FDI: Seven Falun Gong Practitioners Tortured to Death for Exposing Persecution in China
NEWS -- May. 28, 2003 Falun Dafa Information Center,
www.faluninfo.net
NEW YORK (FDI) -- For such simple acts as handing out flyers
exposing the persecution of Falun Gong or traveling to Beijing to peacefully
appeal, another seven Falun Gong practitioners have been tortured to death.
The circumstances of their deaths were recently uncovered and
reported to the Falun Dafa Information Center despite the Chinese government's
control of information about Falun Gong-related cases. This same control of
media and information was exactly what these seven men and woman risked their
lives to break through in order to raise awareness about the plight of Falun
Gong practitioners in China.
Lanzhou City Family Broken up from Persecution; Father Dies
in Labor Camp
Bai Sanyuan led a peaceful farmer's life in Jinxia Village in
Gansu Province with his wife Wang Gendi and his two children. In 1999, when the
persecution against Falun Gong began, Bai's family was broken apart. He was
arrested twice and finally sent to the Kangtai Labor Camp Hospital in Lanzhou
Province. His wife was also sentenced to 2 years of forced labor. Bai Sanyuan
eventually died in 2002 from the torture he received and after 2 months of
hunger strikes in the labor camp.
Liaoning Province Man's Business Ruined and Family Torn Apart
Before his Death
Zhong Hongxi was a 48-year-old resident of Tiefa City,
Liaoning Province, with a wife and children, all of whom are also Falun Gong
practitioners. In October 1999, a few months after the persecution of Falun Gong
began, Mr. Zhong traveled to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong. He was arrested
and sent back to his home province, where he was detained for a month. After
being released, he and his family were forced out of their home and had to rent
a place on Xincun Street in Fushun City. In order to make a living, he started
up a small store. In 2002, his daughter traveled to Beijing to appeal for Falun
Gong and was arrested. The Xincun Street Police Station demanded 500 Yuan from
Mr. Zhong, which he refused to pay. The police then arrested his wife, Li Hua,
and one week later arrested Zhong Hongxi himself. In addition, they ransacked
his store, taking all the money and closing it up. Zhong Hongxi's 14-year-old
son is now forced to live with just his older sister.
Zhong Hongxi was sentenced to 2 years of forced labor
education in the Wujiabao Labor Camp in Fushun City. Due to beatings he received
from the camp guards, Zhong's inner organs were injured and he became unable to
eat, surviving merely on water. 14 months later, he was released because of his
medical condition and returned to his home in Duanjiagou. On April 13th,
2003, 50 days after his release, Zhong Hongxi died from wounds sustained from
the torture.
Elderly Woman Nobly Appeals Multiple Times in Beijing before
Death by Torture
Ms. Li Kun, 66, worked in the West Suburb Marketing & Supply
Corporation in Nanyang City, Henan Province. In December 1999, she traveled to
Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong. She was arrested and sent to the Nanyang
Service Office in Beijing. Her work unit took her back to Nanyang, where she was
illegally detained at the Nanyang No.1 Detention center for one month.
In February of 2000, Li Kun again went to Beijing to appeal
for Falun Gong. This time, she was sent to the Shangzhuan Detention Center in
Nanyang City, and after being released was still held in her workplace for
several months.
During the summer of 2000, Li Kun and her niece were
distributing Falun Gong flyers when they were arrested. Li Kun was again
illegally detained for several months. In the fall of that year, she was again
sent to the Shangzhuan Detention Center by policemen from the Wolong District
Security Brigade. After nine months of both physical and psychological torture,
Li Kun had a mental breakdown and was released in August 2001. Her family
members immediately sent her to the hospital, yet she still died in November of
that year.
Guards Delay Emergency Medical Treatment, Practitioner Dies
Shortly After
Ms. Zou Qingyu, 63, a resident of the Tiexi District in
Shenyang, was held in the city's Dabei Prison. Due to torture she received on
April 16, 2003, she began to have massive internal bleeding in her brain. Her
guards, however, intentionally put off the measures needed to save her life, and
Ms. Zou died the next morning.
Falun Gong Woman Dies Due to Torture in the Notorious Wanjia
Labor Camp
Ms. Qin Shuyan, a 50-year-old resident of Wangzhaoxin Village
in the Dongli District of Harbin City, was arrested in April 2002 for her
practice of Falun Gong. She was sentenced to forced labor education in the
Wanjia Labor Camp, which is infamous for its treatment of female Falun Gong
practitioners. She was later released because of her medical conditions from the
torture received in the labor camp, yet was still under police surveillance. She
died three months after her release.
Police Attempt to Paint Practitioner's Body to Cover Up the
Cause of Death
On April 4, 2003, Falun Gong practitioners held in Dengta
City in Liaoning Province were secretly taken to the Dabei Prison. Among them
was Ms. Sun Yuhua, a 37-year-old resident of Anshan City in Liaoning Province.
For refusing to give up her practice of Falun Gong, Ms. Sun was tortured in many
ways, including force-feeding, sitting for extended periods on the "tiger
bench," electric baton shocks, and sleep deprivation. On April 11, merely one
week after being detained in the Dabei Prison, and after one particular beating
from police guards, Ms. Sun passed away.
Sun Yuhua's family was notified of her death the next day,
although they reported her death as "myocardial infection". They were also
threatened not to spread the news of her death. The police painted Sun's face
and body in an unsuccessful attempt to cover up the marks of their torture.
Practitioner Forbade Medical Treatment for Torture Injuries,
Later Dies of Stroke
Ms. Yuan Shumei, from Chifeng City in Inner Mongolia, was
arrested for distributing flyers exposing the persecution of Falun Gong, and was
sent to the Huhehaote Labor Camp for 3 years of forced labor for refusing to
sign a letter guaranteeing to stop practicing and appealing for Falun Gong.
While in the labor camp, Ms. Yuan began a hunger strike to
protest her illegal detention and sentence. Although her health deteriorated
quickly, the labor camp guards refused her both medical treatment and visits
from family, telling her only when she signed the guarantee letter could they be
granted to her. Yuan Shumei was determined to practice Falun Gong to the end,
and so she continued to refuse to sign the letter. As a result of her lack of
medical care, she died in early February 2003.
Zheng Lanfeng, another Falun Gong practitioner from Chifeng
City, was tortured to death in the Chifeng Detention Center on March 5, 2003.
# # #
NEWS -- May. 28, 2003
Falun Dafa Information Center,
www.faluninfo.net
?
Background
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa (about),
is a practice of meditation and exercises with teachings based on the universal
principle of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance." It is a practice that was
taught in private for thousands of years before being made public in 1992 by Mr.
Li Hongzhi. Falun Gong has roots in traditional Chinese culture, but it is
distinct and separate from other practices such as the religions of Buddhism and
Taoism. Since its introduction in 1992, it quickly spread by word of mouth
throughout China, and is now practiced in over
50
countries.
With government estimates of as many as
100
million practicing Falun Gong, China's President Jiang Zemin outlawed the
peaceful practice in July 1999 (report),
fearful of anything touching the hearts and minds of more citizens than the
Communist Party. Unable to crush the spirit of millions who had experienced
improved health and positive life changes from Falun Gong, Jiang's regime has
intensified its propaganda campaign to turn public opinion against the practice
while quietly imprisoning, torturing and even murdering those who practice it.
The Falun Dafa Information Center has verified details of 711
deaths (reports /
sources) since the persecution of Falun Gong in China began in 1999.
Government officials inside China, however, report that the actual death toll is
well over 1,600, while expert sources estimate that figure to be much higher.
Hundreds of thousands have been detained, with more than
100,000 being sentenced to forced labor camps, typically without trial.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT THE FALUN DAFA
INFORMATION CENTER -- Gail Rachlin 917-501-4441, Levi Browde 914-720-0963,
Erping Zhang 646-533-6147, or Feng Yuan 917-941-1097. Email:
faluninfoctr@nycmail.com, Website:
http://www.faluninfo.net/
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