(Clearwisdom.net) 610 Office agents had illegally arrested Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Huang Deqin, a senior engineer in Wuhan City, in June 2007, and held her at a brainwashing center for one week. Below is her account of the persecution.
My name is Huang Deqin. I am a 70 year-old senior engineer.
At around 10:30 p.m. on Friday, June 22, 2007, a group of officers from Shanghai Street Police Station in Wuhan City broke into my bedroom. Two female officers named Lai and Li held my arms and forced me into a police car. They took me to the second floor of the police station where they interrogated me and forced me to be fingerprinted.
They also ransacked my home and turned everything upside down, not only in my room, but also in my son and his wife's bedroom, the living room and my daughter Shi Haiyan's bedroom. They searched through my son and daughter's computers and confiscated pictures of Master Li, all Falun Gong books, Falun Gong lecture cassettes, exercise tapes, VCDs that I use to clarify the facts about the persecution, blank VCDs, pamphlets, copies of the "Minghui Weekly," MP3 player(s), mobile phones, a flashlight, an alarm clock, a stapler, plastic bags, envelopes, an address book and ID cards, and other miscellaneous items.
Later that evening, after the interrogation session in the police station, the police took me to Dijiao 610 Office Brainwashing Center in the Jiangan District. The Shanghai Street Police Station deputy head drove the car, and officer Hu Shaobin sat in the front passenger seat. Two female officers sat next to me, one on each side. I asked, "Where are we going?" They told me I would know once we got there. It was 11:55 p.m. when we arrived at the Jiangan District 610 Office in Dijiao. I purposely damaged my cell phone to destroy the contact information when I was in the restroom so the police could not get fellow practitioners' phone numbers. Officer Li told me to turn over my cell phone and said she would later return it to my daughter. The phone still sits in the police station.
Four 610 Office agents took me to a room on the ground floor. They made me stand against a wall marked with measurement and took my photo as well as recorded my name. I refused to cooperate, and they grabbed my hair and turned my head toward the camera. They beat me after taking the photo and bruised my hands. They also verbally insulted me and threatened to handcuff me if I did not cooperate with them. I asked, "What is this place? Why did you bring me here?"
Official Hu Shaobin said in a vicious tone, "This place is especially designed to deal with Falun Gong! You are counter-revolutionary extremists!" They held me in a room on the second floor, which was fully equipped with video and audio facilities. The door was shut, and thick curtains were pulled over the two windows. Two men and three women took turns monitoring me. They would not let me move, walk around or change even my standing position. They sat next to a fan and made me stand overnight. As a result, my legs became swollen.
They kept threatening me, saying, "We'll send you to a prison or a labor camp if you persist like this." A female officer named Cha arrived a little before dawn. She let me sit down and told me I was being held at the Jiangan District 610 Office, and that the man who had screamed at me was Hu Shaobin, the person in charge of the 610 Office. During the night, Hu Shaobin came to the room where I was held every 30 minutes and screamed at me if he saw that I had moved. He would tell me to return to my previous spot. He said, "You are a criminal! You can't sit down if you're here. If you are healthy from practicing Falun Gong, then why do you need to sit?"
The following morning Hu Shaobin insulted me again saying, "Are you a Falun Gong [practitioner]? You do not have the demeanor of a Falun Gong [practitioner]. Are you a highly educated person? You do not look like it. You look like a piece of scum! You are a counter-revolutionary extremist! If you don't cooperate with us, we'll send you to a labor camp. You say, 'Heaven is eliminating the Chinese Communist Party.' Who is heaven?"
Hu Shaobin later brought a 59 year-old woman who claimed to have graduated from a university with a degree in textiles. She was in fact one of the collaborators working for the Party officials in "reforming" Falun Gong practitioners. She tried to brainwash me and to make me read a book that slanders Falun Gong. I firmly refused. I said, "I will never read anything you or other collaborators have written to attack Falun Gong. I will persevere in my belief." She twisted passages from Zhuan Falun and slandered Master. She repeated the lies of the CCP-controlled media and made derogatory comments against Master. I immediately stopped her and said, "You're lying and you know it!" A moment of silence ensued. Suddenly, she cradled her face in her hands. Her eyes were shut, and she looked anguished. I knew she was punished for attacking Falun Gong. I asked, "What happened?" She pretended to be strong and said, "Nothing. I'm not going to talk to you anymore."
Two more people came in the afternoon. They stood around me and continued telling false tales about Master and Falun Gong. They urged me to "study" so I could go home after being "reformed." They pretended to care about me and to "let me in on a secret" by saying, "Our superiors would not let us tell you about it, but if you don't listen to us, they will send you to a labor camp." They never stopped bombarding me with ridiculous lies churned out by the state-run Xinhua News Agency. I refuted them by saying, "I am not deceived. Our Master is extraordinary and compassionate. He is here to save all people. I've been through all of the Party's horrific political movements. I was once a Buddhist and practiced seven different types of qigong. I endured all kinds of hardships in seeking the truth, and eventually I found Falun Dafa. I know exactly what I'm doing. You are the ones living a lie. What are you trying to 'reform' me into? Why doesn't the Party let me practice Falun Gong? The wicked Party's words do not count, and it's impossible for me to participate in your brainwashing session. I did not violate any law. I'm dispelling the propaganda, and it's my responsibility to help people learn the truth. The police are violating the law by breaking in and ransacking private property."
At around 5:00 p.m. they took me to a muggy room on the ground floor where two women from another agency were present. They kept me under around the clock surveillance and ordered me to follow their rules. They would not let me do the Falun Gong exercises or even hold my hands in the position that is held between Falun Gong exercises. Each time before I used the restroom or brushed my teeth, one of the women would go ahead to make sure that I would not encounter any other practitioners on my way, and the other person would accompany me there. As for food, one of them brought the food to me and the other person watched me eat. They did not allow me to turn off the light at night and claimed it was a 610 Office policy. They also did not let me use the restroom at night. They kept the door open so they could watch my every move.
The police interrogated me on the evening of June 22, 2007. I refused to answer questions regarding the source of Falun Gong flyers, VCDs or the people who produced the VCDs. They knew I didn't have a computer at home. I told the police that it costs 50 cents to make a VCD in a shop, and I refused to tell any names.
Official Hu Shaobin came by once on June 23 and again on June 24. I refused to answer any of his questions and did not look at him. The two women kept talking to me and ordered me to comply with the 610 Office agents. They did not allow me to sit on the bed and made me stand up when they saw me with my eyes closed when I was sending forth righteous thoughts.
I developed sudden palpitations at night on June 26, and my lower back hurt so much that I could not fall asleep when they eventually let me sleep, so I sat up in bed. One woman asked me, "Are you OK?" I said, "You would not let me do the Falun Gong exercises for all this time, and now I'm having a relapse [of my old illnesses]." They panicked and reported my situation to the office. Later that night, 610 Office agents took me to the No. 161 Hospital. I saw Hu Shaobin waiting in front of the hospital. The officials told a doctor, "She's having heart problems because we didn't let her do the Falun Gong exercises." The doctor administered an EKG and diagnosed me with cardiac arrythmia. He tried to give me an IV infusion, but I firmly refused.
Shanghai Street Police Station deputy head Zhao and officer Li arrived around June 26 or 27, and said they would take me home. They also told me that my daughter was going to get married, and she had asked them to allow me to attend her wedding. They said only two people were still practicing Falun Gong on our street, although I know of many more determined practitioners. They said, "You are one of the two, although you have a good reputation in the community." They came by again on the morning of June 28 and told me to get ready to go home. They said my daughter was coming to pick me up. They took me to an office at the police station later that morning. My daughter promised that I would not leave Wuhan City [to appeal for Falun Gong]. Police chief Zhao said, "We are not done with you yet," before he let my daughter and me go home.
My children tried to rescue me when I was held at the Jiangan District 610 Office on June 23-27. My daughter had planned to have her wedding on July 18. Her husband is an American and a Christian. He emailed me greetings (through my daughter) on a daily basis. Because of this, my daughter put daily pressure on Jiangan District 610 Office and demanded my release. This shows the importance of outside voices putting pressure on the police to release Falun Gong practitioners, as this is what led to my eventual release on June 28, 2007.