Victim:

Ms. Qi Yuna, born in 1963, was an engineer in a food company in the Guye District, Tangshan City, Hebei Province. She was the Vice Director of the company’s Basic Construction Section.

Perpetrator:

Wang Xueli, a policeman at the Hebei First Labor Camp (Kaiping Labor Camp), Tangshan City, Hebei Province

On the morning of July 21, 1999, the Party Commissioner, Wang Shumei, ordered  Ms. Qi Yuna to renounce Falun Gong and to stop practicing. Ms. Qi refused. That same afternoon, she went to Beijing to appeal to the government to stop the persecution of Falun Gong. She was arrested at the long distance bus station and escorted to her local police station. Ms. Qi's husband, Mr. Wang Jinxing, also a Falun Gong practitioner, had gone to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong as well. He was escorted back to the local police station. Their eight-year-old son was at home alone. Upon returning home on July 24, Ms. Qi found that her home had been ransacked and all of the Falun Gong books and materials were missing.

On February 19, 2000, Mr. Wang Jinxing was detained for a third time, although he was not charged with anything. Ms. Qi not only refused to sign the authorities "Note for the Family," but also went to Beijing to appeal on behalf of Falun Gong that same night. On the morning of February 20, when Ms. Qi and another Falun Gong practitioner practiced the exercises on the east side of Tiananmen Square, the police rushed over, beat them, dragged them into a police car and sent them to a police station nearby. A few hours later she was escorted back to Tangshan City, arriving after 8 p.m. at the local police station. She had nothing to eat all day long, and it was freezing cold outside. The police immediately handcuffed her to an iron pole outdoors, so that she would freeze in the cold weather. After a few hours, Director He of the first division of the police station began to interrogate Ms. Qi. Another director, Wang, kicked Ms. Qi with all his might on her left side. Ms. Qi almost fell because she was very small, but she managed to remain standing. Wang slapped Ms. Qi so hard that she felt her face was on fire, and it swelled up. The police found a rope to tie her arms back. They tightened the rope to pull her arms up from behind as high as possible in order to intensify the pain. They then sat her on a chair, pulled her arms up, and placed her elbows on the back of the seat. Later Wang did not want to be responsible for breaking Ms. Qi's arms, so he loosened the rope and sent her to the detention room.

On the morning of February 21, policeman Shang Jidong took a few people to Ms. Qi's home to confiscate her property, but was unable to find anything as Ms. Qi's home had already been ransacked. Shang returned later for a more intense search. He discovered and confiscated some Falun Gong books and materials that were hidden in the coal storage. Policeman Song, using this as an excuse, led another group of people to Ms. Qi's home and confiscated her television and VCR, which were the last items of value left in her home.

Ms. Qi asked that her Falun Gong books and materials be returned to her; however, her request was denied. To protest, on the morning of February 24, Ms. Qi went on a hunger strike. That afternoon, during a meeting, more than 20 Falun Gong practitioners, including Ms. Qi, were illegally sentenced and sent to a detention center. Ms. Qi continued her hunger strike in the detention center. She was forced to go to the Ankang Hospital when she was found to weigh only around 34 kg (77 lbs). Because she practiced the Falun Gong exercises, she was tied to the hospital bed for many days. Later the hospital sent her back to the detention center. On August 18, 2000, after persistently opposing the persecution, she was released without any charges. During her detention time, she was expelled from the Communist Party. She also lost her position as Vice Director.

Although her supervisor tried to protect her, on September 18, 2000 the police arrested Ms. Qi again, and took her to a labor camp. A policeman was very moved by Ms. Qi's dignity and felt great sympathy toward her. The policeman told Ms. Qi to say that she had a heart condition at the physical checkup and then he would be able to take her home. However, Ms. Qi said that Falun Gong practitioners do not tell lies. In October 2000, her husband, Wang Jinxing, was sentenced to two years of forced labor for crimes he did not commit.

Around mid January 2001, when Ms. Qi was in the Hebei First Labor Camp (a.k.a. Kaiping Forced Labor Camp), officials there began to treat Falun Gong practitioners with great cruelty. Ms. Qi was well known for practicing the exercises daily with another practitioner. Every time she began her exercise practice, someone reported her and she was punished. The camp would either force her to stand outside in the snow, or tie her up, for half a day. Despite this, Ms. Qi was very determined. While in the labor camp she never stopped practicing the Falun Gong exercises.

On February 21, 2001, Ms. Qi was taken to an office and tortured. Labor camp policeman Wang Xueli yelled at Ms. Qi and told her to kneel down in front of him. Ms. Qi refused. Wang kicked her and she fell to the ground. Wang and another person simultaneously shocked her head with high-voltage electric batons. They moved the batons around to shock her entire head. The rules prohibited officers from shocking the back of a person's head or close to the neck. She could hear the sparks against her head. The electrical current went though her head again and again. Ms. Qi lost consciousness but Wang revived her by pinching her philtrum (an acupuncture point at the indentation of the upper lip). The other person stopped, but Wang would not give up. He grabbed Ms. Qi's hair to force her to give in. Ms. Qi went into convulsions. She was as stiff as a rod. They put Ms. Qi on a bed but no matter how they tried to resuscitate her by pinching her philtrum, or attempting CPR on her, she would not wake up, and she stopped breathing. The doctor on duty rushed over and put her on oxygen, and sent her to a hospital for emergency rescue. She woke up later. Wang was overheard talking about what happened after Ms. Qi became unconscious in the prison. A policewoman, Yan Hongli, told him, "That's OK. If she dies today, I can be your witness and just say that she died of heart attack."

After Ms. Qi woke up, her chest and rib cage hurt, probably because they used too much force when doing CPR. Her philtrum was swollen and bleeding because they had pinched her so hard. She had a scab there the size of a nickel. She survived but was traumatized mentally and physically, and suffered permanent damage to her nervous system. She talked in her sleep and coughed up blood all day. She filled two bags a day with tissue papers soaked with blood that she spat up. She shivered all day long and had difficulty walking. Her heart was severely damaged. Ms. Qi never said anything, but the people watching her lied to the prison officials and said she made many complaints.

On the evening of April 24, 2001, the officers asked all Falun Gong practitioners to watch a movie defaming Falun Gong. The practitioners all refused to go. Officer Wang Xueli rushed into the room and said, "Qi Yuna will lead you to go to the movie." Ms. Qi did not move, and Wang became irritated with her. He tried to drag Ms. Qi outside. In her weakened condition, Ms. Qi could not bear any more physical abuse. When he got her outside, she trembled severely. A captain still tried to make her go to the movie. However she could not walk at all and could not stop trembling. The captain had to give up and take her back to her cell. When they put Ms. Qi on her bed, her chest started to contract and she could not breathe. She was sent to a hospital for emergency rescue. After that, she often had difficulty breathing and needed oxygen to keep her alive. Her blood pressure went down to 50/70 mm Hg. The hospital diagnosed her with a severe heart and mental condition. Ms. Qi's life was in danger, so the labor camp had to report to the higher authorities and the information got to the Guye District Commission.

Ms. Qi was known for her outstanding performance at her workplace, and as the food company needed her for technical and security work, Ms. Qi's supervisor tried to rescue her. On May 12, 2001, she was finally sent to an outside hospital and held on probation. However, the "610 Office"¹ demanded to have its people watch her continuously. She had become very fragile and was under tremendous mental pressure. Her husband was still in a labor camp and her son was living with her parents, who were both over 70 years old, and her sister, who was paralyzed. Her family was falling apart. Still the officials called her and told her that she would have to return to the labor camp once her health improved. Due to the bad news and tremendous pressure of her family situation, and damage to her central nervous system, she suffered a mental breakdown. Her workplace sent her to a psychiatric hospital, where she stayed for six months. As she was suffering there, her family repeatedly asked if they could take her home. The "610 Office" would not allow it, as her workplace was unable to pay the hospital bill. She was sent back to her workplace.

The very next day, on January 15, 2002, the "610 Office" sent her to a brainwashing center. Although the "610 Office" knew that she was on the verge of death, they would not allow her to leave. She was locked up in the brainwashing center for almost six months. During that time, the doctors checked her daily and kept on reporting to the higher authorities that she had a heart problem and was mentally disoriented. On June 4, 2002, the brainwashing center sent her back to her workplace saying that she was mentally disoriented, and was being released.

Ms. Qi's hair had turned white by the time she left the psychiatric hospital. Because of her mental condition and the destructive drugs she was given, her body and face became unrecognizable. Her eyes looked dull and she had a hard time recognizing acquaintances. She was no longer capable and clever.

Ms. Qi’s condition has improved a little, but she is still weak. She has an average heart rate of more than 100 beats per minute. Her heartbeat is irregular and if she moves quickly, she cannot catch her breath. Her hands tremble a lot. She sometimes hides in a corner trembling, and acts up when there’s stimulation. She has lost her memory, and her mental state is not good. She has not been able to take care of herself for almost two years now and her neighbors have not seen her leave the building. In spite of Ms. Qi’s fragile health and mental condition, police officer Shang Jidong still comes to her home to harass her.