you orally. You must go no matter what; we are here just for you." "I won't go. Don't force me, or I will jump in the well," I said and immediately walked toward the well. They followed. At last I was forced into their car. At that time there were about one hundred on-lookers.
I was taken to the substation like this, and six practitioners were already there. We worked for [the police] during the daytime, with food provided by our own family members. I said: "It is a law that a substation can detain people for a maximum of 24 hours. How could you detain us for so long?" Hou Yuzhu replied: "Just because you practice Falun Gong, we can treat you however we like. You stay here one day, I give you one summon; 50 days, I give you 50. I summon you everyday so you don't need to go back and forth and thus save the trouble."
I stayed there for 37 days. They told me that I would be released if I promised to give up Falun Gong. I said I am firm in my cultivation practice and am willing to die for it. Finally, I could not take it anymore and told Hou Yuzhu that I am determined to practice Dafa even if I have to die, and I can prove it to you! They cuffed me to an electric pole and I hit my head against it. Then they cuffed me to an iron chair, exposing me to the sunlight, and asked a practitioner, Zhang Hongqiang, to pour water on my head. Of course he refused, then he was kicked all over by Yue, from his lower leg to his jaw. Zhang was so pressured that he walked to the other side of a wall, cut the artery of his left-hand with a knife, and bumped his forehead against the wall. Right after that, my dad bit his tongue and hit his head into the wall. Practitioner Zhong Meixia also hit her head on the wall. A person whose last name is Yue came close to us and noticed the blood. He grasped Cao Zhenqi's left hand, and the artery was already cut open. Yue said: "still far away from dying," and he quickly got a small handkerchief and tied it around the wound. Han and Liu Bin also ran to us, saying: "It's nothing, he won't die. Want to die? Not that easy." Then, they started to beat Zhang Hongqiang. Yue kicked Zhang's stomach fiercely while Han was pulling Zhang's hair and beat him with his fist. Zhang Hongqiang was so hurt that he cried out loudly. The driver and Li Mingjie also jumped in and beat Zhang Hongqiang. The driver stepped on Zhang's stomach forcefully cursing: "You dare to make trouble for me!" Zhang was in a terrible pain and rolled on the ground. They kept on kicking him on his back, shoulder, head, stepped on his fingers, and slapped his face for a while. Eventually Zhang collapsed, lying on the ground motionless. Yue ripped Zhang's belt from his trousers and stripped Zhang's upper body and said, "He won't die, he won't die." They stopped the beating and said, "Use a cigarette to burn his genitals." And they said to rape female practitioners. One of them used one foot to keep Zhang's chin up and the other foot to step on Zhang's hand. So it looked like Zhang could still "sit up." According to a doctor's diagnosis, Zhang Hongqiang's brain was bleeding internally because of their beating.
They then turned to beat my father and Zhong Meixia. They cuffed him (my father) to an electric pole. They beat my father so hard that his eyelids were swollen, his pupils were bleeding, his chin was terribly swollen, and he lost control of his bowels. I did not have a chance to witness the whole thing.
Later, they forced us into a small house and poured urine mixed with mud on our heads.
Shandong practitioners
August 2000
The following is a list of those villains from the police substation in Ta Ebao, Changyi city in Shandong province:
Head of the substation: Shao Mingyi
Accomplices: Hou Yuzhu
Zhou Zhongshan
Chen Huaigang
Li Mingjie
