(From Falun Gong Human Rights Working Group's website www.falunhr.org --
http://www.falunhr.org/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=67&Itemid=83)

Deng Shiying Tortured to Death for Revealing the Persecution
Ms. Deng Shiying

Ms. Deng Shiying was from the Longtan District of Jilin City in Jilin Province. She suffered from sclerosis of the liver, a slipped disk, a spinal injury, serious heart problems, and an overall feeling of hopelessness regarding her life. In 1996, she began practicing Falun Gong and soon recovered from her many sicknesses. She regained her health and vibrancy. Those who knew her remember her kindness, warmth, and courage.

One day in February 2000, as she was sharing her personal story and appreciation of Falun Gong at a fellow practitioner's home, she was arrested and sent to the Heizuizi Women's Labor Camp for one year of forced labor. At the camp, Ms. Deng was forced to do heavy labor during the daytime, but was not allowed to sleep during the night. The guards repeatedly shocked her with electric batons and tied her four limbs to the four corners of a cold metal bed with her body completely stretched in four directions for varying lengths of time. She could not move, nor could she get up to eat, drink, or go to the bathroom. Throughout this time, she not only firmly continued to practice Falun Gong, but also explained to others the nature of the practice so that they could understand that the persecution was wrong. Her inner strength inspired some of the other inmates at the camp, but also frightened the labor camp authorities who decided to punish her more severely and at the end of her original one year term, they extended her sentence by another nine months and eight days. When Ms. Deng went on a hunger strike to protest her prolonged detention, she was tortured and force-fed to the point that she vomited blood.

After her release, she remained deeply committed to letting her fellow Chinese citizens know about the facts of the persecution of Falun Gong. She was arrested again on September 15, 2002 while she was distributing flyers containing information about the persecution. She was detained at the Yongji County Detention Center. On February 18, 2003, the Intermediate People's Court in Jilin Province sentenced her to seven years in prison. During the trial, Ms. Deng wrote in her statement to the court: "Restore my Teacher's good reputation, immediately announce that I am innocent, and release me at once."

In March 2003, she was sent to the Jilin Province Women's Prison to serve her 7-year term. The prison guards ordered eight inmates to torture her daily until she renounced Falun Gong, but she never did. Because of the torture she became very weak and could hardly eat, yet the guards began force-feeding her and continued to do so until she was unable to eat at all, was almost unconscious, and vomited frequently. Her weight dropped down to 25 or 30 kg.

Her family was generally not allowed to visit her, but on the morning of July 18, 2003 as she lay in a coma close to death, her family was ordered to pick her up at the prison. They immediately took her to a hospital for emergency treatment. The doctor informed them that her vital organs had suffered severe injuries and were not functioning - her gallbladder was destroyed, her cranial nerve had suffered from fibrosis and her cerebellum had withered and calcified.

The hospital could do nothing to save her life. The following day, on the afternoon of July 19, 2003, at the age of 42, Ms. Deng passed away because of the injuries she sustained in prison.

A Pregnant Woman was Tortured to Death
Ms. Luo Zhixiang

Ms. Luo Zhixiang lived and worked in Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, after she graduated from university in Wuhan City, Hubei Province. She started to practice Falun Gong in 1996. In her work unit, she was well known for being a kind-hearted person and a hard worker. After former president Jiang Zemin banned practicing Falun Gong, she and her boyfriend, Huang Guohua, went to Beijing to appeal to the government for the right to practice Falun Gong. As a result, they were arrested and detained in Guangzhou City. Then Ms. Luo was dismissed from her job. After their release, they both became homeless in order to avoid being illegally arrested at homes. They were married on April 5, 2000.

In October 2000, the couple was arrested because they distributed Falun Gong flyers. She was released since she was pregnant at that time; however, her husband was detained for 135 days in Baiyun District Detention Center.

In May 2001, Ms. Luo gave birth to their daughter. To avoid being illegally arrested and persecuted, she was forced to send her 3-month-old infant to her mother-in-law and become homeless again. To find her, local authorities put her name on the "Wanted List," and posted a 30,000 Yuan (the average monthly wage is 500 Yuan in China) reward.

On November 22, 2001, local police found Ms. Luo and her husband; they sentenced her husband, who is still being detained in the Huadu Detention Center in Guangzhou City. They sent Ms. Luo to the Zhuhai Detention Center, where she went on a hunger strike to protest the detention. After the seventh day of her hunger strike, she was examined and found to be three months pregnant. The local government, therefore, released her to avoid being responsible if she or her unborn child were to die. Then the Tianhe District's "610 Office," and the Nationhood Administration arrested her at her home, and sent her for forced brainwashing, where she again went on a hunger strike. She was then sent to the Tianhe Traditional Medicine Hospital. Under suspicious circumstances, she "fell" from the 3rd floor on November 31st, which caused a fatal head injury. She died December 4, 2001, when she was 3 months pregnant.

On December 5, 2001, upon hearing that Ms. Luo was dying, Mr. Huang's mother arrived in Guangzhou on December 5, 2001, with Ms. Luo's young daughter. Once there, she found that Ms. Luo had died the previous day from the persecution she received. Since her husband is still detained, Ms. Luo's young daughter is currently being cared for by her husband's parents.

A Couple Tortured, Paralyzed and Sentenced to a 10-Year Prison Term

for Distributing Falun Gong Materials

Mr. Song Jianmin, male, resident of Zhengding County, Hebei Province, employee of the Zhengding County government; Mr. Song's wife, Ms. Zheng Lanrui, female, 39, resident of Zhengding County, Hebei Province, a secretary in the office of the Sports Commission of Zhengding County.

In June 2001, the police of Zhengding County arrested Mr. Song and Ms. Zheng because they practiced Falun Gong and distributed information about the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. The police broke into their homes and confiscated cash and personal property worth more than 30,000 Yuan (the average monthly salary is about 500 Yuan).

During the interrogation, Cai Shengli, the Deputy Chief of Politics and Security Section, handcuffed Mr. Song's hands from behind, forcing the handcuffs to cut into his flesh. As a result, Mr. Song twice lost consciousness from the pain. Cai then kicked Mr. Song's shins with his leather boots and broke his leg. He also ordered a policeman named Zhang Dongpin to beat Mr. Song with a wooden club. Mr. Song's back, legs, and buttocks were bloody, blue and black, and swollen due to the beating. At night, his hands were handcuffed behind his back and tied to a bedpost at a height where he could not stand up or squat. He was forced to stay in this position until 8:00 a.m. the next day. The torture lasted for three days. Later, Mr. Song was sentenced to ten years in prison and sent to Zhengding County Detention Center.

At the same time, the police beat Ms. Zheng to the verge of death and also sent her to Zhengding County Detention Center. At the detention center, the police continued to torture her. After six months of this torture, they sent her to the county hospital for emergency treatment. Ms. Zheng was left paralyzed and unable take care of herself. The couple's employers stopped paying their salaries, leaving them and their children with no source of income to provide for their daily living.

Husband Tortured to Death, Wife Forced to Abort Fetus

During Eighth Month of Pregnancy

Mr. Shen Lizhi and his wife Ms. Luo Fang lived in Leshan City, Sichuan Province.

On February 1, 2002, while this couple was on a bus in Chengdu City, police officers from the Yingmenkou Police Station in Chengdu City arrested them because they carried information that described the persecution of Falun Gong. They were detained in the Chengdu Detention Center, where officer Tian Xinming, and others from the Chengdu City "610 Office" tortured Mr. Shen.

Because Mr. Shen was on the verge of death due to the torture, he was sent to the Qingyang District People's Hospital in Chengdu City for emergency treatment. On March 3, 2002, Mr. Shen died at the age of 33. The authorities blocked the information and did not notify his parents about his death until one year later.

Ms. Luo was eight months pregnant at the time she was detained. Officer Tian Xinming forced her to have an abortion. Ms. Luo was released from the Chengdu Detention Center on May 8, 2002, and immediately started looking for her husband. However, the authorities denied that Mr. Shen was detained and hid all information about his death.

On December 5, 2002, policemen from the Leshan City Police Station arrested Ms. Luo, beat, and tortured her because she refused to give up Falun Gong. In August 2003 she was sentenced to 12 years in prison and sent to the Chuanxi Prison in Sichuan Province, where she is still being detained.

Chen Yinghua Tortured for Distributing Materials,

Force-Fed and Left in Critical Condition

Ms. Chen Yinghua, female, is a resident of Zhejiang Province. On August 8, 2003, the Jiaxing City police arrested her for distributing materials containing information about the persecution. On September 13, 2003, she was taken to a local detention center, where she went on a hunger strike to protest her detention. The guards ordered criminal inmates to hold her down and force-feed her by inserting a tube through her nasal passage and into her stomach. They handcuffed her, shackled her feet, and tied her tightly to a bed. She was not allowed to go to the restroom. After several days of torture, she was unable to walk.

On September 26, 2003, she was sent to the Zhejiang Province Prison Hospital for further force-feeding. She was kept tied to a bed using a special straightjacket and belt, with a tube through her nasal passage and esophagus. If she attempted to pull out the tube, the inmates that were watching her pulled the straightjacket belts tighter. After one force-feeding by an inmate her entire body convulsed with pain and she vomited blood. The authorities ignored this incidence and continued to force-feed her. After she began throwing up dark red blood with a strong odor, the authorities realized that her stomach lining had hemorrhaged because the feeding tube had adhered to her stomach lining. Her blood pressure was extremely low and she was in critical condition. The authorities switched to forcibly injecting her. When she was finally untied from the bed, she was too weak to walk, her face was very pale, and her hands and feet were ice cold. Her arms were swollen and black and blue with bruises. The blood vessels in her legs collapsed, and blood could not circulate properly. They continued to torture her by inserting needles into her bruises.

On October 13, 2003, the authorities permitted Ms. Chen to be bailed out because her brother in Canada exposed her torture to the public. She is awaiting a trial in China.

A Woman Six Months Pregnant Beaten For Practicing Falun Gong
Wounds of a Female Pregnant Falun Gong Practitioner

I have practiced Falun Gong for four years. I have become very peaceful, and my health has improved since then. After the government started persecuting Falun Gong, I was monitored like many other practitioners. One day when several other practitioners and I were attending a Falun Gong sharing experience conference, we were reported. The police surrounded the meeting place. At that time I was six months pregnant. We were not allowed to use the restroom there. When I requested to use restroom, one policeman beat my abdomen with a wooden rod. Then the police forced us to get in a police vehicle. Because I refused to cooperate with them, they pushed me to the ground, beat my body with a wooden rod, dragged my hair, and punched my face with their fists. My face and mouth were covered with bruises and blood, I had loose teeth, and my clothes were bloodstained.

In the police station, I was forced to stand for a long period of time. Later I was locked in a small cell. Finally, because they were afraid to be held responsible for beating a pregnant woman, they released me after extorting 3000 Yuan (the average monthly income of a Chinese worker is about 500 Yuan) from my husband.

Widespread Sexual Abuse Used to Torture Female Falun Gong Practitioners

at Dalian Labor Camp in Liaoning Province

Dalian Labor Camp is located at 175 Nanlin Street in Dalian City, Liaoning Province. Since the Chinese government began persecuting Falun Gong in July 1999, thousands of male and female Falun Gong practitioners have been detained at this labor camp. The authorities of the labor camp use all means imaginable to torture practitioners and force them to renounce their belief in Falun Gong.

In the Women's Section of the labor camp, sexual abuse is a common form of torture used by guards for this purpose. The guards often strip off practitioners' clothes and use various methods to torture them, including beating them on their breasts, pushing brushes into their vaginas until they bleed, and inserting hot pepper paste and dirty rags into their vaginas. As a result of this torture, many female practitioners are now disabled and have difficulty walking; four female practitioners were recently tortured to death at this labor camp.

The following stories relay the abuse suffered by eleven women from Liaoning province who were all detained at Dalian Labor Camp simply for practicing Falun Gong:

Ms. Jin Guirong, a 58-year old woman from Jinshitan District in Dalian City, has been detained for over a year at Dalian Labor Camp. At the end of December 2002, after being detained at the labor camp for more than 10 days, she was taken to the brainwashing center of the labor camp because she continued to stand by her belief in the practice. There, the guards instigated other inmates to deprive her of sleep, as well as curse at and beat her. When she still would not denounce Falun Gong, they locked her inside a one-meter by one-meter iron cage in which she was unable to stand up or lay down. Even after having been released from the cage, she still has difficulty walking.

Ms. Xu Jinhuan is 54 years old. On one occasion, the guards coerced other inmates to beat her because she sang songs that mentioned Falun Gong. Then, several of the camp guards tied her hands and feet together and hung her up in the air while they beat her inner thighs with wooden boards. These beatings caused her thighs to turn black and blue.

When Ms. Wang Lijun, age 33, refused to renounce Falun Gong, the camp guards locked her inside a one-meter by one-meter iron cage for over a month. During that time, she was unable to either stand up or lay down but was forced to sit or squat. As a result, she had difficulty walking even after being released from the cage. Later, the camp guards rammed brushes used for cleaning shoes into her vagina, which caused vaginal bleeding. They also broke both her legs; today Ms. Wang is disabled because of this torture.

When Ms. Wang Xiumei refused to recite the rules of the labor camp as a way of protesting her unlawful detention, the camp guards forcefully beat her, breaking two of her ribs and knocking out one of her teeth.

Upon Ms. Bi Daihong's arrival at Dalian Labor Camp, several guards beat her from which she sustained injuries such as bruises on her nose and eyes, swollen feet, and black and blue marks on her legs. As a result of this abuse, she now walks with a limp.

Ms. Chang Xuexia, age 34, was locked in an iron cage and beaten by other inmates because she stood by her belief in Falun Gong. At the behest of the camp guards, the inmates stripped her and tortured her by placing a basin of water underneath her and forcing brushes used for cleaning shoes into her vagina. The inmates continued to torture her in this manner until her vagina began to bleed and she lost consciousness because of the extreme pain.

When Ms. Man Chunrong refused to renounce her belief in Falun Gong, guards at the labor camp injected hot pepper paste into her vagina.

Ms. Cheng Hui is a 27 year-old woman from the Jinzhou District of Dalian City. Guards at the labor camp locked her into an iron cage and then hung her from the window bars with her hands handcuffed behind her back and only her toes touching the ground.. The guards also coerced inmates to insert hot pepper paste into her vagina, take it out and put it into her mouth. As a result of the torture she has suffered at the labor camp, Ms. Cheng now has difficulty walking.

Ms. Qu Sumei is from the Shahekou District of Dalian City. Because she refused to renounce her practice of Falun Gong, she was locked in an iron cage. On another occasion, she was hung up with her hands and feet tied together while inmates inserted dirty rags, hot pepper paste, and other items into her vagina. As a result of this torture, she was unable to lie down on a bed for three months.

Ms. Han Shuhua from Dalian City became disabled after both her legs were broken from beatings the camp guards meted out while she was locked in an iron cage.

Because Ms. Sun Yan from Dalian City said "Falun Gong is good", she was locked in an iron cage and tortured for over ten days.. As a result of this torture she is now unable to walk without assistance.

Because of her Belief, Qing Mingzhen Persecuted and Her Family Harassed

Ms. Qing Mingzhen, female, from Chengdu City, Sichuan Province was detained twice by the Xiaotianzhu Police Station. She was sentenced to forced labor for going to Beijing on November 29, 1999 to appeal to the government to stop the persecution of Falun Gong. In March 2000, Ms. Qing, along with her nine-year-old daughter, went to Beijing to appeal again. She was detained for over thirty days and also dismissed from her job. In December 2000, Ms. Qing was sentenced to one and a half years in the labor camp because she distributed flyers containing information about the persecution.

Ms. Qing was not released until June 2002. In early July of 2002, Ms. Qing spent a vacation at her relatives' home in Hongyuan City, Sichuan Province. Local government officials constantly telephoned to harass her, and even had people follow and monitor her, causing tremendous stress to her family. This continued until her return to Chengdu. A few days later, when Ms. Qing visited her daughter at her mother-in-law's home, policemen harassed them by telephoning at around 1 o'clock in the morning. Her nearly 70-year-old parents and other family members were scared, and the disturbance caused her father-in-law's high blood pressure to relapse. A few days later, less than ten minutes after Ms. Qing's return home, three policemen went to her home and attempted to abduct her. The next morning, deceived by the police, Ms. Qing's brother sent her to a brainwashing class. A policeman slapped her face forcefully 18 times in front of her family, causing her dizziness and profuse bleeding from her nose. Police then handcuffed her hands behind her back to a tree. Later, Ms. Qing managed to escape but has become destitute and homeless.

Wang Zhiguo, a Handicapped Man,

Shocked by Electric Batons while Sitting in the Water

Mr. Wang Zhiguo, male, handicapped, resident of Jianping County, Liaoning Province. On January 26, 2002, police from the Hebei Police Station in Jianping County arrested Mr. Wang, and detained him at a detention center in Jianping County, because he practiced Falun Gong.

At the detention center, he was deprived of sleep twice for a total of eight days and nights. Since Mr. Wang was not able to stand or walk, police put him on the floor in a puddle of water, and shocked him with several electric batons for six hours. The strong electric current made Mr. Wang twist and spasm, and his whole body was covered with sweat. After the torture, his hands became badly swollen for several months and he became very weak and emaciated.

After a few months of detainment, Mr. Wang was sentenced to three years of forced labor. However, no labor camp would accept a disabled person like him, so the police wanted to extort 7000 Yuan (500 Yuan is the average monthly income for an urban worker in China) from his family and release him. Since his family was unable to pay the money, he was sentenced to seven years in jail. Mr. Wang has been detained in the No. 4 Dabei Prison in Shenyang City, Liaoning Province. The persecution on Mr. Wang had great impact on his family. He has elderly parents, his wife who is mentally unstable, and two children who are students, used to depend on his income to survive. Without his income, they have become indigent.

Wei Xingyan was Publicly Raped by Police in Chongqing City

Ms. Wei Xingyan, 28, is a third-year graduate student majoring in high-voltage electricity transmission at Chongqing University. Ms. Wei was arrested and interrogated by the "610 Office" in Shapingba District, Chongqing City on May 11, 2003 because police suspected that she had put up balloons and banners that have the words of Falun Gong around the campus.

On the evening of May 13, 2003, one policeman took Ms. Wei to a room in the Baihelin Detention Center in Shapingba District. He then ordered two female prisoners to strip her naked. Then, the policeman pinned her to the ground and raped her in front of the two female prisoners.

Ms. Wei then began a hunger strike to protest the torture at the detention center. The guards force-fed her. During the forced feeding, they purposely damaged her trachea and esophagus with the feeding tube, which disabled her in such a way that she could no longer talk. On May 22, 2003, she was on the verge of death and was sent to the Southeast Hospital in Chongqing City. Many plainclothes police from the "610 Office" monitored her around the clock to prevent her from sharing the truth about how she had been tortured and raped.

Due to the extremely tight information blockade, little else is known about Ms. Wei's current situation. Since June 2003, out of fear that Ms. Wei's case might be exposed, the "610 Office" has arrested more than 50 Falun Gong practitioners in Chongqing City.

Yang Jingfang Sentenced for Appealing to the Government

Ms. Yang Jingfang, born on September 30, 1949, was a senior technician working for Jianghuai Instrument and Meter Plant in Hefei City, and lived in Room 507, 25 Shuihu Road, Hefei City, Anhui Province. She went to Beijing in May 2000 to appeal for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong, for which the Western District Court of Hefei sentenced her to one year of imprisonment. After her release in 2001, she was deprived of rights of working and welfare.

On October 30, 2002, while away from Hefei on a business trip, Ms. Yang received a phone call from her workplace asking her to return immediately. Police abducted her immediately upon her return.

From October 30 to December 1, 2002, Ms Yang was detained in the post office building, where the police kept her handcuffed her to a chair for 32 days and nights continuously. She was only allowed to sit but not allowed to sleep; nor was she allowed to wash, shower, or change. Due to the long time sitting chained to a chair, her wrists were lacerated, feet swollen, and her hips in pain. She twice entered a prolonged unconscious state from the severe pain in her pelvis, back, spine, and neck. From November into the winter, the room was heated and the air was very dry. The police would not allow her any drink of water, which caused her to have cracked lips and a very painful throat.

On June 5, 2003, Shushan District Court of Hefei sentenced Ms. Yang to three and a half years' imprisonment in the absence of the major "witness", Ms. Wen Yan, and using forced "evidence" extracted by torture, which Ms. Yang had not acknowledged. Ms. Yang is in the process of filing an appeal. She is presently being incarcerated in Hefei Detention Center.

Force-Fed Boiling Water, a Farmer was Tortured to Death
Mr. Zhang Xuewen

Mr. Zhang Xuewen, 54, was a farmer living in Fangtai Town, Hulan County, Heilongjiang Province. He began practicing Falun Gong in 1994.

After July 1999, when the Chinese government banned Falun Gong, he was arrested and detained many times because he continued to practice. In April 2003, local police arrested Mr. Zhang and sent him to the Hulan County Detention Center because he was distributing flyers exposing the persecution of Falun Gong. At the detention center, he went on a hunger strike for more than 90 days to protest the persecution, during which time he was tortured and force-fed. As a result, Mr. Zhang lost so much weight that his condition became very serious. His body appeared to be only skin and bones, his face was ashen, his eyes were tightly closed, and he could not stand.

On June 20, 2003, the guards at the detention center claimed that Mr. Zhang had appendicitis and sent him to the detention center clinic to undergo surgery. The surgery results, however, showed that he did not have appendicitis. Later, to torture him, the doctor and guards at the detention center force-fed him boiling water. The internal damage he sustained caused him to have blood in his stool. In an attempt to hide the torture, the authorities at the detention center would not allow his family to visit him, nor would they let Mr. Zhang seek medical care. Each day, he would lie on a wooden board, unattended.

At the end of July 2003, without any legal process, the legislative and judicial departments of Hulan County sentenced Mr. Zhang to five years in prison. He was already on the verge of death when he was transferred to Hulan Prison in Harbin City on August 7, 2003. Mr. Zhang died of the torture on the morning of August 8, 2003. When his family received notice of his failing condition and went to the prison, he was already dead. His body was all skin and bones, and he had lost all of his teeth due to the torturous force-feeding.

On August 9, 2003, Mr. Zhang's corpse was cremated under the guard of more than ten armed policemen.

Zhao Chunying Tortured to Death, Organs were Taken
Ms. Zhao Chunying

Ms. Zhao Chunying, female, 56, was a Falun Gong practitioner from Jixi City, Heilongjiang Province. Ms. Zhao had been arrested and detained at the Hengshan District Branch Office of the Jixi City Police D epartment in 1999 after the crackdown on Falun Gong began. She was sent to the Wanjia Labor Camp. After her release, she wrote about her ordeal in the labor camp and posted it on the Internet. When the local police from the Hengshan District Branch Office discovered this, they arrested her again on April 15, 2003 and sent her to the Jixi City No. 2 Detention Center. On May 10, 2003, her family was notified of her death.

Ms. Zhao's body was kept at the Jixi Funeral Home. Her family members were extremely shocked upon seeing her injured body. Her eyes were slightly open, her face was a purple-blue color, and there was a big crack on the back of her head. There were bloodstains everywhere, and her ribs were fractured. Her bones and the joints of her arms were clearly visible. Her family decided to take photos and lodge an appeal regarding her death. The guards tried to stop them, saying that no photos were allowed. Ms. Zhao's family persisted and finally managed to take several photos. A forensic doctor then examined her body, but lied under police pressure, saying that the body might have been wounded due to self-inflicted punches, or because she was sick, or that perhaps other prisoners had beaten her to death. Her family asked him, "Why do you refuse to say that it is possible that she was beaten to death by police?" The doctor was silent.

Due to the wretched condition of Ms. Zhao's body, her family requested an autopsy. Through their persistent efforts, the request was granted. The Jixi Province Procuratorate carried out the first of two autopsies on Ms. Zhao's remains. They found a large knife wound on her head. They also found four broken ribs and many black and purple bruises that they concluded were the results of a severe beating. According to their findings, the beating also caused considerable internal bleeding. On November 15, 2003, the Heilongjiang Judicature Appraisal Committee conducted a second autopsy. They found not only broken ribs, but also a fractured skull. They also found that her heart, spleen, pancreas, and other internal organs were missing and could not be accounted for.

Ms. Zhao's family members were trying to sue the people who are responsible for her death. For the past several months, Ms. Zhao's family has appealed to the local court, police stations for justice for her death but so far they have not obtained any results. Ms. Zhao's murder and the doctor's subsequent silence are two pieces in a large and complex cover-up in China

Following are some photos taken during Ms. Zhao Chunying autopsy

Ms. Zhao Chunying's autopsy

Category: Falun Dafa in the Media