(Minghui.org)

In the darkness, a straw tent sits on top an old tractor in front of a CCP prison

This picture clearly shows us how, in order to defend their dignity and human rights, Chinese people will demonstrate their sense of injustice and endure hardships in the face of the vicious, communist regime. Please listen to this elderly couple's story:

“At 6:00 a.m. on February 15, 2012, my wife and I shared a bowl of cold porridge. After that we hit the road.

We went to save our son, Zhou Xiangyang, who was on hunger strike inside the prison and whose heart was beating only 40 times a minute. When I went to see him on February 1, I saw that his physical condition was very poor. On February 13, my wife and I went to the prison to ask the prison authorities to bail our son out for medical treatment. The prison warden said that they couldn't do it. After trying several times, we got nothing.

Gangbei Prison in Tianjin is about 200 miles away from Matundian Township, where we live, in Changli County, Qinhuangdao City. We drove our old tractor against the strong, icy-cold February wind. Since we did not have any money, driving our tractor helped us to save on expenses. We made a tent out of straw that we could live in while in Tianjin. We had never driven that far in our tractor before, and we did not know our way. We drove the entire day without stopping for food or water.

We went through the center of Tanggu City. It was getting dark, and our tractor did not have lights. Not knowing what to do, we saw a young man nearby, as if he was waiting for something. When we approached him, he told us that he wanted to ride in our shabby tractor. I told him to sit on the blanket. While we chatted, we asked him where we could find a place to park. He said, “I can take you to a place where you can park; otherwise you will be fined if you park inside the city.” He helped us park our tractor near a motel, which took him further away from his home, yet he told us he was fine. He said that he knew it was hard for us to be in a strange place, and that we were like his parents. We felt as if divine beings had been protecting us the whole way.

We started off again at 6:00 a.m. on February 16 without breakfast and finally got to Gangbei at around 11:00 that morning. We rested that afternoon, went to Gangbei Prison the next day, and parked in front of the prison's metal gate. We set up our tent. A few practitioners were there waiting to help us.

The banners on the straw tent in front of the prison say: “Respect Life, Respect Human Rights, and Respect the Law”

The old couple put on their “lawsuit clothes”--vests with words written on them describing their plight—for the second time, standing outside the prison's tall walls and metal gates for three days and nights.

The first day, it was very cold in Gangbei. Guards videotaped us and tried to snatch the banners away. The guard who videotaped us was shaking from the cold. We then took our winter coat down to the young guard, and my wife put the coat on him. After a while, it seemed he just noticed something, so he then took off the coat and saluted my wife. Every time my wife put on the coat for him, the young guard saluted her.

Three guards attempted to remove the banners. I told them that my son was dying, and that what we were doing was our right. One guard was about to cry. For three days, fellow practitioners took turns staying with us, caring for us, and encouraging us. I could feel a warm atmosphere surrounding us. The prison authorities contacted our local Changli County government, the Party head of our village, the head of the local police station, the610 Office, District Domestic Security Division head Zhao Guoyun, and police department head Zao, who all came to Gangbei and took turns trying to convince us to give up our protest and go home. But we told them that we would not go home. It was not easy for us to get there, and so, for our son, we were willing to suffer.

Who would not be worried if their son was being abused and mistreated like our son? Without money, we drove our tractor and traveled for one and a half days to get to Gangbei. We lived in the straw tent on top of our tractor in front of the prison for three days. It was bitterly cold those days, and the wind in the evening was very strong. We slept with our winter coats and hats on. The next day, practitioners brought cotton blankets, coats, hot water, food, and cookies. A senior practitioner brought two big thermal hot water pots that warmed up the small tent. A little girl took off her scarf and put it on me. A couple of practitioners brought a small bowl of hot milk one evening. We felt warm right away after we drank it together. It is hard for us to express how we felt. Everything is hard to forget.

Several police officers came in the afternoon on February 19 and prohibited any gathering of more than five people. During those days, groups of people came to stay with us to make sure that we were fine. About two dozen of them stayed in front of our tractor, and police officers also guarded that area. The atmosphere was tense. Practitioners took the risk and resisted the pressure to take care of us by staying there with us, and some even stayed with us in the evenings.

Many prison guards came out from the prison at 1:00 a.m. on February 20 and tried to drive people away, but it took them a long time to drive everyone away. I knew that many of the guards sympathized with us and they didn't want to treat anyone badly. After moving everyone else away, the guards then asked us to get down off our tractor. Then they carried us onto an ambulance. I lay down on a shabby bed. When I got up, I saw that my mouth was bleeding. Changli Domestic Security Division head Zhang Guoyun was there. Two hours later the ambulance stopped. Zhao led us inside a small room and locked us up. They said it was the county government hostel.

Can those kindhearted practitioners move people with what they have suffered?

We held a hunger strike the next day. To make us eat the third day, Zhao Guoyun took our eldest son to Gangbei. On the fourth day, Zhao brought our daughter-in-law and our daughter, and then he told our eldest son to take us home. I said that I would not go home and not to open the door to let them in. They then brought my second son’s wife and two village Party heads at around 8:00 a.m. on February 24 to try to convince us to go home. When they saw that we were lying in bed the whole time and were very weak, they got some young men to open the window of our room, and then two Party heads dragged us home and took turns watching us.

We do not know what else we can do to rescue our son. We believe that by doing what we did, we probably touched people’s hearts. Now we hope the prison authorities take morality into consideration and release our son, who should not have been locked up in the first place.

Gangbei Prison has tortured Falun Gong practitioners to death in the past, but instead of being punished for their crimes, we were told that officials helped each other cover up their criminal deeds, which is why they are so ruthless and treat life lightly. Could we just let our son be mistreated like this and not do anything?

We were told that our lawsuit against Gangbei Prison has initiated a series of lawsuits by a number of victims against the prison and its followers. Many people have filed lawsuits, and many others have agreed to testify on the witness stand. More than a dozen victims co-signed to be the witnesses for our lawsuit. It is clear that Gangbei Prison officials have committed criminal deeds, including using torture. However, the regime's law agencies pretend they do not know about any evildoings taking place in Gangbei Prison. Even worse, they refuse to do any investigation. Such government agencies terrorize ordinary people.

During the process of our appeal, I have seen that many government employees are kind and empathize with our situation. The ruling regime makes grave mistakes, but just resistance against it can be disastrous. It is a disaster for China. The regime is guilty of criminal deeds.

I have heard that some media outside China are following our case, and some foreigners were touched by our determination. As a matter of fact, we just want to touch the hearts of those regime officials, but they are not moved.

We heard that a Falun Gong practitioner named Han who accompanied us was arrested. I want to say that, just like my son, he is a loyal and honest young man. He deserves to be respected, but instead he is being persecuted.

We are hoping that our son will come home soon, and that kindhearted people will offer their help.

In this letter we want to express our gratitude toward those who have cared for, helped and encouraged us. We also want to thank the 2,300 people who signed the petition to support our cause, including those government employees who have sympathy for us. We thank those selfless and courageous Falun Gong practitioners who gave us warmth during the coldest days in our lives.

We stood in the chilly open area in front of the prison gate for days, wearing our special jackets with explanations on the them. Because of those kindhearted people who also stood there with us outside the metal gate, we felt that this is still a humane world, and thus we did not feel lonely.”

Zhou Xiangyang’s parents: Zhou Zhencai and Wang Shaoping

In March 2012 from Changli, Qinhuandao City