An elderly woman is arrested and tortured for distributing DVDs of a classical Chinese dance performance. She had been released due to poor health, but her daughter remains under arrest.
An Open Letter from Zhong Shufang, a Falun Gong Practitioner from Chengdu City
By Zhong Shufang
My name is Zhong Shufang, and I am a Falun Gong practitioner from Chengdu City. My daughter Zhang Huayun, who is also a Falun Gong practitioner, disappeared more than two months ago when she was arrested by people from Wangjiaguai Police Station in Chengdu City. I am worried about her, and I really can't accept the fact that she is severely persecuted just because she practices Falun Gong. I am writing this letter to the public to expose the evil deeds of the police under the Chinese Communist regime.
On September 2, 2009, I met two young ladies when I passed by People's Park. After telling them about the persecution of Falun Gong, I gave them DVD's of Shen Yun's 2008 and 2009 performances. After this, I said goodbye to them and left. However, I had barely walked ten meters away when a man grabbed the DVD's from the two young ladies and forced me to go to the park office. He called Wangjiaguai Police Station. Several police officers came soon afterwards and took my purse away by force. They rummaged through my purse and found my senior citizen identification card. They wrote down my name, address, and other personal information, and then sent me to the police station at around noon. At around 3:00 p.m., they took me home, located at 7 Jiangjun Street. They took my house key and broke into my home. My daughter had just come home from work. At around 10:00 p.m., they took both of us to the police station. They also confiscated copies of Zhuan Falun, Falun Gong articles, a computer, and other personal property. They handcuffed our hands behind our backs, tied us to chairs, and tortured us the whole night. The next day, they put a black cloth over our heads and sent us to Qingyang District Police Precinct to interrogate us separately.
During the interrogation, they forced me to face an intense light, and kept me handcuffed the entire time. The officers took turns interrogating me and did not allow me to sleep. They did this all night. Because I was not allowed to sleep for days and was handcuffed the entire time, even when I was in the bathroom, my feet were swollen badly and bled after five days of torture like this. On September 6, the police officers sent me and my daughter to Pi County Detention Center at around 9:00 p.m. I was given a physical examination there, but did not pass the physical requirement for detention, so they had to release me. However, my daughter was detained. She is still not back home. On November 4, the Procuratorate sent me a notice stating that my daughter Zhang Huayun had been arrested, and they claimed to have already sentenced her.
As citizens, the right to believe in Falun Gong is a part of our freedom of belief. My daughter Zhang Huayun is a good person. I strongly ask the authorities to release her unconditionally!
A Falun Gong practitioner from Chengdu City: Zhong Shufang