Arrested and Sentenced to Eight Years in Prison for Practicing Falun Gong

May 07, 2014 | By Zhang Xingguo, a practitioner from Heilongjiang Province, China

(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Zhang Xingguo was sentenced to eight years in prison in 2008 for practicing Falun Gong. He is being held in Daqing Prison.

Mr. Zhang has been arrested six times and has suffered brutal torture. After his most recent arrest in 2008, his mother, in her 80s, had a mental breakdown and passed away.

Mr. Zhang’s Recounts Being Persecuted

My name is Zhang Xingguo. I am 56 years old and live in Suihua, Heilongjiang, and was employed by the Suihua Pharmaceutical Regulatory Office. I started to practice Falun Gong in 1997.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started its unprecedented persecution of Falun Gong on July 20, 1999. Since then, I have been arrested, detained and illegally sentenced in labor camps.

I visited the Heilongjiang provincial government office on July 22, 1999, to tell them the facts about Falun Gong. I was arrested, interrogated, and beaten by security and then taken to the Suihua Detention center.

Chief Wang Xingzhou of the Political Security Section in the Beilin District and another section chief with the surname of Zhang were in charge. They demanded I sign a guarantee statement to renounce Falun Gong. They also demanded 10,000 yuan from my employer to bail me out. I was detained for 23 days. I was closely monitored after I was released.

I was detained and accused of supplying another practitioner with Falun Gong materials on November 2, 1999. I was detained for over three months. Because of my family’s efforts, I was released on bail after my family paid the procuratorate 10,000 yuan.

Arrested and Sentenced to Forced Labor in 2000

A dozen practitioners held a group exercise event at Nanshan West Road Park on July 12, 2000. They were arrested by officers from the Beilin District Political Security Section, Beilin District Police Department, Chunlei Police Station, and the Domestic Security Group. My wife, Zhang Shuqing, was among the arrested.

Because I organized the local Falun Gong activities in the past, the Fendou police determined that I had organized the group exercise. I was arrested, interrogated, and sentenced to one year of forced labor.

I was taken to Suihua Forced Labor Camp, which refused to admit me due to poor health. Beilin Police Department Branch Office chief Gao Wenfu, Zheng Defu, and Wang Xingzhou then took me to the Suihua No. 1 Detention Center.

I went on hunger strike several times to protest the detention and was force-fed many times. I was closely monitored after I was released.

Torture illustration: Force-feeding

Arrest and Detention in 2001

I went to visit a fellow practitioner on the evening of November 28, 2001, and was arrested by Sun Tiemin and police from the the Beilin Crime Squad.

Wang Xingzhou tied me to an iron chair, carried me to a van, and took me to the Political Security Section. I was interrogated through the night. Wang ordered police, “Beat him if he closes his eyes and pour cold water over his head.” Officers involved in my torture were Li Jianfei and Dong Jiangpeng.

Torture illustration: Hanging

Several people from the 610 Office interrogated me the next day. They took me to the Suihua Detention Center No. 1 two days later. I demanded to be released and went on a hunger strike. I was brutally force-fed by Yang, the prison doctor, and inmates.

I was in critical condition and taken to Suihua People’s Hospital No. 1 on February 8, 2002. I was released on medical parole that afternoon.

Arrested and Sentenced to Labor Camp

I was arrested in June 2002 for putting up posters about Falun Gong and sentenced to three years in a labor camp. My wife, Zhang Shuqing, was arrested at the same time and also sentenced to three years in the Qiqihaer Shuanghe Women’s Labor Camp.

My home was ransacked in April 2004, and my personal belongings, worth over 10,000 yuan were confiscated.

Belongings Confiscated, Extortion, and Arrests

Political commissar Wang Zhijie from the Suihua Police Department was in charge of mass arrests of practitioners on September 20, 2006. My home was ransacked, and they confiscated personal belongings worth over 50,000 yuan. My wife and I escaped.

Wang Zhijie and Li Jianfei from the Suihua Police Department and my employer arrested my daughter at work. She was taken to a detention center and detained for over a month. They extorted 15,000 yuan from her before she was released.

I searched for a job in the Daxinganling area in April 2008. I was followed by the Domestic Security Group and arrested at the Jiagedaqi Train Station on May 31 by the Suihua Domestic Security Group and Jiagedaqi Police Department.

They covered my head and handcuffed me. I was taken to a motel for the night. They confiscated 1,000 yuan and other personal items. I was taken to the Jiagedaqi Detention Center the next day.

My wife and daughter, who were living in Qiqihaer at the time, were also arrested. Our home was ransacked, and 4,000 yuan and other personal items were confiscated.

My wife, daughter, and I were taken to Suihua on June 1, 2008. My wife was sentenced to one year and nine months of forced labor and taken to the Heilongjiang Women’s Drug Addiction Rehab Center. My daughter was detained at the Qinggang County Detention Center and then released after they extorted 5,000 yuan from her.

I was taken to Wang Zhijie’s family farm for four days of interrogation and tortured by Wang, Yang Xiaodong from the Domestic Security Group, Beilin District 610 office personnel, and policeman Li Jianfei.

I was taken to the Wangkui County Detention Center on June 4 and to the Suihua Detention Center No. 1 on August 7. My feet were shackled.

I was sentenced to eight years in prison on August 8, 2008. I was taken to the Hulan Prison Intense Training Camp on November 5, 2008. While there, I was tortured and had to do hard labor. I was transferred to Ward No. 2, District No. 1 in Daqing Prison on January 13, 2009.

Summary of Key Persecution Facts:
Name: Zhang Xingguo 张兴国
Gender: Male
Age: 56
Address: Unit 29, Committee No. 4, Fendou Street, Beilin District, Suihua, Heilongjiang 黑龙江省绥化市北林区奋斗街四委二十九组
Occupation : Suihua Pharmaceutical Regulatory Office 绥化市药品检验所
Date of Most Recent Arrest: May 31, 2008
Most Recent Place of Detention: Daqing Prison 大庆监狱
City: Daqing Province: Heilongjiang
Persecution Suffered : Sleep deprivation, forced labor, brainwashing, illegal sentencing, beatings, hung up, imprisonment, torture, force-feedings, extortion, fired from workplace, physical restraint, home ransacked, interrogation, detention

Related articles:
Police in Suihua City Arrest Mr. Xu Zhanjie and Extort a Large Sum of Money
Students and Parents Outraged When a Beloved Teacher Is Arrested Again for Her Belief in Falun Gong
Officials from Suihua 610 Office and Beilin District Court Continue to Persecute Lawyer Ms. Liu Zhongjie
Practitioner Gao Yuanzhuang from Suihua City, Heilongjiang Province Arrested

Chinese version available

Category: Accounts of Persecution

Falun Gong Practitioners Tortured by Being Buried in the Snow

(Minghui.org) In Hebei Gaoyang Forced Labor Camp, guards forced practitioners to sit on the snowy ground and covered them with snow up to their heads. This was also done in Harbin Women’s Prison, where a 60-year-old practitioner was covered in snow up to her neck.

Torture Illustration: Covered with snow

Mr. Ye Dajun from Shilipu Village, Xiong County, Hebei Province, went to Beijing during the Chinese New Year holiday in 2001 to appeal for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong. He was illegally arrested and sent to Miyun County. The officer stripped off his clothes and forced him to lie on the ground, covered him with snow and stepped on him. He was buried for over two hours.

Chen Aizhong

Mr. Chen Aizhong is from Canfangying Village, Beixinbao Township, Huailai County, Hebei Province. When he went to Beijing to appeal in 2001 during the New Year holiday, he was arrested and held at the Dongbeiwang Detention Center. The guards stripped off his clothes and tied him to a tree in the yard. His feet were in deep snow and he suffered severe frostbite to his legs and feet. For seven days and four nights he was beaten with clubs, had his face slapped, was shocked with electric batons, and was deprived of sleep. Afterwards, Mr. Chen could no longer stand.

He was later transferred to the Haidian District Detention Center in Beijing, and the guards continued to torture him. They ordered other inmates to bury him in the snow for three to four hours.

Chinese version available

Category: Accounts of Persecution

University of Michigan: Celebrating World Falun Dafa Day

May 06, 2014 | By Xu Jing, a Minghui correspondent in Michigan

(Minghui.org) The University of Michigan, one of the oldest universities in the U.S., held its annual graduation ceremony on March 3, 2014, at its main campus in Ann Arbor. While students and their families and faculty were celebrating this special occasion, they also had an opportunity to learn about Falun Dafa while encountering local practitioners’ World Falun Dafa Day celebration.

Like practitioners in other regions around the world, Michigan practitioners gathered over the weekend to practice the exercises and raise awareness about Falun Dafa, and to commemorate Falun Dafa’s introduction to the public 22 years ago, on May 13, 1992.

For practitioners around the world, Ann Arbor holds a special place in Falun Dafa’s history, as the “Great Lakes Fa Conference in North America” was held here on December 9, 2000. This was only the second time the founder of Falun Dafa, Mr. Li Hongzhi, attended a conference and gave a lecture after the persecution began in July 1999.

Practicing the exercises at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor

Chinese students accept Falun Dafa informational materials.

People take informational materials to learn more.

A Look Back on the Journey

One practitioner who began practicing in 1998 shared what it was like the first time she joined a large group practice in China. She said, “It was in Beijing, also an early spring day, like today.” She said her hands were cold when doing the second exercise set, a still standing pose with the arms raised. “I opened my eyes for a second, and saw nearly 100 practitioners doing the exercises—none of them moved a bit. I was very touched.”

“Sixteen years have passed,” she said, “I still remember that day clearly. I was very fortunate to become a practitioner. Today I am glad to celebrate Falun Dafa Day with fellow practitioners. I really want to thank Teacher for his guidance through the years.”

Contrast Between Goodness and Wickedness

Another veteran practitioner, Mr. Li, who recently moved here from Mainland China, said that the first group exercise he joined was in July 1999. “Today is the first time I feel safe when doing the exercises in public since the persecution started in July 1999.” He said, “Falun Dafa is so good, it should be allowed in any nation.”

“I cannot understand why it [Falun Dafa] is banned in China, while it is well received in all other countries,” he said. He noticed even overseas Chinese students had been influenced by the slanderous propaganda from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). As a result, some Chinese students were still deceived and remained hostile towards practitioners. Although this is disheartening to see, practitioners have seen that more and more Chinese have become interested in learning the facts. Many Chinese students stopped to take information during this event, and asked questions about the movement to renounce the Chinese Communist Party.

“Just looking at the peaceful meditation, the defamatory propaganda, and the brutal persecution,” Mr. Li said, “we can see a clear contrast between goodness and wickedness.”

Detroit Media Gets It Right Early on

Recalling her experiences over past ten-plus years, another practitioner said, “The first time I saw Teacher was in December 2000, during the Great Lakes Fa Conference in North America.” She said that despite the massive “crackdown” and propaganda campaign by the communist regime, The Detroit News carried positive reports about Falun Dafa, which was rare back then, when few people outside China knew much about the practice, and had only the regime’s propaganda as a reference.

“We were pleased to see people taking a stance to support righteousness. This was the beginning of a long journey to overcome the persecution,” she said.

“We have been practicing here for more than ten years. As long as the persecution continues, we will work hard to raise awareness, until it comes to an end,” said the practitioner. “People need to know the truth.”

Chinese version available

Category: Dafa Day Celebrations