Village Representatives Falsely Accused as Falun Gong Practitioners and Beaten

(Clearwisdom.net)

On January 4, 2002, Villagers from the third team of the first unit surrounded the Liuli Township Hall of Chengdu City, Sichuan Province. Villagers requested the township officers to issue the land occupation fee, which should have been paid a long time ago. On the morning of the same day, reporters from Channel 33 of the Chengdu City TV station gathered to report on the event.

It was a simple issue. The villagers had long been unable to receive the payment for the land occupation, which they relied on for their livelihood. So villagers Qiu Wansong and Feng Xinde from the third team went to audit the accounts in the first brigade office, and found a deficit of several hundred thousand Yuan. They asked the village officers to explain where the money had gone. But the village officers threatened them and said: "You can appeal to the township government if you dare to!"

So on the morning of January 4, several hundred villagers surrounded the township government for a whole day. Channel 33 of the Chengdu City TV reported the whole event. The township officers firstly tried to lie to the villagers and then threatened them. Seeing no effect, they asked the villagers to choose representatives to talk with them. Qiu Wansong and Feng Xinde were thus selected as the representatives.

After two days of discussion, the township officers still did not agree to make up the already delayed payments, and they told the representatives to go home and wait for an answer. In the evening, Qiu and Feng were told by township officers that somebody was looking for them. Right after they left their home, they were handcuffed and arrested by local safety deputies. Qiu and Feng were outraged and shouted: "We didn't break any law, why do you arrest us!"

The deputies said: "You are Falun Gong!"

Approximately 40 days later, Qiu and Feng were released and their bodies were covered with scars.

With grief Qiu told the villagers what had happened. The policemen tried to force them to sign on a preprinted arrest warrant with charges like "Joining the activities of an (slanderous term omitted) organization, leading thieves to make trouble." He refused and told them that he had never practiced Falun Gong, and asked for an attorney. The policemen sneered at him while beating him, and said: "It's useless even if you appeal to the premier, you would be better off begging us not to beat you as badly. Who dares to question the case if it's associated with Falun Gong? There are orders from the superiors that we would not be held accountable even if we beat you to death." Qiu shouted that he is not a Falun Gong practitioner. The policemen then told him: "If we say that you are then that's what you are, if you do not admit it then you'll be heavily sentenced!" Qiu resisted for 40 days but finally gave up and was released. Feng suffered even more miserably. He was charged with being "a thief, making trouble against the government under the instigation of Falun Gong." He was released after paying a huge fine and being detained for more than a month.

The authorities took away what rightfully belonged to these villagers, and then the villagers were beaten for asking for what was theirs in the first place. The event astonished the neighboring townships. The villagers said: "Who didn't know that Qiu and Feng never practiced Falun Gong? This just goes to show how Falun Gong is set up, and how the TV stations lie. We finally know how Falun Gong has been treated so badly. Do those officials and policemen have a human conscience left?"

05/29/2002

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2002/7/6/32906.html

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