(Minghui.org) Ms. Liu Mingying of Qiqihar City, Heilongjiang Province was arrested on November 8, 2015, and later released on bail due to poor health. She was arrested again a year later and sentenced to three years by the Longsha District Court. She served time at Heilongjiang Women’s Prison, where she was subjected to freezing, beatings, and being forced to sit on a small stool until her bottom developed infected sores.

Ms. Liu’s arrests and imprisonment were simply because she held firm to her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted in China since July 1999.

Below is Ms. Liu's personal account of the persecution she endured.

Arrested and Sentenced

On November 8, 2015, I learned that practitioner Ms. Qu Shurong had not returned since she left home that afternoon. I decided to go to her home to see if I could help, but was arrested and taken to the Qiqihar City Detention Center.

I went on a hunger strike and was tortured until I became emaciated. I was sent to the hospital for rescue as my organs were failing. Twenty days later, I was released on bail. The police deceived my daughter into signing my bail document.

On March 21, 2017, one and a half years after my release, I was arrested again when I went out to buy breakfast. Three practitioners, including Ms. Liu Huijie, Mr. Wang Yudong and his wife Ms. Zhu Xiumin (who has since been persecuted to death) happened to visit me before the police left. They were also arrested and later sentenced. My daughter was arrested as well when she went out to look for me.

After a while, the police took my daughter back home to ransack our place. They confiscated over 60 Falun Gong books and stole 5,000 yuan. When they told my daughter to sign the list of confiscated items, she asked why the 5,000 yuan was missing from the list. The police denied having taken the money. 

We five practitioners were interrogated at the local police station. I was taken to the Qiqihar Detention Center that afternoon.

I was sentenced to three years that same month. My family was not informed of the trial. The intermediate court rejected my appeal and upheld the original verdict.

I was transferred to Heilongjiang Provincial Women’s Prison on January 17, 2018.

Tortured in Prison

Deceived into Writing Guarantee Statements

I was held in Division 8 of the prison. The television played videos that slandered Falun Gong all day long. Other than eating, sleeping, or using the restroom, I was forced to sit upright on a small stool with both hands on my knees. I would be scolded by the inmates if my back was not straight. They used hard and soft tactics to force me to write the guarantee statements. 

Torture re-enactment: Sitting on a small stool

They said, “Just say that Dafa is fake. Write the statements and you can move around freely,” and, “You can still practice Falun Gong after you write the renouncing statement.” 

On the tenth day, I was deceived into writing the statements, and they then tried to make me further break away from Falun Gong in writing. I refused. The inmates then said, “You’ve already written the statement. This is the last part now. Why don’t you write it?”

Written Test

After some time, the inmates gave me a set of test papers used to “transform” practitioners. The paper was full of slander with multiple choice questions. If one refused to answer the questions the way the authorities wanted, the inmates would swear at Falun Gong and Falun Gong’s founder.

Interview with 610 Office Personnel

The 610 Office agents also held in-person interviews with us. The interview questions were the same as the written test. For example, one had to answer “yes” or “no” to a question like “Is Falun Dafa a cult?” This was to test whether a practitioner had truly been “transformed.” If the practitioner didn’t pass the test, they would be sent back to the transformation team for another round of torture and brainwashing.

Methods Used to “Transform” Practitioners

Three inmates were in charge of “transforming” practitioners. They forced practitioners to sit on a small stool. Some stools had a hole in the middle. Practitioners were forced to sit on the stool from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day. If one became tired and leaned back a little, the inmates would jab a pen through the hole. One has to sit upright or risk being beaten or sworn at.

As I refused to follow their instructions, an inmate slapped me in the face six times. When I relaxed my position a little, the inmate kicked me three times from behind. Sometimes I was forced to squat.

Practitioners’ bottoms developed bleeding sores after sitting on the stool for extended periods of time. When using the restroom, practitioners had to try to separate their pants from the scabbed wounds before squatting down.

The inmates once opened the windows and let in the freezing wind to blow on me. They also made me eat from the floor to humiliate me. 

I was released on February 28, 2020, after surviving three years of torture.