(Minghui.org) In the past 20 years of the persecution of Falun Gong, Mr. Wang Shouming was detained and tortured for two years in a forced labor camp and a total of nine years in prison for not giving up his belief. When he was finally released, he was bankrupt and his health was irreversibly ruined. Yet the local police and officials continue to monitor him to this day.
Mr. Wang, 67, is from Shuicheng County, Guizhou Province. Before he began to practice Falun Gong in July 1996, he had many bad habits, including excessive drinking, gambling, and being promiscuous. He also often had colds and fevers, and contracted a persistent skin condition that wouldn't go away despite medical treatment.
Shortly after he picked up Falun Gong, his chronic illnesses were gone and he was able to break his bad habits by following the practice's core principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. He became a very different person and the locals admired him for his generosity and kind heart.
After the persecution of Falun Gong began in July 1999, Mr. Wang went to Beijing to appeal for his faith. Before he got a chance to board the train on November 26, 1999, agents from Liupanshui 610 Office and officers from Zhongshan Police Department seized him. He was detained at Liupanshui First Detention Center before being taken to Zhongba Forced Labor Camp to serve a three-year term.
Although Mr. Wang was released before his term expired, he was arrested again on June 7, 2001. Agents from 610 Office ransacked his home. He was sentenced to four years in prison by Zhongshan District Court and ordered to serve time at Duyun Prison.
Mr. Wang was arrested for the third time on September 29, 2007 for helping another practitioner to find a place to live. He was sentenced by Zhongshan District Court to six years in Duyun Prison. He was released one year earlier on June 22, 2012 after being pressured by the authorities to write statements to renounce Falun Gong.
Below is a snapshot of the torture that Mr. Wang was subjected to during his two-time imprisonment at Duyun Prison and one-time incarceration at the labor camp.
1. Felons Chosen to Torture Practitioners
The prison guards hand picked felons (called collaborators) who were often gang members to physically abuse imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners. Once practitioners were forced to give up their belief against their will, the guards received bonuses and the collaborators had their terms reduced.
Mr. Wang barely saw any guards during his years of imprisonment. The collaborators monitored him around the clock and physically and mentally abused him.
2. Sitting Still and Sleep Deprivation
As soon as Mr. Wang was put in prison, the guards isolated him from other practitioners and placed him in a cell with 16-18 collaborators. During the day he had to sit still all day on a very small stool with less than 15 cm (6 in) on each side.
At night he wasn’t allowed to sleep, as a bright light bulb and loud noise was turned on in the cell. Three collaborators surrounded him and as soon as he dozed off or yawned, they slapped, punched, choked and pushed him to kept him awake. They took turns and forced him to converse or memorize prison rules so that his brain couldn’t be idle.
A week of brainwashing and lack of sleep caused Mr. Wang severe headaches and he became non-responsive to the surroundings.
3. Hunger
The prison provided the practitioners with food that was repulsive. The practitioners stayed hungry all the time and some eventually gave up their faith to stay alive.
For years Mr. Wang was given moldy rice, poached vegetables, sprouting potatoes, and radishes too hard to chew. There wasn’t any oil in the food and it was mixed with worms, leaves, and dirt. Mr. Wang often had diarrhea and eventually only ate rice soaked in water. Due to the lack of nutrition, he was severely underweight with most of his teeth falling out.
4. Exhausting Practitioners with Military Style Training
During his first three months at Zhongba Forced Labor Camp, Mr. Wang was forced to run almost all day long, rain or shine. He woke up at 6 a.m. and immediately started running until 7 p.m. with only two meal breaks. If he was too exhausted to run, he would be forced to do other physical training such as standing with one leg up, squatting, and doing push-ups.
After dinner he was subjected to 5 hours of brainwashing: watching videos that slandered Falun Gong or listening to the collaborators defame his belief. Every night he went to bed at 1 a.m. and was woken up every half an hour until 6 a.m. when the abusive cycle resumed.
Within a month Mr. Wang’s legs were swollen and his crotch area became swollen and festered due to excessive sweating and friction during the intensive physical activity. He was once denied showers for nine months. Many times he was not allowed to use a toilet or was only given very limited use.
Mr. Wang injured his back while moving a large rock on the order of the labor camp guards. Later he contracted tuberculosis and was constantly coughing up blood and running a fever. The practitioners who refused to renounce Falun Gong were denied hospital treatment.
When Mr. Wang was at the verge of death, he had no choice but sign the statements to renounce his faith in order to be hospitalized. More than ten years of torture in prison took a huge toll on his health. He has still not recovered and hence unable to hold a job. Financially he was broke. He and his children are still being monitored by agents from the local 610 Office and police officers.