(Minghui.org) Before Ms. Wu Lixia set off for Beijing to appeal for Falun Dafa in 2000, she knew it would be a dangerous and a life-changing journey. But she couldn't ignore the call in her heart: “I have to go!”
After the Chinese Communist Party started the persecution of Falun Dafa in July 1999, many practitioners have felt the need to appeal in Beijing. As a result of Ms. Wu's actions, she has been arrested five times, and beaten and tortured at the notorious Masanjia Forced Labor Camp for two years. One of her fellow practitioners died as a result of persecution.
On the Day Ms. Wu Left for Beijing
On July 18, 2000, Ms. Wu was about to take the train to Beijing. Even before she boarded the train, she was arrested along with another practitioner Ms. Ma Yuping, who was later persecuted to death.
Both practitioners were taken to the local police station and chained to heating pipes overnight. They were then taken to the Shizilou Detention Center, where more than 10 other practitioners were detained.
Torture re-enactment: Handcuffed to heating pipes
Ms. Wu went on a hunger strike as soon as she arrived at the detention center. On the third day, she was force-fed by the guards. They immobilized her arms and legs, inserted a tube into her nose and used a syringe to force the food in. She was held for over 10 days before being released.
Ten Practitioners Arrested
Police arrested Ms. Wu along with 9 other practitioners in her area on January 16, 2001. She was released 10 days later.
Tortured in a Labor Camp
Ms. Wu was arrested in April 2001 and taken to a labor camp in Fushun City, where she was detained in the “Intensive Assault Class” for 40 days. She was beaten and verbally abused. One time, Ms. Wu was punched in her forehead and mouth, rendering her unable to see properly. A female guard once pushed her to the ground and kicked her in the ribs, causing her to still be in pain after she left the labor camp.
In order to force practitioners to give up their belief, guards often torture them by a method called “Flying an airplane.”
Torture re-enactment: Flying an airplane
Taken to Masanjia Forced Labor Camp
Ms. Wu moved to the Hedong District in Fushun, due to being relocated, but the police eventually found her new address. On May 10, 2004, a few police vehicles pulled up at her home with over 20 officers there. Some of them went into her home, grabbed her and forcibly pushed her into a police car, injuring her left arm.
Ms. Wu was first taken to the Hedong Police Station, before being transferred to the Criminal Division in the evening. That night, she was taken to the Nangou Detention Center in Fushun.
Fifteen days later, Ms. Wu was taken to the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp and held there for two years. She often went on a hunger strike and refused to follow the labor camp rules. Thus, she was often beaten and put in solitary confinement many times.
Guards forced Ms. Wu to sit on a iron chair wearing only her underwear and connected the chair to an electrical supply. Her underwear, thighs and buttocks were all scorched.
Torture re-enactment: Iron chair
Wang Naiming went to the labor camp on November 21, 2005 with seven or eight other officers. They wrapped a metal pole in newspaper and beat Ms. Wu on the head, arms and legs. She had difficulty walking afterward.
Three days later, over 20 male guards who were called the “Forced Change Group” came to their cells, equipped with electric batons and handcuffs. Practitioners were taken out one by one. Ms. Wu was the first to be taken. Four tall men surrounded her, slapped her in the face and kicked her all over. Ms. Wu's body was severely bruised and she felt that her nose had been broken. When she lost consciousness for a while, guard put a labor camp uniform on her. She was then hung up and chained to a heating pipe for a night. The next day she was unable to walk and had to be carried back to her cell.
Another practitioner Ms. Xu Shuying was kicked in the head and torso by the guards because she refused to renounce her belief. She was bedridden for a week.
Besides being beaten, practitioners were also forced to sit on a small stool in between the two bunk beds. There were two rows of stools. Practitioners had to sit on them, with one hand chained to the bed. They were not allowed to use the bathroom.
Ms. Wu Lixia was released from Masanjia on June 9, 2006.
Held in Brainwashing Center for 21 Days
On August 28, 2006, Ms. Xu was arrested and taken to the Luotaisan Brainwashing Center by the party secretary of the Shuncheng District Politics and Law Committee Liu Yazhou and other community personnel. She went on a hunger strike and was released 21 days later.
Ms. Wu Lixia, 57, has practiced Falun Dafa for 18 years. Despite the fact that she has been arrested five times and was tortured at the notorious Masanjia Forced Labor Camp for two years, her perseverance in her belief has never changed.
