(Clearwisdom.net)

Ms. Zhao Xiaoping was fondly known as "Sister Xinjiang." At 62 years old, Zhao was a resident in Urumqi City and a retired teacher of a Ceramic Factory. She went to Beijing on December 28, 2000, to appeal against the persecution of Falun Dafa, and was detained in the Yanqing Detention Center. She was released 2 days later. She was held again in the No. 8 Branch of Beijing City's Police Station. On January 4, 2001, Ms. Zhao was interrogated by the authorities. When she was returned to the cell, her face was disfigured with 3 big bumps on her head. Her body was covered with dirt, she could not talk, and her lips were tightly shut. She was sent to hospital for emergency treatment on January 5, 2001. The doctors found that she was suffering from internal injuries that consisted of bleeding in her liver, spleen, and stomach. She was also diagnosed as having a swollen heart from the trauma she received and she also was diagnosed with kidney failure. As a result of these massive injuries, Ms. Zhao passed away on January 7, 2001.

There are nearly 1000 Falun Dafa practitioners who have died as a result of torture and other forms of persecution at the hands of the authorities. Ms. Zhao Xiaoping's death was not on the list because at the time she was beaten to death in the No. 8 Branch of the Beijing Police Station, her name was unknown. I only knew that she was from the Xinjiang Autonomous District, so I called her "Sister Xinjiang."

On December 25, 2000, I went to Beijing to appeal against the persecution of Falun Dafa. I came to a place in a suburban area that one Dafa practitioner in Beijing had arranged as temporary lodging for practitioners traveling like us on the evening of December 26, 2000. I saw Ms. Zhao on December 27, 2000, she was in her 60s, about 1.65 meters tall and wore a brown cotton jacket. She was very energetic, and very warm to everyone. She introduced herself as a local from Xinjiang, a former elementary school teacher, and that she had obtained Falun Dafa in 1998. She hosted a group study for the practice in her hometown, read Zhuan Falun (1) with other practitioners daily, and that it was her third attempt to come to Beijing to appeal. Her first attempt was walking across the desert for three entire days that ended with her employer finding her and taking her back home against her will. Her second attempt was going to Beijing on foot to avoid the checkpoints however, her 2 sons discovered her plan and stopped her. She successfully broke through various obstacles while under surveillance by the authorities and successfully made it to Beijing by train on her third attempt. She did not tell us her name as we all avoided informing anyone of our identity so that we would not bring trouble to each other or those in our hometowns if we were subjected to torture interrogation sessions.

On December 28, 2000, we all proceeded to go to Tiananmen together to unfurl banners in support of Falun Dafa, and shouted "Falun Dafa is Good!" "Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance is good!" "Restore our Master's reputation!" We were held in the Yanqing Detention Center located in Suburban Beijing. There were 43 Falun Dafa practitioners, male and female all locked in one cell. We could only stand since there was no place to sit. The prison was so overcrowded that two practitioners had to stand near the toilet. The ventilation hole was sealed, and the running water was turned off. "Sister Xinjiang"and I organized the detained practitioners to study the Falun Dafa principles together and share our understandings. Two days after that we were all released.

We went back to that temporary lodging place provided by fellow practitioners to rest a bit on December 30, 2000. The next day, we went to Tiananmen again. There were many Falun Dafa practitioners who came to Tiananmen that day. Police came from outside Beijing to help the local Beijing police. They even took some prisoners from the jail to help police arrest Dafa practitioners. The prisoners were paid 100 yuan (2) per day with the promise of a reduced term of 1 year per practitioner being arrested. We were arrested, and sent to No. 8 Branch of Beijing Police, a place more vicious than the Yanqing Detention Center. Upon our arrival, we were forced to strip off our clothes so that the police could pour cold water on us in order to cause us discomfort or make us ill. I saw Ms. Zhao when I entered the door.

Ms. Zhao and I were organizing practitioners to recite Hongyin (3) and Lunyu (4). Ms. Zhao can recite many articles in Essential for Further Advancement (5) such as "Expounding on the Dao". She was reciting it repeatedly for us. Many were admiring her for having memorized so many articles from the teachings of Falun Dafa.

There were 11 of us who refused to cooperate with police, refused to be tortured with the "Sitting Board" (6), or wear the prisoners' uniforms, or memorize the prison rules. Because of we would not cooperate with their persecution the police instructed prisoners to torture us. We clarified the truth to these prisoners and their attitude improved for the better. Eleven of us went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution.

On January 4, 2001, Ms. Zhao and I were both force-fed to the extreme. We were both awakened by the police around midnight for interrogation. The police were shouting, "Hurry up!" The policeman who was interrogating me was very rude and angry. He said, "Tell us your name and address, otherwise, we will send you to a labor camp in Xinjiang!" Because we had our faith in Master and our Dafa teachings in our hearts we had no fear at all. The police could not do anything but send us back to the cell. The cell leader, a female prisoner, was still awake. She said, "No. 3 (Ms. Zhao) and one other have not come back." I sat and waited for their return. The other practitioner from Miyun County, suburban of Beijing City was brought back to the cell after a while. I asked her, "Are you alright?" She answered, "I was beat up. The Director of Beijing City Police came to check this place, and also brought another man to assist him. When I refused to answer the Director's questions, he ordered the assistant to start beating me. The assistant's hand was covered with a black leather glove so he could beat me without injuring his hand." Tears rolled down her cheeks. I was in tears as well. I gently touched her head, and there were many swollen bumps under her disheveled hair.

After a long time, Ms. Zhao came back. She could not walk steady even though she made a strong effort. Her body was covered with dirt. Her pants were soiled. She was beaten worse than the practitioner from Miyun County whose face was disfigured with three large bumps on her head. Ms. Zhao's mouth was tightly shut. I could see that she was physically exhausted and in pain. She didn't want to talk at all. I knew she would not cry, but I could not help crying. I let her sleep in my spot. She squeezed in with much effort, and then touched me gently to encourage me not to cry.

The next morning, our cell leader reported to the police, "No. 3 (Ms. Zhao) cannot sit up, she fell down!" Ms. Zhao said quietly, "Don't worry, no rush!" She was carried out. In a short while, we heard that she was being sent to a big hospital. The cell leader was sent to monitor her in the hospital that evening. I spent another night worrying. The cell leader came back early morning on the 6^th of January. We were anxious to know the condition of Ms. Zhao, but the cell leader would not give us any information. We all knew the reason.

After breakfast, the prison doctor called me (No. 4) to exonerate himself of the death of Ms. Zhao. He claimed, "I have a good reputation in this area. We spent 8000 yuan rescuing her. It is not my responsibility for other problems causing her death." I asked, "Why?" He said, "She had too many injuries such as internal bleeding in the liver, spleen, and stomach, a swollen heart, kidney failure..." I was thinking to myself, how cruel the authorities were to have beaten her to the point of damaging her internal organs. I spent another day worrying.

Early morning on January 7, a female police officer banged the cell gate open and shouted at us, "Still no name and address even though she is dead. Who do you know? Tell me! Tell me!" She was madly pointing at each one of us. We knew No. 3 (Ms. Zhao) was beaten to death. We remained in a minute of silence in memory of her while holding our hands in heshi (7) position. Since no one knew Ms. Zhao's name at that time, we did not write any article about her.

As arranged by Teacher, I recently found that our Xinjiang Sister was Zhao Xiaoping. I saw her family picture sent confirming that she was tortured to death. I am writing this article now to expose the crimes of the authorities to the world.

(1) Zhuan Falun: The main book of Falun Gong.

(2) Yuan: Unit of Chinese currency; the average monthly pay of an urban worker is 500 yuan.

(3) Hongyin: A collection of poem by Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Dafa.

(4) Lunyu: The preface of Zhuan Falun.

(5) Essentials for Further Advancement: Collection of letters and articles written by Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Dafa.

(6) "Sitting Board": Everyday, practitioners put their hands on top of their laps, with backs straight and sitting on benches 18 hours per day. This continued for over fifty days. The authorities even limited practitioners' restroom use time. Because of the long time spent sitting on hard benches, practitioners' buttocks grew big sores that hurt badly. Practitioners could not even urinate normally because of the pain. Because the labor camp was very wet, the police would not allow practitioners to have air ventilation or the chance to get some sunlight, and practitioners were locked up for so long, countless red scabies grew on the entire body of the practitioner; they were incomparably itchy and painful.

(7) Heshi: Pressing the hands together in front of the chest. It is a Chinese gesture of respect and honor.