(Clearwisdom.net) Ms. Zhang Ziru, about 29 years old, lives in Dabeigou Town in Duolun County, Inner Mongolia. For appealing to the government on behalf of Falun Gong, she suffered cruel persecution at the hands of police officers and during her detention at the Hohhot Women's Forced Labor Camp. As a result, she suffered a mental collapse.
On July 22, 1999, Ms. Zhang went to Beijing to clarify the truth about Falun Gong at the appeals office run by the State Council. Immediately after she entered the appeals office, she was detained with three other fellow practitioners. Then she was transferred to a detention center, where she refused to cooperate with the authorities. After 15 days, she was released from the detention center.
On September 30, Ms. Zhang went to Beijing again to clarify the truth and validate Falun Dafa. She was arrested on the underground path near Tiananmen Square. Because the Chinese Communist Party's 50th Year Celebration was the following day, Jiang's regime was greatly upset by her deed. All the units involved, from the autonomous region to each level of the local government, were criticized and punished. The police from the Inner Mongolia Police Bureau were ordered to take her back to her hometown.
After Ms. Zhang was sent back to Duolun, she was sentenced to three years of forced labor. She was the first Duolun practitioner to be sentenced and was sent to the Women's Forced Labor Camp in Hohhot City, where she suffered inhuman persecution both mentally and physically. Prior to that, she had to endure the authorities' misunderstandings and hatred, and her family was threatened.
The forced labor camp tries to crush people's will by applying intense mental pressure and using physical torture. Immediately after practitioners are admitted to the forced labor camp, they are forced to watch videotapes and read books that defame and slander Falun Gong and its founder. They are also forced to repeatedly write a so-called "reflection" article and talk about it. Their minds are left with no room for other thoughts. If there is even a little bit of thought that is against the requirements of the labor camp, practitioners face severe and cruel persecution.
Practitioners are separated from each other, making it difficult to find out each practitioner's situation. When a fellow practitioner saw Ms. Zhang again, she had already suffered a mental collapse.
Even in this condition, she was still forced to wrap chopsticks and make knitted products, until she truly couldn't finish her tasks. In May of 2000, she was confirmed as a mental patient after the forced labor camp reviewed her medical examination.
When Ms. Zhang returned home, her family took her to Shalingzi Mental Hospital in Zhangjiakou City for treatment, but without success. In the name of "justice," the Duolun Government and unlawful officers from the Hohhot Female Forced Labor camp persecuted a kind and peaceful lady to mental collapse. The forced labor camp even blamed Ms. Zhang's mental breakdown on the practice of Falun Gong. In actuality, beginning in August 1999 and for almost one year of being persecuted, Ms. Zhang had not been able to practice the Falun Gong exercises at all.
The guards from the forced labor camp received retribution for their evil deeds. Their car suddenly swerved on a straight road for no apparent reason. One guard's face was severely injured, and he is still recovering at home.
Also at Hohhot Female Forced Labor Camp, a pregnant practitioner from Linhe City was illegally detained during the spring and summer of 2000. She was handcuffed to a handrail, forced to half-squat and not allowed to stand up. Two weeks later Liu, the No.3 team leader, shocked her with an electric baton while walking her back to her cell. She was also hung up while handcuffed so that her feet couldn't touch the ground. This went on for several hours. Another time the torture lasted the whole day.