Name: Zhong Xiangwei (钟祥维)
Gender: Female
Age: 50
Address: Jiujiang City, Jiangxi Province
Occupation: Unknown
Date of Most Recent Arrest: May 7, 2008
Most recent location of detention: Women's Forced Labor Camp in Jiangxi Province (江西省女子劳教所)
City: Jiujiang
Province: Jiangxi
Persecution Suffered: Detention, beatings, forced labor, force-fed, solitary confinement
Key Persecutors: Mei Jinhua (梅金华), Liang Yongjun (梁甬君), Pan Pinli (潘品丽), Zhang Xiaocui (张小翠), Hong Chuanghua (洪创华), Lu Xiuying (吕秀英), Wei Qiuhong (魏秋红), Chen Ying (陈英)
(Clearwisdom.net) (By a correspondent in Jiangxi Province) During the past year and a half Ms. Zhong Xiangwei has been illegally arrested, beaten, and sentenced to forced labor by officers from the local police station. The following is her attempt to describe the persecution she has endured.
Seven of us were arrested the evening of May 7, 2008, during our group Fa study at practitioner Gui Baihua's home by the director of Saichenghu Police Station, Mei Jinhua, 46, from Huangmei City, and 20 other officers. They used excessive force during the arrest, resulting in injury to Ms. Gui's foot. To this day, I suffer pain in my feet.
We were detained at the police station until noon the next day. In the station, I lifted my palm to send forth righteous thoughts, so Mei handcuffed my hand to the chair. The next day when they tried to ship us to the detention center, I refused to get into the car. Because I didn't cooperate, Mei stomped on my feet and slammed the head of 65-year-old practitioner Mr. Lu Zhenxiang against the wall. Mr. Lu was chained around his neck during this assault.
During my 20 days in the the detention center, officials at the Jiujiang County Detention Center extorted 400 yuan from my family.
On May 27, 2008, I was taken to the Jiangxi Provincial Women's Forced Labor Camp for a term of one and half years. In the camp, I was ordered to watch videos that slandered and smeared Falun Gong. When I refused to watch, officer Liang Yongjun said, "We will extend your sentence for this." On one occasion, guard Pan Pinli ordered me to wind thread. Because I had done nothing wrong to be arrested and imprisoned, I did not obey Pan. He had my term extended again.
In September, camp authorities ordered me to package gloves. Even though some of us were elderly and some of us had high blood pressure, we were ordered to carry heavy boxes up to the third floor. If we didn't cooperate, camp authorities extended our sentences.
On October 4, 2008, about 6 of us didn't work, so they ordered us to march military style. I refused. Guard Zhang Xiaocui kicked me, and the brigade captain, Hong Chuanghua, ordered me to wear a labor camp uniform. I refused, because the clothes were filthy. During the struggle, two tops were torn. I was fined 100 yuan, and, again, they extended m sentence. I was handcuffed and ordered to stand, but instead I laid on the icy ground for three hours.
In May 2009, we were again ordered to package gloves. When I was not allowed to use the toilet, I began a hunger strike but could not bear the brutal force-feedings, so I agreed to do the labor.
A month later, the group leader complained that I was a slow worker. I replied that I was not breaking the law and the labor I was forced to do was wrong, but they handcuffed me and forced me to work. After hearing this, guard Wei Qiuhong ordered me to solitary confinement. He then ordered me back to work in the afternoon. I declined to go back to work and was made to stand still with no toilet privileges. I refused to cooperate. I sat on the ground when they tried to drag me. They poured water one me and Tang Juan, a 27-year-old drug offender from Jian City, poured a disinfectant solution on me. I sat for over 3 hours soaked in the disinfectant.
One of the inmates, Shi Qingmei, a drug offender from Fuzhou City, Jiangxi Province, told me that no one would know that she kicked me, so she kicked me at least 40 times in a row. The guard told me that she would be punished, but that inmate was instead rewarded by being given a 3-day term reduction.
My release date was set for May 7, 2009, but I was not released until May 15. Though I was exhibiting symptoms of a stroke, they would not release me. I told brigade captain Chen Ying, "You are persecuting me. I am not 'guilty' just because I maintain my belief, but you are guilty of persecuting me. Falun Dafa is good." Chen repeatedly swore at me and spit in my face.
This was what I have endured over the past year and a half.
Written on December 16, 2009