Further Details of the Beating Death of Retired Teacher Ms. Zhao Xiaoping by Beijing Police (Photo)
By a Falun Dafa Practitioner in China
(Clearwisdom.net)
Ms. Zhao Xiaoping was fondly known as "Sister Xinjiang." At 62 years old,
Zhao was a resident in Urumqi City and a retired teacher of a Ceramic Factory.
She went to Beijing on December 28, 2000, to appeal against the persecution of
Falun Dafa, and was detained in the Yanqing Detention Center. She was released 2
days later. She was held again in the No. 8 Branch of Beijing City's Police
Station. On January 4, 2001, Ms. Zhao was interrogated by the authorities. When
she was returned to the cell, her face was disfigured with 3 big bumps on her
head. Her body was covered with dirt, she could not talk, and her lips were
tightly shut. She was sent to hospital for emergency treatment on January 5,
2001. The doctors found that she was suffering from internal injuries that
consisted of bleeding in her liver, spleen, and stomach. She was also diagnosed
as having a swollen heart from the trauma she received and she also was
diagnosed with kidney failure. As a result of these massive injuries, Ms. Zhao
passed away on January 7, 2001.
There are nearly 1000 Falun Dafa practitioners who have died as a result of
torture and other forms of persecution at the hands of the authorities. Ms. Zhao
Xiaoping's death was not on the list because at the time she was beaten to death
in the No. 8 Branch of the Beijing Police Station, her name was unknown. I only
knew that she was from the Xinjiang Autonomous District, so I called her "Sister
Xinjiang."
On December 25, 2000, I went to Beijing to appeal against the persecution of
Falun Dafa. I came to a place in a suburban area that one Dafa practitioner in
Beijing had arranged as temporary lodging for practitioners traveling like us on
the evening of December 26, 2000. I saw Ms. Zhao on December 27, 2000, she was
in her 60s, about 1.65 meters tall and wore a brown cotton jacket. She was very
energetic, and very warm to everyone. She introduced herself as a local from
Xinjiang, a former elementary school teacher, and that she had obtained Falun
Dafa in 1998. She hosted a group study for the practice in her hometown, read
Zhuan Falun (1) with other practitioners daily, and that it was her third
attempt to come to Beijing to appeal. Her first attempt was walking across the
desert for three entire days that ended with her employer finding her and taking
her back home against her will. Her second attempt was going to Beijing on foot
to avoid the checkpoints however, her 2 sons discovered her plan and stopped
her. She successfully broke through various obstacles while under surveillance
by the authorities and successfully made it to Beijing by train on her third
attempt. She did not tell us her name as we all avoided informing anyone of our
identity so that we would not bring trouble to each other or those in our
hometowns if we were subjected to torture interrogation sessions.
On December 28, 2000, we all proceeded to go to Tiananmen together to unfurl
banners in support of Falun Dafa, and shouted "Falun Dafa is Good!"
"Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance is good!" "Restore our Master's
reputation!" We were held in the Yanqing Detention Center located in Suburban
Beijing. There were 43 Falun Dafa practitioners, male and female all locked in
one cell. We could only stand since there was no place to sit. The prison was so
overcrowded that two practitioners had to stand near the toilet. The ventilation
hole was sealed, and the running water was turned off. "Sister Xinjiang"and I
organized the detained practitioners to study the Falun Dafa principles together
and share our understandings. Two days after that we were all released.
We went back to that temporary lodging place provided by fellow practitioners
to rest a bit on December 30, 2000. The next day, we went to Tiananmen again.
There were many Falun Dafa practitioners who came to Tiananmen that day. Police
came from outside Beijing to help the local Beijing police. They even took some
prisoners from the jail to help police arrest Dafa practitioners. The prisoners
were paid 100 yuan (2) per day with the promise of a reduced term of 1 year per
practitioner being arrested. We were arrested, and sent to No. 8 Branch of
Beijing Police, a place more vicious than the Yanqing Detention Center. Upon our
arrival, we were forced to strip off our clothes so that the police could pour
cold water on us in order to cause us discomfort or make us ill. I saw Ms. Zhao
when I entered the door.
Ms. Zhao and I were organizing practitioners to recite Hongyin (3) and
Lunyu (4). Ms. Zhao can recite many articles in Essential for Further
Advancement (5) such as "Expounding on the Dao". She was reciting it
repeatedly for us. Many were admiring her for having memorized so many articles
from the teachings of Falun Dafa.
There were 11 of us who refused to cooperate with police, refused to be
tortured with the "Sitting Board" (6), or wear the prisoners' uniforms, or
memorize the prison rules. Because of we would not cooperate with their
persecution the police instructed prisoners to torture us. We clarified the
truth to these prisoners and their attitude improved for the better. Eleven of
us went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution.
On January 4, 2001, Ms. Zhao and I were both force-fed to the extreme. We
were both awakened by the police around midnight for interrogation. The police
were shouting, "Hurry up!" The policeman who was interrogating me was very rude
and angry. He said, "Tell us your name and address, otherwise, we will send you
to a labor camp in Xinjiang!" Because we had our faith in Master and our Dafa
teachings in our hearts we had no fear at all. The police could not do anything
but send us back to the cell. The cell leader, a female prisoner, was still
awake. She said, "No. 3 (Ms. Zhao) and one other have not come back." I sat and
waited for their return. The other practitioner from Miyun County, suburban of
Beijing City was brought back to the cell after a while. I asked her, "Are you
alright?" She answered, "I was beat up. The Director of Beijing City Police came
to check this place, and also brought another man to assist him. When I refused
to answer the Director's questions, he ordered the assistant to start beating
me. The assistant's hand was covered with a black leather glove so he could beat
me without injuring his hand." Tears rolled down her cheeks. I was in tears as
well. I gently touched her head, and there were many swollen bumps under her
disheveled hair.
After a long time, Ms. Zhao came back. She could not walk steady even though
she made a strong effort. Her body was covered with dirt. Her pants were soiled.
She was beaten worse than the practitioner from Miyun County whose face was
disfigured with three large bumps on her head. Ms. Zhao's mouth was tightly
shut. I could see that she was physically exhausted and in pain. She didn't want
to talk at all. I knew she would not cry, but I could not help crying. I let her
sleep in my spot. She squeezed in with much effort, and then touched me gently
to encourage me not to cry.
The next morning, our cell leader reported to the police, "No. 3 (Ms. Zhao)
cannot sit up, she fell down!" Ms. Zhao said quietly, "Don't worry, no rush!"
She was carried out. In a short while, we heard that she was being sent to a big
hospital. The cell leader was sent to monitor her in the hospital that evening.
I spent another night worrying. The cell leader came back early morning on the 6th
of January. We were anxious to know the condition of Ms. Zhao, but the cell
leader would not give us any information. We all knew the reason.
After breakfast, the prison doctor called me (No. 4) to exonerate himself of
the death of Ms. Zhao. He claimed, "I have a good reputation in this area. We
spent 8000 yuan rescuing her. It is not my responsibility for other problems
causing her death." I asked, "Why?" He said, "She had too many injuries such as
internal bleeding in the liver, spleen, and stomach, a swollen heart, kidney
failure..." I was thinking to myself, how cruel the authorities were to have
beaten her to the point of damaging her internal organs. I spent another day
worrying.
Early morning on January 7, a female police officer banged the cell gate open
and shouted at us, "Still no name and address even though she is dead. Who do
you know? Tell me! Tell me!" She was madly pointing at each one of us. We knew
No. 3 (Ms. Zhao) was beaten to death. We remained in a minute of silence in
memory of her while holding our hands in heshi (7) position. Since no one knew
Ms. Zhao's name at that time, we did not write any article about her.
As arranged by Teacher, I recently found that our Xinjiang Sister was Zhao
Xiaoping. I saw her family picture sent confirming that she was tortured to
death. I am writing this article now to expose the crimes of the authorities to
the world.
(
(2) Yuan: Unit of Chinese currency; the average monthly pay of an urban
worker is 500 yuan.
(3) Hongyin: A collection of poem by Li Hongzhi, the
founder of Falun Dafa.
(4) Lunyu: The preface of Zhuan Falun.
(5) Essentials for Further Advancement: Collection of letters and articles
written by Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Dafa.
(6) "Sitting Board": Everyday, practitioners put their hands on top of their
laps, with backs straight and sitting on benches 18 hours per day. This
continued for over fifty days. The authorities even limited practitioners'
restroom use time. Because of the long time spent sitting on hard benches,
practitioners' buttocks grew big sores that hurt badly. Practitioners could not
even urinate normally because of the pain. Because the labor camp was very wet,
the police would not allow practitioners to have air ventilation or the chance
to get some sunlight, and practitioners were locked up for so long, countless
red scabies grew on the entire body of the practitioner; they were incomparably
itchy and painful.
(7) Heshi: Pressing the hands together in front of the
chest. It is a Chinese gesture of respect and honor.
Chinese version available at
http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2004/5/29/75885.html
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