(Minghui.org) Renowned novelist Leo Tolstoy once wrote, “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” This describes precisely the unhappy experiences six Falun Gong practitioners who recently filed lawsuits against former Chinese communist's head Jiang Zemin have endured.
Through the practice of Falun Gong and its principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, these practitioners improved physically and mentally. They became calmer and happier. But the 16-year persecution has caused them tremendous suffering, including illegal arrests, detentions, stints in forced labor camps, torture, financial extortion, and so on.
When Ms. Li Shulan (李淑兰), 67, started to practice Falun Gong in February 1999, she had heart disease, bronchitis, arthritis, and a lung disease. Within two months all her ailments disappeared. Her temper also improved, and she became more considerate, both at home and in the community.
Because she practiced Falun Gong, Ms. Li was detained in detention centers six times and brainwashing centers three times. She was also sent to a forced labor camp in 2001 for 18 months. She had no income during that time and did not get a pay increase when her coworkers did. When she protested by going on a hunger strike, guards ordered drug addict inmates to force-feed her concentrated salt water and beat her. To pressure her to give up her belief, the guards deprived her of sleep for a long time and made her do forced labor 15 hours a day.
Ms. Song Ruodan (宋若彤), 68, began to practice Falun Gong in 1996. She recovered from a nervous breakdown, chronic joint pain, and nasal hypersensitivity that had bothered her for years. But her joy was cut short when the persecution began. She was arrested the first time in February 2000 when she went to Tiananmen Square to appeal for the right to practice. The police detained her for 18 days after she replied “yes” when asked if she was a Falun Gong practitioner.
She was detained again in September 2002 when neighborhood committee officials sought Ms. Song's signature on some "family planning paperwork." It turned out to be a questionnaire about Falun Gong. Because of her answers, she was sent to a four-day brainwashing session. She was forced to hand copy defamatory texts the officials gave her and turn in her Falun Gong books.
Being forced to do this against her conscience hit Ms. Song hard. She was overcome by feelings of guilt and was physically unwell. Even though she had acquiesced to their demands, the local officials would not leave her alone. The police showed up at her home in 2008, confiscated her personal property, arrested her, and took her to a labor camp for a two-year term. The intensive forced labor caused pain in her lower back and legs, making it difficult for her to walk and eventually led to atrophy of the muscles in her right leg.
Her detentions and relentless harassment also affected Ms. Song's family. Due to mental stress and physical fatigue, her husband was hospitalized twice. He also developed high blood pressure and heart disease.
Ms. Xin Ronglan (辛荣兰), 71, was not allowed to leave home even to go shopping after the suppression started in 1999. She was detained for two weeks on Chinese New Year eve in 2000, followed by two years in a forced labor camp beginning in 2009.
Mr. Luo Jinyin (骆金根), 73, is a retired technical expert. He was detained for two months in January 2001, followed by two years in a forced labor camp between October 2002 and October 2004.
Mr. Huang Tao (黄涛), 44, was arrested at home in November 2002. From there he was transferred to a labor camp for a term of two years.
Mr. Wang Jianxin (王建新), 64, was arrested on his way to work in November 2007. Besides being detained and having his home ransacked, he was incarcerated in a labor camp for two years.
From the experiences of just these six practitioners, all from the Chaoyang District in Beijing, one can get a glimpse of the severity with which practitioners have been mistreated for their belief.
“Ruin their reputations, bankrupt them financially, and destroy them physically” is one of the polices that Jiang issued in his campaign against Falun Gong practitioners. And now, as more and more lawsuits are flooding in, he and his regime will be held responsible for the consequences.
