(Minghui.org) I was released from Yunnan Province No. 2 Women's Prison on March 16, 2013, after six years of detention. By then my hair had turned gray, I was emaciated and my vision had deteriorated as a result of the torture and abuse I experienced in detention.
Since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began its persecution of Falun Gong in July 1999, I was imprisoned twice because I refused to renounce my belief. I was arrested again and sentenced to six years not long after I had been released from a 3-year sentence.
While I was still in prison, I was fired from my job in March 2005. Upon my release, I applied for unemployment benefits and was granted 450 yuan assistance every month for two years (barely enough to cover basic living expenses), but received it only for two months. The money was withheld by Wu, head of the Anning Domestic Security Department.
Arrested Three Months after Release from Detention
I went to a village not far from where I lived to hand out brochures about Falun Gong on March 27, 2007. I was arrested by Li Weiguo from the Qiaogang Defense Section and officers from the Anning City Domestic Security Department. They took me to my house and ransacked the place, confiscating my Falun Gong books, radio, MP3 player, brochures and other belongings.
I was then taken back to the Domestic Security Department and transferred to the Anning City Detention Center, where I was detained for over nine months. Officers from the Domestic Security Division interrogated me many times and I was ordered to do hard labor. I had to pick beans and weave shoes using corn plant leaves.
Sentenced to a Six-year Prison Term
I was secretly tried by the Kunning City Intermediate Court in early September 2007 and sentenced to a six-year prison term.
I appealed after receiving the verdict in mid-September, but the Yunnan Province High Court refused to hear the case.
I was taken to Yunnan Province No. 2 Women's Prison on January 7, 2008, where I was locked up in an isolation cell. Every day from 7 a.m to 6 p.m. I had to do military drills outside under the scorching sun. Two inmates took turns monitoring me. I was only allowed to take a bath once a month.
After more than two months, I was transferred to the group training division where I was held for more than five months. I was forced to thread beads and shells for door curtains.
I was moved to the No. 7 Division in September 2008. The guards locked me in a cell. The windows were covered with wooden boards and no one was allowed to talk to me.
Every day I worked long hours sewing beads and embellishments onto clothing. I did this throughout my entire prison stay.
Previous Arrests and Detention
I went to Tiananmen Square on April 4, 2000 to appeal for justice for Falun Gong. Along with nine other practitioners, we displayed a banner with the words Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Police snatched the banner and beat up two of the practitioners.
We were taken to a police station and detained for one day. The police found our identity and contacted our work places.
I was taken to the Luobai Police Station in Kungang where a police officer interrogated me. I was ordered to renounce Falun Gong and stay at home. Later on, I was taken to the Kunming City No. 2 Detention Center where I was held for over twenty days. I also had to perform hard labor daily.
I was moved from the detention center to the police department at the end of April. I was forced to fingerprint documents and they threatened to harass my family if I did not promise to stop appealing for Falun Gong.
When I was arrested in Beijing, police from the Luobai Police Station confiscated over 2,000 yuan and returned just over 300 yuan.
I went back to work after I was released from the detention center. The factory manager threatened to fire me if I continued to practice Falun Gong. Party head Yuan Jinming confiscated my Falun Gong books.
Arrested for Handing Out Brochures
In early November 2003, I gave colleagues at my work place, including the factory manager Guo Feng, information explaining the truth about Falun Gong.
Police officer Ou Guoqiang from the security section at my workplace, as well as officers from the Domestic Security Division and the Taiping Police Station, broke into my house on the night of November 5. They claimed that someone had reported me for handing out Falun Gong materials. They ransacked my house and confiscated my Falun Gong books and computer. I was then taken back to the Taiping Police Station.
I was taken to the Anning Domestic Security Division and handcuffed to a water pipe for a whole night, in a position in which I could neither squat nor stand up.
The following day at around 11 a.m., my handcuffs were removed and I was interrogated by officers from the Domestic Security Division. They took a photo of me and in the evening I was taken to the Anning City Detention Center.
I was held there for eight months. Every day I had to work from 7 a.m until 10:30 p.m. If I didn't complete my assigned work quota, I was forced to work another two hours at night.
Handcuffed to Two Convicts Around the Clock
Because I did the Falun Gong exercises, guard Yang Qun handcuffed bot of my wrists to two criminal inmates around the clock. The three of us had to do everything together, including taking meals, going to the toilet and sleeping.
As part of the persecution, and to foster hatred toward Falun Gong, the prison authorities implicated all inmates in the center as well. Every week, two convicts took turns to be shackled to me. This form of abuse went on for nearly two months.
Sentenced to Three Years in Prison
The Kunming City Intermediate Court held a trial against me at the Anning City Detention Center in March 2004. My family members were not notified and I was sentenced to a three-year prison term.
I was taken to the Yunnan Province No. 2 Women's Prison on June 3. There I had to make cotton products such as pillow cases and bedding in the No. 4 Division factory. Later on I was assigned to sew beads onto products.
Four inmates monitored my every action. In the morning, two of them forced me to recite prison rules. In the afternoon, two inmates watched me work in the factory.
I was transferred to the group training division specifically set up for persecuting Falun Gong practitioners.
Every day, upon getting up in the morning, we had to sit on tiny stools from 7 a.m. until 11 p.m. with a straight back and both hands placed on our knees. My buttocks became raw from sitting for such a long time and the pain was unbearable.
Once, guards found a poem written by Master Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Gong, and lyrics written by Falun Gong practitioners. Therefore, I was shackled to an iron railing by handcuffs, with my legs barely touching the ground. I was hung like that for around five hours.
I was locked in an isolation cell in May 2006. Guard Xie Ling made me wear heavy clothing and do military drills outside during hot weather from 7 a.m until after 5 p.m. daily.
I was held in the solitary confinement cell for nearly five months. In September 2006, I was transferred to another division and had to sew shoe soles, handicraft products and accessories. I did this until I was released on November 6, 2006.
Summary of Key Persecution Facts: Name : Gao Huixian (高惠仙) Gender : Female Age : 50 Address : Qiaogang road in Qiaogang District, Anning City Occupation : Crane operator at Kungang Group Qiaokang Road factory in Anning County, Yunnan Province Date of Most Recent Arrest : March 27, 2007 Most Recent Place of Detention : Yunnan Province No. 2 Women’s Prison (云南省第二女子监狱) City : Kunming Province : Yunnan Persecution Suffered : Forced labor, brainwashing, illegal sentencing, beatings, hung up, imprisonment, solitary confinement, torture, extortion, fired from workplace, physical restraint, home ransacked, interrogation, detention, denial of restroom use
