(Minghui.org) Ms. Shao Ying, 45 years old, graduated from the Heilongjiang Forestry Institute and worked as a manager in the Mishan Stock Farming Bureau. She was incarcerated in a forced labor camp for one year and endured the Wanjia Tragedy. (In this incident, fifteen female Falun Gong practitioners were driven to attempt suicide under the persecution, and three of them died. Note: Even though the persecution was inhumane and the Wanjia labor camp was responsible for the tragedy, for Falun Gong practitioners, suicide is strictly against the principles of cultivation.) Afterward, she was sentenced to ten years in prison because of her belief in Falun Gong and adherence to Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. She was finally released on February 1, 2013 when her term in the Heilongjiang Women’s Prison was up.
Police officers extorted “bonuses” from inmates
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began its persecution of Falun Gong practitioners on July 20, 1999. Ms. Shao went to Beijing on July 22 to appeal, and was fined 200 Yuan by Meng Qingqi and Du Yongshan, from the political and security department in the Mishan Police Department. She went to Beijing again on December 6, 1999, and was arrested again and sent back to Mishan City.
Torture re-enactment: Cuffed from behind
Meng Qingqi and Du Yongshan tortured Ms. Shao, while she was held in the Mishan Detention Center, as a means to force a confession from her. They cuffed her hands behind her back and placed a bottle in between her hands and her back. They forced her to bend her head down, which caused her to become dizzy and nauseated, and she fainted after a while. They also forced her family to pay a 4,000 Yuan fine. One day, Du Yongshan showed Ms. Shao money he held in his hand and said: “This bonus is courtesy of Falun Gong.”
Liu Qin, the deputy political director at the Mishan Police Department, tried to trick Ms. Shao into being “transformed” in January 2000, but she did not fall for it. Liu got upset and said viciously: “We will put an 80 pound shackle on you if you do not let us transform you.” On January 25, Meng Qingqi and Do Yongshan took her to the Wanjia Forced Labor Camp in Harbin, where she was incarcerated for one year.
Tortured and traumatized in the Forced Labor Camp
The cells of the Wanjia Forced Labor Camp were crowded, wet, and dirty, hence Ms. Shao developed scabies all over. Her skin festered and bled, and was extremely itchy. The deputy head of the camp hospital, Song Shaohui, and a few other doctors treated her barbarically, using a dull spoon to scrape her skin, which caused her great pain. They also forced practitioners there to go through brainwashing sessions and watch slanderous DVDs in order to “transform” them. Officials at the camp also utilized former practitioners who had been transformed to make all sorts of trouble for practitioners. They hindered practitioners from going to the restroom, washing their faces, or having a meal, and forced Ms. Shao to stay in a cold and damp conference room or library.
Her term in the forced labor ended in December of 2000, but camp officials extended it because she was not “transformed”. In March 2001, a few practitioners, including Ms. Shao, who were held beyond their terms went on a hunger strike together in order to protest and demand their release. A few days later, they were put in solitary confinement for one month. During the hunger strike, Ms. Shao had a slow heart beat, low blood pressure and low pulse, and she almost died. Thus a guard force-fed her and put her on an I.V.
Torture illustration: Forced feeding
In mid-June of 2001, officials of the Wanjia Forced Labor Camp tried to force practitioners to sign a so-called “pledge letter”, but Ms. Shao refused. A guard told her on June 19: “We will put you in the male team in a few days if you don't sign.” Subsequently, the “Wanjia Tragedy” occurred. She was put in solitary confinement for two months, emaciated and extremely ill.
Ms. Shao was released on August 22, 2001 (eight months beyond her term) after the website Minghui.org exposed the atrocities she had to endure. Functionaries of the CCP forced her husband to watch her at home in order to prevent her from going to Beijing again. Her workplace also organized teams, who took turns watching her. Each team was comprised of a director or a party secretary, and two to three staff members. Due to these circumstances, she was forced to run away to Harbin in December 2001.
Arrested and tortured with electric batons, mustard oil, and forced feeding
On February 2, 2003 (the day after Chinese New Year’s day), Ms. Shao went to a fellow practitioner’s house to wish her a happy new year. Officers Fan Jiayuan and Zhu Cai were hiding and waiting for her. They arrested and took Ms. Shao to No. 1 Hongxia Street, Daoli District, Harbin City, which was a “dark den” that the Domestic Security Division in Harbin used to interrogate and torture practitioners.
Torture re-enactment: Shocked with electrical batons
They cuffed her to an iron chair and beat her first, then shocked her entire body with electrical batons. After that, they took off her top shirt and tied her to a chair tightly, causing her to be out of breath. They then pulled off her under shirt and shocked her chest and back with electric batons for a long time, leaving bloody imprints all over her.
This torture lasted till midnight, and Ms. Shao began to faint. They grabbed her hair, covered her mouth, and poured mustard oil in her nose. When she was starting to faint from choking, they poured cold water over her head to wake her up, only to pour more mustard oil into her nose again. She went back and forth between fainting and waking up. Her whole body was wet and she was freezing. They tortured her until 2:00 or 3:00 a.m. and only stopped because they were tired and went to bed. Yet, they kept Ms. Shao from falling asleep by putting a torture apparatus on her.
Torture illustration: Handcuffed and shackled
The next evening, they took Ms. Shao to Harbin City Detention Center No. 2. The Captain of the Harbin Domestic Security Division told her during interrogation that they could sentence her to 15 years in prison. To protest, she began a hunger strike that lasted seven months, during which time she was badly tortured both mentally and physically. Guard Zhao Fengxia ordered inmates Li Yuxia, Zhang Ke, and Lan Cao to abuse her. During the day, she was forced to sit on a small stool for a long time. At night she had to sleep on one side motionless in a tight spot and was covered with a heavy quilt. They force-fed her with spoiled food during her hunger strike. They also verbally abused her and did not allow her to go to the restroom for a long time, which caused her to lose control of her bladder.
Sentenced to Ten Years and Taken to the Heilongjiang Women’s Prison
In August 2003, Ms. Shao was sentenced to ten years by the Dongli District Court in Harbin City and was taken to the Heilongjiang Women’s Prison on August 28. Because she was steadfast in her cultivation and refused to be transformed, she was held in the intensive training ward for 32 months. She was forced to sit on a small stool motionless from six o'clock in the morning until eight or nine o’clock in the evening, 365 days a year without any break. Her use of the restroom was restricted as well. One year later, she developed severe back muscle fatigue, lumbar disk herniation, and sciatica.
Torture re-enactment: Sitting on a small stool for a long time
On November 28, 2006, Ms. Shao was held in Ward 1 of the prison and again forced to sit on a small stool for a long time. She was closely watched by two inmates, who recorded everything she did and restricted her movements.
Ms. Shao was transferred to the intensive training ward (Ward 9) on May 9, 2007. The police covered all the windows so that their atrocities would not be revealed. This time they required her to sit in a military stance, with her hands on both knees and her eyes open. When she refused to cooperate, they held her hands down and poked her eyes, keeping her awake until late at night. She began a hunger strike to demand a normal schedule, and was granted it two days later. Prison officials appointed five people to constantly watch her and confine her movements. They attempted to force her to read books and watch videos which slandered Dafa. She refused to cooperate and resisted as much as she could.
In 2012, she was put in solitary confinement for 13 days. The warden viciously told her: “Don’t be foolish. If two weeks do not work, we will add another two weeks. We have all sorts of ways to deal with you.” On June 29, the warden ordered the head of the ward to put her in solitary confinement for 28 days.
July is the hottest month of the year. The solitary confinement cell was damp, dark, and stuffy. They forced her to sit on a board on the ground and kept her from resting. She was not allowed to take a shower and her meals were comprised of porridge only.
When she was released from solitary confinement on July 26, she was unable to walk, her hands and legs were numb, she could not think, and was emaciated.
Having been incarcerated in prison for ten years, Ms. Shao was finally released on February 1, 2013.
Earlier report: Practitioner Shao Ying, a Survivor of the 2001 Wanjia Tragedy, is Again Brutally Persecuted
