(Clearwisdom.net)

Since April 2002, the Public Security Department, its divisions, the local police stations in Jiamusi, Heilongjiang province, in conjunction with Jiamusi "610 Office" [a bureau specifically created by the Chinese government to persecute Falun Gong. It has absolute power over each level of administration in the party, as well as over the political and judiciary branches] headed by Chen Wanyou and Chen Yongde, have extensively arrested practitioners and ransacked their homes. Locked doors of practitioners' homes were pried open and practitioners were illegally detained or sent to forced labor camps when Dafa materials were found in their homes. Practitioners who produced truth-clarification materials were arrested and sentenced. Cu, a former practitioner who gave up Falun Gong out of fear, was detained when police found an exercise tape in his home. In order to reach the targeted number of arrests, police counted him in and sent him to a forced labor camp as well. Police tried to arrest all practitioners on their list. Some practitioners had to leave their families and homes to avoid being arrested.

The practitioners detained in the Jiamusi Detention Center refused to cooperate with the vicious police. Female practitioner Liu Xinmei who refused to wear the waistcoat that is assigned for inmates was dragged to the corridor and then beaten half to death by a male guard named Yuan Hailong. Yuan was notorious for putting a lot of effort into torturing practitioners. Some practitioners went on hunger strikes to protest against the illegal detention. As a punishment, they were barbarously and forcefully fed with high-concentrated salty corn gruel. Some practitioners were kept under restraint on the ground and could not move their hands, feet or head; neither were they allowed to use the toilet. Yuan Hailong would beat and stomp on practitioners' bodies at will whilst he force-fed them. He viciously said, "We have learned that in other detention centers, Falun Gong practitioners who hold hunger strikes are hung upside down for several days. When they are released, they can't see for at least two days. You are lucky that you are only locked on the ground. You are far better off than some of the others." Even inmates who committed serious crimes knew Yuan was evil and had no mercy for practitioners. Some kind-hearted policemen, through dealing with practitioners, know that they are good, innocent people. These policemen asked other inmates to treat the practitioners kindly.

Once a 57-year-old female practitioner called Zhang was arrested. When she got to the detention center she was diagnosed with many diseases including high blood pressure and heart problems by the doctors. However, she was not released from detention. Many elderly and frail practitioners were sent to the forced labor camps along with everyone else. As long as practitioners were reported for practicing Falun Gong, as a rule, they would be sent to forced labor camps. Most practitioners who went on hunger strikes were sent there as well. Sometimes the policemen would say before they arrested them, "Give me 5,000 Yuan [Chinese currency, the monthly salary for an average Chinese urban laborer is about 500 Yuan], and I will let you go." Later on, they would bargain and reduce 5,000 Yuan to 2,000. Practitioners who refused to give the money would be detained. According to an unofficial statistic, Jiamusi "610 Office" and the local police stations have extorted over 1 million Yuan from Dafa practitioners. Many practitioners were put in debt due to the extortion. Practitioners had to pay 25 Yuan each for their waistcoats when they were admitted to the detention center. Those practitioners who were detained longer have been forced to pay triple the amount of money. After practitioners were released, their waistcoats would be "sold" to the newcomers. Each day, practitioners were provided with two stale buns and kohlrabi or cabbage soup. Despite these injustices, practitioners in the detention center remained determined in their belief and continued to diligently send forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil factors in other dimensions.

Telephone number of Jiamusi Detention Center: 86-454-8788675