Beijing Falun Gong Practitioner Detained for Nearly Seven Years

(Minghui.org) Mr. Wen Jizong, a 62-year-old farmer in Xitiangezhuang Township, Miyun District, Beijing, used to catch colds all the time and had to take medicines each time when he was sick. To improve his health, he started practicing Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, in February 1999. He has since been very healthy and never needed to take any medicines or visit the hospital.

Mr. Wen has been detained for a total of six years and ten months since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched the persecution against Falun Gong on July 20, 1999. He was given administrative detention six times, locked up in brainwashing centers twice, held in a labor camp twice, and imprisoned once. The following is a summary of the persecution Mr. Wen has suffered.

Arrested and Given Administrative Detention Six Times

On December 7, 1999, Mr. Wen went to Tiananmen Square to speak out for Falun Gong. He was arrested and detained for 15 days.

On February 6, 2000, Mr. Wen went to Tiananmen Square to speak out for Falun Gong again. He was arrested and detained for 15 days.

On January 17, 2006, Mr. Wen appealed in Beijing for Falun Gong. He was arrested and detained for 15 days.

On May 24, 2013, Mr. Wen was reported for telling people the facts about Falun Gong. He was arrested and detained for 15 days.

In 2016, Mr. Wen was arrested while raising awareness about Falun Gong. He was detained for 37 days. During this period, he was beaten and abused by inmates instigated by the prison guards. He went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution and was brutally forced fed.

On March 6, 2018, Mr. Wen was detained for seven days for telling people the facts about Falun Gong.

Locked Up in Brainwashing Centers Twice

On August 14, 1999, Mr. Wen was arrested and sent to a brainwashing center in Shudi Middle School in Miyun District. In order to force him to give up his belief, the brainwashing center staff brutally beat him and hit him with sticks. He wasn’t released until 15 days later.

Torture Re-enactment: Violent Beating 

On February 12, 2003, Mr. Wen was arrested and taken to Laijiawan Brainwashing Center in Miyun District. He was severely beaten and deprived of sleep.

Twice Given Forced Labor

On March 6, 2003, Mr. Wen was arrested and taken to Beijing Daxing District Dispatch Office. He went on a hunger strike to protest the arrest. He was tied to a tiger bench and brutally forced fed with salt water, causing damage to his teeth and nasal bleeding. 

Torture Reenactment: Brutal Force Feeding

Mr. Wen refused to renounce his faith and thus was not allowed to sleep, wash, drink water, or use the restroom. He was often forced to stand upright or sit on a small stool with a sharp, rough surface. He was also forced to watch videos that slandered Falun Gong.

Mr. Wen was then transferred to Tuanhe Labor Camp in Daxing District, Beijing, where he was held for two years and three months.

In the labor camp, the prison guards instigated inmates to brutally torture Mr. Wen. They forced him to stand up for long hours or sit on a small stool, with both legs closed together and one sheet of paper between them. The inmates would pinch his legs and slap him if the paper fell down.

Torture Reenactment: Sitting on Small Stool

Mr. Wen was not allowed to sleep or use the restroom. To keep him awake, the inmates poked his eyes, nose, ears, or ankles with ballpoint pens every 30 minutes. He was also emaciated. The inmates limited the amount of water he could drink and provided him with poor quality food. 

Mr. Wen was severely beaten and spit on by the inmates. He was also tied to the “death bed” torture device for four months in the Training Team. 

Because Mr. Wen refused to renounce his faith, he was held for three more months after his term expired. 

On May 23, 2008, Mr. Wen was arrested for raising awareness about Falun Gong. He was given two years and six months in Tuanhe Labor Camp, where he was brutally beaten and tortured again. He was not allowed to shower or use the restroom. He was deprived of sleep and closely monitored. On one occasion, his face was forcefully covered with a paper hat, making it difficult for him to breathe.

In August 2009, Mr. Wen was locked in an isolation room. He was forced to squat in military posture for long hours and severely beaten if he failed to squat. He was starved and fed one meal a day with a small amount of rice or steamed bun.

Illegally Sentenced to Eighteen Months

Mr. Wen was arrested on October 29, 2019 after being reported for distributing Minghui calendars. He was later sentenced to one year and six months in prison. He suffered brutal torture while serving time in Miyun Detention Center.

After he was released, he was still followed, monitored, and harassed by the authorities, putting him and his family in a constant state of anxiety. Despite the endless persecution, he still wants to help the perpetrators understand that Falun Gong is an upright cultivation practice and it is not wrong to be a good person.