(Clearwisdom.net) The home of Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Shi Chunde was invaded on the evening of December 9, 2003. Over a dozen police officers from the Lianshan District Police Department entered by force. They presented two documents: "Permission to Search" and "Summons," but these documents bore no official stamps as proof of legality. The officers ordered Mr. Shi to sign the papers, but he refused. Not deterred, they conducted an illegal search and took Mr. Shi to the police department. Mr. Shi protested their illegal activities. Officer Liu Shijun said, "Don’t you dare argue with me! I will send you to a place where you can really argue." After that, without following any legal procedure or presenting documentation, they sent Mr. Shi to a detention center. Seven days later, again without following legal procedures, he was sentenced to three years of forced labor. Officer Liu Shijun was the primary individual responsible for Mr. Shi's illegal detention and forced labor sentence.
While in the labor camp, Mr. Shi Chunde wrote a letter to appeal his illegal detention; however, Liu Guohua, head of the No. 6 Division, and Yang Lianyuan, the administration section head, withheld the letter and never delivered it to upper level authorities. Mr. Shi inquired about his letter many times. They lied to him, saying, "There has been no reply." Mr. Shi countered by saying, "The letter was sent five or six months ago! Why have I still not heard from upper management?" The labor camp officials continued, "Nobody cares about your complaints. No one can handle a Falun Gong case at this point. Do you understand how the CCP deals with Falun Gong? The CCP is in strong opposition to Falun Gong. If you have done anything related to Falun Gong, no matter how little, you will be sentenced to as many years as they wish. There is nowhere for you to appeal. You'd better stay here!"
Mr. Shi was compelled to begin a hunger strike to protest the illegal detention. On July 26, 2004, at 3:00 p.m., three guards, Wang Yongming (team leader of No. 6 Division), Fan Yongjie (team head), and Song Yunbin (political head) were drunk. They dragged Mr. Shi into the guard duty room and closed the door. They hit him with electric batons and punched him, taking turns for half an hour. Wang Yongming was the most ruthless. Mr. Shi bled from his mouth, his teeth became loose, and his face swelled. He sustained many blisters from the electric shocks, felt dizzy, and experienced ringing in his ears. Guards continued in their attempt to force him to give up his belief in Falun Dafa and to eat, but he refused.
On the tenth day of Mr. Shi Chunde’s hunger strike, he pulled out his feeding tube, refusing the force-feeding. The three guards had initially planned to re-insert the feeding tube at a hospital that afternoon and had already obtained permission to leave with him. However, after they beat Mr. Shi in their drunken state, they were tired and decided not to go to the hospital. Four days later, they sent Mr. Shi to the hospital to have the feeding tube re-inserted. Mr. Shi reported the beating incident to the No. 6 Division head, Liu Guohua. Liu completely denied the report, saying, "No such thing happened. I have already asked the guards and none of them admitted to hitting you!"
Around August 20, 2004, Liu Guohua accelerated the persecution. First, he put out a so-called "Central Government Document" and a provincial government document and threatened Mr. Shi. Liu Guohua said, "According to the upper level authorities, anyone who has held a hunger strike must be heavily punished. The individual must be detained elsewhere besides the local area and will receive a heavy sentence." This did not frighten Mr. Shi. Liu Guohua then forbade Mr. Shi from sleeping for 24 hours and made him sit on a board. He also forced Mr. Shi to read literature that slandered Dafa. (Practitioners Du Jincai and others also underwent this torture at the same time). Liu Guohua, being unsuccessful, arranged for several criminals to beat and otherwise physically punish and insult Mr. Shi, Du Jincai, and the other practitioners.
From being constantly beaten and kicked, randomly hit with bamboo rods, threatened, forced to undergo "reformation," and being pressured to eat, Mr. Shi’s legs were injured and he walked with difficulty. His hearing and vision also deteriorated. The primary abusers included Qi Ying from Xiaosi Village in the Hongluoxian region of the Lianshan District; Pei Xiaofei from the Suizhong area; and Yuan Bing, an electric welder at a chemical plant. Several criminals who did not want to take part in beating Falun Gong practitioners were either verbally abused or were beaten by police officer Wang Yongming.
In order to involve more criminals in the persecution, Liu Guohua and Wang Yongming arranged for several criminals to hit the practitioners. Most of those who did not hit the practitioners were themselves beaten. Mr. Shi told the truth to those who beat the practitioners, but they did not listen. Criminal Qi Ying shouted, "It is illegal to beat others, but the beating of Falun Gong practitioners will be rewarded!" Criminal Yuan Bing said, "Without permission from upper level authorities, would we dare to beat you?" Mr. Shi reported those persecution incidents to Liu Guohua and expected that he would stop the illegal goings on, but Liu Guohua replied, "They will hit you if you deserve it! I am unable to control them." Liu Guohua also said, "We rely on them to take care of you. Do you know what kind of people they are? As human beings they are the worst! You have to be controlled by them!" Mr. Shi reported these incidents to deputy head Pang Guodong. Pang listened and did not say a word. Later, these three criminals were rewarded by being released earlier than their terms warranted.
By August 25, 2004, Mr. Shi Chunde had been on a hunger strike for more than 40 days. He was extremely weak from the constant torture and other violent mistreatment. He felt dizzy and walked with difficulty. That afternoon, division heads Liu Guohua and Wang Yongming called criminals Qi Ying, Yuan Bing, Pei Xiaofei, and others to the office. After they returned from the meeting, three of them suddenly shouted abusively and threatened Mr. Shi and Mr. Du and other practitioners to give up their belief in Falun Gong and to eat; otherwise, they would be attacked. The criminals showed off about how they could ruthlessly beat people. However, Mr. Shi refused to cooperate with them. Instead, he told them the truth and urged them to stop their illegal acts. They not only did not listen, but also attacked him cruelly by punching, kicking and beating him with a club. After this, Wang Yongming called them back to the office. When they came out they asked Mr. Shi, "Do you plan to eat? Chief Wang has prepared two electric batons and is waiting for your response." "No," replied Mr. Shi. They started beating him again. At this time, Chief Wang Yongming came out of the office and asked, "How did it go?" Qi Ying responded, "It did not work and he wouldn’t eat." Wang shouted, "Grab him and bring him over!" Mr. Shi was dragged to the office. The clothing above his waist was removed. Yuan Bing held his hands and forced him to sit on the floor. Liu Guohua and deputy chief Qi Zhiping sat on a sofa and watched the whole process. Two electric batons were charged, and a pot of cold water sat on the side. The entire room was filled with a menacing atmosphere. Wang Yongming had a cold expression and asked Mr. Shi, "Are you going to eat?" "No, I am not," Mr. Shi replied. Wang Yongming took two electric batons and shocked his armpits, then asked him, "Are you going to eat now?" Wang continued to shock Mr. Shi until the power ran out. He recharged the two batons. In the meantime, Liu Guohua watched and used both persuasion and threats. Mr. Shi Chunde was compelled to eat, but refused to be "reformed."
That day, practitioner Du Jincai was beaten so fiercely that he fainted. He came to after being splashed with cold water. They shocked him twice more later that day, but he continued to refuse to eat. He was released after being on a hunger strike for 200 days and paying 5,000 yuan in extorted fines.
Mr. Shi Chunde sustained some severe, long-term physical problems from the gross abuse he suffered during incarceration. The symptoms, as already mentioned above, included dizziness, leg pain, and frequent falls. By May 2005, he could not walk anymore. He relied on other people to carry him to the bathroom and had to live with assistants. A doctor's diagnosis revealed severe hypertension, insufficient blood flow to the brain, leg and back pain, blurred vision, deafness, and several other symptoms.
Mr. Shi’s family had requested outside treatment for him several times, but Liu Guohua and the camp's female doctor, Gao Guirong, foiled their requests in any way possible. Deputy Head Pang Guodong even said, "After he gives up Falun Gong, he will be allowed to treat his illnesses." Shi Chunde firmly refused to give up cultivation and went on a hunger strike again. After 104 days on a hunger strike, Mr. Shi became skeleton-like. His weight had dropped from 169. to 102 pounds. The officials were afraid that he would die at the labor camp, so they sent him home on September 8, 2005.
Mr. Shi could not walk for four months after his release and has to have assistance in his daily life.
