Name: Niu Lianwa (牛连娃)
Gender: Female
Age: 47
Address: Qijia Village, Xinxin Township, Gangu County
Occupation: Farmer
Date of Most Recent Arrest: June 1, 2012
Most Recent Place of Detention: Gangu Drug Addiction Treatment Center (甘谷戒毒所)
City: Tianshui
Province: Gansu
Persecution Suffered: Home ransacked, interrogation, detention
(Minghui.org) Falun Dafa practitioner Ms. Niu Lianwa from Gangu County, Tianshui, Gansu Province, was arrested on June 1, 2012, while taking a nap at home. She was charged with “disturbing social order” and illegally detained for eight days.
In October 1998, an acquaintance gave Ms. Niu a copy of the Falun Dafa book Zhuan Falun. Ms. Niu finished the book in one sitting and then continued reading it from that time onward. She was deeply moved by the principles of returning to one’s true self and raising her moral character, so she started practicing Falun Dafa. She studies the teachings of Falun Dafa and cultivates her xinxing daily. She learned the five exercises on July 20, 1999, (the day the persecution began) and she now has steadfast belief in Teacher and Dafa. She didn’t listen to the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) lies and slander on television. She follows the Dafa standards of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in her daily life. As a result, her family is happy, and she maintains pleasant relationships with her neighbors. Her illnesses have disappeared, and she has been healthy for 14 years. She no longer becomes tired when doing farm work.
Ms. Niu eliminated her bad habits of criticizing people and hitting her children, and she is always helpful to neighbors and cares for the elderly, sick, and handicapped villagers. Her husband, friends, family, and in-laws have witnessed the wonders of Dafa through her. They all agree that Dafa practitioners are good people and that Falun Dafa is good.
At approximately 3:00 p.m. on June 1, 2012, Ms. Niu was taking a nap at home, when the captain and officers from the Domestic Security Unit of Gangu County Police Department, along with officers from the Xinxin Police Station, broke in. They asked her, “Do you practice Falun Gong?” When she said she did, the officers then started searching and ransacking her home. They confiscated two copies of Zhuan Falun, one MP4 player, two Shen Yun Performing Arts DVDs, one of Teacher's articles, a Shen Yun choral audio CD, and two CDs containing computer programs. They put all the items on the table and photographed them. They then ordered Ms. Niu to the police department, saying “You need to verify that these are yours, that’s all.”
Ms. Niu went to the Domestic Security Unit office in the police department. Officers began interrogating her, asking, “Where did you get the book? Where did you get the CDs? When did you start practicing Falun Gong? Who are you in contact with? Where do you do the Falun Gong exercises? Who else in your village practices Falun Gong?” They also claimed that Falun Gong was against CCP directives. After the interrogation, they ordered Ms. Niu to sign the written records. She refused and explained the truth about Falun Dafa to them. The captain told his subordinates, “Handcuff this person. She keeps talking.”
After she was handcuffed, two officers grabbed her arms while another dragged her by the handcuff chain and took her downstairs. Ms. Niu asked, “Where are you taking me?” “To the car,” they replied. When Ms. Niu asked to have her books returned, an officer said, “They're all in the car.” The police also called her husband and told him to bring a blanket. An officer placed all of the books in a box and stepped on it. Ms. Niu told them, “Let me hold it. These are about divine beings and Buddha. It is not good for you to step on it.”
They arrived at the Gangu Drug Addiction Treatment Center, and the Domestic Security Unit captain said, “You will be detained here for a few days.” When Ms. Niu asked why, he replied, “You disturbed social order.” Ms. Niu asked, “Did you find guns in my home? Did I yell at people on the streets? Did I gather people to cause trouble?” The captain replied, “The Chinese Communist Party accused you of this crime, so you're responsible for it, regardless if you're guilty or not.”
After the paperwork was completed, it was already 6:00 p.m. A policewoman came to measure Ms. Niu’s height and took her to an office with a camera. Ms. Niu asked, “How is this measuring my height?” The policewoman said, “We will put your picture on the Internet. Everyone will know about your crime by tomorrow. We will take a picture on Monday (June 4).” Another officer (surnamed Xie) was walking with a limp. He insulted the Falun Gong Teacher, and after he returned to work the next day, his leg was even more disabled. Ms. Niu explained the reason to him – that it happened because he defamed Falun Dafa and insulted Dafa's Teacher. Xie immediately changed his tone and claimed that he was joking that day.
On her third day in detention, Ms. Niu started feeling pain in her back. Deputy director Liu called in a doctor, who diagnosed Ms. Niu with cholecystitis (inflammation of the gallbladder). On the eighth day of her detainment, Ms. Niu clarified the truth about Falun Gong to the detention center director. The director said, “I will hold you in the restroom for the entire night.” Ms. Niu replied, “If you do good things and are kind to Dafa practitioners, you will be rewarded.” The director laughed and said, “If you're telling the truth, I won't put you in the restroom tonight.”
On June 9, Ms. Niu developed some abnormal symptoms: she was very weak and could barely move. The director told her to gather her things. At approximately 8:00 a.m., Ms. Niu was released, but only after having 225 yuan (over $35 USD) extorted from her for “living expenses.”
