(Clearwisdom.net)
Falun Gong practitioners Ma Xunde and his wife, Zheng Fengying, have been harassed and mistreated since July 1999, when the persecution first began.
Below is Ms. Zheng's account of their experiences.
Falun Dafa's incredible healing power
My name is Zheng Fengying. I am a 58 years old and formerly worked at the Wuzhong Instrument Factory in the Ningxia Autonomous Region. I retired early in 1997 at the age of 45 due to numerous illnesses, such as rheumatoid arthritis that led to deformation of my fingers. I could neither use cold water nor bend my legs in the winter. I also suffered from severe tracheitis, gastroenteritis, and gastroptosis. I was in constant agony.
My husband, Ma Xunde, was an engineer at the Wuzhong Instrument Factory Labor Division. He suffered from kidney stones and had two surgeries. He would bang his head against a wall, kneel, or roll all over the floor when he had an attack.
I heard about the miraculous healing power of Falun Dafa in May 1997 and saw people practicing Falun Gong at the Wuzhong Culture Center Square, so I wanted to give it a try. I started doing the exercises in the morning and watched the lecture videos at night. A few days later, I suddenly had vomiting and diarrhea that lasted for three days. I was not afraid because I knew Master was cleansing my body. Three days later my gastroenteritis and gastroptosis symptoms were gone and have never returned. One year into the practice, my tracheitis and rheumatoid arthritis were completely healed, and I could wash clothes in icy cold water without feeling any pain. My husband started practicing with me at the same time in May 1997 and was cured of kidney stones.
Falun Gong emphasizes xinxing improvement according to Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. I used to have a bad temper and often fought and bickered with others. After becoming a practitioner, I became more forgiving toward family and friends. People who knew me said I had changed into a completely different person.
Arrested and detained for speaking about Falun Gong
Jiang Zemin and his villainous group launched a vicious smear campaign on July 20, 1999. My husband, myself, and several other practitioners wrote a joint letter to the central Appeals Office in February 2000, saying how Falun Gong had helped our families and us. We asked the government to allow us to practice our belief. The local police intercepted our letter five days after it was mailed. Domestic Security Division head Wang Wenzhang in the Litong District of Wuzhong City, along with police officers including Ma Baozhen, Ren Xiaorong, and Guo Jianjun ransacked my home the evening of March 1, 2000. They arrested my husband and me and held us at the Wuzhong Drug Rehabilitation Center for 15 days.
A group of practitioners from Wuzhong City, including me, handed out Falun Gong flyers in the street on October 20, 2000. Several officers from the Wuzhong Domestic Security Division ransacked my home again that night and took my husband and me to Wuzhong Drug Rehabilitation Center.
My husband had a relapse of kidney stones because he was forbidden to do the exercises or study the books there. He rolled on the floor in terrible pain. The officials feared he would die, so they rushed him to a hospital. He returned home one week later. A month following my detention at the drug rehab center, my feet ulcerated, and my toes seeped pus and blood. They were so swollen that they could not fit into large slippers. I wrapped them in toilet paper, but they were soon soaked through.
Officials Wang Wenzhang, Ma Baozhen, Ren Xiaorong, and Zhu Yu often tried to make us write guarantee statements and promised to release us if we did. My husband and I refused. I told them how Falun Gong had improved my life, but they refused to listen. I was held for 48 days and had 2,000 yuan extorted from me. My husband was detained for 56 days and forced to pay 3,000 yuan.
More than two years at a labor camp
CCTV broadcast the staged self-immolation in Tiananmen Square in 2001. Officials Wang Wenzhang and Ma Baozhen brought reporters and photographers from the local Wuzhong TV station on the morning of February 9, 2001, and held an "attack session" at the factory. Attendees included factory officials and workers. They also brought practitioners and pressured us to "take a stand." I ignored them. Domestic Security officials arrested me after the gathering and took me to the Wuzhong Police Department. They sent me immediately to the Yinchuan Women's Forced Labor Camp without following any legal procedures. I was held there for the next two years.
Yinchuan Women's Forced Labor Camp is one of the terrible places where practitioners are mistreated and tortured. Practitioners are forbidden to speak to each other or have any kind of interpersonal contact. Two inmates watched each practitioner and followed our every move. We held a hunger strike for a few days, and, my sentence extended by two months.
I gradually lost righteous thoughts due to a lack of Fa study and exercises, in addition to repeated attacks from collaborators. I signed a statement in November 2002, agreeing to "reform." I returned home in April 2003.
My husband sent me clothes in September 2001 while I was still held at the labor camp. The guards found a few of Master's articles hidden in the pockets of the clothes. Official Wang Wenzhang from the Domestic Security Division sent him to a labor camp to be held for two years. He was released in July 2004.
My husband and I were both sentenced
In August 2004, a group of officers from Yinchuan City, Wuzhong City, and the Litong District ransacked my niece's home. They arrested my husband, who was there visiting. They ransacked my home at 8:00 p.m. and arrested me after failing to find any "incriminating" material.
We were both detained until December 2004, and then I was sentenced to three years of house arrest, and my husband to five years in prison. He was taken to Guanmahu Prison in Wuzhong City and later transferred to Huinong Prison in Shizuishan City. Then he was taken to the Yinchuan Brainwashing Center in late December 2008, where he was held for 14 days beyond his original term. He was held at different facilities for more than five years and urinated blood in 2005 after prolonged persecution. He was emaciated and weak upon returning home, was unable to straighten his back and was delirious. Fortunately, he has since made a complete recovery through Fa study and doing the exercises.
Ma Xudong from the Wuzhong City 610 Office, several officers from the Domestic Security Division, and Qi Honglin from the Security Division at the instrument factory arrested me the morning of March 15, 2005, and took me to a brainwashing facility in the Yinchuan City 610 Office, where I was held for a month.
I was held overnight at the Qingtongxia Domestic Security Division in March 2009 and was later released, to await further interrogation. The Qingtongxia Court officials wanted to try me, so I left home and lived elsewhere.
My husband and I were both held in forced labor camps before the 2002 Chinese New Year. One of my friends moved her entire family into my home to take care of my son. They lived with him for more than a month until school started in the spring. She always helped to take care of our son each time we encountered persecution. Our families have been through a lot of tribulations over the past decade, but our friends and other kind people have helped us during the most difficult times.
