Name: Li Xiurong (李秀荣)
Gender: Female
Age: 45
Address: Unknown
Occupation: Hairdresser
Date of Most Recent Arrest: July 19, 2010
Most Recent Place of Detention: Heilongjiang Province Women's Prison (黑龙江省女子监狱)
City: Jiamusi
Province: Heilongjiang
Persecution Suffered: Electric shock, sleep deprivation, forced labor, brainwashing, illegal sentencing, beatings, being hung up, imprisonment, torture, force-feedings, extortion, physical restraint, home ransacked, interrogation, detention, denial of restroom use, denied visitation
Key Persecutors: Guo Weishan (郭维山), Gao Xiaohua (高晓华), Hong Wei (洪伟), Zhu Tiehong (祝铁红), Li Xiujin (李秀锦), Li Caihong (李彩虹), Song Peixia (宋佩侠), Zhang Xiaodan (张小丹), and Lin Wei (林伟)
Defense Attorneys: Names Unknown
(Minghui.org) Ms. Li Xiurong, a 45-year-old Falun Gong practitioner from Jiamusi City, developed heart problems after more than one and a half years of persecution in Heilongjiang Province Women's Prison, according to a Minghui report in January. Most of Ms. Li's hair has turned gray, and her family worries about her constantly.
Ms. Li Xiurong
After the persecution of Falun Gong began, Ms. Li Xiurong went to Beijing twice to appeal for justice for Falun Gong, but was arrested twice. Later she was arrested four times for clarifying the truth to people and posting truth-clarification materials, and suffered through three years of forced labor. On October 18, 2010, Ms. Li was sentenced to three years of prison. Her persecution also affected her family, who had 30,000 yuan extorted from them.
Benefiting from the Practice, a Whole Family Found Happiness
Ms. Li Xiurong, born on November 19, 1968, was a hairdresser, whose home was in the suburbs of Jiamusi City, Heilongjiang Province. She began to practice Falun Dafa in 1997.
Before her practice of Falun Dafa, Ms. Li Xiurong suffered from neurasthenia, a psychological disorder characterized by chronic fatigue and weakness, and loss of memory. She also had inflammation of the gallbladder, cerebral insufficiency and frequent dizziness. She often had to have IV injections and acupuncture, and spent a lot of money on medical bills. A few days after she started practicing Falun Dafa, Ms. Li felt her whole body becoming light, and she became really happy. Three months later, all of her illnesses disappeared. Through studying the Fa, Ms. Li understood how to be a good person and got rid of her bad temper. She became a better person and took good care of her parents, as well as her mother-in-law, who was bedridden.
On August 24, 2010, the Minghui website published an article from Ms. Li Xiurong's daughter, titled “Mother, When Could You Come Back Home?” Her daughter talked about how Ms. Li had changed after practicing Falun Gong and their family found happiness.
Persecuted for Appealing in Beijing
In May 2000, Ms. Li told her family about her decision of going to Beijing to appeal. But her family, who had been deceived by the CCP's lies, informed the police. The police arrested her and took her to the Jiamusi City Detention Center. Seven days later, she was released after her family was extorted 1,000 yuan.
In October 2000, Ms. Li and four Falun Gong practitioners went to Beijing to appeal. They displayed a banner that read “Falun Dafa is good” in Tiananmen Square, but were arrested by the police. They were taken to the Tiananmen Square Police Station, and later transferred to the Beijing Shunyi Detention Center. She was interrogated for her name and address. After she told them her name and address, she wrote an appeal letter. Two days later, she was sent to the Jiamusi Government's Liaison Office in Beijing. Later, the police from the Jiamusi Yonghong Police Department escorted Ms. Li and three other practitioners back. By then they had been detained in the detention center for more than a month. Ms. Li was extorted 4,000 yuan and was released before the Chinese New Year.
Arrested and Sentenced to Forced Labor
In the middle of July 2001, Ms. Li Xiurong went to Shangganling District, Yichun City and posted truth-clarification materials. She was arrested and sent to the detention center. The materials and 190 yuan in cash were confiscated. Her husband was extorted 2,000 yuan. Police officer Guo Weishan tried to extort 1,000 yuan from her family to reduce her sentence of three years of forced labor to one year, but her family refused. She was then sent to the Jiamusi Forced Labor Camp for a three-year term.
Ms. Li Xiurong Talks about Her Persecution in the Labor Camp
“Five practitioners and I were sent to the Jiamusi Forced Labor Camp, including one practitioner with high blood pressure and one who just had an operation for breast cancer. We were separated and each put into a room with inmates who collaborated with the guards. They rotated to monitor us and we were deprived of sleep. Some practitioners were unable to bear the torture and had to give up the practice.
Some practitioners who were very determined were confined in solitary cells for several months and not allowed to have any contact with other practitioners.
The TVs and radio in the labor camp played recordings that defame Falun Gong, trying to brainwash practitioners. All the practitioners were forced to do hard labor without pay. Some steadfast practitioners were monitored by inmates and not allowed to see their families on visitor days. The inmates took away the food and other stuff that practitioners’ families sent to them. Some practitioners were deprived of bathing for two to three months and scabies grew all over their bodies.
I realized that this was not the place I should stay, so I began a hunger strike to protest the persecution. A few days later, more than ten practitioners joined the hunger strike. One morning, all of us were called to an office and several camp guards began to force-feed us one by one. When it was my turn, I gripped the door frame tightly and refused to go. They forcibly pushed me onto the bed and pushed down my hands and feet. They pinched my nose and pulled my mouth open. Guard Gao Xiaohua also pinched my cheeks. They tried to insert the tubes a few times but failed. The doctor pushed the tube in really deep. I felt nauseous and could not stop my tears. The torture lasted for more than two hours.
In April 2002, I began another hunger strike. On the third day, I was nauseous and vomited green liquids. On the fifth day, I was sent to the labor camp hospital. On the sixth day, I was transferred to the central hospital. Then I managed to escape.”
The camp guards searched for Ms. Li everywhere. They went to her brother's home and beat him up. Then her brother was detained for five days. They also went to Ms. Li's hometown and harassed her mother and sister. They forced Ms. Li's brother to pay all the costs of searching for her. Camp guard Li Xiujin and another guard lived in Mr. Li's mother-in-law's home for two days. Camp guard Li Yongbo broke into the home of Ms. Li's sister-in-law and searched the place. The camp guards also went to Ms. Li's sister's home to harass her. Many of her other relatives were also harassed, and their phones were tapped. The guards also followed Ms. Li's daughter—a fifth-grade elementary school student—and tried to trick her to find out where Ms. Li was. Her daughter was so scared that she was sick for more than two weeks. They followed her daughter to practitioner Wang Shuxin's home. They confiscated a refrigerator and a TV, and also took practitioner Wang Shuxin to the Yonghong Police Department.
One month later, Ms. Li was arrested again and sent back to the labor camp.
“I was brought back to the labor camp in handcuffs,” she recalled. “When I entered the office, camp guard Hong Wei slapped me twice and Wang Xiurong slapped me as well. Zhu Tiehong confiscated 260 yuan in cash from me. I asked Zhu to return the money, but she refused. Later, I was handcuffed to the steel chair for seven days and nights. During this period, I was deprived of sleep for three days and nights and Li Xiujin slapped me a few times. Later, I was brought to the second floor and handcuffed to a bed.
The camp guards even tortured elderly practitioners who refused to renounce Falun Gong. They handcuffed these practitioners behind their backs. But guards Zhang Xiaodan and Liu Yadong, who participated in the torture, were promoted.
Torture re-enactment: Handcuffed behind the back
In October 2002, trying to force all the practitioners to renounce Falun Gong, the officials of the Jiamusi Forced Labor Camp began another round of brutal persecution. They forced the practitioners to sit on a large wooden spool meant for electric wire and watch videos that defamed Dafa. After a few days, our buttocks festered, sticking to our pants, and it was very painful. Some practitioners were forced to sit on the brick floor with two legs straightened and hands on the knees. Slogans defaming Dafa were posted all over the walls. Some camp guards held electric batons and rubber clubs in their hands while watching the practitioners. Every day, a few practitioners were pulled downstairs and handcuffed behind their backs, one arm over the shoulder and the other arm coming up from behind. After two weeks of brainwashing torture, practitioners who refused to renounce Falun Gong were brought to the second floor for further torture.
Torture re-enactment: Forced to sit for a long time on a small stool
In the beginning, four of us were put into one room and forced to sit on small stools all day. On the second day, I was put into a room by myself with the collaborators. They tried to deceive me into giving up Falun Gong, but failed. On the third evening, camp guard Zhang Xiaodan and Lin Wei handcuffed me to the bed board, with both hands behind my back like before. I was in a great deal of pain after just a few minutes. They then shook the handcuffs to make me suffer more. I was sweating all over my body. The torture lasted for more than half an hour.
Two days later, I was brought back to the big room holding about 18 practitioners. We were forced to watch videos and not allowed to speak. The brainwashing lasted from 5:00 a.m. to midnight every day.
A week later, Zhang Xiaodan brought me to the first floor. Five collaborators and an inmate were there already. They pushed me down to the ground, and then handcuffed me behind my back to the steel bed. Later, Liu Yadong began to shake the handcuffs to torture me. After 30 minutes, my heart disease relapsed. They put me on the bed for half an hour, and then took me to the office. They took out a transformation letter and put my name on it, but I would not sign it.
In October 2003, I held a hunger strike for 13 days to protest the persecution. I was often force-fed. Later, I started to vomit a green liquid, which was likely bile. Later I had the symptoms of heart disease. The camp doctor could barely feel my pulse, and they informed my family. On the second day, they sent me to the hospital. The hospital doctor said I needed to stay in the hospital for treatment, but they forcibly brought me back to the labor camp. A few days later, my family members came and sent me to the hospital. Even in the hospital I was handcuffed, and there were camp guards taking turns watching me.
In 2003, during the time of the National People's Congress Conference and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the camp officials launched another round of brutal persecution. Practitioners were forced to sit on steel chairs from 5:00 a.m. until the evening or midnight. The torture lasted for two months. Many practitioners' buttocks were festering. The camp guards also handcuffed practitioners hands behind their back, one over the shoulder and the other one coming up from behind, to torture us. I was tortured this way three times.”
In the Jiamusi Forced Labor Camp, the camp officials did not allow practitioners' families to visit them. Practitioners were deprived of sleep and forced to watch videos or listen to audio recordings that defamed Falun Gong. They also brought in practitioners' children and families and asked them to persuade practitioners to give up their beliefs. The camp guards used different methods to try to transform Ms. Li Xiurong, but failed. The practitioners' term were extended when they refused to cooperate.
More Arrests and Extortion
In November 2004, when Ms. Li Xiurong was distributing truth-clarification materials around the Jiamusi Milk Corporation, she was reported to the authorities and arrested. She was brought to the Changhong Police Station, and then sent to the detention center. They tried to extort money and threatened to sentence her to forced labor. Ms. Li's brother paid 1,500 yuan to get her released.
On February 19, 2009, Ms. Li went to visit a practitioner. That practitioner had been arrested already, and the police were monitoring that practitioner's home. They caught Ms. Li and brought her to the Xinli Police Station. They found truth-clarification DVDs in her bag and used them as evidence against her. They also interrogated her to get more information.
Torture equipment: Iron Chair
Since Ms. Li did not give them any information, they brought over an Iron Chair and pushed her into it to continue interrogating her. They forcibly pushed her fingers down to sign the interrogation letter against her will.
On April 4, 2009, after her family paid 15,000 yuan, they found a way to have her released. When they came to the detention center to take her home, they were asked to pay 600 yuan for food and 300 yuan for Chen Wanyou, the person that brought them there. After Chen signed the paperwork, Ms. Li was released.
Illegally Sentenced
On July 19, 2010, when Ms. Li Xiurong and Ms. Wang Lixin were distributing truth-clarification materials, they were reported to the authorities. The police from the Changqing Police Station, including Jin Zehua, came and arrested them. Then they were sent to the Jiamusi Detention Center and their families were not allowed to visit them.
On the next day, the police from the Changqing Police Station broke into Ms. Wang's home while nobody was home and ransacked it. They confiscated many personal belongings. When Ms. Wang's family members went to the police station and requested the return of their belongings, director Zhao Ming and Jin Zehua refused.
The families of Ms. Li and Ms. Wang came to the police station every day to request their release, but the police drove them away. Zhao Ming and other police officers also threatened them. The families also went to many other police and law enforcement agencies to request their release, but the officials all found excuses and pointed them to other places. Ms. Li's and Ms. Wang's families got anonymous phone calls asking them to prepare 40,000 yuan to get both practitioners released, but they refused.
At the end of August 2010, section chief Liu Jinguo from Jiamusi City Suburban Procuratorate called both families to inform them that Ms. Li and Ms. Wang were officially arrested. However, their families did not receive any official paperwork. Even when they requested it from the Procuratorate, they were never given anything.
On September 26, 2010, Ms. Li and Ms. Wang's family came to the Changqing Police Station again. Zhao Ming screamed to drive them away and threatened to arrest them. He also harshly pushed Ms. Li's elderly mother. On the same day, the family members went to the Procuratorate and got the news that both practitioners' cases were sent to the court, so they decided to hire defense lawyers for them.
Since their arrests, Ms. Li and Ms. Wang had been detained in the detention center. At the detention center, one day, Ms. Wang protested the illegal detention and requested her release. A female police officer jumped in front of her and slapped her hard a few times. The detention center officials also made things difficult for practitioners' lawyers to work with them on their cases.
On the morning of October 18, 2010, the Jiamusi City Suburban Procuratorate held a hearing for Ms. Li's and Ms. Wang's cases. At around 8:50 a.m., Ms. Li and Ms. Wang were brought into the court. About ten minutes later, many plainclothes police officers and officials from the 610 Office came to the court. They took pictures of the people who were there and monitored them.
Although the court declared that the cases were open to the public, only two members from each family were allowed to go into the court room. When the four family members were entering the court, they were searched thoroughly, and their watches, cell phones, wallets, and keys were not allowed to be brought inside.
The chief judge was Li Caihong, and the other two judges were Ru Xingde and Han Xu. After prosecutor Liu Jinguo talked about the accusation against the two practitioners, Ms. Li and Ms. Wang peacefully and righteously talked about their physical and mental changes from practicing Falun Gong and their reasons for refusing to renounce Falun Gong. They declared their innocence for believing in Truth-Compassion-Tolerance. Ms. Wang was interrupted several times while she was talking. She also pointed out the false evidence that the prosecutor presented.
The defense lawyer that the practitioners' families hired defended their innocence. He stated that the documents about Falun Gong from the Chinese government were not the law and Falun Gong is legal in China. Ms. Li and Ms. Wang's activities did not harm society. He also told the court staff to follow their moral conscience. The practitioners' family members were understandably angry with the injustice that they have been subjected to.
The prosecutors did not add anything more. When the trial was over, no verdict was issued. On October 23, 2010, the Jiamusi Suburban Court sentenced Ms. Li to three years in prison and Ms. Wang to six and a half years in prison. On the same day, the two practitioners' families hired two lawyers, who filed appeals to the Jiamusi City Intermediate Court and demanded a re-trial. However, Judge Song Peixia from the Jiamusi City Intermediate Court rejected their request, and told them that this was an order from above.
On the morning of November 16, 2010, the two practitioners' family members went to the Jiamusi Suburban Court and requested Judge Li Caihong to tell them why the practitioners were sentenced to their terms. Li answered that this was an order and the minimum term for Falun Gong practitioners is three years. On the same day and the day after, the families also went to the detention center and tried to meet with Ms. Li and Ms. Wang to prepare the appeal documents. However, officials from the detention center refused to allow them to meet with the practitioners.
During the appeal process, the two practitioners' families went to Jiamusi City Intermediate Court to see Judge Song Peixia, but he refused to meet with them. The lawyers tried to call Song a few times but could not reach him. Song used many excuses to delay the appeal process. On November 26, 2010, when the two defense lawyers went to the intermediate court to get the appeal process going, Song found another excuse not to meet with them.
On the morning of December 2, 2010, Ms. Li's and Ms. Wang's family members came to the intermediate court to inquire about the appeal. The court guards did not let them go up to meet with Song, and they had to talk to him on the phone. Song spoke to them rudely and angrily. When they asked him when the trial would be, Song told them that there would be no trial and it was based on orders from above.
Later, Song made the decision of keeping secret the original verdict, with the excuse that the defense lawyers refused to provide the defense reports.
On December 27, 2010, Ms. Li and Ms. Wang filed a lawsuit against the legal officials and Song for their misconduct during the appeal. The lawsuit also requested their immediate release. However, Jiamusi Procuratorate refused to accept the case.
On January 1, 2011, Ms. Li's and Ms. Wang's families heard that the two practitioners were sent to the Heilongjiang Women's Prison and detained in the 9th Division.
The Minghui website reported on January 29, 2012 that Ms. Li Xiurong had been detained in the Heilongjiang Women's Prison for one and a half years. From November 27 to December 4, 2012, the prison guards tortured Ms. Li, trying to force her to renounce her belief. As a result of the torture, she had heart problems, pain in her breasts, and much difficulty breathing.
