Ms. Cui Xiuyun Tortured by Heilongjiang Province Rehabilitation Forced Labor Camp

(Minghui.org)

Summary of Key Persecution Facts:

Name: Cui Xiuyun (崔秀云)
Gender: Female
Age: 60s
Address: Heilongjiang Province Jiamusi
Occupation: Accountant
Date of Most Recent Arrest: September 10, 2012
Most Recent Place of Detention: Heilongjiang Province Rehabilitation Forced Labor Camp (黑龙江省戒毒劳教所)
City: Jiamusi
Province: Heilongjiang
Persecution Suffered: Brainwashing, illegal sentencing, imprisonment, solitary confinement, torture, physical restraint, detention, denial of restroom use.

Ms. Cui Xiuyun was formerly an accountant at a rubber factory in Jiamusi. She regained her health through practicing Falun Gong, yet she has been persecuted time and again by the Chinese communist regime over the past 14 years because she has persisted in her belief. Ms. Cui was illegally arrested again in September 2012, and sent to Heilongjiang Province Drug Rehabilitation Forced Labor Camp, where she was tortured both physically and mentally.

 
Ms. Cui Xiuyun

Ms. Cui, 62, went to visit a friend at her place on the evening of September 10, 2012. A group of people whose identities were unknown forced the door open, and entered the house to arrest Ms. Cui. One month later, she was taken to Heilongjiang Province Rehabilitation Forced Labor Camp and sentenced to two years of forced labor for “undermining law enforcement.” The fact is that she was unjustly incarcerated for her belief in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.

Ms. Cui developed symptoms of amnesia on the day she was sent to the labor camp. She repeatedly asked other practitioners who were imprisoned at the labor camp about where they were, why she was sent to the labor camp, how she got there, when she arrived, and so on. She was having a difficult time remembering things. This is a sign of a neurological disorder resulting from mental stress and intense pressure. Despite her condition, prison guards did not treat her with care. She was put through three months of brainwashing and torture.

Forced Brainwashing, Made to Sit on a Small Stool

Seven practitioners from Jiamusi City were arrested and sent straight to the No. 4 Division. This division was set up to carry out the brainwashing of Falun Gong practitioners. Every morning, the practitioners had to get up at 5:00 a.m., and were only allowed to sleep at 10:00 p.m.-midnight. There was no break in between and they were forbidden from using the toilet for long periods of time. They had to take their meals in the brainwashing room.

Practitioners were forced to sit on tiny stools less than one foot high and watch video programs that slandered Dafa and indoctrinated them with other things. If they resisted or shut their eyes, they were reprimanded and punished. Guards also made practitioners write statements repenting their practice of Falun Gong. If they did not comply, their prison sentences were extended.

 
Torture re-enactment: Forced to sit on tiny stools for long hours

The practitioners had to sit on tiny stools every day and watch brainwashing videos for several hours. Consequently their backs ached, their legs became numb, and their buttocks hurt unbearably. Two black rings developed on their buttocks from sitting for long hours. Some practitioners' buttocks were even bleeding. They endured this kind of physical punishment daily, and if they made the slightest mistake, they had to stand for long hours as punishment. The objective of the torture was to make practitioners give up their belief, and write statements promising not to practice Falun Gong.

Forced to Stand for Long Hours

All inmates had to wear a name tag on their chest. Ms. Cui knew that she had not committed any crime in practicing Falun Gong, so she did not consider herself a convict, and therefore refused to wear a name tag. She also refused to write reports as ordered by the labor camp. Her resistance angered prison guards, so they dragged her to a small room where there was no monitoring equipment. She was made to stand for 18 days without a break, from daybreak to night, every day. Ms. Cui suffered from abnormal protrusion of the lumbar disc, and consequently standing for long periods of time was very painful. Her legs became very swollen and turned deep purple. In the end, because her heart beat increased, she nearly fainted from the torture. Only at this point was the torture session ended.

Later, when her son went to visit her, he observed that his mother had difficulty walking and was extremely thin.

Illnesses Subside After Practicing Dafa

Ms. Cui divorced her husband many years ago and raised her two sons alone. She was the sole breadwinner of the family, and the heavy financial burden took a toll on her health. She suffered from many illnesses.

In October 1996, Ms. Cui started practicing Falun Gong. Within a short period of two months, her various medical disorders disappeared. She had previously suffered from rheumatism, angioneurotic headaches, as well as heart disease. She had a huge tendon swelling on her wrist, and could not even lift a basin of water. She tried Chinese medicine, Western medicine, and other treatments, but nothing worked.

After she began practicing Falun Gong, she followed the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, practiced the exercises every day, and cultivated her heart. The swelling on her wrist soon disappeared, and her rheumatism and other ailments improved as well. Spared from the agony caused by these illnesses, she had a lot of hope for the future. Her two sons saw the changes in their mother and became cheerful too. Even friends and relatives witnessed the miraculous healing benefits of practicing Falun Gong through her experience.

Repeatedly Persecuted for Clarifying the Truth

Unfortunately, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began to suppress Falun Gong in July 1999, and fabricated lies to deceive the Chinese people. Ms. Cui used her personal experience as an example to tell others the benefits of practicing Falun Gong. Ms. Cui has been illegally arrested four times during the past 14 years, unlawfully sentenced to labor camp twice, and forced into homelessness to avoid arrest.

Ms. Cui's family is often harassed and rarely sees a day of peace. Last September, she was arrested and again sent to the drug rehabilitation forced labor camp. The intense physical and mental torment in labor camp has had a devastating effect on her.

The labor camp has been detaining and persecuting Falun Gong practitioners since 1999. Guards and officials at the camp have committed numerous crimes over the past decade. Practitioner Xiang Xiaopo from Jiamusi City, arrested together with Ms. Cui, became mentally unstable as a result of the torture barely a few months after her arrest. She was finally allowed to go home after her family negotiated with the labor camp countless times. It has been two months since her release and there has been no sign of recovery. Instead her condition has worsened. Liu Lijie, Zhao Juan, Wang Yingxia, Zhang Shuying, and Ren Shuxian, all of whom were arrested at the same time are still being subjected to brutal torture in prison. They have become very thin and have developed a variety of ailments.

Due to the information blockade in China, many persecution account facts are still unknown. What has been reported is just the tip of the iceberg.

Organizations and officials involved in the persecution:

Heilongjiang Province Rehabilitation Forced Labor Camp
Zhang Hongyan (张洪彦), head: [phone], [phone] (Office)
Hou Xuefeng (侯雪峰), Political and Legal Committee: [phone], [phone]

Please refer to the original Chinese article for more people and offices involved in the persecution.