[Linyi City, Shandong Province] Since July 1999, Falun Gong has been persecuted in China; and the truth has been distorted. Massive numbers of Falun Gong practitioners who follow the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance have been persecuted in an unprecedented manner. Yet, the evil force in Linmu County has adopted an even more vicious approach to persecute practitioners with threats, termination of salaries, layoffs, large fines, surveillance, unlawful detention, beatings, implicating relatives and families, and other ferocious methods. After we entered into the year 2000, the suppression became even more appalling. We will give just a few examples here:
- Cruel Punishment in the Detention Center
- Forced into a Psychiatric Hospital
- Kept in a "Real Zhazidong" (a jail famous for its cruelty where many communist party members were tortured to death before the PRC was established translator) Under the Pretense of a Seminar.
Falun Gong practitioners who went to Beijing to appeal for the truth around the time of the Spring Festival were detained illegally. At the detention center, many practitioners were handcuffed to poles in temperatures close to minus 10 degrees Celsius [below freezing], and made to stand barefoot in the snow for long periods of time. Zhao Hua and Yuan Shuzhao were shackled for no reason, and they had great difficulty walking around. A few other practitioners (including Shi Yungang, a Bai nationality Middle School Teacher) had their hands and feet tied. They were made to kneel on the cold ground. Their mouths were stuffed with rags. They were on their knees for 4 to 5 hours at a time. When a practitioner named Li Bo (an employee of a pharmaceutical company) was interrogated, he was severely beaten. The stick used to beat him was broken into 3 pieces. A month later, Li's big toe was still swollen. The toenail looked as if it would drop off. When Ren Zhengshi, was interrogated, he received electric shocks for an entire afternoon, which left blisters all over his face. Yet the vicious policemen in subsequent interrogation sessions specifically targeted these blisters with their stun batons. They made the blisters break open and stunned the exposed flesh, which caused unbearable pain for Ren Zhengshi.
Because Sun Weidong (an employee of the County Treasury Bureau), Li Shanbin (a Bai nationality high school teacher), and Zhang Ping (an employee of a Materials Factory) continued to practice Falun Gong after they were released from the detention center, they were placed in a psychiatric hospital without consent. For a month, they received injections of drugs and electric shock treatments. If they didn't cooperate, they would be shocked with electricity so they could be drugged while they were unconscious. Yet all of them are perfectly normal people, exemplary employees at their companies. Both Sun Weidong and Li Shanbin have university degrees.
On June 16, 2000, because of their determination to continue practicing Falun Gong, eight practitioners including Li Bo, He Rushang, Li Shanbin, Yuan Shunming, Ren Zhengshi, Sun Weidong, and Shi Yungong were sent to the Training Camp for Armed Civilians against their will. They were forced to participate in the seminar held in a "military style" hosted by the County Political and Legal Committee and the Public Security Bureau. Twenty-four days of inhumane persecution thus commenced.
- So called Military Training
They started out by torturing these practitioners eight hours a day. Later, the torture was increased to 12 hours a day and was completely beyond the practitioner's physical limits. They were forced to roll, crawl, and run nonstop. Staying behind them with iron chains, stun sticks, wooden guns, brooms, and other tools, the security guards never stopped scolding and beating the practitioners and demanding that they go faster and faster. There was no limit at all. They were not even allowed to have a rest during very hot days. They were forced to roll and crawl on the roads where the asphalt was melting in the heat of the sun. The sticky and burning hot asphalt burned the practitioners like a stove, disturbing their metabolism. They didn't have normal bowel movements. Their urine was as red as blood. However, they were frequently prohibited from drinking water. The security guards chased after the practitioners with equipment, beating them continuously with iron chains, wooden guns, and bamboo rods. One time, when security guards chased after Yuan Chunming and Li Bo, the bamboo rod broke into pieces. By this time the practitioners had been beaten beyond recognition. While crawling on the ground, the practitioners were frequently forced to take off their shirts. They were told that they should not wear the clothes that belonged to the Communist Party. When rolling on the ground, it felt as if their internal organs were being stirred from the bottom, making them want to vomit. They couldn't take in any food. Their kneecaps and arms had new scars over old ones. He Rushang's left leg swelled so much that his ankle bone could not be seen. He had a puncture wound in his heel that bled at first and later oozed pus, causing his sock to stick to the skin of his heel. The socks couldn't be peeled off after many attempts. After practitioners were exhausted from the crawling and rolling, they were asked to stand in one place. They were so tired that their entire bodies were shaking. The person in charge then used wooden guns to hit the backs of their knees. Security guards used brooms to hit the practitioner's hands continuously. The guards yelled nonstop: "Squat, further down" Because of the vicious beatings day and night, torture, and crawling and rolling, some had to replace their uniforms twice. Some wore clothes that had become rags that hardly covered their bodies, making them look like beggars. The clothes Li Bo was wearing were thrown by the river like cleaning rags. The inhumane torture continued endlessly.
2) Evening Subjects
After a day of "military training" in a persecutory style, practitioners weren't even left in peace during the evenings. The security guards got drunk every night, which made them further expose their demon natures. They entertained themselves by torturing and beating practitioners. They even had a training of "slapping the face" once. He Rushang and Li Bo were surrounded by many drunken security guards who, without explanation, beat them with wooden guns, brooms, etc. The practitioners received wounds all over their bodies. Stun batons were later used on them. They stunned Li Bo with the electric batons for more than half an hour. Not until it started raining did they stop. There was a night when Li Bo was called to go outside. He was beaten severely by a few security guards causing severe injuries to his kidneys. His spinal cord felt like it would break. He couldn't move any part of his body at all. After knowing this, these inhumane security guards specifically targeted his spinal cord during subsequent beatings. This created unbearable pain for him. He Rushang was frequently called outside by the supervisor. Without provocation, the supervisor threw him up in the air and dropped him onto the ground. He Rushang's head hit the ground and he almost passed out. He couldn't stand up. Yet, he was lifted and slapped heavily in the face. On another occasion He Shangru was held down by two policemen and had alcohol forced down his throat, which caused him to vomit. Ren Zhengshi was put through many inhumane treatments. His four limbs became very weak and they would shake.
- No Food and Limited Water
- Mental Torture and Implicating Relatives and Friends
- Desecrating Master Li's Image.
Around noon under the hot sun, practitioners were tortured beyond recognition. They could no longer sweat, and were so thirsty that they almost fainted. Yet, they were not allowed to drink water. Practitioners were also fed very limited amounts of food. They never felt full. Hungry and thirsty all day long, these practitioners had to tolerate the "military training" that went beyond their physical limits. Cruel torture made Yuan Chunming, who couldn't bear the thirst and hunger any more, eat a piece of fly-ridden watermelon rind that had been discarded many days before by a security guard, which caused sharp pains in his stomach.
Relatives of the practitioners were brought to the "training field" against their will. They were forced to beat their own children. The parents couldn't believe that in the past they beat their children in order to make them better people, and yet now they had to beat their children who whole-heartedly cultivated Truthfulness, Benevolence, and Forbearance. The parents didn't have the heart to do it. Even though the children were the people who were being hit, it was the parents who actually felt pain in their hearts.
Mentally threatened - A deputy chief of the Public Security Bureau threatened He Rushang openly: "If you continue to practice, I will have someone eliminate you tomorrow. How will anyone find out?" Pointing his finger at these practitioners, a staff member from the Division of Political Security (with the last name of Wen) said to other staff members: "Let's drag them to a place, stone them to death, and get it over with." There was one other person who wanted to use an electric net to viciously harm practitioners. Late one evening, a drunken person, whose identity was unknown, tried to burn a practitioner's eyes with a lighter.
The security people forced practitioners to step on Master Li's picture; otherwise, they were severely beaten and tortured. One time, Yuan Shuzhao, under tremendous duress, fell backwards and passed out. He woke up more than 24 hours later. Yuan almost had a nervous breakdown.
This is the so-called "transformation class" that is highly recommended by Jiang Zemin. This is how evil forces use every possible vicious means to persecute Falun Gong practitioners. They hope to achieve their goal of "completely destroying the reputation, physical bodies, and spirits" of Falun Gong practitioners. However, they persecute these kind people who cultivate Truthfulness, Benevolence, and Forbearance under the title of "friendly teaching and deep care of the leaders". They are deceiving people.
As a result of the evil persecution, many practitioners have been terminated from their jobs, had their salaries cut-off, received huge fines, and become homeless. Many practitioners have been detained repeatedly. Because of the evil persecution, many families have been broken apart. Many practitioners have no homes to return to. Kind-hearted people, do you know about all these things?
After 24 days in hell, the "classes" ended. Two practitioners who didn't back down were again sent to jail illegally for an indefinite detention. When they learned the news, the practitioners burst into laughter. Compared to what they had just endured, jail, a place called "hell on earth" by many, became a happy place in their minds because they knew that they had passed the severest tests and were worthy of Teacher's benevolent salvation. All kind-hearted people, please take a moment to reflect on this. What is really going on?
Practitioners of Shandong Province
December 13, 2000
