(Minghui.org) Ms. Wu Li, a retired Lieutenant Colonel, is suing the Chengdu Domestic Security Division after she was arrested on September 4, 2013 and detained in a brainwashing facility for one day for practicing Falun Gong. Ms. Wu is seeking reparations for the wrongful arrest and detention, as well as cash and other personal possessions seized from her home by police after the arrest.
In her complaint, Ms. Wu stated that she was first taken to two hospitals for physical examinations, during which a struggle took place with police officers that left her with bruises on her forehead and other parts of her body. She was then detained at the Chengdu Legal Education Center, a “black jail” and brainwashing facility where authorities use violence and torture to coerce Falun Gong practitioners to renounce their beliefs.
Upon her release, she realized that her home had been ransacked. Two weeks later, several unidentified men came to her home and harassed her. For an entire week, three people followed her wherever she went, day or night. Some of her friends were also arrested and interrogated by police.
Getting the Message Out
While in custody, Ms. Wu learned from others about the horrors that happened in the brainwashing center, including drugged food that led to the deaths of at least seven detainees. Their bodies were then taken by riot police and cremated against the wishes of their families, who were paid money by the authorities to keep quiet.
After she was released from the brainwashing center, Ms. Wu recalled thinking to herself, “This is wrong. I need to speak up and let people know what happened.” Ms. Wu added that the facility “should be abolished, and people who conduct brainwashing there should be held responsible.”
Although Ms. Wu is frustrated at the authorities' lack of accountability and response to her complaints, she remains positive. “One day, the perpetrators will understand from the bottom of their hearts that they are violating the law by persecuting good people, and the general public will also understand that the Communist regime is committing crimes. By that time, there will no room for the evil to hide, and justice will shine forth.”
Prior Arrest for Buying Performing Arts Tickets
The latest arrest was Ms. Wu's fourth. Before she retired from the army, Ms. Wu had been detained twice for over a year and was not allowed to travel for two years.
When she bought tickets in 2010 to see Shen Yun Performing Arts, a New York-based classical Chinese dance company, perform in Hong Kong, she was arrested for a third time and detained at a Jinhua brainwashing facility for eight days. As a result, she also lost her job as a corporate executive.
“Bai Yongkang, the head of Domestic Security Division, said to me that watching a Shen Yun performance jeopardizes China's national security,” recounted Ms. Wu. Because several of Shen Yun's dances expose the Chinese regime's persecution of Falun Gong, the dance company is not allowed to perform in mainland China.
After Ms. Wu was released, she went to the police station and the 610 Office to request legal paperwork regarding the arrest. However, the authorities “found all kinds of excuses to evade responsibility,” according to Ms. Wu. For example, “The 610 Office's sign was scratched off from the doorplate, and you had to look very closely to see the color left on the glass door. The official who received me refused to tell me his name and position. Later, I found he was the deputy head of the 610 Office, Luo Yixiang.”
“At first, he denied ordering the police to arrest me. When I pointed out that they should take responsibility for the things they did, he burst out: 'I will immediately arrest you if you continue talking...'” recalled Ms. Wu.
The next day, Ms. Wu went to the Wuhou District government and met Fu Xiaolin, the head of 610 Office there. She said that Fu proudly told her, “I told my family members that if they practice Falun Gong, I would surely turn against them.”
Despite the threats she received, Ms. Wu continued to seek justice through legal channels. “When I was arrested, my family paid 500 yuan (~$80 USD) to Liu Xiaokang, the head of the Jinhua brainwashing center. Liu told me he would return the money when I'm released. But a month after I returned home, he still hadn't returned the money. I called him several times, and he began to threaten me. In the end, he reluctantly returned the money to me after I complained about him at the 610 Office.”
Ms. Wu continued, “When I talked with different government officials, they kept asking me whether I practiced Falun Gong. I told them, 'I don't have the obligation to tell any individual or organization what I believe'. What they did as government officials really disappointed me.”
Apology from Company Leadership
After her arrest in 2010, her employer was pressured by local authorities to dismiss her. However, her importance at the company made the decision a difficult one. In the end, Ms. Wu chose to leave the company voluntarily. One of the company's main investors later invited her to a private dinner and apologized several times.
