[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 40 (Friday, March 6, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E588]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     CHINA'S ABUSES KNOW NO LIMITS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. FRANK R. WOLF

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, March 6, 2009

  Mr. WOLF. Madam Speaker, I bring to the attention of the House an 
interview conducted by the non-governmental organization (NGO) Human 
Rights in China. Upon her release from prison, Shaung Shuying, the 77-
year old mother of house church pastor Hua Huiqi, recounted that she 
endured beatings and electric shock at the hands of her captors. She 
was the oldest inmate at Beijing Women's Prison where she served a two-
year sentence.
  This severe treatment of an elderly woman is evidence that the 
Chinese government is indiscriminate in its human rights abuses. 
Chinese officials truly know no limits.

                            [Feb. 13, 2009]

 Case Update: Elderly Activist Shuang Shuying Released; Reports Abuses 
                               in Prison

       Shuang Shuying, 77, evictions activist and mother of house 
     church pastor Hua Huiqi, was released from the Beijing 
     Women's Prison on Sunday morning, February 8, 2009. In an 
     interview with HRIC on the day of her release, Shuang 
     recounted the abuses she suffered in prison.
       Shuang served a full two-year term on conviction of 
     ``intentional damage of public and private property'' for 
     striking an on-coming police car with a cane during a 2007 
     visit to a local government office to protest her son's 
     detention.
       On the afternoon of her release, Shuang went to visit her 
     ailing husband, Hua Zaichen, 89, hospitalized at the Beijing 
     Electricity Hospital since February 5. Hua passed away at 
     7:50 am the following morning, February 9, 2009.
       Shuang and her family are longtime rights activists. She 
     and her husband have spoken out against Reeducation-Through-
     Labor (RTL) and religious persecution. Their son, Hua Huiqi, 
     has suffered numerous detentions, beatings, and threats for 
     his activities as a house church pastor. In 2002, Shuang saw 
     her Beijing home demolished to make way for Olympics 
     redevelopment. Subsequently, the family had to relocate eight 
     times.
       At Beijing Women's Prison, Shuang was the oldest inmate, 
     and endured beatings and electric shock. She suffered from 
     diabetes, high blood pressure, cataracts, heart disease, and 
     arthritis, but prison authorities denied her request for 
     medical parole. According to her husband in 2008, Shuang was 
     almost completely blind in both eyes due to the abuses 
     inflicted upon her.
       The following is Shuang's account of the abuses she 
     suffered in prison.
                                  ____


        [From HRIC interview with Shuang Shuying, Feb. 8, 2009]

                   Shuang Shuying: Prison Experience

                         (Translation by HRIC)

       When I first arrived at Block 11 of Beijing Women's Prison, 
     officers from the Beijing Public Security Bureau came to ask 
     me whether I thought the sentence was just. I said no.
       During interrogations, I had to sit upright. If I sat a 
     little askew, ``pa!''--I would get slapped. The person who 
     hit me was a 30-something female prison guard. There was 
     also another prison guard, a 50-something woman named 
     Yang. I had a sore on my buttocks, and it hurt a lot when 
     I was sitting on a chair. If moved even slightly, they 
     would pinch me and twist [my arms]. I still have marks on 
     my arm.
       Later, they stripped me completely naked and put me in a 
     large room. Prison guard Yang said to me, ``We just want to 
     show your old, skanky skin.''
       During interrogations, if a mosquito bit my face, and I 
     tried to swat it away with my hand, that 30-something prison 
     guard would tell me not to move. They wouldn't allow me to 
     explain. They would just say, ``Where is it? How come we 
     don't see anything?'' And they would take the opportunity to 
     slap my face.
       After I was beaten by them, they wouldn't allow me to tell 
     my son about the beating. They said, ``When your son visits 
     you, you'd better not talk nonsense. If you do, we'll stop 
     your family visits. If you disobey us, we'll put you into the 
     `squatting cell' [solitary confinement], where it's hot in 
     the summer and cold in the winter.'' Soon afterwards, they 
     took me on a tour of a ``squatting cell.'' The cell was 
     extremely small; you cannot stand up or sit in there. And you 
     eat, drink and shit in there. After that, I simply didn't 
     dare tell my son about the beatings, as I was afraid that 
     they would send me to the ``squatting cell.''
       There were seven other prisoners in my cell. Sometimes, 
     prison guard Yang would wake me up in middle of the night and 
     say I was snoring, and that I shouldn't sleep. I'd say I 
     wasn't snoring, but she wouldn't allow any talk back. One 
     day, a cellmate beat me, and I asked: ``Why did you beat 
     me?'' Prison guard Yang answered, next to us, ``Hey, you're 
     getting away easy this time. You don't have to ask her. She 
     beat you because we ordered her to.''
       One day, Yang said, ``Didn't you say you thought your 
     sentence was not just? There are seven people in your cell. 
     They are taking turns to torment you. We are not going to 
     stop until you're tormented to death.'' Afterwards, when they 
     let us go out for air, and I saw there were a lot of people 
     upstairs and downstairs, I said to the people who were also 
     let out for air: ``Hey, fellow prisoners, listen up, there 
     are seven people in our cell. If they torture me to death, 
     don't forget to tell my family when you get out.''
       Prison guard Yang was incensed. She took her electric baton 
     and shocked me.
       After that, I was transferred to Block 9 of the Beijing 
     Women's Prison, and my situation improved, little by little.
       [On the day she was released from prison, Shuang Shuying 
     went to the Beijing Electricity Hospital to visit her 
     seriously ill husband, Hua Zaichen.]
       My husband didn't recognize me at all. He worried about me 
     and our family all these years, and his health worsened day 
     by day.
       [Interviewer's notes: Shuang Shuying's voice was strong and 
     clear, and her tone was calm. I wished her and her family 
     good health, safety, and happiness. She said, with a laugh, 
     ``All of us relied completely upon the blessing and 
     protection of our Lord Jesus Christ. I also want to thank 
     Human Rights in China for your concern, and for the Lunar New 
     Year card that you sent us.'']

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