Name: Ma Wenzhi (马文芝)
Gender: Female
Age: Unknown
Address: Jiamusi City, Heilongjiang Province
Occupation: Unknown
Date of Most Recent Arrest: April 14, 2002
Most recent place of detention: Jiamusi City Detention Center
City: Jiamusi
Province: Heilongjiang
Persecution Suffered: Detention, forced labor, prolonged exposure to extreme heat and cold, beatings

(Clearwisdom.net) On December 9, 2011, An Min, committee chairman for Donglian Community in Jiadong, Jiamusi, Heilongjiang Province, drove with three others to the home of Ms. Ma Wenzhi and tried to force her to stop practicing Falun Gong.

They arrived at her home at 9 a.m. Ms. Ma asked, “Who are you and what department are you from? Please show me your work ID.” One person said that he did not bring any. Another showed his ID and identified himself as Wang Zhiyong from the District Office. Ms. Ma did not let them in but said, “Let's just talk here.”

One of the people asked Ms. Ma, “Do you still practice Falun Gong?” She replied: “It is my right to practice. I do not believe in any religion, but only in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. It is my right, and others should not interfere.” That person said: “I have to tell you, we have written orders from our superiors. As long as you practice Falun Gong, we will do as instructed in the document.” Eventually, the four officials left without arresting Ms. Ma.

Benefiting from Practicing Falun Gong

Ms. Ma started to practice Falun Gong in late 1995. Before that time, she had illnesses all over, including pulmonary heart disease, and was in very poor health. She lived with her son, who was still in middle school. Her salary was only 120 yuan per month. They had no money for fresh vegetables, so they always ate pickled vegetables. Her son’s health was also poor due to lack of nutrition.

When Ms. Ma had nowhere to turn, she learned of Falun Gong. After reading Zhuan Falun, she understood why she suffered those diseases and that if she wanted to get well, she had to cultivate herself according to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and be a good person. Once she conducted herself according these principles and did the exercises, all of her illnesses were gone within half a year. She seldom coughed anymore and could sleep well at night. She regained energy to do household chores and did not even need her eyeglasses anymore. It was readily apparent to those around her how much she had benefited from Falun Gong.

On July 20, 1999, Jiang Zemin's regime started to harshly suppress Falun Gong. Since 2002, Ms. Ma has been sentenced to forced labor camp for two years, and has been monitored and harassed repeatedly.

Detained at Jiamusi Detention Center

On April 14, 2002, because Ms. Ma would not give up Falun Gong, she was illegally arrested by officers from the Songjiang Police Station and sent to the Jiamusi Detention Center. She was roughed up during the process and forced to give her fingerprint. The superintendent of the detention center oversaw this process personally.

Subjected to Forced Labor

Around July 2002, several police and the superintendent of the Songjiang Police Station told Ms. Ma to give her fingerprint and write a statement denouncing Falun Gong, but she refused. Ms. Ma asked them, “What crime did I commit? Please show me your evidence,” adding that she would file a lawsuit against them for their wrongdoing. They then said immediately, “The materials were not written by us, but by the Jiadong Police Station. The superintendent of the Jiadong Police Station is Liu Yude, the director of their Street Committee is Zhong Huiqin, and the director of [another involved] department was Shen Chaojun, who has been transferred on account of corruption.” Later, Ms. Ma was sent to a forced labor camp.

At the end of August 2002, team leader Mu Zhenjun in the forced labor camp told Ms. Ma: “If you pay 350 yuan, then you can be released for medical treatment.” At that time, Ms. Ma had scabies all over. Ms. Ma replied, “I did not commit any crime, why should I pay anything? I have no cash for you. If you let me go, I will go; if not, I will just stay here.”

Mu was furious and kicked her hard in the buttocks, shouting, “Are you so poor that you do not even have 350 yuan? You have to pay it anyway. You have lung disease and scabies all over. Look at others--even if they spend thousands, they could not find this opportunity. Get out of the forced labor camp immediately! If you want to die here and let us be responsible for it, we will not allow it.”

The guards in the forced labor camp were mostly transferred from prisons and were very cruel. On the hottest days in summer, they forced Ms. Ma into the yard under the baking sun and did not allow her to drink water or cover her head with anything. On the coldest days in winter, they drove her into the yard to freeze and did not allow her to move. They did not allow her to use the restroom either.

On January 21, 2003, Mu told Ms. Ma, “Did you know? It is the 610 Office of our city that won’t let you go? They said you are a key person.”

On January 23, 2003, Ma was finally able to return home. However, the Jiadong Police Station immediately had An Min from the local committee send someone to follow and monitor her.

Continuing Harassment

At around 5 p.m. on June 7, 2005, officers from the Jiadong Police Station knocked at Ms. Ma's door in an attempt to arrest her. One of them called out, “Ma Wenzhi, let us in to talk to you,” but she refused. A neighbor called Ms. Ma’s son to tell him that the police were there to arrest his mother. Another neighbor told the policemen: “The old lady has pulmonary heart disease. If you cause her death, her son won’t let you go.” They then got into the car and left.