(Clearwisdom.net) Mr. Hou Zhiqiang, 44 years old, is from Jiamusi City, Heilongjiang Province. He started practicing Falun Dafa in 1998. After the persecution started on July 20, 1999, he was repeatedly arrested by the local 610 Office and police, interrogated, harassed, injured by violence, and made to do forced labor. Both his body and mind were severely hurt, and his family was torn to pieces. His wife, Ms. Men Xiaohua, was sentenced to forced labor and suffered severe mental and physical persecution. She died in the summer of 2003. Mr. Hou was twice sent to serve forced labor, for a total of four and a half years. This is all because he persisted in the belief of 'Truth-Compassion-Forbearance" and tried to be a good person.

In October 2000, Mr. Hou Zhiqiang was arrested during his appeal in Beijing. After he was taken back by the Yonghong Police Department, they sent him to a detention center for over two months of imprisonment. During this time, Mr. Hou and Wang Yongqi went on a hunger strike to protest their illegal imprisonment. Guards tortured them by pulling them in five directions. They were sent to serve one year of forced labor.

At the labor camp, Mr. Hou practiced the Falun Gong exercises with Niu Jinping. Because of this, guard Yang, Administration Section Chief Xu Hengji, Security Section Chief Wang Tiejun, and Labor Camp Director Hou cooperated to put Mr. Hou and Niu Jinping in a small cell for half a month. They were not allowed to sleep and were forced to relieve themselves inside the cell. They suffered severe psychological and physical damage.

One day at noon in April 2002, a police officer pretending to be a fellow practitioner called Mr. Hou Zhiqiang on his cell phone. Mr. Hou fell into the trap and went to the intersection of Qiaonan Market. There, from an expensive black sedan, three officers jumped out and took him to the city police department.

At the police department, a group of officers surrounded Mr. Hou and pulled up his clothes to cover his head. Then they started to beat and kick him. After beating him for a while, they confiscated his cash of over 100 yuan, a Dafa book and a cell phone. Then they sent Mr. Hou to the Qianjin District Police Department, handcuffed him to metal chair for two days and two nights and forbade him from even blinking his eyes. They put a big steel helmet on his head and fiercely hit it with an electric baton. They also put copper gong on Mr. Hou's chest. Several officers took turns knocking on the gong and the helmet. Mr. Hou's head felt as if it was going to explode, with his eyes red and his ears swollen and unable to hear anything.

Among the three or four officers who tortured Mr. Hou, police Wang Huamin was the leader. Wang punched Mr. Hou's face with his fists. Mr. Hou's face and eyes were swollen. Then three officers--one older and two younger--dragged Mr. Hou to a metal bunk bed, handcuffing him to the upper level, then separating his feet in the air. Another officer again put a helmet and gong on Mr. Hou and pounded on them. After about half an hour, they dragged him to a metal chair.

Mr. Hou felt as if his bones and muscles had been separated. The pain was beyond endurance. The police intended to torture Mr. Hou to death, yet they still wanted him to suffer slowly in pain. When they had tortured him enough, they sent him back to the detention center and imprisoned him for six months. At the trial, they continued to persecute Mr. Hou by deceiving, threatening, confusing, framing, and other means. Mr. Hou protested by holding a hunger strike, but he was chained to the floor by detention center guard Zhang for six days and nights. Then they sentenced him to three years of forced labor.

At the forced labor camp, Mr. Hou again suffered from all kinds of tortures by the camp guards. In November 2002, he was put into a small cell by guard Zhang for reciting Master Li's articles. He was forced to sit on a small stool and handcuffed to heating pipes. He was also forced to squat on one ceramic tile and not allowed to move. The guards also instigated prisoner Yu Haiyang and another prisoner to tie Mr. Hou's legs with a belt. When he struggled out of the belt, Yu Haiyang stomped on Mr. Hou's chest, and he immediately lost consciousness. Mr. Hou was sent to the hospital for emergency treatment.

After he left the hospital he was again subjected to confinement. He was put into a small north room alone and not allowed to be in contact with anybody. In the cold winter the window was left wide open. His feet, hands and body were all frostbitten from the cold. He was forced to pick beans and ordered to wear a name tag. When he refused to wear a name tag, prisoner Wang punched his nose, and Mr. Hou's face was covered in blood.

The persecution lasted for three days without any intervention from the guards. When the guards heard that the inspector was coming, they told Mr. Hou to wipe the blood off his face. When he refused to clean it, police division chief-at-the-time Liu Hongguang and Diao Yukun ordered four prisoners to carry Mr. Hou to the second floor office. Four people held down his arms, legs and head and roughly cleaned the dried blood off of Mr. Hou's face with a towel. His face was burning in pain from the rough treatment.

In early February 2003, the labor camp organized a so-called complete "transformation." Mr. Hou was again put into a small north room alone. He was forced to sit on a small stool and recite 23 regulation articles. He was handcuffed behind his back to the bed. He was not allowed to sleep. Two prisoners monitored him, and once his eyes closed, they pushed his head. They repeatedly brutally beat and cursed him. Mr. Hou shouted, "Falun Dafa is good!" Prisoners then put toilet paper into a urine bucket and stuck it into his mouth. On the second evening, they still did not allow him to sleep. When he shouted, "Falun Dafa is good!" he was attacked by guard Ge and two prisoners. The three punched and kicked him under the bed. He was in unbearable pain.

In early 2004, they again tried to forcefully "transform" him. Mr. Hou was separated, not given drinking water for long time, and prisoners were instigated to harass him. Guard Yang Chunming opened a window in the winter and did not allow Mr. Hou to use a quilt. Mr. Hou was freezing and shaking all over. He could neither take care of himself nor walk. The guards secretly instigated prisoners to set traps to trouble Mr. Hou. He was tortured at the labor camp until he could barely even breathe. He could not even go to the restroom. They forced him to crawl to the restroom. Humiliation and pain put great pressure on Mr. Hou. The authorities thought they could "transform" him with these harsh measures.

In the summer of 2004, guard Ge again told Mr. Hou to recite the 23 regulation articles. Mr. Hou refused and was again handcuffed to a metal chair for three days and nights and not allowed to sleep.

At about that same time, a prisoner burned three scars on a practitioner's chin with a cigarette lighter. Mr. Hou stood up and called out for justice for his fellow practitioner. For doing this, he was handcuffed to the bed for a week by guard Guo Gang.

By March 2005, Mr. Hou's stomach was severely damaged by repeated force-feeding. He vomited whatever he ate. He was too weak to move. He could no longer take care of himself and looked like he was going to die. Finally he was sent to the hospital, and the doctor suggested that he should be under hospital care. At the time, labor camp doctor Song Yan refused, saying that they needed Mr. Hou back at the labor camp to talk about it. Guard Yang Chunlong and Diao Yukun, who had taken Mr. Hou to the hospital, said, "No problem, he won't die."

Mr. Hou was taken back to the labor camp. The so-called discussion never took place until Mr. Hou was released.