This article was first published in January 2002.

(Minghui.org)

My name is Xia Zurong. My husband and I are both Falun Dafa practitioners. I am the mother of Long Gang, who committed suicide by jumping into a river. His death was reported by Chinese Central Television (CCTV) as one of its "1,400 death cases" falsely attributed to Falun Gong. We live at 70 Shuangqiao Street in Shuangshi Village, Yongchuan District, Chongqing City.

As parents, we know clearly whether or not our son had a mental problem, and he did have a mental problem. At the time when he jumped in the river, he was having a psychotic episode, which had nothing to do with Falun Gong. As his parents, we must say what is true. We cannot, against our consciences, watch the government use our son to vilify Dafa.

After our son died, a reporter surnamed Du came to interview my daughter-in-law, asking her to claim that her husband was a Falun Gong practitioner. The reporter wrote on a sheet of paper some words slandering Falun Gong and asked her to read them, coercing her to say bad words against Dafa. At that time, my daughter-in-law yielded to their pressure and did what she was told to do. The next day she was given 200 Yuan RMB in cash. Those who do evil often use money to buy one's conscience and manipulate one to do evil. My grandson (the child of my dead son) was even taught to slander Dafa. This is how the "news" on TV was made.

In order to help common people to not be deceived into turning against Dafa, we revealed the truth to the government officials: our son's death was not caused by practicing Falun Gong, but was the result of his own mental illness.

On January 13, 2000, I boarded a train for Beijing, prepared to appeal to the government and tell them the true facts about my son's death. Because I was reading a Falun Dafa book on the train, I was taken into custody by a policeman and escorted to a police station in Xichang City. Later, I was transferred to Xichang Detention Center and all my money (3600 Yuan) was confiscated. A police officer from Shuangshi Village Police Station escorted me back there on January 18, and the next day I was sent to a detention center, where I was detained for 31 days. Then, I was transferred to Jishan Police Station in Yongchuan District, where I was detained for 3 days. After that, I was locked up in the Drug Addicts Detention Center for 10 days. Finally, I was transferred to the Chongqing City Women's Forced Labor Camp, where I was detained for about one year. I kept practicing Falun Gong while in the labor camp, and so I was brought to see Camp Director Li. I told him, "Don't say that Falun Gong is bad, and don't believe the TV station's lies. My son's death has nothing to do with Dafa. It was his psychosis that caused him to jump into the river. What I said is the truth." After that, Li ordered policewoman Huang Yan to handcuff me for nine days.

On numerous occasions, officials from the Shuangshi Village government have gone to see my ex-daughter-in-law, who has since remarried. They threatened her verbally and asked her to cooperate with them by reporting my whereabouts to them; otherwise they say they will close her business.