(Minghui.org) Editor's note: Ms. Liu Xia, 61, was an award-winning middle school teacher from Dalian, Liaoning Province. She was sentenced three times and detained in a prison and forced labor camp for a total of nine years during the past 16 years of the persecution of Falun Gong. Her family broke apart and she lost her job. However, she has persevered throughout the persecution. Her story provides a glimpse into the severity of the persecution and also sheds light on the power of a firm belief.
Remembering the Early Days
Ms. Liu, her husband and daughter started to practice Falun Gong in 1994, and benefited greatly from the practice. Her Meniere's syndrome, severe heart and stomach disease, her husband's cirrhosis and their daughter's uterine bleeding no longer were an issue.
They lived by the three Falun Gong principles “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance” and enjoyed a harmonious family life.
The students of this middle school teacher benefited, because she devoted herself to them. She also published several national award-winning papers on how to help students improve their independent learning ability.
As a ship's captain, her husband often covered shifts for his crew during holidays, so that they could spend more time with their families.
Facing the Persecution
The nationwide persecution of Falun Gong started on July 20, 1999 and turned Ms. Liu's life upside down.
Pressured by the local government, every Party member from Ms. Liu's school was assigned to monitor her in turns, which prevented her from going to Beijing to appeal for justice for Falun Gong.
She was forced to make a choice between her belief and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). She submitted a letter to quit the CCP, which was turned down. The school applied pressure on her to renounce her belief.
Persecuted for Writing Open Letter
One year into the persecution, Ms. Liu wrote an open letter to the school leadership, which was co-signed by two staff members that also practiced Falun Gong. She mentioned how supportive the educational system was in the past. Also, several seminars had been held across the entire school district to introduce Falun Gong to the students and the staff. She urged them not to follow the CCP's persecution policy.
Within a few days, the three practitioners were arrested and taken to the Dalian Brainwashing Center, where they were tortured. Ms. Liu was forced to crouch down under the baking sun in July and tortured by the flying an airplane method.
Torture-reenactment: Flying an airplane
Local government officials came to see her in the brainwashing center, demanding that she give up her belief. She was released in mid-autumn of 2000.
Just a few days after her release, a police officer, a trusted friend of the family, asked Ms. Liu to go to the police station. After she got there, she was locked in a room. Shortly after, she was sentenced to forced labor for one year.
Suffering at Masanjia Forced Labor Camp
Ms. Liu was taken to the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp on September 20, 2000 and subjected to torture and brainwashing. Her family was not informed of her sentence.
She had to stand for almost 24 hours daily. Since she refused to give up the practice, they forced her to squat on a 1 square foot tile for 16 hours, with her upper body in an upright position.
As the persecution in Masanjia Forced Labor Camp was exposed in the international community, Bo Xilai, the then-mayor of Dalian, built a new facility called Liaoning Thought Education Institute. The funds for this camp, built to imprison practitioners, were provided by the central government.
“The guards knew very clearly that persecuting us is wrong. Yet, they demanded that we tell investigators that our human rights were protected, that no one beats us and we only had to work for half the day.” Ms. Liu said.
She continued, “The guards weren't that bad at the beginning. No matter how they beat or verbally abused me, I don't hate them. I just felt sad for them. But, I could not stop them from doing evil.”
She was released on December 30, 2001.
Sentenced for Another Six Years
Ms. Liu and several local practitioners were arrested in the middle of 2002. The police suspected them of hanging up banners exposing the persecution of Falun Gong. She was sentenced to six years in prison despite her terrible physical condition.
She had to do to extensive labor, sometimes overnight, and the guards beat her. In addition, her hands were tied behind her back, and then she was tied to a metal rack for two months.
Torture reenactment: Tied from the back to a metal rack
When the guards found that she was recording an account of her ordeal on the products that she was making, they put her into solitary confinement for five months. They took away the bedding and her clothes. During these five months, the guards only allowed her to brush her teeth three times.
Persecuted by Former Husband
Ms. Liu's husband, a former practitioner of Falun Gong, started living with a younger woman while Ms. Liu was locked up. He sent his daughter away to a boarding school, and eventually divorced Ms. Liu in 2006. He effectively shut his daughter out of his life and transferred her allotted housing to his mistress.
After Ms. Liu's release from the prison in 2008, she and her daughter went to her father's home to resolve the housing issue. He promptly reported her to the police and claimed that she broke into his home. So on the heels of six years of torture, Ms. Liu was arrested again.
The police took her to the notorious Masanjia Forced Labor Camp for a two-year term.
Because Ms. Liu remained firm in her belief and refused to sing propaganda songs or recite the labor camp rules, she was beaten and a lot of her hair was pulled out.
“We'll torture you if you don't praise the CCP and curse Falun Gong,” the guard shouted at her on the evening of May 15, 2009.
Ms. Liu still refused to cooperate, so she was taken to the torture room. The guard tied her legs to the lower part of a bed. They handcuffed her to the upper bars of the bed and tied a long strip of cloth to the handcuffs. One guard pushed her head and waist down, while two guards pulled up on the cloth strips.
Torture reenactment: Handcuffed and tied to a bed
Ms. Liu's hands soon became cold, numb, black and then she lost consciousness. After several rounds of torture, the guards took her finger and pressed them on a document that declared that she renounced the practice.
She recalled, “In fact, I didn't feel much pain. I felt very calm at that moment. And I felt truly sad for the guards. As they grew up, their parents and teachers taught them to be honest and kind. But now, they have become tools for the CCP and lost their sanity. But no matter what torture they used, they could not sway me.”
On November 4, 2010, after countless rounds of torture, Ms. Liu was released from the labor camp.
Hope Remains
Upon her release from Masanjia, she appealed at the National Appeals Office, the Justice Department, the Education Department, and Ministry of Civil Affairs for restoring her innocence. They ignored her case.
Sixteen years of persecution has destroyed her family and her parents, sisters and brothers have suffered significant financial losses.
She was homeless, but got a part-time job to make a living. She still contributes part of her savings to Falun Gong material production sites run by practitioners.
She hopes that the Chinese people will hear about and understand the facts about the persecution and will no longer be fooled by the CCP.
Recalling the 16 years that she has been persecuted, Ms. Liu said: “My strong faith in Master and Dafa have kept me going. My compassion and sense of responsibility for my countrymen made me realize that the guards and the Chinese people need help. That's why I have tried my best to let them know that the persecution was wrong. After their conscience was awakened, they turned around and helped and supported us.”
Related articles in Chinese:http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2014/12/24/优秀教研员在劳教所、监狱遭九年残害（1）-301908.htmlhttp://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2014/12/26/优秀教研员在劳教所、监狱遭九年残害（2）-301910.html
