December 17, 2002

(Clearwisdom net)

"Dear friends and family, I want to sincerely tell everyone here that Falun Dafa is good! Falun Dafa is righteous. As of today I have been on a hunger strike for 124 days. They brutally tortured me every day in jail. They force-fed me with the urine of inmates mixed with salt. As a result of torture, I have wounds all over my body. Every day they pull my hair and hit me, and this is what they claim to be humanitarianism. I must validate Dafa even if it costs my life." This was the voice of practitioner Xia Wenjie in the courtroom in Botou City, upholding his beliefs and denouncing the Jiang regime's persecution.

In the morning of October 25, 2002, while it was raining, the courtroom of Botou City, Hebei Province held an illegal trial of five Dafa practitioners. The practitioners were Qi Wenchao, Zhang Shuicai, Xia Wenjie, and Zhang Hua (all from Botou City) and Yang Shuzhen from Nanpi County. During the trial, it appeared that the perpetrators were asking questions according to legal proceedings, but they never gave the practitioners a chance to speak and to answer the questions. The court completely deprived the practitioners of their chance to defend themselves and to speak out.

During the trial, Dafa practitioners Xia Wenjie and Yang Shuzhen seized the opportunity to clarify the truth to the audience in spite of the evil. At last they shouted, "Falun Dafa is good! Falun Dafa is the righteous Fa!" As other practitioners in the courtroom joined this voice, the officials hurriedly ended the trial.

On November 14, the authorities held a second illegal trial secretly at the Botou Prison.

The persecution is continuing and escalating. We call on international human rights organizations and women's organizations to investigate the human rights situation in China and help end this brutal persecution as soon as possible. Meanwhile we ask all practitioners to send forth righteous thoughts together and help to end the torture of these five practitioners.