(Clearwisdom.net)

My name is Li Jianying, and I'm a Falun Gong practitioner in Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province. I used to be too weak even to shop for groceries. However, now that I practice Falun Gong, I am free of health problems and feel energized from head to toe. In the past four years, Jiang's regime has brutally persecuted me just because I wanted to let people know about the goodness of Falun Gong and continue to practice my beliefs. There were several times when I almost died because of the persecution I received, but I recovered and returned from the brink of death through practicing Falun Gong. The facts tell people, "Falun Dafa is good!" Teacher Li Hongzhi's teachings saved my life several times but Jiang's political group tried to destroy me again and again.

My name is Li Shiwu. I am 40 years old and live in Qinhangdao City, Hebei Province. After July 20, 1999, I was constantly persecuted by Jiang's group, whose persecution policies caused the police to seize me from my home numerous times, caused me to have to pay money through extortion, and finally got me fired from my job. In July 2003, I was taken from my home against my will and sent to the Tangshan City Hehuakeng Forced Labor Camp for two years. When I arrived at the labor camp, the first thing I encountered was the inhumane "newcomer's initiation". In this "initiation" I was beaten mercilessly for hours. The black and blue bruises on my legs and back took a month heal. After this, the police assigned me to a "strictly disciplined team" where the persecution against me continued. After suffering for two and a half months, on September 13, 2003, I was taken to another location where I suffered brutal beatings and physical punishment for practicing Falun Gong.

I am Li Guizhi, female, 42 years old. I live in Dongcai Village, Yanjiao Town, Sanhe City, Hebei Province. After the persecution of Falun Gong started on July 20, 1999, Yanjiao Town authorities followed the orders from Jiang's regime to persecute local Falun Gong practitioners, including me. My home was illegally searched four times and I was seized and detained in a detention center or sent to a labor camp on 12 separate occasions. I also suffered all kinds of torture and abuse.

Ms. Zhao Xiuzhu is a good schoolteacher in Luancheng County, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province. After July 20, 1999, her school started to pressure her to give up her practice of Falun Gong. When that didn't work, school authorities prohibited her from teaching classes, and assigned some people to watch her day and night. On December 15, 1999, Ms. Zhao went to Beijing to appeal for the right to practice Falun Gong. Instead of being allowed to make a lawful appeal, she was apprehended and taken to the Tiananmen Police Station in Beijing. There she witnessed policemen handcuffing Falun Gong practitioner's hands behind their backs (1). After being escorted back to her hometown by the police, Ms. Zhao was detained for another month in the county detention center.

My name is Li Yanping. I am a 36-year-old female Falun Dafa practitioner living in Duolun County, Hebei Province. On February 25, 2002, the police illegally searched my home and then took me to the local police station just because I distributed some Falun Gong flyers. I was beaten while detained in the police station. As I was pregnant at the time, the police released me after 26 days and ordered me to have an abortion. I had no choice but to flee my home to save my baby's life. My husband was also apprehended for distributing flyers. He suffered all kinds of torture in the Duolun County Detention Center. As a consequence of the cruel torture, he became incontinent for a time and had severe bleeding in his nose and mouth. His hands were locked behind his back with handcuffs that were studded with sharp "teeth." The handcuffs tore the flesh on his wrists and caused so much damage that the bones were exposed. He was also beaten so badly that his ribs were broken. My husband was imprisoned in the detention center for eight months and was sentenced to three years to the Bameng Labor Camp.

Ms. Xiang Hairong is a 32-year old Falun Dafa practitioner. She used to be a nurse in the Xiangtan City Jiangbin Staff Hospital. She went to Beijing to appeal for the right to practice Falun Gong on April 19, 2000. For that, she was illegally detained for 15 days and when she returned home she was dismissed from her job at the hospital. In May 2000, Ms. Xiang was confined in a boarding house for three days. In January 2001, Ms. Xiang was sentenced to 18 months in a labor camp.

I am Shi Xiuyun, female, 64 years old. I am a Falun Dafa practitioner living in Acheng City, Heilongjiang Province. Because I continued to practice Falun Dafa, I was illegally detained and fined again and again. On July 22, 2003, my daughter-in-law, Yang Meiling, and I went to a residential area in Baotou city to distribute some Falun Gong truth-clarifying materials. We were arrested and taken to the local police station, and then detained at the Guchengwan Detention Center for three months. I was sentenced to two years in a forced labor camp. My daughter-in-law was also sentenced to two years in a forced labor camp. At present she is detained in the Huhehaote Women's Forced Labor Camp. I had no choice but to leave my home to avoid further persecution.

Sintai City, Shandong Province Dafa practitioner Kong Xiangzeng recalls her experiences of being persecuted: "In August 2000, because I practiced Falun Gong resolutely, the police illegally searched my home, arrested me, and then interrogated me until midnight. Right before the 2001 National Day, the Sintai city police illegally took me to Sintai City and detained me there for two weeks. In August 2002, I was taken against my will to the Wang Village Legal System Training Center for brainwashing. I was tortured there for a month and was fined 3,000 yuan (2). When my family couldn't afford to pay the fine, they let me write an IOU receipt. After that I had to quickly leave my home and now live in different places to avoid further persecution."

Xie Jinxian is an outstanding teacher in Acheng City, Heilongjiang Province. After she went to Beijing to appeal for the right to practice Falun Dafa for the first time, she was imprisoned in the Acheng City Detention Center. After 15 days she was transferred to the First Detention Center, where her hands were tied with handcuffs and she was hung up by the handcuffs (3), and beaten mercilessly by an instrument called a "small white dragon" (4). Ms. Xie went on hunger strike to protest the persecution but suffered the even crueler torture of being force-fed. Afterwards she was transferred to the Wanjia Forced Labor Camp where she experienced further persecution. She was tortured so badly that she was black and blue all over, her whole body was swollen and covered in festering wounds, and she had a constant fever. Only then did the detention center allow her to be released on bail for medical treatment. Within six months, she was arrested again. Several months later, she was sentenced to three years of forced labor and sent to the Wanjia Forced Labor Camp for the second time.

Ms. Huai Dianying worked on the Chicheng County, Hebei Province tree farm. In 2001, she was taken to the Xiaodiaoe Brainwashing Center. The police hit and kicked her until she was black and blue all over. Because of the beating, her legs and torso hurt so much that she had difficulty walking. She went on a hunger strike to protest the inhuman treatment. Afterwards she was transferred to the county detention center and detained there for over 20 days. She was then transferred back to the Xiaodiaoe Brainwashing Center. By then she was very weak. One day she suddenly felt an extreme pain in her side and passed out. The county hospital diagnosed a slipped disc. The "610 Office" (5) officials extorted 500 yuan from her family for food expenses and then let her go home on November 21, 2001. Before the 2002 Spring Festival, the tree farm authorities came to her home and tried to force her to write a statement guaranteeing she would not practice Falun Gong again. While the 16^th Party Congress was being held, the tree farm authorities put her under house arrest for fourteen days.

1. In order to prevent Falun Gong practitioners from doing the exercises, the police handcuff practitioners behind their backs for a long time. Practitioners handcuffed in this way are unable to use the bathroom, eat, or sleep without assistance. Please refer to www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2001/11/24/16156.html for illustrations of torture methods.
2. 500 yuan is the average monthly income for an urban worker in China.
3. The hands are cuffed together, and the victim is hung onto a basketball support or a metal beam with the handcuffs, while the feet don't touch the floor or the toes are barely touching the ground. The hands and arms soon lose all feeling and become numb.
4. Small white dragon: a hard white plastic pipe used to whip victims.
5. The "610 Office" is an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems.