(Minghui.org) Having served three years of forced labor and four years in prison for her faith in Falun Gong, Ms. Jing Cuizhen of Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province, was sentenced to five years in prison in September 2016.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Jing has a good reputation in her village. Before she started to practice Falun Gong, her health was not good. Her mood changed constantly and her vision was very bad. After she started to practice Falun Gong, she changed completely. She always wanted to help others. If she heard that a family was having difficulties, she would do what she could to help. She did many good things for the villagers.
Her husband, Mr. Sheng Fuji, who also practiced Falun Gong, was the village director for more than 20 years. He was very honest and fair. When Ms. Jing was in detention, the police frequently harassed Mr. Sheng. His health deteriorated due to the stress and he passed away in August 2009 when Ms. Jing was still serving time.
Below is an account of her years of suffering.
Four Arrests in One Year
Ms. Jing went to Beijing to appeal for the right to practice Falun Gong on April 25, 1999, after news broke out that several practitioners had been arrested in Tianjin. About 10,000 practitioners participated in the peaceful appeal on April 25, and many of them, including Ms. Jing, had their names recorded by the authorities.
After she returned home, Nu'erhe Police Station officers went to her home to collect her personal information and pressured her and her husband to try to force them to renounce Falun Gong.
When the Chinese communist regime officially initiated the persecution on July 20, 1999, Ms. Jing went to Beijing again and was arrested. She was taken to Fengtai Stadium before being put on a train already filled with Falun Gong practitioners from all over the country who had come to appeal for their right to practice their faith. There were armed officers stationed throughout the train to watch the practitioners.
After disembarking at Jinzhou City, she was taken to the police department and her ID was confiscated. She was then taken to Nu'erhe Police Station. By the time she returned home, the police had already ransacked the place and confiscated her Falun Gong books and materials. After that, the police often went to her home to harass her and also forced her husband to drink, knowing that Falun Gong practitioners are not supposed to drink alcohol.
On July 25, Ms. Jing was doing the Falun Gong exercises outdoors with other practitioners when the police confiscated their music player. At the police station, an officer punched Ms. Jing in the chest and kicked her stomach. She staggered backward before sitting on the ground.
Ms. Jing went to Beijing again on October 25 and was arrested. She was taken to Miyun Detention Center and tied to a bed in a spread-eagle position. She was not allowed to use the restroom for 24 hours. The next day, the police leaned a wooden plank against the wall and kept her tied up to it. Other practitioners who witnessed the torture said that the police put Ms. Jing upside down at one point.
Five days later, on October 30, Ms. Jing was taken to Longfeng Hotel in Beijing and ordered to pay a fine of 1,500 yuan.
Ms. Jing was taken back to Jingzhou City the next day and the police confiscated the only money she had, 200 yuan in cash. Only three days after she was released after 15 days of detention, she was arrested again and taken to a brainwashing center for another 10 days. Her family was fined 1,000 yuan.
Three Years of Forced Labor
Ms. Jing and several other practitioners were doing the Falun Gong exercises at her home in March 2000 when the police barged in. They confiscated her television, audio recorder, and DVD player. Ms. Jing was arrested and detained for a month.
On August 18, 2000, Ms. Jing was arrested by agents from the 610 Office and police department. She was given three years of forced labor and admitted to Masanjia Forced Labor Camp.
During the three-year term, Ms. Jing was often deprived of sleep and not allowed to speak to or see her family. A guard once refused to let Ms. Jing take a shower, then forced her into a room and pulled her hair. When Ms. Jing started to pick her hair up off the floor, the guard punched her on her chest and stomach. Another time, several inmates beat Ms. Jing. She had chest pain and no appetite for a long time after that.
In March 2001, Ms. Jing was not allowed to sleep for seven days and was made to squat and stand. She was also ordered to kneel with her head on the ground while being forced to listen to the authorities’ defamatory remarks about Falun Gong. Ms. Jing was also hit on her head with shoes.
One day, about six inmates twisted Ms. Jing's arms behind her back and pinned her down, with her face on the floor. They then sat on her. Ms. Jing was unable to get up after they left. She could not open her eyes as they were swollen and bruised. She also had muscle spasms for a long time afterward.
The long-term suffering caused Ms. Jing to become emaciated. The labor camp authorities refused to allow Ms. Jing's family to visit her.
Sentenced to Four Years in Prison
On the night of August 25, 2007, Ms. Jing was distributing Falun Gong materials with other practitioners when they were arrested and taken to the Nu'erhe Police Station. The police ransacked her home three times between 11:50 p.m. and 3:30 a.m. and confiscated her computers, printers, and many other belongings that filled up three cars. Her husband was also arrested.
The Jinzhou Police Department, the Taihe District Police Department, and the Nu'erhe Police Station interrogated the couple, attempting to force them to give confessions by torturing them. Ms. Jing was beaten so brutally that the blood vessels in her eyes broke, leaving them blue and purple. Her lips were swollen and bleeding. Because she was handcuffed behind her back for a long time, the handcuffs cut into her flesh and her hands swelled. Her kneecaps were black and blue, and her nose bled. The police forbade her from using the toilet, so she had to relieve herself in her pants. The police also force-fed Ms. Jing with chili water, leaving her arms and hands numb for a long time.
When her family confronted the police about the beatings, one officer claimed that Ms. Jing had hurt herself while another told them, “You can appeal anywhere you want.” The head of the Taihe District threatened to torture Ms. Jing to death.
The next day the couple was taken to Jingzhou City No.1 Detention Center, where Ms. Jing was force-fed saltwater that had a layer of white floating on top. She suspected it could be a drug.
On December 11, 2007, the couple and another practitioner were tried in the Taihe District Court. Ms. Jing was sentenced to four years in prison and taken to Shenyang Women's Prison. Ms. Jing's husband was sentenced to two years in prison and three years probation after their family paid the police 20,000 yuan.
Tortured in Prison
The prison guards tried to force Ms. Jing to give up her faith in Falun Gong, but she refused. So the guards assigned three inmates to monitor and torture her around the clock. One inmate slapped Ms. Jing until she was exhausted.
Ms. Jing was forced to sit on a tiny stool that was three inches wide and one inch high. She was deprived of sleep and use of the restroom. When she became so tired that her eyes closed, the inmates whipped her with a metal chain. It wasn't long before her eyes were so swollen that she couldn’t open them. An inmate then dragged her to the washroom, poured ice-cold water over her head, then continued to whip her.
Three days later, she could no longer stand up. During the next two days, her mind was a blur and her entire body felt paralyzed. However, the inmates continued to torture her. They refused to allow Ms. Jing to use the restroom or sleep and whipped her with chains. They constantly doused her with cold water and forced her to sit on the tiny stool. She felt paralyzed on the small stool as she was unable to sit up. They tortured her like this for six days.
Ms. Jing was also forced to do unpaid labor from 6 a.m. until after 9 p.m. Sometimes she was forced to work until late at night to meet the quota.
After a month, the guards again ordered Ms. Jing to fill out a statement to renounce Falun Gong, but she refused. They tortured her over and over: no sleep or restroom use, whippings with metal chains, and dousing with cold water.
Around 4 a.m. one morning, two inmates squeezed her inner thighs and arms until she was covered in purple bruises, which remained visible for several months. Despite this, Ms. Jing still refused to write the renouncing statement. An inmate then held her down on the floor, stomped on her chest, and stripped off her clothes in freezing weather. The torture lasted for another five or six days.
Ever since her time in prison, Ms. Jing has had constant chest pain and shortness of breath. She was unable to do heavy labor, which would immediately cause her to become short of breath or leave her feeling weak.
Husband Passed Away
After Ms. Jing's husband returned home from prison, he was forced to report regularly to the police station and made to write thought reports. To prevent him from practicing Falun Gong again, the police made him smoke and drink, neither of which practitioners are supposed to do. Under the intense pressure, he passed away in August 2009 while Ms. Jing was still in prison.
Continued Harassment of Ms. Jing
A few days after Ms. Jing was released on August 26, 2011, authorities visited her twice to request photos of her.
Ms. Jing was at home on November 17, 2013, when three police officers barged in and confiscated her Falun Gong books and materials. They arrested her and took her to the Nu'erhe Police Station. When Ms. Jing fell unconscious, the police took her to the hospital for a physical. She was released 10 hours later after failing the exam.
In October 2014, Ms. Jing was harassed at home by a police officer.
Sentenced to Five Years in Prison
Several police officers broke into Ms. Jing's home on May 10, 2016, and arrested her. Her home was ransacked that night and many of her personal belongings were confiscated, including 2,700 yuan in cash and Falun Gong books. The police carried out the raid without showing their IDs or a search warrant. Another practitioner who was at Ms. Jing's home was also arrested and had her home ransacked.
Ms. Jing and the other practitioner were taken to Nu'erhe Police Station and locked in a cage. They were taken to Jinzhou City Women's Detention Center the next day.
On May 25, the Taihe District Procuratorate approved their arrests and in July, the two women were indicted.
The Taihe Court tried them on September 9, 2016. At the trial, which lasted two hours, the practitioners' lawyers defended their right to practice Falun Gong.
At the end of that month, the lawyers informed the practitioners' families that Ms. Jing had been sentenced to five years in prison and the other practitioner to three years. In December of that year, the women were transferred to Liaoning Women's Prison.
Related reports:
Jinzhou City Police Harass and Detain Falun Gong Practitioners (Photo)
Court in Jinzhou City Holds Illegal Trial of Practitioner Mr. Wang Xiaomin
Category: Torture of Women
