Exposing the Persecution of Ms. Zhou Zi at the Beijing Women's Prison (Photo)
(Clearwisdom.net) Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Zhou Zi was born on July
22, 1977 and lived in Beijing's Fangshan District. She is an English teacher at
the Beijing Instrumentation Technical School. Ms. Zhou was sentenced to seven
years and six months in prison in March 2003 for practicing Falun Gong and
clarifying the truth. The Haidian District Court sent her to the
Beijing Women's Prison in July 2003, where she suffered inhuman torture for
persisting in her belief. In February 2007, the prison authorities put her into
the "training unit" to suffer intensified abuse. She began a protest
hunger strike. The prison officials have tried to keep information on her from
leaking out, and her current situation is unknown. Photo of Ms. Zhou Zi Steadfast Falun Gong practitioners are subjected to "training" by
the prison authorities. Practitioner Ms. Yuan Li suffered from torture-induced
ear problems. She tried several times to appeal her sentence but failed. She
stood up during a meeting to expose the actions of the police. As a result, Ms.
Yuan was put in the "training unit" to suffer further persecution. The
reason given for her intensified punishment was "interrupting order at the
conference." Toward the end of January 2007, Ms. Zhou Zi defied those who tried to
brainwash her and refused to wear a prisoner's ID badge. No.10 Ward head Zheng
Yumei (female) assaulted Ms. Zhou personally, kicking and stomping on her. Zheng
put Ms. Zhou into the "training unit" with the false excuse that she
had verbally attacked the prison warden. Ms. Zhou refused to wear a prisoner's ID badge because she knows that she is
not guilty. Following the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance
benefits society and is legal anywhere else in the world. However, officials at
the CCP-run prison deprive practitioners of the right to appeal and deny them
their basic human rights. Because Ms. Zhou resisted the attempts by the guards to force her to give up
Falun Gong, officer Zheng Yumei put her into the "training unit."
Furthermore, with instigation from prison wardens Li Ruihua and Zhou Ying,
officials in the prison affairs section, the education section, and the
supervision section cooperated with Zheng Yumei to further persecute Ms. Zhou. Tang from the prison affairs section said, "Zhou Zi's hunger strike is
her own decision. No one will be responsible if something happens to her."
Ms. Zhou began her hunger strike at the end of February 2007 to protest Zheng's
actions and the prison's refusal to stop them. Instead of investigating Zheng's actions, however, the prison authorities
used "personal cangues," or inmates assigned to closely monitor Falun
Gong practitioners, to give false reports that Ms. Zhou's hunger strike was a
standalone action and had nothing to do with the prison officers' actions. If
Ms. Zhou's hunger strike had nothing to do with the prison, then why have they
cut off all means of contacting her? In early March 2007, Ms. Zhou's family called the No.10 Prison Ward several
times to inquire about her. Officer Zheng Yumei instructed the officer who
answered the calls not to tell the family that Ms. Zhou had been sent to the
"training unit." The prison officials kept lying and hiding
information from the family. Since March 2007, Ms. Zhou's family members have
traveled a long distance to the prison by bus on visitation days every month and
asked over ten times to see Ms. Zhou. The prison authorities have refused to
allow them to see her and refused to meet with the family themselves. Xing
Hongjun from the prison's affairs section gave the excuse, "No family
visits are permitted during the 'training' period." Practitioner Ms. Li Guiping was also in the "training unit" at the
same time, but her family members were allowed to see her. This was because Ms.
Li's family members were recruited to help the prison with their brainwashing
activities. In Ms. Zhou Zi's case, they turned down the family visits because she could
expose their evildoings. During one visit in November 2005, when Ms. Zhou told
her family what she had suffered in the prison, the conversation was recorded.
The revelations Ms. Zhou had made became the reason for her to be cut off from
further contact with the outside world. Systematic crimes committed by people at different levels Since the inception of the persecution of Falun Gong, the CCP-run prisons
have been a mechanism used to persecute innocent people and cover up the CCP's
crimes. Incarceration in the "training unit" and the denial of family
visits are not isolated incidents. Beijing Women's Prison wardens Li Ruihua and Zhou Ying are following orders
from their superiors and pressuring prison guards to force Falun Gong
practitioners to give up their belief. They cover up illegal activities inside
the prison to the outside world, and internally, they use a combination of
coercion and incentives to get the guards to carry out the persecution. For
personal gain, the guards utilize the "personal cangue" system to
constantly monitor and persecute the Falun Gong practitioners, and to provide
false testimony whenever they need it. From top to bottom, the prison is a
machine designed to carry out the persecution. The prison's internal affairs officials refuse to stop the guards from
inappropriate behavior, but instead serve as a cover-up mechanism for them.
Officials at the Prison Affairs Section and the Education Section are directly
involved in persecuting the practitioners and sending them to the "training
unit." People in the education section download Minghui website articles
about atrocities at this prison and attempt to analyze how the news leaked out
to think of ways to prevent further leaks. More than 100 days have passed since Ms. Zhou Zi started her hunger strike in
February 2007. Ms. Zhou's current situation is still unknown. Her family has
visited the prison over ten times and hasn't been allowed to see her. Her aged
parents have repeatedly made the eight-hour journey, but still know nothing
about their daughter's condition. The prison has not just persecuted Ms. Zhou Zi,
but also made her family members suffer. Responsible personnel at the prison Li Ruihua, Beijing Women's Prison Warden In 2004, Li Ruihua and deputy prison warden Zhou Ying pressured guards to
brainwash Zhou Zi and other steadfast practitioners. This led guards Zheng Yumei,
Xiao Rui and others to torture Zhou Zi relentlessly. Li also covered up Zheng
Yumei's crimes. While internally organizing the persecution of Falun Gong
practitioners, Li accepted interviews and awards, and played up the prison's
"humanitarian management." Li Ruihua promotes her policy of having a
day for visitors to talk to her, but has persistently refused to talk to Zhou
Zi's parents. Zhou Ying, Deputy Warden Zhou Ying has been in charge of the persecution of Falun Gong at the prison
since 2000. She has collaborated with police officers Tan Fengqing and Zheng
Yuhua, as well as others, to persecute practitioners and cover up the
persecution. Zheng Yumei, former Head of the No.10 Prison Ward Between July 2004 and 2007, Zheng Yumei and police officer Yao Rui urged
"personal cangues" to persecute practitioner Ms. Zhou Zi. They took
turns to physically and verbally attack Zhou Zi, subjected her to sleep
deprivation, and connected her punishments with other inmates to turn them
against her. In January 2007, when Zhou Zi refused to wear a prisoner's ID
badge, Zheng kicked and stomped on Zhou Zi. Later she sent Zhou Zi to the
"training unit." Zheng Yumei has been transferred and is currently the
head of the No.13 Prison Ward. She has brutally tortured practitioners Li Li, Ye
Changzhi and others. She has received several awards for her persecution of
Falun Gong practitioners. Xiao Rui, Head of the No. 10 Prison Ward Since 2004, under the direction of Zheng Yumei, Xiao Rui has been personally
in charge of persecuting Zhou Zi. She was promoted to become the deputy head of
the No.10 Prison Ward for persecuting Falun Gong practitioners. Xiao Rui was
formerly a guard in the No. 3 Prison Ward and has participated in the
persecution of Falun Gong practitioners for a long time. Guo Lanxiang, former Head of the No.2 Prison Ward Between July 2003 and May 2005, Guo subjected Zhou Zi to long-term sleep
deprivation, different forms of physical abuse, and around-the-clock
brainwashing tactics. Tang, Internal Affairs Section Head In 2007, Tang had "personal cangues" make false statements on the
guards' behavior as related to Falun Gong practitioners. He has been
instrumental in covering up the persecution. Gao Yunqi, Political Affairs Section Head In 2007, Gao colluded with other prison officials to cover up the persecution
of Zhou Zi. While Gao was in charge of a prison ward, he brutally tortured many
practitioners. He was in charge of covering up the death of Ms. Dong Cuifang,
who died as a result of torture. Yang Xiaodong, "Training Unit" Head Yang is in charge of the "training unit," which was specifically
created to attack and "transform" steadfast practitioners who resist
the persecution, including Zhou Zi. "Personal cangues" and collaborators involved in the
persecution of Zhou Zi: Li Xiaobing, Li Xiaomei, Zhu Baolian, Wu Yueping, Huang Xiaohong, Jin Hongwei,
Hu Yanzhi, Liu Xiuqin, Li Cuiwen, Lian Jiuju and others.
Chinese version available at
http://www.minghui.ca/mh/articles/2007/6/30/157883.html
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