Written evidence submitted by the Falun
Gong Association (UK)
INTRODUCTION
1. The Falun Gong Association (UK) was established
in 2000 as a non-profit organization with the aim of assisting
and promoting the practice of Falun Gong. It raises public awareness
of the severe persecution facing practitioners of Falun Gong in
China and campaigns for their basic freedoms of belief, expression
and association.
2. The Falun Gong Association (UK) has been
attending the FCO's consultation sessions prior to and following
UK-China Human Rights Dialogues.
3. Our submission is principally concerned
with the Human Rights in China and UK's approach for their improvement,
with reference to human rights situations of Falun Gong adherents
whenever appropriate.
Recommendations are set out in Italic
type.
HUMAN RIGHTS
AND TRADE
WITH CHINA
4. The issue of China human rights has been
closely linked to trade with that country in many aspects, not
least in the government's arrangement for the Minister for Trade
to also deal with China and human rights issues.
5. China has already overtaken the UK in
terms of GDP values and is widely expected to become the biggest
economy in a small number of decades. This potentially biggest
superpower, is however, without a tradition of respect for human
rights. Indeed, as Jung Chang explained in her book "Mao:
The Unknown Story", the regime has caused the unnatural deaths
of about 70 million people in peacetime in China. Today, as the
UK 2006 Human Rights Annual Report indicated, there is still a
whole spectrum of very serious human rights abuses. If this practice
of abuses continues—there being little sign of significant
change despite countless Human Rights Dialogues—this potentially
strongest superpower could bring far-reaching changes to global
values in terms of respect for human rights and basic freedoms.
This would be a global "climate change" probably no
less damaging than the atmospheric "climate change".
Like for the latter, it is not too late to do something—not
through war or isolation—but to help shape the potential
superpower as it grows, now. But the measures must be genuinely
effective, rather than decorative or half hearted—which
could have the opposite effect of encouraging the continuation
of abuses.
6. One of the arguments against substantial
actions for better human right practices in China is that it would
affect our trade. Indeed, China has repeatedly used threat of
economic retaliation or offer of economic "carrots"
to dissuade western governments from criticising its human rights
record. In February 2007, He Yafei, China's Assistant Minister
of Foreign Affairs for North America, told Canada's Globe and
Mail "The economic relationship goes hand in hand with the
political relationship," and "I cannot say Canada is
squandering (the relationship) now, but in practical terms Canada
is lagging behind in its relations with China." Canadian
Prime Minister Stephen Harper responded by saying that Chinese
officials should keep in mind that China enjoys a huge trade surplus
with Canada and they would be wise to ensure any trade dealings
with Canada are "absolutely fair and above board."
7. Indeed, China, whose export accounts
for 40% of GDP, is far more reliant on trade than its western
trading partners. China's import volume from Japan is far greater
than that from any other country and greater than the combined
import volume from all EU countries, despite the frosty relations
between the two countries' governments. To a large extent, the
argument of appeasing China for trade is based on fear rather
than rational analysis of all the facts.
8. Ultimately, one has to face the issue
of whether to be responsible for our future world. Indeed, the
resolve required to actively shape China for better human rights
standards is no less than that required to deal with the climate
change but the stake is probably no less significant, though of
a different character.
9. Human rights in China are a global issue,
as shown by the numerous human rights dialogues China is engaged
in with other countries. As such the UK can only effectively deal
with the issue by working closely with other governments. However,
like the situation with climate change, one cannot afford to be
idle, just because other governments are not as proactive.
10. Stephen Harper dismissed the argument
of appeasing China for trade by telling the media "I think
that's irresponsible". We think he is right.
11. We recommend that the HMG proactively
help to shape human rights in China, with a vision of the country
as a future power respecting human rights, rather than a power
practising tyranny. The HMG may wish to commission a report looking
into economic facts (rather than fears) relating to appeasing
China for trade.
UK-CHINA HUMAN
RIGHTS DIALOGUE
12. The regime in China uses the "closed
door" Human Right Dialogues with western governments to silence
publicly audible criticism without genuine intention for a fundamental
change of ways. This attitude resulted in little real progress
on the ground, and the Dialogue could be reduced to a twice yearly
formality. In the UK, the absence of any hope for significant
progress is reflected, for example, in the FCO's omission of the
de-briefing session with the NGOs following a round of the Dialogue
in 2006 and the absence of a call by the FCO for individual cases
for discussion in the most recent round of the Dialogue.
13. Taking the Dialogue as the most important
and main plank of the FCO policy on China human rights does not
help the appreciation and utilisation of public statements, which
are one of the most effective ways of influencing China towards
better human rights standards. As a result, the FCO may, in practice,
lose valuable opportunities for utilising this tool. For example,
the arrest, secret trial and sentence of prominent Chinese human
rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng in 2006 provoked wide international
criticism. The voice from the FCO was less audible. Public statements
on such landmark cases, if consistently made, would have a significant
effect on shaping China human rights. An unclear stance on these
important occasions could be perceived as tacit approval by the
communist regime in China, who derives encouragement from it.
14. The Chinese Ambassador to the UN in
Geneva, Sha Zukang, said in an interview on 12 December 2006 with
CCTV (the largest TV channel in China) that after he rebuked a
human rights concern put forward by a senior UK diplomat, the
latter submitted that the UK government actually does not have
much concern but the government must consider public opinions;
and that it was the UK NGOs that are concerned about the issue
and put pressure on the government. (http://news.cctv.com/china/20061212/112447.shtml)
This is of course a one-sided story which could have been distorted
by the communist regime diplomat but the interview showed his
open contempt for such private discussions on human rights matters.
15. On the other hand, the FCO's internationally
acknowledged success in dealing with Article-23 in Hong Kong in
2003 was an excellent example of balanced utilisation of public
statements, high level representations as well as private Dialogues.
16. We believe and recommend that an
effective China human rights policy should consist of at least
three prongs: public statements, high level representations and
private Dialogues—with each of the first two having at least
equal weight and prominence as the third.
17. Public statements by the FCO would be
particularly effective for widely publicised cases of human rights
abuse in China. We recommend that simple statistics on the
proportion of such cases benefiting from FCO public statements
could be made public on an annual basis. Likewise, the percentage
of high-level meetings on which human rights were raised with
the Chinese counterparts should be published annually too.
THE SCALE
OF THE
PERSECUTION OF
FALUN GONG
IN CHINA
AND UK'S
RESPONSE
18. The China section in the FCO Human Rights
Annual Report 2006 mentioned Falun Gong twice. The Report is accurate
in stating that Falun Gong adherents face harassment and detention.
The expression of concern in the Report over mistreatment of adherents
in detention is greatly appreciated. However, the abuses of Falun
Gong practitioners by the regime go far beyond harassment, detention
and mistreatment.
19. Numerous cases of torture, sexual assault,
incarceration in labour camps and prisons as well as death resulting
from torture have been reported by investigators and families/friends
and presented in the media but have not been mentioned in the
FCO Report.
20. The UK-based Vice President of the European
Parliament, Edward McMillan-Scott interviewed two Falun Gong adherents
in a Beijing hotel on 21 May 2006 and learned of the atrocities
they personally experienced or witnessed. One of them is Mr Niu
Jinping who was incarcerated for two years for practicing Falun
Gong. His wife, also an adherent, was still in a prison, where
she was so savagely beaten that she is now deaf. Torture sessions
she endured were up to 20 hours long. The other interviewee was
Cao Dong, who saw the body of his friend and a Falun Gong practitioner,
which had a hole where his organs had been removed. Cao Dong was
abducted by secret agents shortly after the interview with McMillan-Scott
and on 8 February 2007, the regime announced Cao has been sentenced
to five years in prison for "illegally liaising with international
anti-China forces" and "illegally accepting an interview".
21. Ms Annie Yang, now 45 and living in
London, was sent to a Beijing labour camp for 2 years in 2005
for downloading from the Internet and distributing Falun Gong
materials. She was not at all one of the most severely persecuted,
but in the labour camp, she was deprived of sleep and food, with
two hours of sleep a day and 30 grams of bread per meal. She was
denied a shower, bath or change of clothes for weeks in scorching
summer, and forced to sit straight on the front edge of a rough
chair for 18 hours a day without moving. After a period, her hip
rot and she was on the brink of becoming mad. A copy of Annie's
statement is enclosed as a separate supporting document.[25]
22. The prominent Chinese human rights lawyer
Gao Zhisheng, who is a Christian and represented victims of various
types, carried out an investigation of abuses against Falun Gong
practitioners in Shandong, Liaoning and Jilin provinces by personally
interviewing many victims. He presented the findings of his investigation
in the form of an open-letter to the leaders of the regime in
China on 12 December 2005.[26]
He found that virtually all the women victims in his investigation
had been subjected to sexual abuse. He recorded a long list of
horrendous tortures and deaths resulting from torture and ill-treatment.
A copy of Gao's open letter is enclosed as a separate support
document.
23. In the year 2006 alone, the Falun Gong
Information Centre verified reports of 146 specific cases of deaths
of adherents in China resulting from torture or ill-treatment.
Over the past eight years, over 3,000 such death reports have
been verified and the number of practitioners sent to labour camps
without trial is estimated to be at least 100,000. In fact, Falun
Gong is by far the most severely persecuted group in China today,
either in terms of number of people affected or intensity of persecution.
According to the summary of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture's
visit to China in 2006, 66% of reported cases of torture in China
were of Falun Gong practitioners.
24. The scale and severity of the persecution
of Falun Gong in China is not accurately reflected in the FCO
Human Rights Annual Report, probably due to a lack of information.
This situation was not helped by the fact that the FCO was not
apparently interested in offers of such information. For example,
when Ms Annie Yang (Paragraph 21) was released from the labour
camp, the FCO was not interested in hearing her labour camp experience.
Actually a letter and an email to the FCO were not answered even
though the FCO had previously accepted her case as one of a list
of individual cases handed over to the Chinese side at one of
the Human Rights Dialogues. This example is not an isolated incident
in the past year. We believe that this problem in communication
would affect the FCO's ability to accurately assess human rights
situations in China and effectively respond to them.
25. As Falun Gong is a relatively new human
rights issue compared with many other aspects of China's human
rights, the lack of information on what Falun Gong is and what
caused this overwhelming persecution campaign in China does present
a barrier for greater understanding of the issues involved.
26. We would thus recommend that FCO
officials and, as appropriate, ministers meet Falun Gong representatives
with a specific purpose of elucidating these issues and the serious
human rights situations, which would facilitate and underpin the
formulation of effective policies and actions.
27. We recommend more vigorous actions
from the FCO to address the atrocities against Falun Gong adherents,
who are the largest and most severely persecuted group in China
today. In particular, we would recommend greater representations
at high level inter-governmental meetings and greater use of public
statements.
ORGAN HARVESTING
28. It has been widely reported in the media
that China harvests organs from executed prisoners on a large
scale. On 19 April 2006 the British Transplantation Society publicly
condemned such organ harvesting as an "unacceptable"
human rights violation, referring to the evidence as "really
incontrovertible".
29. On 6 July, David Matas, a respected
international human rights lawyer and David Kilgour, former Secretary
of State of Canada for the Asia Pacific region jointly published
their "Report into Allegations of Organ Harvesting of Falun
Gong Practitioners in China". The Report states "we
have come to the regrettable conclusion that the allegations are
true. We believe that there has been and continues today to be
large scale organ seizures from unwilling Falun Gong practitioners."
30. The Report was followed by the European
Parliament resolution, in which this atrocity against the Falun
Gong practitioners was condemned. The Australian Broadcasting
Corporation reported on 16 August 2006 that the Australian Department
of Foreign Affairs and Trade has asked the Chinese government
to allow an independent investigation into claims of mass organ
harvesting in China.
31. We note the absence of a reference to
the Matas-Kilgour investigation in the FCO Human Rights Report
2006, although the FCO has been fully aware of the work.
32. On 31 January 2007, David Matas and
David Kilgour published their updated and enlarged Report which
now contains additional categories of evidence. They also felt
that their conclusions had been reinforced by the fact that, despite
having several months to consider the original report, the Chinese
government had not produced any substantial factual information
to contradict or undermine its findings.
33. Although the Matas-Kilgour Report did
not provide direct evidence because of the secretive nature of
this type of abuse, the strong circumstantial evidence they presented
in a large number of categories would warrant further investigation
into this abuse.
34. We recommend that the FCO should
provide moral support for further investigations into this very
serious alleged crime, and provide other forms of support when
required and appropriate. The FCO should also consider the ethical
implications of British scientific and medical contacts with China
on transplants at a time when serious doubts and concerns exist
about that country's likely source of organs for transplant.
Mr Peter Jauhal, Chairman
Dr Li Shao, Vice Chairman
Falun Gong Association UK
21 February 2007
MY EXPERIENCE IN A FORCED LABOUR CAMP
MS ANNIE YANG[27],
LONDON
It is very difficult for people who have never
had such an experience to imagine how I completed these records
under such extremely difficult conditions. Over a period of three
months, I don't know how many times I wanted to pick up my pen
to write down this painful memory, but each time when my memory
went back to that terrible and unforgettable time at the labour
camp, my hand stopped writing subconsciously and I was lost in
deep thought. When I suddenly came back from the past, my face
has already been covered with tears.
I am very grateful to those thousands of British
people who do not know me at all, but have signed their names
on the petition to rescue me—an ordinary Chinese citizen!
I am very grateful to the British government
and all its officials for everything they have done to rescue
me and other Falun Gong practitioners during my prisonment.
I am very grateful to my English mother Agnes
Wilton and my friends Annie Agiletti, Phil Fitzgerald and Benvey
Paddy (passed away now) etc. My heart is filled with gratefulness
to them!
Meanwhile I am very grateful to all the Falun
Gong practitioners outside China for what they have done to rescue
me!
Now I live in a peaceful environment, but I
miss more than ever my fellow practitioners who are still being
illegally imprisoned in labour camps and prisons because I know
deeply and clearly what cruel, evil and inhuman places they are.
Now I am suffering from another unbearable pain.
The police arrested me in front of my 16-year-old son, who witnessed
the whole process as they illegally searched my home. He cried
and called for my parents at midnight as I am a single mother.
I cannot imagine and have no idea how much effect it would have
on his young mind for watching what has happened to me. It was
12:45 am when I was taken away by force from my home. When my
father, who was over 70 years old, heard the news, his heart disease
gave off. He sat there and could not speak. He survived after
emergency treatment.
I met a lady whose name is Lu Shengxia when
I was at the labour camp (she is still there now). She was arrested
in 2000 for practising Falun Gong and was sentenced to one year.
After she was released in 2001, she gave up practising Falun Gong.
Later she was arrested again and sentenced to two years simply
because she was with Falun Gong practitioners even though she
was not practising any more and the police had not found any Falun
Gong books or CDs at her home. Another example was that about
two weeks after I was released, the local public security office
came to talk to me and asked me what my understanding about Falun
Gong was. I said: "If the condition is that you will be arrested
so long as you practise Falun Gong, I maybe forced to stop, but
I believe Falun Gong is good." He said: "Sooner or later
you will go to prison again". The policeman was taking notes
while he was talking. Afterwards he forced me to put my finger
print on it (left and right second finger and palms). When I told
him this is against my human rights, he said: "I have to
do it. I am just following instructions. I know Falun Gong practitioners
are all good people, but this is my job". Apart from this,
he also requested me to write about my understanding of Falun
Gong. This so-called understanding means to slander Falun Gong.
I didn't want to do it against my will, but I knew if I didn't
do it, they would not leave me alone.
After returning home, whenever I heard footsteps
in the corridor, I started trembling.
That period of time was like a nightmare. On
1 March 2005 at 7.30 pm, as usual I went to give some sharing
articles from the Minghui website to Falun Gong practitioner X.
Less than two minutes after I arrived at the practitioner's home,
the police were knocking at the door. As the door was opened,
about seven to eight police in plain clothes burst into the room.
Only one of them was in police uniform. They quickly separated
me and the practitioner into different rooms. They started to
search the house without showing any ID. In the room where I was,
they searched every single piece of furniture, cupboards, draws
etc. They even moved the sofa and carpet aside to search, They
took away illegally all Falun Gong books and a printer from this
practitioner's home without leaving any receipt or document. After
finishing searching this practitioner's home, one policeman from
Hai Dian District tried to grab my house key from my hand. When
I refused to hand it over, he grabbed my collar with one hand,
the other hand was trying to slap my face. I was forced to give
him my house key. They put practitioner X in one car and drove
to the local Public Security Office. I was taken into a different
car and was driven to my home directly. The police opened the
door to my home with my key. As soon as they entered the house,
they started to search. They took away my computer, two printers,
dozens of books, a few hundred CDs and two address books. Then
they took me to the local Public Security Office. I sat there
for the whole night. At about 9 o'clock the next morning, I was
taken to Hai Dian District Detention Centre. By the time all the
procedures were finished, it was almost 4 o'clock in the afternoon.
I was sent to Block 1 Room 7.
This is a room of about 20 square metres in
size. The ceiling is very high. There was a single dim light bulb.
The size of 20 square metres included a one square metre toilet
and a half square metre corner to store quilts. There were 21
people living in the room, with all daily activities occurring
there. The so-called bed was just a brick-laid place 15 centimetres
above the ground and about four metres long and two metres wide.
It was covered by a very thin piece of wood. There was no hot
water all year around, even for washing and drinking. We were
allowed to have a shower once a week, lasting three minutes. A
few people fought for one showerhead. The time was so short that
as soon as the body just got wet, the shower time was over. Breakfast
everyday was a small cup of rice soup and a bit of salted vegetable,
plus steamed bread. Lunch and dinner were boiled Chinese leaf
and steamed bread. One could only lie down on her side to sleep.
People squeezed onto the bed back to back. There was no way one
could lie flat on her back because the space was too small.
When I got to the branch bureau that afternoon,
I was totally exhausted. I hadn't slept for over 24 hours. That
evening at about 8.30 pm, I was questioned for the first time.
It lasted until midnight. The evil police officer in charge of
my case was Liu Dafeng. He brought me to his office. He started
to shout at me as soon as we entered the office, using very dirty
words to insult me. He questioned me and recorded the conversation
while verbally insulting me. Finally he asked me to sign the form,
which I refused to do. He pushed me against the wall and kicked
me. I told him: Falun Gong teaches people to be a good person
by following the principles of "truthfulness, compassion
and forbearance", I had committed no crime and I was not
wrong either, therefore I would not sign. The following day I
told supervisor Wang Kui in the detention centre that I was insulted
by Wang Dafeng and demanded to change the interrogator. Wang replied:
Ok, I know now. However that evening it was still Wang Dafeng
who came to question me. This time it was again shouting and insulting.
My demand was totally ignored. I started a hunger strike (no food
and water) to protest and strongly demanded the change. My request
was never granted.
From the second week onwards after I arrived
at the Haidian branch of the Public Security Bureau, Haidian national
security agents dispatched four former Falun Gong practitioners,
who had renounced Falun Gong under pressure, to try converting
me. It lasted three days, every day from 9:00 am to 9:00pm. Finally
the head of the Haidian national security agents, Yang Jian, personally
came to talk to me. He told me very clearly: other Falun Gong
practitioners never had this "polite" treatment, only
you. He told me that they didn't want to sentence me. I didn't
quite understand the implication of what he said, thinking that
it was probably because I have overseas connections. I only fully
realised their purpose when I was forced to renounce my belief
in Falun Gong in the forced labour camp and the public security
officers frequently came to see me in the labour camp: they wanted
me to be a spy for them outside China and promised that I would
be released immediately. I refused their request.
Without going through any legal process, at
the beginning of April 2005, I was illegally sentenced to two
years in a forced labour camp.
On 12 April 2005, I was taken to the Da Xing
labour-camp dispatching centre in Beijing. The first day I was
detained alone in a room. A policeman known as "the big eye
Wang" was responsible for talking to me: she wanted to force
me to write a guarantee letter renouncing my belief in Falun Gong.
Her talk with me lasted more than three hours. During the talk,
she was sitting comfortably on a chair while I was made to stand
opposite her and not allowed to move at all. After she left, I
tried to move, but my legs were so numb that I almost fell down.
Fortunately two drug addict detainees there gave me a hand. After
"the big eye Wang" left, she sent four drug addicts
to watch over me and to force me to write the guarantee letter.
This was the third time these drug addicts had been detained in
the labour camp so they knew quite well what to do to please the
police. They also knew how to make Falun Gong practitioners suffer.
I hadn't done anything wrong. I didn't need to guarantee anything
to anyone. It was about 10:00 pm in the evening, time to go to
bed in the labour camp. I hadn't written a single word. These
drug addicts started to shout at me loudly. One drug addict put
her arms on my shoulders and leaned against me. I knew the possible
outcome if this situation continued. At this time a policeman
named Li called these drug addicts and asked them to move a wooden
bed board in. It implied that I could sleep now. I asked the drug
addicts: how about you? They replied: we have to sit here for
the night. I said to them: You sleep. I would sit. They replied:
we dare not do this. If they do, the police would shout at them.
Whether at the labour camp for females or at the Dispatching Centre,
there is always this evil way of "punishment of the connected".
These police use the drug addicts to make Falun Gong practitioners
suffer. When Falun Gong practitioners refuse to write the guarantee
statement renouncing Falun Gong and refuse to give up their belief,
these police would shout at these drug addicts and punish them.
As a result, these drug addicts would beat up Falun Gong practitioners.
There was a policewoman called Tang Jingjing at the second large
unit of Beijing's labour camp for females where I was detained.
She once openly announced: "You remember this. The police
themselves would never lay a finger on you, but there are people
who would beat you up." There was a Falun Gong practitioner
called Zhang Siuyuan. She refused to write the guarantee statement
at the Dispatching Centre. Drug addict Gao Zhen and another drug
addict not only shouted at her and beat her, they forced Zhang
Siuyuan onto the ground, each used their body to constrain her
arms, and used their hands to pull out her eyelashes. Zhang cried
out loudly because of the unbearable pain. The whole building
could hear her crying. There was another Falun Gong practitioner
called Wu Mei. Because of her refusal to write the guarantee statement,
three drug addicts slapped her face together, kicked her lower
body and beat her. They didn't allow her to sleep and Wu Mei was
forced to stand the whole night. Every time I passed through the
water room to wash my hands, I always saw Wu Mei standing facing
the window with her back to the water room.
If a Falun Gong practitioner signed the guarantee
statement giving up his/her belief under these unbearable stresses
and suffering, these drug addicts would receive reduced sentences.
Otherwise they would also be punished. Once I was talking in the
class about the overseas Falun Gong situation and other Falun
Gong information, when the group leader in my group was called
out and forced to squat with her arms embracing her legs and her
head looking down. This was because she didn't stop me saying
something good about Falun Gong and she was therefore punished.
Thinking about this event now, I still feel sorry for her because
she didn't do anything wrong. This is the most evil method in
the labour camps. The police don't do these things themselves.
Instead they use these drug addicts to make Falun Gong practitioners
suffer. If Falun Gong practitioners didn't follow their instruction
to sign the guarantee letter and renounce their belief in Falun
Gong, the police would shout at the drug addicts and threaten
not to reduce their sentences. This method made the drug addicts
hate Falun Gong practitioners and encouraged them to beat up practitioners.
Zhao Hui, a drug addict, once personally told
me that the current head of the Beijing Labour Camp for Females,
Chen Li, assigned a Falun Gong practitioner who refused to renounce
her belief to her. Zhao Hui kicked and beat up this Falun Gong
practitioner until she compromised. When the police use these
drug addicts to shout at and beat up Falun Gong practitioners,
they usually put Falun Gong practitioners in the deep corner of
the building and then played loud music in the hall. This way
the screaming and crying of Falun Gong practitioners would not
be heard. At the Dispatching Centre, these drug addicts could
freely walk around everywhere and chat to each other. However
Falun Gong practitioners are not allowed to talk to each other
even in the same class. Practitioners are also not allowed to
sit next to each other. There must be a drug addict or a prostitute
between them. At the Dispatching Centre, if the police see and
like some practitioners' valuables, they would confiscate the
valuables as "forbidden items". My two hair clips that
I bought in Britain were simply stolen in this way. Many practitioners
encountered similar situations. The Dispatching Centre supposedly
is a place to train people to follow rules. When one goes to the
toilet or water room, as long as there is a door, one has to report
oneself like a soldier. Before breakfast, lunch and dinner every
day, one has to recite the rules for labour camp detainees. There
are over thirty rules. One also has to sing two songs specially
written for labour camp detainees. Only after these rituals is
one allowed to start the meal. When one goes to the dinner hall
to collect the meal, one has to report: I am detainee XXX in the
Xth class, I am very grateful to the group leader. This is to
force you mentally to remember all the time that you are a labour
camp detainee. At registration time every evening, when one's
name is called out, one has to squat with both arms embracing
one's legs and looking down. It is not allowed to have eye contact
with the police doing the register. Regardless of how cold the
weather is, only cold water is used to wash one's face and feet
and to brush one's teeth. The washing time is only three minutes.
One is not allowed to wipe the neck and ears while washing one's
face. If the police officer on the duty sees it, you would be
shouted at loudly and the class leader would also be shouted at.
One is allowed to have a shower and wash clothes once a week.
Even washing socks and pants is not allowed in the normal time.
There are at least 12 people, sometimes 16 people, sleeping in
a 28-square-metre room. Because people are not allowed to wash
properly, the room was very smelly.
After a 13 days' stay at the Dispatching Centre,
I was taken to the Beijing Labour Camp for Females on 25 April
2005. On the way to the labour camp, not only were my two hands
handcuffed, my two hands were also forced to be put at the front
seat and my head down. My integrity was greatly insulted. If I
didn't practise Falun Gong, I would probably never need to deal
with the police in my whole life. My detention made me personally
experience China's so-called civilised way of carrying out the
law and the so-called best period of China's human rights.
I was assigned to the fifth unit at the labour
camp. During the first two weeks at the unit, there were two police
women responsible for converting me and brainwashing me. One called
Zhang Sumeng and another a Guo (I couldn't remember her exact
name). These two police talked to me in turn from 6:00am in the
morning to 11:00pm at night. Because I refused to give up my belief
of Falun Gong, from the third week onwards, the head of the fifth
unit Chen Hua took personal charge of my case. It was laughable
that their talk was almost exactly the same. I could see that
they had special training. Their idea about the self-immolation
incident at Tiananmen Square was also exactly the same. Chen Hua
also forced me to watch many CDs, all with content defaming and
attacking Falun Gong without any evidence. When I was arrested,
I had already been practising Falun Gong for about eight years.
I know exactly what Falun Gong really is. Especially after 20
July 1999, I chose to continue my practising of Falun Gong after
thorough soul-searching, because I was fully aware what could
await me in the future. But I have no regrets at all.
In 1991, my marriage reached its end after my
husband had affairs. My son was only three years old then. I couldn't
accept what life brought me and thought it was so unfair. I complained
and complained and was easily irritated. I struggled to get by
everyday just to get my son and myself going. I totally lost confidence
in life. People around me were all very worried about me. Because
of my bad mood and temper, my health also deteriorated greatly.
I got kidney problems after giving birth to my son. I always felt
dizzy and tired without any strength. My tough life plus the illnesses
made me think then that I could only be relieved when I die. At
that time, in October 1997 (I will never forget this date), I
met Falun Gong. I finished reading Zhuan Falun in one go. Even
now I still can't find words to describe my excitement then because
this was exactly what I had been searching for. I started to understand
the true meaning of life. Falun Gong teaches people to be a good
person, a better person, and finally becomes a selfless person
who always considers others first. Soon after I started practising
Falun Gong, my health improved greatly in a short period of time.
I became more relaxed and energetic. The biggest change in me
was that when faced with any situations I was able to maintain
a calm and peaceful mind. Even if people did bad things against
me, I didn't have any complaints and would consider the issue
from the opponent's angle. Since 20 July 1999, the Chinese Communist
regime has used everything in its power and all the media to create
lies to defame and attack Falun Gong and its founder, Mr Li Hongzhi.
Lies are always lies even if they are repeated a thousand times,
and they can never become the truth! Just take a look at what
means the regime has used to force people to give up their belief:
without going through any legal procedures, people have been arbitrarily
arrested, sent to forced labour camps, sentenced to prison for
those persisting in their belief, and brutally tortured. The regime
has been trying to crush Falun Gong practitioners mentally and
physically. The more evil thing is that under the condemnation
and appeals from international communities, the regime's persecuting
became more secretive. From outside, practitioners being persecuted
don't seem to have suffered any physical harm. But pain brought
by the mental persecution is much worse than that by physical
harm. The physical harm can be healed through medical care. But
the mental harm may never be cured. On 1 September 2006, I was
released after serving my sentence. This so-called freedom didn't
bring me any happiness. On the contrary, I have been heavily burdened
in my heart and this burden will be with me for the rest of my
life: during my detention I said things against my will and did
something that I didn't want to do. What I did goes against my
conscience in exchange for the relief from the physical harm.
To a person with a clear conscience, this means living is worse
than death!
At the beginning of June 2005, I was sent to
a special unit whose sole purpose is to deal with these Falun
Gong practitioners with a firm belief. A living hell then began.
The first method was "sitting on the high chair", which
was made of plastic about thirty centimetres across. The surface
was very uneven. Everyday one was forced to sit for over eighteen
hours, with a strict sitting posture: both knees touching each
other tightly, both legs touching each other tightly, both hands
resting over the knees, the back must be kept straight, eyes must
be open, and no movement is allowed. If one wants to move, one
has to report to drug addicts who watch over us. For example if
one wants to drink water, one has to report: report to the class
leader, please let me drink water. If this drug addict says: move,
then one can pick up the cup and drink. After finishing drinking,
one again has to report to the drug addict: report to the class
leader, please allow me to put down the cup. Only after the drug
addict says "move" can one put down the cup. If one
feels itchy, one also needs to report to the drug addict: report
to the class leader, please allow me to scratch. If they say "move",
we can then scratch. If they say "no", we are not allowed
to move. That is to say, one has no rights even to move one's
own body. If one moved without permission, drug addicts would
start to shout at you loudly, sometimes even beating you. There
was a Falun Gong practitioner called Yang Xiaojing. Because she
didn't follow their instruction, three drug addicts beat her up
together. Yang Xiaojing's face became very swollen, her eyes looked
like Panda's eyes. Yang Xiaojing was sentenced to one year forced
labour camp in 2001. This time she was arrested again and was
sentenced to two and half a year labour camp. She also suffered
serious physical harm due to beating. Her husband was also arrested
in 2001 because he practises Falun Gong and was sentenced to five
years in prison. This "high chair" was only one of the
ways to make us suffer physically. After a week or two, many people's
bottoms started to rot.
The second method was starvation. That is not
to provide enough food. Everyday breakfast, lunch and dinner only
had half a piece of steamed bread about thirty grams, not even
with any pickled vegetable. After a week, one became very thin.
I once asked a policeman Li Zhiping who was in charge of me to
demand increased food portions and was told: if you don't renounce
Falun Gong, it is seen as deliberately confronting the Communist
Party, and you don't even think about having enough food. Cultivators
have no enemy. Falun Gong requires practitioners to treat all
people around you with kindness. My teacher once said: if you
cannot love your enemy, then you cannot reach Consummation. How
can firm persistence with one's belief be related to confrontation?
This maybe the Communist Party's logic. Drug addicts could not
finish their food. They would rather throw it away than give it
to us.
Another method of torture was not providing
drinking water. When I was at this special unit, it was June.
June is always very hot in Beijing. The temperature could reach
40 degrees centigrade. Every day they only gave you about 500
millilitres of drinking water. When thirsty, one could only afford
to just about wet one's lips. Apart from this, even going to the
toilet was deliberately blocked: one was made to wait at least
half an hour, sometimes two to three hours. This led me to have
constant pain in my bladder later. There was no feeling whether
there is urine or not. Eating, drinking water and going to the
toilet are the most basic human rights for a person. Nobody has
the right to take them away. From this, one can see that in order
to achieve the purpose of forcing Falun Gong practitioners to
give up their belief, the regime has resorted to such unspeakable
means. They made us suffer by denying the most basic human requirements.
Besides these, as long as one doesn't give up Falun Gong, it is
not allowed to wash one's hair, have a shower or wash one's clothes.
In temperatures over forty degree centigrade, the room only had
a small open window. The door was closed, with curtains drawn.
One would sweat heavily even without moving. After two weeks,
my clothes became very smelly. I demanded to be allowed to wash
my clothes. Not only was my request refused, even the drug addicts
who were watching over me were scolded. The police shouted at
them for not refusing my request directly. As a result I was shouted
at by the drug addicts. My head was so itchy that I could not
sleep at night. After my request to wash my clothes was refused,
I started my hunger strike, refusing food and water. At such high
temperatures, it was very dangerous to start a hunger strike without
food and water. With such extreme measures, I was given a chance
to wash my clothes. This was what I said earlier that the regime
started to use more secretive and evil ways to punish Falun Gong
practitioners.
The Chinese Communist regime announced to the
outside world that now is the best time for China's human rights
and that they use education and persuasion to rescue Falun Gong
practitioners. But in practice, the means they use are violence
and lies. It is very easy to cheat the outside world. The other
evil method they use is to watch over you 24 hours a day. At the
special unit, I was detained alone in a room. Three drug addicts
watched over me during the whole day in turn, each taking an eight-hour
shift. They recorded my every move such as: at what times I drank
water, how much I drank; at what times I went to the toilet, to
urinate or excrete, how much, was the urine colour white or yellow,
was the excretion dry or wet? What was my mood? Was I happy or
sad, what did I say; did I lie flat or on my side during sleep
etc etc, all recorded in great detail. They tried to seek a psychological
breakthrough.
Due to the concerns raised by the British government
and great efforts by overseas fellow Falun Gong practitioners,
on 24 November 2005, an international human rights organisation
came to the Labour Camp to try to interview me. But I was warned
that I was not allowed to take part in the interview. I hinted
to the two ladies who came to interview me in English, they understood
my difficulty. Before this international human rights organisation
came to the Labour Camp, they moved out all Falun Gong practitioners
who had suffered torture and ill-treatment from the Labour Camp,
using altogether four coaches. The second day after the international
human rights organisation left, they were taken back again. If
it was really as pleasant as the regime claimed to the outside
world, why did they refuse to allow the interview?
Through two years' life in the labour camp,
because of the double mental and physical persecution, my eyesight
became bad and my memory became weak. Because of the suffering
caused by brainwashing, my hair all turned white. My mental status
almost reached the edge of total collapse. I thought about dying.
Every day the only thing I thought about, when I sat down, was
how to end my life. Was it better to smash my head onto a radiator
or drink washing powder? Because of long-term malnutrition, my
whole body became swollen. Due to the "sitting on the high
chair" for a long time, for a long period after I was released
from the labour camp I had difficulty walking. I even walked slower
than my parents who are over 70 years old. Because I kept practising
Falun Gong, my health recovered very quickly.
In the labour camp, I met many Falun Gong practitioners.
Most of them were forcibly taken from their homes. Falun Gong
practitioner Li Lanping was looking after her grandson when the
officers at her local "6.10" office came to ask her
if she still practised Falun Gong. She was immediately taken away
from her home when she said she still practised. Falun Gong practitioner
Zhang Xiaojing was working at her company. She was taken away
from her working place when the company director pretended to
want to talk to her. Her husband was a serving soldier. He divorced
her under the pressure. When she was arrested, her paralysed mother
who is over eighty years old was left at home without anybody
looking after her. The old lady soon passed away and was not able
to see her daughter for a last time. Soon after Zhang Xiaojing
was sentenced, his son was also sentenced to a few years in prison
because he practises Falun Gong. In today's China, there are countless
such families that were torn apart because of the Chinese Communist
regime's persecution. There was another Falun Gong practitioner
called Su Wei. She was just released in the middle of September
2005. Two months later, she was arrested again. This time she
was sentenced to two and half years in a labour camp (the first
time it was two years).
25 Ev 115 Back
26
See http://chinaview.wordpress.com/2006/07/21/lawyers-3rd-open-letter-urge-china-to-stop-the-brutalityl/ Back
27
Annie was held for 18 months in a forced labour camp in Beijing
till September 2006. Back
|
