CHINA – One of the founders of the China Democracy Party was released from seven years in prison last week and allowed to return home to Hangzhou. Zhu Yufu, 53, had been detained in the No. 6 Prison of Zhejiang. The Epoch Times interviewed him shortly after his arrival home.
Inhumane Prison Life
When our journalist asked Zhu how it felt to be free again, Zhu replied, “I just came out of prison, and I don’t feel excited. I feel as though I’ve just been transferred from a small prison to a big prison. Without freedom and democracy, the pain is the same, whether I’m in a small prison or a big prison.”
Zhu used the Chinese saying, “It’s too unbearable to recall,” to describe his experience in prison. He said, “During my seven years in prison, I have seen many things in life. After narrowly escaping death so many times, I feel like I have crawled up from hell. I was in a strict control group for a long time and suffered all kinds of torture and inhumane treatments. In the strict control group, prisoners are forbidden to talk to each other, and will even get a demerit point for saying ”Hello“ to someone. Greeting people is viewed as a serious violation in the so-called ”modernized“ and ”civilized” prison.
Zhu said he was forced to attend many “criticism and denouncing meetings” – the same tactics used during the Cultural Revolution. He was locked in a small room and beaten by other prisoners who told him, “Although we are all prisoners, your heart is black and ours are red.” Zhu told The Epoch Times that people like him, who expressed their requirements peacefully and rationally, suffered the most in the prison. He was beaten by robbers and violent criminals who would tell him, “We won’t let you lead a good life because you are against the Communist Party and now you are in the Party’s prison.”
On one occasion, Zhu was forced to sit on a 25 cm high stool for three months. After the confinement ended, his entire bottom was festering and dripping blood. The wound has not healed and he can hardly walk. Zhu’s eardrum was burst after he was beaten with an umbrella stick when he was forced to make umbrellas.
Reform Thinking
Reform thinking is another form of torture which is often accompanied with violence. Zhu said the deputy prison warder often told other prisoners, “You should give them [people like Zhu] some lectures. They are against the Party, so you must beat them.”
Zhu also suffered sleep deprivation. The prison warden said, “You don’t plead guilty, so you have no rights, no reading, no newspaper.” Zhu also said several prisoners forced him to hand copy the prison’s discipline regulation manual all day long, “I wrote about 640,000 words,” said Zhu. “It must be a world record!”
Apology to the Family
When Zhu talked about his family, he said emotionally, “I am ashamed to face my wife. In so many years, she has given more to the family than I have. I was imprisoned for pursuing my ideals. That has made her lose her family. I am ashamed to face my son as I left him when he needed me the most.”
“My family now lives in poverty,” he continued. “If I had not chosen this road that is full of blood and fire, with my intelligence and wisdom, I could have generated wealth for my family. Now even my future livelihood is questionable. But I do not have complaints or regrets; this is the road that I have chosen.”
On his way home from prison, Zhu told his friends and family about his horrific experiences. His descriptions angered them all and his wife was in tears, but it also allowed them to understand him better. Zhu said, “My wife persuaded me to let bygones be bygones, not to write anymore. But I told her: ‘I can’t let the future political prisoners suffer this kind of torture; I have to let those villains know that doing a bad deed will be met with retribution.’”
Planning to Write a Book
Zhu said, “Everything that happened in prison – every detail – I want to write it all down, to tell the whole world. Through my prison experience, I want to let the whole world see the real nature of Chinese Communist Party politics.”
Zhu also pointed out, “Before I went into prison, I had a more perceptual and abstract understanding of this society. I thought the society was just corrupt, dark, and not functioning in accordance with the law, that was all. But what I experienced in prison has allowed me to see the evil source of this society and this will become my strength for the future.”
“No matter how much pressure I am under, I will continue down this path,” said Zhu. “Now I am more determined! After coming out of prison, I want to recount my experiences inside prison to the whole world. I may go to prison again after that. If so, I will continue telling the world from prison about the evil nature of Communist Party politics.
Anyone who has a conscience will sympathize with us, and will take a good look at this Communist Party. If the CCP does not change, it will be a disaster for mankind.”
Editor’s note: Zhu Yufu’s history
Mr. Zhu Yufu was born on February 13, 1953 and lives in Hangzhou, Zhejiang.
1979: Elected manager of a monthly private magazine April 5 .
1989: He was summoned, his house was searched and property confiscated.
1998: Actively involved in preparation work for the founding of the China Democracy Party. On November 8, he was elected chief secretary of the China Democracy Party, Zhejiang Preparatory Committee Work Group, and a member of the National Preparatory Committee.
1999: Sentenced to seven years in prison term by the Hangzhou public security department for the crime of “overthrowing.”
