FDI: Falun Gong Woman Left Paralyzed from Severe Torture in Chinese Forced Labor Camp
35-year-old Ms. Li Huiqi was tortured for two months in a Chinese
Labor Camp, leaving her paralyzed and emaciated.
NEW YORK (FDI) -- Two months in the Shijiazhuang Forced Labor Camp in Hebei
Province transformed a healthy, vibrant woman into a mere skeleton of herself. Ms. Li Huiqi, 35, worked at the Shijiazhuan Paint Factory in Hebei Province.
On December 2, 2001, police from the Weiming Street Police Station in
Shijiazhuang City detained her because she practices Falun Gong. On February 2,
2002, after being illegally detained at Shijiazhuang First Detention Center for
two months, she was sent to the Second Squad, Fourth Brigade of the Shijiazhuang
Forced Labor Camp for a one-year term.
At the Shijiazhuang Labor Camp, "610
Office" officials and Labor Camp police tortured Ms. Li until she was on the
brink of death.
During the time Ms. Li was detained and tortured in the labor camp, her
health deteriorated dramatically. Still, the labor camp refused to release her. During her detention, Ms. Li's family came to the camp many times and begged
to be allowed to visit her. However, policewoman Qi Xiaoxia of the Second Squad,
Fourth Brigade of the labor camp reportedly told them, "Falun Gong practitioners
have no visitation dates. 'Visitation day' is not for Falun Gong!"
Sources say the camp also demanded money from Ms. Li's family.
On April 8, 2002, due to the torture Ms. Li had endured, the labor camp sent
her to the People's Hospital of Hebei Province to be resuscitated. Ms. Li was
emaciated. Many of her major organs were malfunctioning. Her pulse could not be
detected, and she had to be put on a ventilator.
Ms. Li remained in serious condition, and was transferred to the Third
Hospital of Hebei Province on May 30, 2002. Her condition remained serious and
she had to be resuscitated several times.
Family members say they began funeral preparations on at least three separate
occasions.
Throughout Ms. Li's ordeal in the hospital, labor camp police monitored her
24 hours a day, apparently fearing what she may reveal regarding the torture she
experienced in the labor camp. The police also arrested Falun Gong practitioners
who came to visit her.
"They used every way they could to prevent her persecution from being
exposed," says one source from Hebei Province.
On the morning of December 12, 2002, Li Yong, a director from the labor camp
and head of the fourth squad, and police officer Zhou Yilin went to the
hospital. Stating that Ms. Li had "fulfilled her sentence" at the labor camp,
they indicated she should be released, which meant the labor camp would no
longer provide further medical treatment. The responsibility of caring for the
now paralyzed Ms. Li was passed to her family.
Currently, Ms. Li is suffering from a urinary tract infection, pneumonia, and
frequent muscle spasms. She cannot breathe without a ventilator. She is being
cared for at home by her oldest sister, who is always by her side.
#áá#áá# NEWS - Mar. 3, 2003 Falun Dafa Information Center,
Background
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa (about),
is a practice of meditation and exercises with teachings based on the universal
principle of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance." It is a practice that was
taught in private for thousands of years before being made public in 1992 by Mr.
Li Hongzhi. Falun Gong has roots in traditional Chinese culture, but it is
distinct and separate from other practices such as the religions of Buddhism and
Taoism. Since its introduction in 1992, it quickly spread by word of mouth
throughout China, and is now practiced in over
50 countries.
With government estimates of as many as
100
million practicing Falun Gong, China's President Jiang Zemin outlawed the
peaceful practice in July 1999 (report),
fearful of anything touching the hearts and minds of more citizens than the
Communist Party. Unable to crush the spirit of millions who had experienced
improved health and positive life changes from Falun Gong, Jiang's regime has
intensified its propaganda campaign to turn public opinion against the practice
while quietly imprisoning, torturing and even murdering those who practice it. The Falun Dafa Information Center has verified details of 583 deaths (reports
/
sources) since the persecution of Falun Gong in China began in 1999.
Government officials inside China, however, report that the actual death toll is
well over 1,600, while expert sources estimate that figure to be much higher.
Hundreds of thousands have been detained, with more than
100,000 being sentenced to forced labor camps, typically without trial.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT THE FALUN DAFA INFORMATION CENTER-
Contacts: Gail Rachlin 917-501-4441, Levi Browde 914-720-0963, Erping Zhang
646-533-6147, or Feng Yuan 917-941-1097. Email:
faluninfoctr@nycmail.com, Website:
http://www.faluninfo.net/
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