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Bringing Jiang and his Accomplices to Justice
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Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen.
My name is Zenon Dolnyckyj and I am the spokesperson for CIST--the Committee for an International Special Tribunal on the Persecution of Falun Gong. With a title like that one would think a speech given by this organization would better fit into the other sections of this conference like; Legal Mechanisms on Genocide, Development & Law, or Human rights violations in China, yet the topic of this section "New Threats: Media and the Internet" are directly connected to the inception of and the need for the CIST.
Non-government organizations and respected researchers have addressed the issue of media censorship in great depth and if anyone would like reports on this topic I would be happy to forward them along to you. Today I would like to address the threat of media from three other points. One is from the perspective of international deception, the second from the threat of irresponsible reporting, and lastly how the CIST plans to address these problems in relation to its mission.
At a previous conference I attended entitled "Searching for Justice: Comprehensive Action in the Face of Atrocities" I proposed the perspective of media and the Internet being a "new threat." One of the panelists mentioned that media is not itself bad and the panelist was correct. Media is a tool like a blade and with regard to matters of persecution, genocide, international security and justice, the question is whether it will be a blade forged into a sword for Lady Justice or the sickle for the Grim Reaper.
That may sound like a colorful use of language, yet at the very least, in relation to the persecution of Falun Gong, the reality is shockingly that appalling. Modern information technology, particularly the media and the Internet, have completely shrunk the scope of the world and brought the international community a level of intimacy that it has never experienced before in history. Furthermore, this has happened at the rapid pace of a few decades with the last one being more active than the previous five to six put together. However, during this rapid growth the maturation process of how to responsibly handle the new challenges that came with this growth was overlooked.
Nero was able to spread lies about the Christians when he chose to persecute them, but this pales in comparison to Hitler's use of media and documentaries to glorify the Third Reich, vilify and defame the Jews and deceive the world into thinking that Hitler's Germany was fit to host the Olympics. The power and use of media in relation to genocide and crimes against humanity brings a frightening international dimension.
The old saying "the pen is mightier than the sword" speaks to this principle. The ability to inform others and be informed can move people to take action. When people are convinced of something themselves then their own volition will empower them far greater than any external pressure. Rather than battling on the surface you change people from the inside. This change can happen in one of two directions: one based on facts and another based on deception and manipulation. In the case of the former Chairman of China's genocide against Falun Gong, the Jiang regime chose deception.
While testifying in the Quebec Supreme Court as an expert witness during a trial between Falun Gong practitioners and a Chinese newspaper that was inciting hatred against Falun Gong, Professor Owenby of McGill University (Chinese History) testified that, in relation to use of media and mass deception, this was the worst persecution in China's 5000 year history, because the regime had never had these tools to harness.
Within the first thirty days of the commencement of the persecution of Falun Gong the main newspaper in China, The Peoples Daily, printed over 300 articles demonizing Falun Gong, its founder and practitioners. This is only one newspaper. Newspapers, television and radio are controlled in China and have been used for the past 4 plus years to attack and vilify Falun Gong on a daily basis. Falun Gong books are burned and web sites blocked and Chinese people have no way to be informed. Under this constant stream of misinformation, the Chinese people were deceived into following this eradication campaign by turning in their friends, family and co-workers to the authorities.
When Falun Gong practitioners are able to successfully release facts surrounding the persecution they are arrested and tried for "leaking state secrets" and then further persecuted under the "law." The block on the flow of information does not stop there. Media watch dog. Reporters sans Frontieres, (a.k.a Reporters Without Borders) has protested the persecution of foreign media personnel stationed in China when they try to report on Falun Gong. These concerns are still being raised by RSF today.
Shockingly, outside of China, Chinese embassies and consulates perpetuate this systematic pressure through spreading hate through every level of free societies and pressuring expatriot Chinese communities and overseas Chinese media. Whether in China or in the international community, any information pathway that could be used, be it diplomatic or otherwise, has been used to vilify Falun Gong. Yet no avenue has been more damaging then the media itself, as this has the greatest effect on the masses and how they think on major issues.
United Nations Special Rapporteurs, governments that respect human rights and reputable non-government organizations represent the facts to the international community so that people can be informed and justice and international security can be maintained. Only when people are informed of an issue can they take action. Unfortunately, the international media doesn't seem to fully recognize its role.
When media was used as it was during the Rwanda genocide, it becomes clear that those individuals need to face justice under international law, and the recent convictions by the ICTR (International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda) of those media personnel gives us hope that international law mechanisms are willing to take action against the media.
The difficulty becomes greater however when the actions from the media become more subtle. When reputable media treat dictatorial regimes that commit crimes against humanity as a "source" of information then media are indirectly giving them credibility and a platform to propagate their deception around the world. This greatly interferes with people's ability to discern the true nature of the situation and the severity of the crisis.
It has an added negative aspect--to misguide the reader into believing that there are two sides to the story, or that there may be a conflict between two groups when in some instances there isn't. Yet on the issue of genocide, crimes against humanity and persecution there are the perpetrators and the victims. When people are not clear they don't know how to evaluate the issue and decided whether or not to take action. This problem creates a great deal of uncertainty in the international community and a state of inaction, which indirectly leaves the environment for genocide to fester and grow. So in this respect, news media has a tremendous impact on the international community and a great responsibility.
When cries for help come from the victims and justifications come from the perpetrators it becomes a cold war, not for world power but for people's hearts. With the notion of being "unbiased," media treat all sources as equal. This is wrong. It's not an issue of taking sides; rather it is an issue of proper investigation and clear representation of the facts, the credibility of sources and the context surrounding major issues--particularly surrounding issues of crimes against humanity, genocide and persecution.
The world's leaders in human rights monitoring have documented this terribly escalating persecution. The highest awards for journalism have been given to investigative reports for in-depth reporting that details the systematic nature of this eradication campaign against Falun Gong. Not only has this information blockade and international hate propaganda campaign hindered people from understanding the larger and more complete picture of this genocide, even the most reputable third party reports that have been compiled are misinformed in some areas.
This is one of the reasons why the CIST was created. We are centralizing all of this documentation, providing a chronology of events and analysis so as to guide people to understand the complex frightening reality of the genocide of Falun Gong. Once people are informed, the next step is to take responsibility for it.
To assess responsibility in relation to the genocide against the Jewish people and people in Yugoslavia and Rwanda, ad-hoc tribunals were established. The CIST is confident that with this more holistic understanding of the international persecution that the international community and people of moral conscience will rise to the occasion, create a Special Tribunal to address the persecution of Falun Gong and bring the perpetrators to justice.
In relation to news media, the CIST will actively remind them of their responsibilities and provide as much information as possible so they can be properly informed and take active measures with the international community to establish a Special Tribunal on the persecution of Falun Gong.
(Clearwisdom.net) Mr. Ma Xinxing was a 40-year-old Dafa practitioner from Shanghai. After the persecution of Falun Gong started on July 20, 1999, he went to Beijing many times to appeal for Falun Gong and clarify the truth, and he was arrested many times. He was once put in a mental hospital and tortured for three months. In November 2003, he was in grave danger due to the torture he received at the Qingpu Labor Camp in Shanghai. Not wanting to take the responsibility should he die, the camp released him. In December 2003, when fellow practitioners went to visit him, he was just skin and bones. Moreover, he was bedridden and could not eat or drink anything. He would throw up whatever he took in. His family members told the practitioners that he could no longer recognize people. When practitioners mentioned the experience of clarifying the truth together with him, he only had a blank look. However, when the practitioners mentioned "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance," his eyes brightened, and there was a little smile on his face. Then tears welled up in his eyes. On December 14th, 2003, he passed away.
(Clearwisdom.net) Mr. Song Shijie, 56 years old, was a retired employee from Siping City Art League in Jilin Province. He had been practicing Falun Dafa for many years and he was very healthy and strong. At around 10:00 p.m. on May 12, 2003, he was arrested at his home by Tiexi Police Officers in Siping City. Two days later, Mr. Song's family was informed that he was dead. His family members were shocked to learn of this news and they planned to sue the Tiexi Police for torturing Song Shijie. The Tiexi Police did not want their crimes to be exposed, so they gave 50,000 yuan to Mr. Song's family as compensation. It is reported that Song Shijie's family members are still in the process of bringing a lawsuit against the Tiexi Police.
Phone numbers of responsible parties in Siping City
Renxing Police Station: 86-434-3222769
Beigou Police Station: 86-434-3222668
Tiexi Police Office: 86-434-3624833
Political Security Division of Tiexi Police Office: 86-434-3624885
Siping City Police Department: 86-434-3625547 86-434-3640110
Siping City Art League: 86-434-3624528
(Clearwosdom.net)
Mr. Zhang Quande was the deputy party secretary of the Wolong District Committee in Nanyang City, Henan Province. After he retired, he suffered from various diseases; however, after he took up the practice of Falun Gong, he soon recovered. In July 1999, Jiang's regime started the persecution of Falun Gong. Zhang persisted in his practice of Falun Gong, and as a result, he was arrested. During detention, he was tortured and became extremely weak. His family members used their influence and got him released after he was detained for three months. However, the Chezhan Police in Nanyang City would not leave him alone. After his release, they kept coming to his home to harass him.
In January 2003, Zhang Quande was taken away by police from the Chezhan Police Station. They sent him to Fangcheng County where he was detained for one month. Afterwards, the police sent him to Shangzhuang Detention Center in Nanyang City and held him there for 64 days. While in detention, the police tried to force him to curse at Teacher and Dafa, and to give up his belief in Falun Gong. The elderly gentleman said sternly, "I've been working in the government for dozens of years and I've never seen law enforcement personnel like you who intentionally violate the law! Which regulation states that we must curse at people? I practice Falun Gong and have a healthy body. Our Teacher teaches us not to fight back when beaten and not to curse back when being cursed. We consider others before ourselves in all matters. Is there anything wrong with this? Falun Dafa is good!" The torture made the elderly gentleman's health deteriorate rapidly. When he was released from the detention center, his whole body was covered with scabies and he could no long move around. Even so, the police extorted 2000 yuan from him.
In May 2003, Mr. Zhang passed away.
(Clearwisdom.net) Recently, the number of Falun Gong practitioners in China who have died as a result of persecution has reached 896, including a twelve-year-old girl. Bay Area Falun Gong practitioners gathered in front of the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco on the evening of February 24, 2004 to hold a a sit-in appeal, calling for the Chinese government to stop the persecution and killing, and bring head perpetrators Jiang Zemin, Luo Gan, Liu Jing and Zhou Yongkang to justice.
According to a recent report from Clearwisdom.net, several more Falun Gong practitioners died as a result of persecution in China. They were from the provinces of Henan, Hebei, Shandong, Sichuan, Guizhou, Jilin and Guangdong, and the city of Shanghai, including a twelve-year-old girl named Liu Qian from Hebei Province.
San Francisco Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Peng said, "I come to the consulate every day, because there are about 200 people coming here daily to apply for visas. We display photo boards and hand out materials to tell them the truth about Falun Gong. Tonight, we come here because we learned that more than a dozen Falun Gong practitioners were tortured to death in the past 15 days. We are very concerned about the practitioners in Mainland China, so we come here to express our wishes to stop the persecution and killing. At the same time, we want to tell those evildoers, there are laws and heavenly principles in this world. Jiang's hands are stained with the blood of innocent people, and he will receive due punishment sooner or later. Luo Gan, Liu Jing and Zhou Yongkang assist Jiang to do evil deeds, planning, directing and supervising the persecution of Falun Gong in different places, so we also want to bring them to justice."
It is reported that Liu Qian was a third-year student at Gegezhuang Village Primary School in Xiong County, Hebei Province. On November 15, 2003, she was diagnosed as having acute leukemia, and her life was in danger. Her parents remembered that they had once read a miraculous story from a Falun Gong flyer, so they took Liu Qian home and read the Falun Gong book together. Liu Qian recovered completely seven days later, and she could move freely, just like a joyous bird, flying among people. All her relatives were amazed at the effect of Falun Gong. However, two months later, school began. The principal learned about this and forced Liu Qian to write a guarantee statement to give up Falun Gong, and demanded that Liu Qian must renounce Falun Gong; otherwise, she could not go to school. Liu Qian said, "I would have died by now if I didn't practice Falun Gong." She refused to write the guarantee statement, so the principal forcibly sent her home. The sudden deprivation of the right to go to school was like a hard strike to Liu Qian's head, destroying all her dreams for the future. Under such heavy pressure, little Liu Qian's physical health and mental state became worse and worse. One the fifth day, twelve-year-old Liu Qian died in a state of depression.
Another Falun Gong practitioner, Mr. Zhao Xudong, 34 years old, died as a result of persecution on February 7, 2004. Several days before his death, Zhao Xudong had been severely tortured. He was sent to Lanzhou City's Prison Hospital, and died there a few days later. According to a witness, there was a lot of blood in his nose. Zhao Xudong's mother, Bai Jinyu, was arrested with him on December 7, 2003, and her whereabouts are unknown. His wife, Li Hongping, was sentenced to three years of forced labor for practicing Falun Gong, and she has been detained for more than two years. Their elderly father and eight-year-old daughter were left at home. The father has become mentally disoriented due to the loss of his son.
Twenty-eight year old Dafa practitioner Mr. Wang Shubin from Shantou City, Guangdong Province, was abducted and sent to Sanshui Forced Labor Camp for more than one year. During this time, he was subjected to brutal beatings and interrogation all night. More than a dozen policemen beat him; even worse, one policeman stabbed his neck with toothpicks. The policemen also stomped upon his chest and throat so harshly that they were swollen and blood stained the ground. The injuries would not heal after more than two years. Physical torture and mental threats put Mr. Wang on the verge of collapse. His body tortured to deformity, an emaciated Wang Shubin died on October 5, 2003.
Shanghai Dafa practitioner Mr. Ma Xinxing, around 40 years old, was once tortured in a mental hospital for three months. In November 2003, he was tortured to the verge of death, and was released from Shanghai's Qingpu Forced Labor Camp. In mid December, a practitioner came over to see him. He was emaciated and lay in bed. He could not eat and drink, and threw up whatever he ate. His family members told the practitioner that he could no longer recognize people. When the practitioner talked with him about their experiences together, he showed no expression, but when he mentioned "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance," his eyes became bright and a bit of a smile could be seen at the corner of his mouth. Then tears welled up his eyes. He died on December 14, 2003.
Practitioners said that recent articles related to persecution published on Clearwisdom.net showed that many facts of persecution have been published after breaking through the blockade. Overseas practitioners should strengthen the power of sending righteous thoughts and eliminate the evil in places where persecution is still severe. We should also go to the Chinese consulates to expose the persecution, and let more people learn about the persecution. The persecution of Falun Gong in China is being sustained by Jiang's group through covering up, deception and fabrication.
When the people around the world learn about the severity of the persecution, they will stand up to resist it. Then the persecution will have no way to maintain itself.
Mr. Peng also said, "We advise those evildoers and bad people who participate in persecuting Falun Gong to stop their evil deeds; otherwise, they will be punished. 'Good and evil will receive due retribution.' This has been recorded in history. We hope they will rectify their wrongdoings and become good, leaving a beautiful future for themselves and their families."
(Clearwisdem.net) Falun Gong practitioners from Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire gathered in Boston's Chinatown on February 21. They held banners saying "Bring Jiang Zemin, Luo Gan, Liu Jing and Zhou Yongkang to Justice" and exposed these official's crimes of persecuting Falun Gong. The practitioners brought the public up to date on lawsuits against Jiang around the world. With moving songs, they expressed their wish for all kind people to see the truth and tell right from wrong.
Jiang, Luo, Liu and Zhou Are Chief Perpetrators Responsible for the Persecution of Falun Gong
Ms. Anna Chen, Representative of Falun Dafa Information Center in New England, made the following statement at the gathering, "Jiang Zemin, Chairman of the Central Military Commission, former Secretary General of Chinese Community Party and former Chairman, plotted and ordered the suppression of Falun Gong. Out of his own jealousy and greedy desires for power, the former Chinese leader personally ordered the establishment of the '610 Office' on June 10th, 1999. The '610 Office' was set up with the purpose of leading and inflicting systematic persecution on Falun Gong practitioners nationwide. This office has been playing a critical role in the cruel persecution it launched in July, 1999."
Luo Gan is the main leader of "610 Office." He personally ordered all levels of government, from the central to the local, from the Communist Party to Administrative Entities, from public security, courts, forced labor camps, national security, propaganda to policemen, to have unlimited power of persecution, including cruel torture, sexual abuse and even murder. He directed all political and legal commissions, state-owned facilities and businesses and neighborhood committees to establish facilities to brainwash steadfast Falun Gong practitioners. Jiang's secret orders were to "Kill Falun Gong practitioners without any consequence", "Cremate killed Falun Gong practitioners without identification", "Defame their reputations, Bankrupt them financially and destroy them physically."
Liu Jing was personally involved in staging the self-immolation at Tiananmen Square to evoke public hatred towards Falun Gong. Following Falun Gong practitioners' tapping into TV network in Changchun on March 5, 2002, Liu Jing made several trips to Changchun to direct a campaign of intensified persecution, resulting in 8 deaths. More than five thousand Falun Gong practitioners were arrested and fifteen thrown into prison to serve extended terms. In a crackdown planning meeting held in the Nanhu Hotel of Changchun in February, 2002, Liu Jing transmitted a secret order that shooting is allowed during arrest, which resulted in the shooting of Falun Gong practitioner Liu Chengjun, who was eventually tortured to death on December 26, 2003.
Zhou Yongkang, as Secretary of Party Committee of Sichuan Province, implemented tortures of Falun Gong practitioners in jails. Zhou ordered a "guilt by association" policy throughout Sichuan Province. "If parents practice Falun Gong, children will be fired. If children practice Falun Gong, parents will be fired. Retired Falun Gong practitioners' pensions will be stopped." From July, 1999 to December, 2003, seventy-nine Falun Gong practitioners in Sichuan were tortured to death. Among them, twenty-five were in Chongqing. As soon as he came on board as Minister of Public Security Department, Zhou held a planning meeting with leaders of bureau level on December 9, 2003. During the meeting, he continued his policy and stressed that "severe crackdown on Falun Gong should continue to be the main duty of Public Security."
New Death Cases
According to a Minghui report, twenty-four deaths of Falun Gong practitioners have been confirmed this February. They are located in Jilin Province, Heilongjiang Province, Shandong Province, Gansu Province, Sichuan Province, Hebei Province, Liaoning Province, Guizhou Province, Guangdong Province, Beijing and Shanghai.
Falun Gong Practitioners Demand Punishment of Chief Criminals
Falun Gong practitioners held banners saying "Bring Jiang, Luo, Liu and Zhou to Justice" at their gathering in Boston. Dr. Wei Pengfei of MIT said, "Falun Gong practitioners have never been involved in politics like party, power or political system issues. However, everyone is responsible for his actions. Nobody can escape from legal responsibility by hiding under the excuse of party, power, political system or even orders from upper levels. The lawsuits that Falun Gong practitioners have brought are against those who launched and participated in the persecution."
Dr. Wei also said, "By saying 'Welcome Wen Jiabao to the U.S.' and 'Bring Jiang to Justice', Falun Gong practitioners have made it clear: We love our motherland. All are welcome to learn the facts of the persecution. The activities we have are against the criminals, not against any nation or government."
Lawsuits against Persecution Criminals around the World
Lawsuits against persecution criminals including Jiang, Luo and Zhou have been filed in the U.S., Belgium, Spain, Germany, Korea and Taiwan.
On July 17, 2001, Zhao Zhifei was sued in the U.S. He was convicted on December 21 of the same year.
On February 7, 2002, Liu Qi and Xia Deren were sued in the U.S. They were convicted in June, 2003.
On February 3, 2004, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice awarded Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Joel Chipkar damages for libel against a Chinese Deputy Consul, Pan Xinchun.
In January, 2004, the names of former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin and forty-four other high officials have been placed on a watchlist with Canada's Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Program (CAHWCP). The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) confirmed that a file has been opened with the War Crimes Unit. In the event that a perpetrator of atrocities against Falun Gong practitioners lands in Canada, a prompt investigation will be conducted.
Though it is just the beginning, it is said that justice will win eventually despite the evil violence. This is an eternal truth.
"Coming for You"
Falun Gong practitioners in New England stood in the drizzle and sang a song, "Coming for You."
"Coming from far away,
Again and again, I came for you,
I came for loving you.
Precious Chinese people, please listen to my heart-felt voice,
Falun Dafa is good, Falun Dafa Hao!
See the truth behind those lies.
Facing violence and danger,
Again and again, I came for you,
I came for loving you.
Precious Chinese people, did you know that the whole world is saying,
"Falun Dafa is good, Falun Dafa Hao!"
Do not miss this precious chance.
Do not miss this precious chance, this precious chance!"
This moving song fascinated kind-hearted people and made them stop to listen.
(Clearwisdom.net)On February 21, 2004, Falun Gong practitioners in Malmo, the third biggest city in southern Sweden, promoted Falun Gong in Gustav Square in the city centre, to enable the local residents to learn about the worsening brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners taking place in Mainland China.
In the period from November 2003 to January 2004, twenty-six Falun Gong practitioners died as a result of persecution in Mainland China. The cruel torture these victims suffered includes: brutal beating, electric shocking, force feeding, forced injection of nerve-damaging drugs, etc. Those who were tortured to death include a sixty-five year-old woman and thirty-two year-old man. Jiang Zemin, Luo Gan, Liu Jing, Zhou Yongkang are the major perpetrators responsible for the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.
Practitioners displayed a banner reading "Bring Jiang Zemin, Luo Gan, Liu Jing, and Zhou Yongkang to Justice." Many local people asked for the truth-clarification materials, and many young students were attracted by the beauty of the exercises, so that they took pictures of the exercise demonstration one after another.
Every Saturday, in Gustav Square, Malmo Falun Gong practitioners continue to explain to people the facts about the persecution of Falun Gong in Mainland China, and call for an end to the persecution. They have collected many local people's signatures in support.
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Source: http://clearharmony.net/articles/200402/18060.html
(Clearwisdom.net)
Dafa practitioner Ms. Li Shunfeng, 57, was a resident of Quanyang Town, Fusong County, Baishan City, Jilin Province. Ms. Li went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong on February 8, 2001 and was dead three days later. The Beijing police said that she "committed suicide by jumping off a building." Nevertheless, her family members couldn't find any wounds on her, not even a scratch. When her relatives asked the police why there were no injuries from the jump, the police were silent. According to an insider, Ms. Li was first sprayed with high-pressure hoses, then dragged outside where she froze to death.
Before practicing, she had had chronic illness for a long time. Specifically, she was paralyzed for seven or eight years due to postpartum arthritis. She went from place to place seeking medical help, but to no avail. By October 1998 she had been unable to eat for more than a month and it looked as though she would no longer make it. Her family didn't know what to do. At that time, she heard about Falun Gong. She was able to eat again even before she even finished reading two chapters of Zhuan Falun. By studying the Fa like this, in less than a month her health condition gradually improved and her body quickly recovered. Since her paralysis she had been in debt as she had borrowed money from the government to treat her illness, and had not yet been able to repay the money. As a result, her family could not even afford winter clothes. After Ms. Li had gotten rid of her illness, her entire family's life changed dramatically. She told everyone she came in contact with that Falun Gong saved her life and saved her whole family.
Once the persecution and defamation of Falun Dafa began, through her own experiences she told people of the tremendous changes Dafa had brought her. Nevertheless, Gong Shishun, the head of Political Security Office in the Forest Bureau, Wang Shouliang and the Dongfeng Police Station went and ransacked her home every two or three days. They even took her to the Quanlin 2nd Precinct for interrogation. The Police Station from Quanyang Town and the Forest Bureau also ransacked her home. Sometimes, the policemen from the two places even ran into each other on the way. On those days, the entire family's life was constantly disrupted.
On February 5, 2001, Ms. Li left for Beijing in order to appeal for Falun Gong. On February 7, 2001, Xu Jiaseng of the Quanyang Police Station visited Ms. Li's home and told her husband, "Your wife has gone to Beijing, and I have a message from higher-ups to ask you for one thousand yuan in exchange for her." At that time her husband was busy getting money to go to Beijing. The next day Yu Zhankui from the Retirement Affairs Office went to her home and said: "Your wife jumped from a building. You go and get her cremated remains." At that moment her entire family was shocked and speechless.
Ms. Li's husband arrived in Beijing on the night of February 9. He went to the small, white four-story building which was the Beijing Liaison Office for Baishan City. According to the police, it was from that building that Ms. Li had jumped. After one day, Ms. Li's husband again went to the Coroners Laboratory Test Center of the Beijing Public Security Bureau. The police had already sent faxes to notify all of Ms. Li's family members that they had to agree that she had committed suicide by jumping off a building and, furthermore, that they all had to have their fingerprints taken to validate their agreement. Even Ms. Li's husband was forced to agree that she committed suicide. After they put her husband through this procedure, they allowed him to go to the Beijing City Changping Mortuary to see her body. At the time, Ms. Li's body was completely naked and her clothes were frozen in a clump to her body. There were no visible injuries on the body, not even a scratch. Her husband was heartbroken upon seeing this and he couldn't stop the tears from flowing down his face. When he asked them why they didn't put some clothes on her, they said it was for the coroner's examination. He then asked, "Why are there no injuries from the jump?" The policemen had nothing to say to that. Since Ms. Li was deceased, no one could challenge the police testimony.
According to an insider, Ms. Li was sprayed with high-pressure hoses and shocked with electric batons. She was then dragged outside to freeze in the cold weather. The healthy Ms. Li was eventually frozen to death. This was how a good, kind person who was alive and well was tortured to death by the police just for speaking up to clarify the truth. Yet, the police obscurely tried to conceal the facts and deceive her relatives.
Before her husband saw her body, it cost him one thousand yuan for the coroner's examination, twenty yuan to move the body, eighty yuan to rent and use an autopsy room, twenty yuan for her makeup, thirty yuan for the cremation and ash collection and four hundred yuan for the funeral home. He spent a total of 1,550 yuan. It was only after he had gone through all these procedures that he was able to go to a mortuary to see Ms. Li's body.
(Clearwisdom.net) Mr. Lu Xingguo was a 45-year-old Dafa practitioner who lived in Wanggang Hongyi Village, Tang Town in the Pudong New District, Shanghai. On October 15, 2003 he died from torture in Shanghai Qingpu District's No. 3 Forced Labor Camp.
Because Lu Xingguo was a determined Falun Gong practitioner, police detained him in the No. 3 Forced Labor Camp. On October 13, 2003 he was transferred to a Middle Team under direct camp supervision. It is located at the first floor of Middle Team One in the forced labor camp. This team was known for its cruelty against practitioners by employing criminals to carry out violence and torture. Practitioners had previously been detained in the labor camp hospital. In late May 2003, they were moved to their current location.
Lu Xingguo was in room number 109. Encouraged by policeman Xiang Jianzhong (Middle Team leader, badge no. 3130268), several criminal inmates in Room 109, such as thieves, robbers, gangsters, those having committed economic crimes and also drug addicts started to physically and verbally assault Lu, even using a small stool to torture him.
The small, circular shaped stool is placed against a wall. Under regular circumstances it is actually is a type of spool to coil up wires, in a rather small diameter. The practitioner was forced to sit on the floor with his back against the stool. His legs were extended in front of him in such a way that the legs and upper body formed a 90-degree angle. His arms were stretched to both sides of the body to form a straight line on the wall. Several people would spread the person's legs till they are almost 180 degrees apart.
This torture is extremely painful and very hard for people to bear. A person can fall unconscious from the excruciating pain. At the moment when the practitioner almost loses consciousness, the hatchet men would take a mouthful of cold water and with dirty saliva, spit in the practitioner's face to make the practitioner regain consciousness. When they tortured Lu Xingguo, people outside that room heard Lu's painful cries. The criminals had ordered him to give up Falun Gong. When he said no, the criminals subjected Mr. Lu to the Tiger Bench* torture. They cruelly tortured him, both mentally and physically. They tortured him for two continuous days until his ligaments were torn and he was unable to stand and walk.
Later, Team Leader Xiang Jianzhong came to Room 109 and tried to force Lu Xingguo to answer some "questions." Xiang also tried to threaten him. When Dafa practitioner Mr. Lu protested against the tortures, Xiang Jianzhong became very angry and defensive. He told head criminal inmate Zhang Min and others to intensify the torture. They were told to do whatever they can to force him to yield to them and to turn away from Falun Dafa practice. A new round of persecution was planned.
On October 15, 2003 in the morning, policemen first transferred a few tough criminals such as Xu Ping and Dong Wei to room 111. At 12:00 p.m. inmate Zhang Min locked all Falun Gong practitioners into their cells. They were not even allowed to go to the toilet. They dragged the badly injured Lu Xingguo, who was unable to walk, from Room 109 to Room 111. The barefoot Mr. Lu was pulled along the floor on his back. Si Daolong was the head for cell Room 111. Other criminals such as Sui Wei, Wang Daming, Gao Jingdong, Gu Hailun, Yu Yonghuai, and Song Yuqi also came to Room 111. Now there were almost ten criminals in the room.
Zhang Min shouted, "Turn up the TV volume and close all the doors and windows." Then they started to subject Mr. Lu to another round of more severe torture. To prevent Lu from making any sound, they stuffed a towel into his mouth. Nobody knew for sure what happened in there.
After some time, the door and windows were opened. People heard Sui Wei and others swear. They also could hear Lu's weakening voice refusing to yield to the torture and renounce his belief in Falun Dafa.
Realizing that Lu was willing to defend his belief with his life, the criminals were extremely furious. They immediately went on to another round of torture. They closed the doors and windows again and turned the TV to the highest volume. They proceeded with the most evil and cruel torture. In less than one hour, Falun Gong practitioner Lu Xingguo was dead from torture at the hands of the police and the criminals.
At 1:00 p.m. in the afternoon, the criminals told the police, "He is dead." Police team leader Zhu (badge no. 3130671) came to Room 111. He instructed two criminals to carry Lu Xingguo's body and walked all the way outside of Team Number One's gate.
At midnight that same day, police Team Leader Zeng (badge no. 3130586) summoned criminals Sui Wei, Xu Ping and Dong Wei to come outside. They probably made up lies and recorded faked witness statements. They tried to cover up the truth to escape justice. Indeed, the policemen in other teams began to spread a rumor, "Lu Xingguo committed suicide to celebrate his Master's birthday."
During this whole process of torturing and persecuting Lu Xingguo, the most evil and most responsible one was Xiang Jianzhong. He once said, "We had orders from above. A 5% fatality rate is acceptable. If we kill someone, there are no consequences. We are not afraid of killing."
Later, the police told Lu's family that he died of an illness. They did not allow the family to see his body. On October 17, police informed Lu Xingguo's brother to come and sign the death certificate. His brother requested to see documentation of his brother's cause of death. While trying to make up a cause, the police couldn't justify themselves. The police still had no justification, but didn't give the family an opportunity to see his body. They ordered the family to cremate the body the next day on October 18th.
On October 18th, more than 60 policemen were stationed in the crematory to guard the body. When the family arrived, the police had already put clothes on the body. Still they did not allow the family to see the body. According to an eyewitness, Lu Xingguo's face was nearly beyond recognition. There was no skin on his lip. All his teeth were gone. The skin near his ears was wrinkled. His hair stood up straight. Blood was on his neck and one could see large area of bruises from the electric shocks.
Lu Xingguo was survived by his 60-year-old mother, a disabled and bedridden father, as well as his wife and a school-age daughter.
Shanghai Dafa practitioner Lu Xingguo defended his faith in "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance" with his own life. He used his righteousness and conscience to awaken people's minds and let people know the truth of the persecution. We hereby appeal to people in the world to come together, to stop the cruel persecution against Falun Gong practitioners.
* Tiger bench: Practitioners are forced to sit on a small iron bench that is approximately 20 cm (6 inches) tall with their knees tied together. With their hands tied behind their backs or sometimes placed on their knees, they are forced to sit straight up and look straight ahead. They are not allowed to turn their heads, close their eyes, talk to anyone or move at all. Several inmates are assigned to watch over the practitioners and force them to remain motionless while sitting on the bench. Usually some hard objects are inserted underneath the practitioners' lower legs or ankles to make it harder for them to tolerate this abuse (see illustration on <http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2001/11/24/16156.html>)
(Clearwisdom.net) Ms. Liu Yaokun, 43 years old, is a Dafa practitioner from Hegang City, Heilongjiang Province who was put in the Jiamusi Forced Labor Camp and maliciously tortured. Policewoman Zhou Jiahui was very angry that Liu Yaokun told the city officials the truth about the labor camp when they came twice for investigations. Ever since then, the labor camp authorities have retaliated fiercely against Ms. Liu Yaokun. A group of police officers acted together and savagely beat her up.
The division leader He Qiang was extremely cruel to Falun Gong practitioners and personally beat Ms. Liu Yaokun. In the middle of January 2004, Ms. Liu Yaokun got up a little slower because her legs were badly injured and she could not walk easily. Just for that, policewoman Zhou Jiahui used both her fists to beat her up and kicked her. She then dragged Ms. Liu Yaokun into a small room and beat her even more cruelly. Ms. Liu's face was unrecognizable when she was dragged back. She could not eat anything thereafter, and the torture left her unable to look after her own daily needs.
On Feb. 3rd, she was sent to a hospital for emergency treatment and was fed through her nose. The tube to her stomach was not taken out until her pulse became irregular and her situation was life threatening. Three inches of the tube was bloody when it was pulled out. The police did not inform the family members even though the situation was this severe. The labor camp did not want to pay for the hospital cost, and ignoring the risk, they took Ms. Liu Yaokun, whose life in danger, out of the hospital in a few days. No information on Ms. Liu's condition has been available since she was transferred out of the hospital. Nobody knows if she is still alive. Nobody in the camp has seen her since.
Jiamusi City Judiciary Bureau Examination Office at the labor camp
Wang Hongming, 86-454-8891953
Clinic, Zheng Liyan, 86-454-8891943
Discipline and Inspection Committee, Liu Yingzi, 86-454-8891934
Labor Camp Office, Xu Guiying, 86-454-8891937
Political Division, Bai Jinfeng, 86-454-8891935
Administrative Section, Xu Hengji, 86-454-8891940
Division head, He Qiang, 86-454-8682333 (home); 86-454-8891638 (office)
Female Team, 86-454-8891924
Labor Camp Chief Office, Jiang Zuoqi, 86-454-8891958
Labor Camp Political Head, Fu Maosen, 86-454-8891890
Deputy Labor Camp Heads
Guan Dejun, 86-454-8891948
Yao Debin, 86-454-8891931
Sun Dehong, 86-454-8891932
Xu Lifeng, 86-454-8891933
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(Clearwisdom.net) During the past four years, the former Jiaozhou City Mental Hospital in Shandong Province (now known as the Jiaozhou City Psychiatric Rehabilitation Hospital) has been used by the "610 Office" to persecute nearly one hundred Dafa practitioners.
The following accounts document the persecution of some practitioners that took place at the mental hospital. These kindhearted people were arrested and sent here to be persecuted just because they refused to give up their belief in Falun Dafa, and they clarified the truth and appealed to end the persecution of Falun Gong by Jiang's regime. We hope the international community can pay attention to their plight.
Ms. Zhang Xuanping, 36, was a lab worker at the Jiaozhou City Boiler Factory. She started to practice Falun Gong in 1996 and benefited tremendously both mentally and physically. She used to be very weak, but after the practice, she became healthy. After Jiang Zemin started the persecution of Falun Gong on July 20, 1999, Zhang's factory leaders came under pressure by the "610 Office"* to make her write a pledge promising to give up cultivation. After Zhang refused, the "610 Office" staff members told the factory leaders to send her to the mental hospital. On September 15, 1999, Zhang was forcibly taken to the mental hospital, where she suffered brutal persecution.
Liu Fuxi and his wife Zhou Caixia went to Beijing several times to appeal for Falun Gong. They had written an appeal letter, hoping to deliver it to the Central Appeals Office. They tried many times but failed to make the delivery because the Central Appeals Office has been closed to any appeals involving the issue of Falun Gong. In early 2000, the couple was arrested and sent to the mental hospital. Zhou Caixia went on hunger strike for 12 days, and later she found an opportunity and escaped. Liu Fuxi was also able to get out later. Now the couple has been forced to go from place to place for nearly 4 years. The "610 Office" is still chasing them.
Two female practitioners Qiu Yuan'e and Kuan Bencui were arrested on a train bound for Beijing. They were both taken to the mental hospital. In the hospital Qiu Yuan'e refused to take any of the drugs. However the supervisor Liu Yanxi ordered nurses to use chopsticks and pliers to pry open her mouth. During the process, Qiu's mouth and teeth were badly injured. The drugs damaged her mental health and caused her to become mentally disabled. Only then did the hospital release her. Kuang Bencui was later sent to a labor camp.
Ms. Li Jun was injected with some sort of drug. As a result, her head couldn't stop shaking.
Ms. Li Xue was tortured at the hospital, and a once pretty girl is beyond recognition.
Mr. Xu Xianzhong, 40, refused to write a repentance letter for practicing Falun Gong. He was tortured for 6 months. His back became crooked and his hair turned white. Every time he tried to clarify the truth to the doctors, the "610 Office" would have mental patients beat him.
Lu Yi is a college student, and he was also injected with harmful drugs.
Ms. Tan Guihua, 45, went to Beijing to appeal and was arrested. On September 11, 1999, she was taken back to Jiaozhou City, where she was sent straight to the mental hospital. Six male nurses held her and injected her with drugs. Even to this day Tan still does not know what kind of drug they gave her. She did not understand why that drug could make her once healthy body feel so terrible. She felt like her internal organs were going to burst out of her body. Her heart raced, and her tongue and lips were shaking uncontrollably. She felt like throwing up, but there was nothing to throw up. She couldn't help rolling on the ground. Every day the doctor would ask if Tan still practiced. Whenever she said yes, they would shock her, and give her an injection of that drug. They also forced her to take 2-10 unmarked pills. Three times a day, nurses came to monitor her and make sure she took all the drugs. They would ask her to open her mouth to check if she had hidden the tablets under her tongue. If they found she had not swallow the pills, they would tie her up and force feed the drugs to her. Two months later, Tan continually shook, and she could not hold even a bowl or a pair of chopsticks. Her face was black and blue. She had pain throughout her entire body, and her vision had become blurred. Her menses also stopped. Her back was crooked, and her memory had deteriorated rapidly. Her physical and mental health were in ruins.
Contact information of Jiaozhou City Mental Hospital:
Office: 86-532-2216300
Head: Liu Bingwen: 86-13606302505 (Cell)
Deputy Head: Wang Yuming: 86-532-2210349
Section One: 86-532-2216301
Section Two: 86-532-2216302
Section Three Director Sun Zhijun: 86-532-2216303
*The 610 Office is an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political or judicial systems.
(Clearwisom.net) In July 2002, Falun Gong practitioner Dr. Liu Shenghua, a physician at Chenxi County People's Hospital in Hunan Province, China, was reported to the authorities for reading Falun Gong books with his fellow practitioners. Dr. Liu and others were illegally arrested by Yang Wenjun and other policemen. He is being detained at Jinshi Prison in Changde City, Hunan Province. Besides being forced to perform labor on the farm, he has been locked up in a dark room by policemen. Three criminals watch him all the time and brutally beat him. Liu Shenghua is now extremely emaciated. He is too weak to stand or even talk, and he could lose his life at any moment. But Jinshi Prison still denies that they are maltreating and torturing Liu Shenghua and other Falun Gong practitioners being detained there. A 60-year old man named Ou Jiafa is also being persecuted there for practicing Falun Gong.
Thousands of Falun Gong practitioners have been persecuted in Chenxi County. Nearly 30 people have been sent without trial to "labor re-education." Female Dafa practitioners are sent to Baimalong Labor Re-Education Center, and male practitioners are sent to Xinkaipu Labor Re-Education Center in Changsha City and Jinshi Prison in Changde City. Liu Liumei, a female practitioner in her 30's, was tortured severely and now suffers from a mental disorder.
Li Huimeng, vice-chairman of the "610 Office" (A bureau specifically created by the Chinese government to persecute Falun Gong. It has absolute power over each level of administration in the Party, as well as over the political and judiciary branches.) in Chengxi County has recently developed cancer and has since come to understand the facts after listening to truth-clarification by Falun Gong practitioners. He has expressed that he will no longer persecute Falun Gong practitioners. Actually, most people in the "610 Office" expressed that they do not want to participate in the persecution of Falun Gong. Some say that Falun Gong is good. Moreover, there are even people in the public security bureau who have started to practice Falun Gong. Jiang, the former Chinese dictator primarily responsible for the persecution of Falun Gong, once went to Hengyang City, Hunan Province and went specifically to Chengxi County trying to escalate the persecution against Falun Gong there. Still, there were no mass arrests in Chengxi during his visit. After listening to Falun Gong practitioners explain the facts, many people have realized that Falun Gong is good. They no longer want to help Jiang do evil. Some former Falun Dafa practitioners who were at one time deceived by the lies and slander about Falun Gong and turned against Falun Gong have come back to the path of Dafa cultivation.
Telephone Number of the person who is in charge of the persecution against Falun Gong practitioners in Hunan Province Public Security Bureau: 86-731-4590134
Telephone Numbers for Jinshi Prison where Falun Gong practitioners are persecuted:
Telephone Number of Jinshi Prison Head Office: 86-736-4298138
Telephone Number of Jinshi Prison Administration Office: 86-736-4298608
Telephone Number of Jinshi Prison Farmland Office: 86-736-4298305 or 86-736-4298220
Telephone Number of Jinshi Prison Farmland Office: 86-736-4298305 or 86-736-4298220
Telephone Number of Jinshi Prison 1st Mid-Size Team: 86-736-4298112
Telephone Number of Jinshi Prison 2nd Team: 86-736-4298284
Telephone Number of Jinshi Prison 3rd Team: 86-736-4298295
Telephone Number of Jinshi City Administration and Law Committee: 86-736-4215851
Telephone Number of Jinshi City Department of Law: 86-736-4213420
Telephone Number of Jinshi City Government: 86-736-4212100
Telephone Number of Jinshi City Committee: 86-736-4212728
Cell Phone Number of Shi Taifu, Chenxi County Party Secretary: 86-745-5233726, 86-13907457390
Telephone Numbers of Zhou Shengyu, Chenxi County Head: 86-745-5233223, 86-13907455698
Telephone Numbers of Tang Xiaojun, vice Party Secretary in Chenxi County Department of Administration and Law (Persecuting Falun Gong): 86-745-5243787, 86-745-5224938, 86-13907457186
Telephone Numbers of Li Weilin, Party Secretary of Chenxi County Department of Administration and Law: 86-745-5232304 (Office), 86-745-5242533 (Home), 86-13874597111
Telephone Numbers of Guo Longjin, vice Party Secretary of Chenxi County Department of Administration and Law: 86-745-5232304, 86-745-5238218, 86-13874419678
Telephone Numbers of Wu Xiaocheng, vice Party Secretary of Chenxi County Department of Administration and Law: 86-745-5232304, 86-745-5223152, 86-13974546306
Telephone Numbers of Xie Fengliang, vice Party Secretary of Chenxi County Department of Administration and Law: 86-745-5232304, 86-745-5227066, 86-13037458934
Telephone Numbers of Xiang Jianmao, vice Party Secretary of Chenxi County Department of Administration and Law: 86-745-5232304, 86-745-5223076, 86-13907457350
Telephone Numbers of Yang Wenjun, vice Party Secretary of Chenxi County Department of Administration and Law: 86-745-5230670, 86-745-5224743, 86-13973081208
(Crimes committed by Yang Wenjun, Head of the "610 Office": He makes every effort for personal gain. He used to be a teacher in Huomachong Middle School and became a government official through networking. In order to climb up through the ranks and get money, he persecutes Falun Gong practitioners in Chenxi County relentlessly. He arrested more than a hundred practitioners and sent dozens to forced labor, including his former classmate, Yang Shiqi, a teacher at the 3rd Middle School. The money he extorted in the name of "fines" ranges from hundreds of yuan to nearly 10,000 yuan.)
Home Address of Yang Wenjun: Chenxi County Education Bureau
Yang Wenjun's Wife: Xiang Xinzhi, Her Work: Chengxi County Education Bureau Office of Teaching and Research, Zip Code: 419500, Telephone Number: 86-745-5225495
Yang Wenjun's Father-in-law: Xiang Yuanda, former vice Party Secretary of County Committee in Charge of Administration and Laws. He is retired and lives in the Compound of Chenxi County Committee of Politics. His Telephone Number is 86-745-5222643.
Telephone Numbers of Duan Qingyun, Vice Chairman of the "610 Office" of Chenxi County: 86-745-5230670, 86-745-5222515, 86-13707457282
Telephone Numbers of Chen Qiuzhen (female), Vice Chairman of the "610 Office" of Chenxi County: 86-745-5230670, 86-13874564819
Telephone Numbers of Li Huimeng, Vice Chairman of the "610 Office" of Chenxi County (He got cancer and expressed he would no longer persecute Falun Gong practitioners): 86-745-5230670, 86-745-5253801, 86-13974546188
Telephone Numbers of Zheng Xianghai, Vice Chairman of Chenxi County Public Security Bureau, who has been forced to persecute Falun Gong practitioners: 86-745-5232543, 86-745-5232680, 86-13807457372
Telephone Numbers of Zhu Shunan, former Chairman of Chenxi County Public Security Bureau, now County Committee Investigator: 86-745-5232529, 86-745-5226658, 86-13607456881
Telephone Numbers of Yu Qingchang, Xie Kaiji, Liu Yong (current Party Committee Member), People responsible for persecuting Falun Gong Practitioners: 86-745-5232543, 86-745-5226698, 86-13607414998
Crimes committed by Liu Yong, Yu Qingchang and Xie Kaiji: They grabbed the hair of Liu Liumei, a female practitioner in her 30s, and violently threw her against a wall. This caused an injury in her head. As a result of the persecution she suffered during forced labor she now has mental disorders and has disappeared. They also brutally beat Falun Gong practitioner Liu Yuanbo, who protested by going on a hunger strike, Yang Shiqi, a teacher, Ou Jiafa, an elderly practitioner, and many other Falun Gong practitioners. Once, in the middle of the night, together with other police, they took off the clothes of many male practitioners and tortured them. Yu Qingchang used a crowbar to force open Liu Yuanbo's mouth when he went on a hunger strike. This knocked his teeth loose. Xie Kaiji brutally beat and hung up Tang Yuqing, a female Falun Gong practitioner in her 40s, while she was handcuffed, which broke bones in her hands.
Telephone Number of Chenxi County Public Security Bureau: 86-745-5232543
Telephone Number of Xiang Zhaoliang, a vicious person at the "610 Office": 86-745-5230670
Telephone Number of Zhang Guining, a former Falun Gong practitioner who has been deceived by the lies and propaganda and who has turned against Falun Gong: 86-745-5224123
Continued...
(Clearwisdom.net) It is inconceivable to those whose human rights are maintained and respected throughout the world, in societies that are ruled by law, and especially after Jiang announced to the world media that China is enjoying "the best period of human rights," that there are still large areas where people are severely assaulted and abused in a dark and evil arena.
Furthermore, in my experience at some of the worst forced labor camps in Tuanhe (and others) that the police denied us access to information regarding the laws that regulate forced labor camps. Those sentenced to the labor camps had no idea what their personal rights were, nor the respect that they must be accorded under the law. If someone wanted to know about the regulations, the police would use various means to remove their requests. Even after release from the forced labor camps, the victim's family members dared not complain to the police. This happened with all the police and forced labor camps all over China.
One day, as some newly arrived detainees were shouting questions and answers, in protest, I shouted that I was illegally detained. The police rushed up to me, and without allowing me to explain myself, dragged me out to the office. Here, I was pressed to the ground and four or five electric batons were applied to various parts of my body at the same time. The strong electrical current caused my heart to palpitate. I felt as if my heart would burst as I began to lose any feeling and almost passed out. I was breathing very hard so that I wouldn't suffocate. My face, neck, arms, legs, and other exposed parts of my body were covered in blisters from the electric shocks. The police never did explain why they acted so savagely towards me. Later, I sent an appeal, in accordance with China's laws, to the National People's Congress and the Law Court in Beijing City, in which I denounced my treatment in the forced labor camp. As of today, I still have not received any reply. I do not know if the police confiscated the letter or mailed it.
(3) Sent to the Tuanhe Forced Labor Camp, Beijing City.
*Various Savage and Brutal Offences at the Tuanhe Forced Labor Camp*
On March 1, 2001, I was sent to the Second Brigade, Third Squad, of the Tuanhe Forced Labor Camp, Beijing City. Here, I was immediately deprived of sleep; forced to stand under the hot sun and not allowed to move; made to do extra heavy physical labor; severely assaulted by inmates who were ordered to do so by the camp officials to force me to abandon my belief in "Zhen, Shan, Ren" (Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance); coerced to abandon my personal ideologies and beliefs; pressured to write materials abusing my Teacher and Dafa, which in essence was meant to justify the punishment I received. I was not allowed to speak my mind or appeal for my rights. I remained steadfast as I knew my constitutional rights to freedom of belief, freedom of speech, and my legitimate personal human rights, and did not compromise them. A few perpetrators of the Second Brigade and the police were planning some violent actions towards me. The people involved include Cao Hui (at that time he was the monitor of the Third Squad), Guo Jianxin, Jia Qishu, Ma Yuehui, and others. I warned them that I reserved the legitimate right to self defense so they dared not harm me.
In fact, within a month of arriving at the Tuanhe Forced Labor Camp, there were many occasions when I saw Falun Gong practitioners severely and savagely assaulted.
The afore-mentioned cases are only the tip of the iceberg! Among the more than one hundred persons sent to the camp, at least fifty percent of them were tortured by having their heads tied to their knees, then forced to sit in a wash-basin under a low wood plank bed while being beaten continuously on their bodies and faces with the hard soles of boots.
All these bloody cases, all the beatings, and the persecution, can be verified with the Falun Gong practitioners that were the victims. All of the assaults were instigated by the police. Otherwise, how could so many Falun Gong practitioners have suffered continuous abuse since the end of 1999, when the Falun Gong practitioners were first sent to the forced labor camps.
(To be continued)
*tiger bench: Practitioners are forced to sit on a small iron bench that is
approximately 20 cm (6 inches) tall with their knees tied together. With their
hands tied behind their backs or sometimes placed on their knees, they are
forced to sit straight up and look straight ahead. They are not allowed to turn
their heads, close their eyes, talk to anyone or move at all. Several
inmates are assigned to watch over the practitioners and force them to remain
motionless while sitting on the bench. Usually some hard objects are inserted
underneath the practitioners' lower legs or ankles to make it harder for them to
tolerate this abuse (see illustration on Part 1: http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/2/23/45389.html
(Clearwisdom.net)
Below are some accounts of persecution against Falun Dafa practitioners by
the following government offices in the Dandong area: the Political Laws
Committee, the "610 Office"(1), police departments, detention centers, police
stations, courts, the Procuratorate and other judicial systems.
Two Dandong City Falun Dafa Practitioners Die from Persecution: Mr. Liu Ming, 28, a Textile Manufacturing Plant Employee Mr. Wang Xidong, 25, a Television Manufacturing Plant Employee
On July 22, 1999, Mr. Liu and Mr. Wang went to Beijing to appeal for Falun
Gong and were arrested by policemen from the Dandong City Police Department.
They were subsequently taken to the Zhenxing District Fucun Police Station where
they were severely beaten by the Chief of Police and other policemen. At the
time, more than a dozen Falun Dafa practitioners were arrested, among whom Mr.
Liu Ming and Tang Yiqing were the most severely beaten. While the chief was in a
thundering rage, a glass frame displaying the words "responsibility of a chief"
fell from the wall to the floor, shattering the glass, and leaving the police
chief looking stunned. Nevertheless, he still would not listen to practitioners'
clarification of the truth about the persecution. Instead, he forced them to
read the notice regarding Falun Gong's status of being banned. About that time,
the chair in which he had been sitting suddenly fell over and broke, and he
tumbled to the floor. He found himself unable to get up and the expression on
the chief's face had changed to one of shock. Afterwards, he no longer scorned
or beat practitioners, but instead, asked them for the book Zhuan Falun.
In August 1999, Liu Ming and other practitioners were arrested for a second
time when they again went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong. Policemen from
the Dandong City Police Department and the Zhenxing District Police Branch
Department, along with Liu Yanan, an instructor from the Fucun Village Police
Station, went to Beijing and extradited Liu Ming and other Falun Dafa
practitioners back to Dandong City. It was midnight when they passed Zhuanghe
City in the Dalian area. Liu Ming and other practitioners decided to jump from
the vehicle in order to return to Beijing and complete their appeal for Falun
Gong. The practitioners who jumped from the car were Mr. Liu Ming, Mr. Wang
Xidong, Ms. Liu Jing, Ms. Wang Xuejie and Ms. Wang Xuemei, who was severely
injured in the jump. Liu Jing and Wang Xuejie were also severely injured and
rendered unconscious. The policemen in the car said that Liu Ming had died on
the spot due to the jump and that Wang Xidong had been sent to a hospital but
died because the hospital had been unable to resuscitate him. Consequently,
Instructor Liu Yanan was penalized for what happened, but he felt the penalty
was unjustified. He said that Liu Ming and Wang Xidong didn't die from jumping
from the car, but rather, were beaten to death. This case is still under
investigation.
Ms. Wang Xuemei, a Nurse at Dandong Hospital for Women and Children
In August 1999, Ms. Wang went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong. While
being extradited back home, she jumped from a car because she wanted to return
to Beijing and continue with her appeal. As a result she was severely injured
and sent back to her work unit for treatment. As soon as her condition improved,
she was taken to a mental hospital for further detention and persecution, and
her hands and feet were handcuffed and shackled for long periods of time. This
caused her great pain because her joints had become so stiff. In addition, they
also force-fed her some unhealthy and unknown substances. After a few months,
she began a hunger strike to protest the inhumane persecution. Because the
mental hospital was afraid to take responsibility when her condition became
critical, they notified Ms. Wang's work unit to pick her up. The police were
also afraid to take responsibility for her, so they sent Ms. Wang home. Later,
her work unit illegally terminated her. In August 2002, she was secretly
arrested by police from the Dandong City 1st Precinct Station, where
she was subsequently tortured to the point of being unable to walk.
Nevertheless, the Dandong "610 Office" and the court sentenced Ms. Wang to three
years in Masanjia Forced Labor Camp. Because Ms. Wang could not walk, several
policemen dragged her into the police car, but she was even more cruelly
persecuted at Masanjia Forced Labor Camp for remaining steadfast in Falun Dafa.
She was locked up in a small cell(2) for intensive monitoring and "discipline,"
where policemen and perpetrators cruelly tortured her. She was denied any
visitation from her family.
Mr. Lu Huizhong, 38, an Employee of the First Department Store in Dandong
City
In August 2000, Dandong City 1st Precinct Police arrested Lu
Huizhong while he was on the job with his work unit. He died the next day from
the cruel torture inflicted upon him by the policemen.
Lu Huizhong's head and face were blue and purple from bruising. The rest of
his body was covered with bruises and other wounds. His family requested an
autopsy, but the police wouldn't allow it, so they took his case to the
appropriate government agencies, but no one would investigate their case.
Receiving no response from any government agency, Lu's wife, who was not a Falun
Dafa practitioner, took their daughter with her and and made offerings to her
husband by burning paper money for the dead in front of the 1st
Precinct Station. She also told passers-by the truth about how Lu Huizhong had
been beaten to death. Some of them burst into tears upon hearing her story. Even
some people in the 1st Precinct Station who still had a conscience,
privately shed tears of sympathy and guilt for Lu Huizhong's wife and daughter.
Ms. Gao Yulan, an Employee of the Dandong Silk Fabrics Manufacturing Plant
On October 15, 2000, Dandong City 1st Precinct Police Chief Cao Yujia and
Deputy Chief Yu Deqing led a gang of policemen to ransack her home and take her
to the 1st Precinct Station, where she was interrogated under torture
for five days and nights before being sent to a detention center. She was
subsequently sentenced to five years at Dabei Prison in Shenyang City, where she
was further persecuted. She has since been transferred to the notorious Masanjia
Forced Labor Camp.
Mr. Tang Yiqing, Employee of a Manufacturing Facility within Fucun School, in
the Zhenxing District of Dandong City
After going to Beijing to appeal for justice for Falun Gong on July 22, 1999,
Mr. Tang was arrested by officers from the Fuzhen Police Station, where he was
illegally detained and violently beaten several times. On July 13, 2002, a
policeman from the Dandong 1st Precinct Station tricked Mr. Tang into
leaving his home by calling him and claiming to need TV repairs, after which he
went missing. After his family made many efforts to locate him, they learned
that he had been conned by the police into detention, and without any legal
procedure had been illegally sentenced to four years in Shenyang Dongling
Prison.
Mr. Tang Shiyu, 15, a Fucun Elementary School Student
Tang Xhiyu had had heart disease ever since he was very young. In 1995, a
hospital's medical prognosis was that he had only six months to live. Tang Xhiyu
began practicing Falun Gong in 1996. Through practicing the exercises and
studying the Fa, he gradually got better. He did so well that he was able to
attend school, where he excelled. In 1999, when the persecution against Falun
Dafa and practitioners began, Tang Shiyu, his father, Tang Yiqing and mother
stepped forward to validate Dafa. Dandong 1st Precinct Station
policemen took his mother away while she was working at the school. She was
later sent to the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp for two years. Due to the arrest
and sentencing of his parents, the young Mr. Tang suffered overwhelming
emotional stress and pain, eventually resulting in a flare up of the previous
heart disease that ultimately led to his death.
Ms. Pan Jing, a Dandong Television Manufacturing Plant Employee
After being arrested for going to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong, Ms. Pan
was extradited back to Dandong City. The policemen from the Yongchang Police
Station deceived her family into sending her to a mental hospital, where she was
persecuted. They strapped her hands and feet to a bed and brutally force-fed her
with drugs.
In 2002, she was arrested for explaining the facts of the persecution against
Falun Gong to people around her. The policemen in the 1st Precinct
Station tortured her during interrogation. She was deprived of sleep for ten
days and hung up(3) for three days, which took a heavy toll on her health. The
policemen wouldn't let her down so she could use a restroom or clean herself
when she was menstruating, so she could only discharge the menstrual flow on
herself and all over the floor while hung up. Because of such lengthy and
unimaginably inhumane treatment, she became emaciated and very weak. When she
fainted in a restroom, a prison doctor examined her and found that her blood
pressure had spiked as high as 200 (kPa)(4) while her pulse was very weak. When
she got to the point where she was barely breathing, the police were finally
willing to send her home on medical parole because they were afraid of bearing
the responsibility for her death. In September 2002, 1st Precinct
Police again arrested her and sent her to the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp for
three years. The Masanjia police cruelly tortured her for remaining steadfast in
the cultivation of Dafa. As a result, both of her legs are now crippled.
Mr. An Lixin, a Beijing Armored Infantry School Graduate and Teacher at
Dalian Army School
Mr. An went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong and was subsequently fired
from his position at the Dalian Army School. After returning to his hometown of
Dandong City in September 2002, Dandong police arrested him. He is currently
detained at Fushun Prison.
Mr. Hu Zhiqiang, Instructor in an Air Force 2nd Division Unit at
Dandong City
After Mr. Hu was fired from his post for going to Beijing to appeal for Falun
Gong, his family was eventually torn apart. To make a living, he opened an
Internet cafe, but was under constant surveillance and harassment by police from
the "610 Office" and the local police department. In November 2002, police from
these two offices arrested him and later sentenced him to two years in Benxi
City Forced Labor Camp.
Ms. Yu Xiangli, Engineer at a Dandong City Television Manufacturing Plant
On October 31, 1999, Dandong City practitioners validated Dafa by openly
holding group practice. As a result, Ms. Yu was arrested by the police and taken
to the Dandong Detention Center where she was eventually forced to give up her
belief. Ms. Yu solemnly and righteously explained to the police that she had not
violated any laws. When she also protested the unreasonable persecution, the
policemen beat her so severely that she lost consciousness. Then they said that
she was just putting on an act and "playing dead." As soon as she regained
consciousness, they resumed severely beating her and she again lost conscious.
On July 8, 2002, Cao Yujia and Yu Deqing, from the 1st Precinct
Station, led a gang of policemen to arrest Ms. Yu. After being tortured during
interrogation, she was sentenced to four years in the Masanjia Forced Labor
Camp.
Ms. Sheng Lixia, a Tax Bureau Employee in Dandong City
In May 2002, Ms. Sheng was forced to attend a brainwashing class held by the
Dandong "610 Office." Because she remained steadfast in practicing Falun Dafa,
the policemen shocked her with electric batons, resulting in severe burns around
the head and other areas of her body. She could not move her arms freely because
they were so mangled. In September 2002, not long after she returned home from
the brainwashing class, policemen from the 1st Precinct Station and
the "610 Office" again arrested her. She is currently detained at the Masanjia
Forced Labor Camp.
Ms. Liu Mei, Employee of the Paper Boxes for Aquatic Products Plant in
Donggang City (a County-level City within Dandong City)
At around 5:00 p.m. on April 9, 2002, after Ms Liu had just returned home
from work, Wang Runlong, from the Political Security Office in the Dandong City
Police Department, led a dozen policemen to enter and ransack her home. They
held Ms. Liu in the Donggang Detention Center. (Wan Runlong was formerly the
police chief at Hegou Village Police Station in Donggang City, where he was
promoted for his diligent efforts in persecuting Falun Gong, and then
transferred to the Dandong City Political Security Office.) Two days later, she
was being transported to the Dandong Detention Center, standing in shackles that
kept her from maintaining a stable position in the vehicle. It was a very bumpy
ride because the car was going too fast and there were no safety handles to
hold. Ms. Liu suddenly had a bout of motion sickness and vomited. Soon
afterwards, she passed out and was injured in the fall. At the Dandong Detention
Center, Ms. Liu was inhumanely tortured, which dramatically weakened her body so
much that she contracted tuberculosis. The policemen in the detention center did
not allow her family to visit her. Ms. Liu's mother, who was in her seventies,
went to visit her six or seven times but was never allowed to see her. On
November 4, 2002, the Dandong "610 Office" collaborated with the court to
illegally sentence Liu Mei to thirteen years in Shenyang Dabei Prison.
Mr. Zhu Changming, a College Graduate and Security Guard at a Manufacturing
Plant
On April 9, 2002, Wang Runlong, of the Political Security Office in the
Donggang City Police Department, led a dozen policemen to ransack Zhu
Changming's home. They arrested Mr. Zhu and took him to the Donggang City
Detention Center, where they tortured him during interrogation, handcuffed him
and hung him up for six days. On May 20, Mr. Zhu was illegally sentenced to
thirteen years in Shenyang City's Dabei Prison.
Ms. Song Guixiang, in Her Forties, a Yuanbao District Resident, in Dandong
City
After July 20, 1999, Ms. Song went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong and
was arrested by the Beijing police. Policemen from Dandong City extradited her
back to Dandong and detained her in the Dandong City Detention Center where they
brutally persecuted her. The detention center director, Xie Zhiying, made Ms.
Song wear a large rectangular shaped steel plate weighing several dozen
kilograms [over 100 lbs.]. Then Xie dragged Ms. Song out to put her on
display so she would be humiliated. Two iron chains were hooked to the lower end
of the steel plate, each of which had an iron ring at the other end. The
policemen put Ms. Song's ankles in the two rings and asked her to drag them
along as she walked. Two policemen stood at each side of her and held her arms
to force her to walk forward. They would beat her if she stopped walking. Not
long afterwards, the skin and tissue of her ankles had torn opened and the rings
had cut deeply into her raw ankles, which were bleeding all over the floor.
After putting her on display and making her walk around the prison, they
shackled Ms. Song's hands and feet together for six days. This cruel and painful
torture caused Ms. Song's joints to stiffen and her whole body became numb.
Because her hands and feet had been locked in a fixed position for such a long
time, Ms. Song's wounds on her feet became infected and eventually left huge
scars.
In November 1999, Ms. Song was sent to the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp, where
she continued to remain steadfast in her belief in Falun Dafa. The torture and
persecution didn't shake her belief in Falun Gong's principle of truthfulness,
compassion and tolerance. Two years later, on October 20, 2001, she openly
returned home with dignity from the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp, a notoriously
brutal labor camp. Unfortunately, on November 20, 2001, after having been home
for only twenty nine days, policemen from the Dandong City "610 Office" and
Dandong Police Department again arrested her and took her to a detention center.
Because Ms. Song was very determined, she practiced the Falun Gong exercises in
the detention center, a situation that culminated in her severe beating and
torture at the hands of the detention center director, Xie Zhiying and other
policemen. Xie Zhiying constructed a special device designed just for torturing
Ms. Song. The device made Ms. Song's hands and feet remain immobile in handcuffs
and shackles so the policemen could freely scorn, beat and torture her.
In December 2001, Ms Song was again sent to the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp
where she received even more severe persecution for remaining steadfast in
cultivating Falun Dafa. The policemen pulled her hands behind her back and
cuffed them to a bed or a heating pipe for long periods of time. She had no
choice but to eliminate in her pants, so she was constantly sitting in her own
urine and feces. One cannot imagine the suffering she endured from sitting on
the icy cold floor while soaked in urine and feces. The policemen sometimes
cuffed her to her bed for long periods of time, so she had to eliminate in her
pants and on the bed. To prevent her from practicing the exercises, they also
cuffed both her hands behind her back and tied them to her feet for several
days, causing excruciating pain. Because Ms. Song held a hunger strike to
protest the inhumane torture, the policemen force-fed her with garlic powder and
salt water to deliberately cause the already painful force-feeding to become
even more painful.
Other practitioners who remained steadfast in Dafa were force-fed with
pepper-water. Some were force-fed with two basins of half cooked corn meal,
which expanded in their stomachs, bloating them to the point that the
practitioners could not move. The policemen also created some signs with words
that were disrespectful to Teacher, and made the practitioners wear them hanging
on their bodies. The practitioners could not stand the policemen blaspheming
their great Teacher, so they shouted, "Falun Dafa is good!" The policemen then
bound, gagged, then brutally beat them. The police in the Masanjia Forced Labor
Camp made a special steel chair device(5) to torture Falun Dafa practitioners.
Whenever a practitioner was sent in for intensive discipline, the policemen
would cuff the practitioner to the chair. There were two rings on the back of
the iron chair. The policemen cuffed a Dafa practitioner's arms to the back of
the chair and shackled her legs to the chair legs. A steel plate was placed on
the practitioner's chest. After being put on the chair like that, the
practitioner was completely immobilized . Practitioners' hands and feet
developed blisters in the winter. Steadfast Falun Dafa practitioners were
tortured in this chair for long periods of time. Ms. Song was tortured to the
point that she could hardly breathe. Policemen called Ms. Song's family in the
middle of the night to bring money in exchange for her because they feared she
might soon die in the forced labor camp. After Ms. Song's family paid the 7,000
yuan(6) "deposit," the policemen let Ms. Song go. Because she had been cruelly
tortured for long periods of time and had been forced to sit on the concrete
floor, soaked in urine and feces for extended periods, her health was severely
impacted. While she was still in the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp, she had already
lost the ability to move her legs.
These are some of the persecution accounts of Dandong area Falun Dafa
practitioners that we were able to investigate and validate. Actually, the
suffering and pain endured by persecuted practitioners cannot be adequately
described in words. Other known persecution cases of Falun Dafa practitioners
are unable to be validated at this time. What we are exposing here is merely the
tip of the iceberg.
Some organizations and individuals in Dandong City that have persecuted Falun
Dafa practitioners: Some organizations and individuals in
Dandong City that have persecuted Falun Dafa practitioners:
(Clearwisdom.net)
1. Ms. Peng Kuifang, 40, is from Meixian Town, Pingjiang, Hunan Province. She
has suffered persecution because she is steadfast in practicing Falun Gong (Falun
Dafa). The Pingjiang Security Department abducted her and sent her back to
Pingjiang because she went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Dafa in November 1999.
Zhu Ting, head of the local police station, and another vicious police officer,
brutally beat her. Ms. Peng was illegally detained on seven occasions because of her persistence
in practicing Falun Gong and was fined 4,000 Yuan [500 Yuan is the average
monthly income for an urban worker in China]. Her home has been ransacked
many times. The local police and local government officials have often
intimidated her family, putting them under surveillance and forcing her husband
to promise to monitor Ms. Peng's every movement. Ms. Peng had no other option
but to leave home for several months. 2. Ms. Chen Xinglan is from Meixian Town, Pingjiang, Hunan Province. She was
detained for one month and fined 2,000 Yuan because she went to Beijing to
appeal for Dafa. She was regarded as a primary target for surveillance. Ms. Chen
was forcefully sent to the "brainwashing class" on two occasions. Her family was
harassed several times by the authorities.
3. Ms Wang Xuelian, 40, is from Meixian Town, Pingjiang, Hunan Province. She
was detained for one month, forcefully sent to the brainwashing class twice, and
fined 2,000 Yuan because she resolutely practices Falun Gong. While she was
detained, the local police station and the local government threatened and
intimidated her husband, saying they would demolish his house and sentence Wang
Xuelian to prison. Therefore, her family collected more than 2,000 Yuan and gave
it to the police department to secure her release.
4. Ms. Li Yuehua, 60, is from Meixian Town, Pingjiang, Hunan Province. Both
she and her husband were persecuted by being sent to the brainwashing class
three times. Their home was ransacked several times and their tape recorder,
video player, and CD player were confiscated. Furthermore, the local police
station detained the couple for two days and nights.
5. Ms. Zhong Dingxiang, 60, is from Meixian Town, Pingjiang, Hunan Province.
She has suffered persecution because she persistently practices Falun Dafa. The
local police detained her for two days and one night and extorted 1,600 Yuan
from her. She was forcefully sent to the brainwashing class twice. She is
frequently harassed and is considered by the authorities to be a so-called
"primary target of surveillance."
6. Mr. Shan Baipei, 57, is an employee of the Pingjiang Water Company. His
wife Sun Aixiang, 53, is an employee of the Pingjiang Bai Textile Company. Both
of them practice Falun Dafa. They have endured persecution many times since July
20, 1999. Their home was ransacked four times and they were fined 1,000 Yuan.
Mr. Shan Baipei was detained four times in the detention center and six times in
the Pingjiang Mental Hospital. Sun Aixiang was detained twice in the detention
center and twice in the mental hospital, all together for more than half a year.
She was also sentenced to forced labor reform for a year. However, the forced
labor camp refused to accept her due to "health reasons." Shan Baipei was
illegally detained in the detention center for a month because he went to
Beijing to appeal for Dafa. His work unit illegally removed him from the staff
roster, with a one-year probation. His salary was lowered by two pay levels. His
son was illegally prohibited from working for two months. In July 2000, their
home was ransacked a second time and the couple was detained for almost a month.
Their home was ransacked a third time in January 2001. The National Security
Section took Shan Baipei away and detained him in the detention center for two
months. His work unit stopped paying his salary for a year, and he was fined
1,000 Yuan. The National Security Section took his wife, Sun Aixiang, to the
national security office and brutally beat her. Because of being kicked, Ms. Sun
sustained injuries to her abdomen and severe bleeding from her anus. After being
detained in the detention center for five months, Ms. Sun was then sentenced to
forced labor reform for a year. Under Teacher's protection, she was refused
entry to the labor camp twice because she was "sick." The couple's home was
ransacked a fourth time in November 2003. Mr. Shan Baipei is still detained in
the detention center.
(Clearwisdom.net, February 26, 2004) On February 25, 2004, the U.S.
Department of State released its 2003 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.
The 150-page section on China's human rights said, "The Chinese government's
human rights record remained poor, as it continued to commit numerous and
serious abuses." According to the report, "The (Chinese) Government continued its
persecution of the Falun Gong spiritual movement, and thousands of practitioners
remained incarcerated in prisons, extrajudicial reeducation-through-labor camps,
and psychiatric facilities. Several hundred Falun Gong adherents reportedly have
died in detention due to torture, abuse, and neglect since the persecution of
Falun Gong began in 1999."
The U.S. Department of State pointed out in its human rights report, "The
People's Republic of China (PRC) is an authoritarian state in which, as directed
by the Constitution, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP or Party) is the paramount
source of power. Party members hold almost all top government, police, and
military positions. Ultimate authority rests with the 24-member political bureau
(Politburo) of the CCP and its 9-member standing committee. Leaders make a top
priority of maintaining stability and social order and were committed to
perpetuating the rule of the CCP and its hierarchy. Citizens lacked both the
freedom peacefully to express opposition to the Party-led political system and
the right to change their national leaders or form of government."
The report stated, "Although legal reforms continued, there was
backsliding on key human rights issues during the year 2003, including arrests
of individuals discussing sensitive subjects on the Internet, health activists,
labor protesters, defense lawyers, journalists, house church members, and others
seeking to take advantage of the space created by reforms."
The report said that the Chinese government's human rights abuses "included
instances of extrajudicial killings, torture and mistreatment of prisoners,
forced confessions, arbitrary arrest and detention, lengthy incommunicado
detention, and denial of due process."
According to the report, "The judiciary in China was not independent, and the
lack of due process remained a serious problem. Government pressure made it
difficult for Chinese lawyers to represent criminal defendants. A number of
attorneys were detained for representing their clients actively. During the
year, Beijing defense lawyer Zhang Jianzhong and Shanghai housing advocate Zheng
Enchong both were sentenced to multi-year prison terms in connection with their
defense of controversial clients. The authorities routinely violated legal
protections in the cases of political dissidents and religious figures. They
generally attached higher priority to suppressing political opposition and
maintaining public order than to enforcing legal norms or protecting individual
rights."
The report said, "The Government continued to wage a severe political,
propaganda, and police campaign against the Falun Gong movement. Since the
Government banned the Falun Gong in 1999, mere belief in the discipline, without
any outward manifestation of its tenets, has been sufficient grounds for
practitioners to receive punishments ranging from loss of employment to
imprisonment, and in many cases, to suffer torture and death. In many cases,
Falun Gong practitioners were subject to close scrutiny by local security
personnel, and their personal mobility was tightly restricted, particularly at
times when the Government believed public protests were likely." The report said, "Several hundred Falun Gong adherents reportedly have died in detention due to
torture, abuse, and neglect since the persecution of Falun Gong began in 1999. For example, Falun Gong groups alleged that more than 50 persons died in custody
in June through August, many from torture in detention camps."
According to the report, "Police often used excessive force when detaining
peaceful Falun Gong protesters, including some who were elderly or who were
accompanied by small children. During the year, there were further allegations
of abuse of Falun Gong practitioners by the police and other security personnel.
Since 1999, at least several hundred Falun Gong adherents reportedly have died
while in police custody. In December, Liu Chengjun, sentenced to 19 years in
prison in March 2002 for involvement in illegal Falun Gong television
broadcasts, was reportedly beaten to death by police in Jilin City Prison. In
February 2002, Chengdu University Associate Professor Zhang Chuansheng died in
prison after being arrested for his involvement with Falun Gong. Prison
authorities claimed he died of a heart attack, but witnesses who saw his body
claimed he had been severely beaten."
"Falun Gong practitioners continued their efforts to overcome government
attempts to restrict their right to free assembly, particularly in Beijing, says
the report. The Government initiated a comprehensive effort to round up
practitioners not already in custody and sanctioned the use of high-pressure
tactics and mandatory anti-Falun Gong study sessions to force practitioners to
renounce Falun Gong. Even practitioners who had not protested or made other
public demonstrations of belief reportedly were forced to attend anti-Falun Gong
classes or were sent directly to reeducation-through-labor camps, where in some
cases, beatings and torture reportedly were used to force them to recant."
"Authorities also detained foreign Falun Gong practitioners. For example, in
January, two Australian citizens were deported for engaging in Falun Gong
activities in Sichuan Province. In November 2001, more than 30 foreigners and
citizens resident abroad were detained in Beijing as they demonstrated in
support of the Falun Gong. They were expelled from the country; some credibly
reported being mistreated while in custody."
The report said, "The [Chinese] Constitution states that freedom of speech and
freedom of the press are fundamental rights to be enjoyed by all citizens;
however, the Government tightly restricted these rights in practice. The
Government's public orders, guidelines, and statutes greatly restricted the
freedom of broadcast journalists and newspapers to report the news and led to a
high degree of self-censorship. The Government continued an intense propaganda
campaign against the Falun Gong."
"The Government maintained tight restrictions on freedom of speech and of the
press," according to the report. "During the year, the Government blocked many websites,
increased regulations on Internet cafes, and pressured Internet companies to
pledge to censor objectionable content." "The Government continued to threaten,
arrest, and imprison persons exercising free speech."
According to the report, "China's Internet control system employed more than
30,000 persons and was allegedly the largest in the world. According to a 2002
Harvard University report, the Government blocked at least 19,000 sites during a
6-month period and may have blocked as many as 50,000. At times, the Government
blocked the sites of some major foreign news organizations, health
organizations, educational institutions, Taiwanese and Tibetan businesses and
organizations, religious and spiritual organizations, democracy activists, and
sites discussing the June 4 Tiananmen massacre. The number of blocked sites
appeared to increase around major political events and sensitive dates. The
authorities reportedly began to employ more sophisticated technology enabling
the selective blocking of specific content rather than entire websites in some
cases. Such technology was also used to block e-mails containing sensitive
content. Internet usage reportedly was monitored at all terminals in public
libraries."
The "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices" is produced annually by the
U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor and
submitted to Congress in compliance with the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. The complete report on China, which includes Hong Kong and Macau and an addendum
on Tibet, can be found online at:
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27768.htm
(Clearwisdom.net) Respectable Mr. Jean-Pierre LAFON, Greetings! I am a Chinese citizen. Even though I have never been to your country, I know
that France is home to many famous people including Napoleon and Balzac. It is
home to famous wine, and also home to the Eiffel Tower, the Musée du Louvre and
the Arc De Triomphe. Of course, I also know that France is home to the beautiful
French language that French people are so proud of. I have always considered France to be a very civilized country that embraces
Freedom, Equality, and Fellowship. However, around the Chinese New Year, when
the French government was promoting traditional Chinese culture, some appalling
things happened in Paris. Falun Gong practitioners from various countries were
arrested right on the Champs-Elysees, right under the Arc De Triomphe, right
there in Paris! What was the reason? It was just because they wore yellow
scarves imprinted with the words, "Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance." I
suppose you may also know that the basis of traditional Chinese culture is the
compassion promoted in the Buddha School, the concept of returning to one's true
self promoted in the Tao School and tolerance promoted in Confucianism. Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a mind-body cultivation method based
on the principles of Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance. Falun Gong originated
in traditional Chinese culture and has played an enormously positive role in
stabilizing society, improving people's health and elevating people's morality.
Falun Gong has spread to over 60 countries and regions and is being practiced by
people of different colors and ethnicities. Falun Gong books have been
translated into 30 languages and Falun Gong has received over a thousand
proclamations. In July 1999, former Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Jiang Zemin
single-handedly launched the persecution of Falun Gong, out of his greed to
control the minds of the Chinese people and his jealousy of the Falun Gong
founder. He uses the entire nation's apparatus to illegally detain, torture and
kill Falun Gong practitioners. According to the Falun Dafa Information Center,
since the persecution started in 1999, at least 870 Falun Gong practitioners
have been tortured to death. In October 2001, officials from the Chinese
government revealed that the death toll had well exceeded 1,600. Moreover, tens
of thousands of practitioners have been illegally detained, and over 100,000
practitioners have been sent to forced labor education. Totally disregarding the
call from international communities to end the persecution, Jiang's followers
keep escalating the persecution of Falun Gong in China, and extending the
persecution overseas. He attempts to change the general public's attitude
towards Falun Gong by spreading slanderous propaganda and stirring up hatred. In
doing so, he has directly damaged traditional Chinese culture. In the face of such brutal persecution, Falun Gong practitioners have been
using peaceful appeals to call upon the international communities to help end
the persecution. With their endless efforts during the past four years, they
have gained support from more and more countries, organizations and people. My wife and I are both Falun Gong practitioners. We were detained and beaten
and had our home ransacked many times because of our belief. As of now we are
still being monitored. At present, numerous practitioners are suffering torture
in Chinese forced labor camps, mental hospitals and detention centers. Falun
Gong practitioners and people with a sense of justice all over the world are
joining efforts to stop the human rights violations in China. However, at this
time, several people in the French government ordered the arrest of Falun Gong
practitioners, which was driven by economic interests. The arrests not only harm
Falun Gong practitioners, they also disgrace France. We deeply regret that such
an incident has stained the history of France. I believe you must also feel
upset about this incident. As a matter of fact, anyone who has a sense of
justice will feel the same way. Christianity was persecuted for three hundred years. Instead of collapsing,
it became more and more prosperous. The principles of Equality and Fellowship
promoted by Christianity have become the foundations of western societies. Evil
can never defeat righteousness. Those who ridiculed Christ have all become
clowns in history. We are not against any government. We are only against this persecution. We
only target those who participate in the persecution. We do not have any
political agenda. I hope that the French government can conduct a serious investigation of this
incident and reveal the truth to the world. I also hope they can apologize to
those practitioners who were treated unjustly, and take measures to make sure
similar incidents will never happen again. Every person with a sense of justice in the world will pay attention to this
incident. I would appreciate it if you could pass my thoughts on to the French
government. Thank you! A Falun Dafa practitioner in Beijing P.S. This letter will also be sent to other French institutions in China.
(Clearwisdom.net) Dear Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Bill Graham: We write to call for urgent help to rescue Canadian citizen, Qiu Qingqing's
younger sister, Ms. Qiu Yanyan, who is currently detained in Beijing Chaoyang
District Detention Center for practicing Falun Gong. On February 19, officers from Chaoyang District Police Substation, Beijing
took Ms. Qiu Yanyan away from her company. They then ransacked her home and
confiscated all of her Falun Gong books, video/audio tapes, computer and
passport.
Part 2: http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/2/24/45429.html
Part 3: http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/2/26/45356.html
The Persecution of Falun Dafa Practitioners in Dandong City, Liaoning Province
Country code 86; City code 415
Dandong City Mayor Jiang Zuoyong: 2139028, 2126041
Deputy Mayor Chen Mingyue: 2126903, 2123734
Chief of the Dandong City Police Department, Lin Lubo: 2125655 (operator)
Chief of the Dandong City 1st Precinct Station, Li Xueyi: 2103279
Dandong City 1st Precinct Station Deputy Chief Cao Yujia: 2103282
Dandong City 1st Precinct Station Deputy Chief Yu Deqing: 3153837
Secretary of the Dandong City Political Laws Committee, Wang Yizhi: 2164000,
2125851 (W), 2127550 (Fax)
Deputy Secretary of the Dandong City Political Laws Committee, Wu Huiming and
Liu Wenbo: 2123536
Main supervisors of the Dandong City "610 Office," Gao Ping and Zeng Wu: 2853955
(H)
Policemen of the 1st Precinct: Yu Guoqing, Sun Chengwei, Sun Honglie,
Chen Zhengkai
The Dandong City Detention Center: Xie Zhiying (former director); current
director, Guan Shihong
The Detention Center general number: 6134004
Policemen and goons in the Detention Center: Ma Guangbo, Wang Chunmei (currently
transferred to another detention center)
Dandong City Forced Labor Camp Director Sun Shuke: 4142335
Dandong City Forced Labor Camp Policemen: Hu Daming, Sun Diancheng, Liao Ping,
Hu Bin
Chief of the Dandong City Zhen Xing District Police Station, Yan Jinxiu: 3148301
Chief of the Dandong City Qidao Police Station, Dai Xingguo: 2183567
Director of the Dandong City Radio and TV Bureau, Guo Liansheng: 3142781
Cases of Persecution in Pingjiang, Hunan Province
Open Forum
U.S. State Department's "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices" Criticizes China for Backsliding on Human Rights
Letter from a Falun Dafa Practitioner in Beijing to the French Ambassador in China
Voices of Justice
Canada Branch of Global Mission to Rescue Persecuted Falun Gong Practitioners Writes to Minister of Foreign Affairs, Calls for Rescue of Ms. Qiu Yanyan (Photo)
Ms. Qiu, 33, graduated from Beijing University in 1992 and has good
command of German, English and Urdu. She was an outstanding student when she was
in Beijing University and was once class monitor. Before her arrest, she worked
in an export-import company in Beijing. Yanyan started practicing Falun Gong in
1998. She disciplines herself with Falun Dafa principles and seeks no fame or
self-interest. Many times, she refused to accept improper payments or bonuses,
while her professional competence and moral quality won general praise in her
company. Before her arrest, Yanyan was prepared to go to the U.S. on business.
Ms. Qiu Yanyan
The Canadian government has already helped to have at least 12 Canadian family members rescued. Four of them have come to Canada. Qiu Qingqing is seeking help from the Canadian government and the international community to rescue her sister, Yanyan.
Recently, the persecution of Falun Gong in China has been escalated. Practitioners from different areas have been arrested. It has been verified that nearly 900 Falun Gong practitioners have died from the persecution. In the recent few weeks, more than 20 Falun Gong practitioners died as a result of torture.
We call upon the Canadian government to immediately take action to help rescue Ms. Qiu Yanyan and other family members who are persecuted for their belief in Falun Gong.
Canada Branch of Global Mission to Rescue Persecuted Falun Gong Practitioners
February 21, 2004
CC: Canadian Ambassador in China, Mr. Joseph Caron
Related institutions of Mr. Qiu Yanyan's detention:
Beijing Chaoyang District Police Substation:
No. 1 Changying Town, Jia
Chaoyang District, Beijing
Phone: 86-10-65475604
Chaoyang substation of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Public Security,
Phone: 86-10-85953400,85953479,6502-4936,65521296
Fax: 86-10-85953415
Address: No. 1, Daojiayuan, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100025
Xiao Xingguo, Director and Secretary of Party Committee of the Chaoyang substation of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Public Security, Phone: 86-10-65094217
(Clearwisdom.net) Texas State Representative Jose Menendez presented a resolution in commendation of all those involved with the practice of Falun Dafa for modeling the highest level of human behavior and for working to foster the experience of peace and harmony.
State of Texas
Resolution
Whereas, Many Texans are among the millions worldwide who benefit from the Chinese practice of Falun Dafa; and
Whereas, Rooted in ancient oriental culture, Falun Dafa focuses on the principles of truth, compassion, and tolerance in daily life; a system of exercises and meditation, it was introduced publicly in China in 1992 and brought to the United States by founder Li Hongzhi in 1996; today, through the practice of Falun Dafa, individuals in more than 60 countries are enhancing their physical, mental, and spiritual well-being; and
Whereas, Since 1999, the government of the People's Republic of China has sought to stamp out Falun Dafa; its practitioners continue to respond nonviolently as they courageously preservere in the face of this oppression; at the same time, their contributions to an improved quality of life--by sharing the elements of Falun Dafa through seminars, workshops, and classes--have been recognized by communities around the globe; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That all those involved with the practice of Falun Dafa be commended for modeling the highest level of human behavior and for working to foster the experience of peace and harmony, and that they be extended sincere best wishes for continued success in the years ahead.
Jose Menendez
State Representative
District 124
(Clearwisdm.net) In a recent sharing with fellow practitioners, there were new understandings regarding the mission of practitioners during the period of Fa-rectification: Do practitioners in the Fa-rectification period still consider the elevation of themselves the first priority? During the Fa-rectification period, is the fundamental aim reaching consummation? What is the actual mission?
The first words from many fellow practitioners were that they were explaining the facts of the persecution of Falun Dafa to the people. Some fellow practitioners even stayed home because of the appearance of undesirable conditions, racking their brains, searching for their attachments, and even went about requesting fellow practitioners for assistance in looking for their attachments, and have become completely bogged down in a distorted form of attachment in their search for their own attachments. The practitioners who were in detention had the idea of gaining release by going on hunger strikes, and to gain release was their greatest victory. Those practitioners outside were sending forth righteous thoughts to assist in their release, but in fact those who were actually released openly and aboveboard were few in number. Where were the problems? Quite a number of practitioners were in a daze as they had developed doubts about their righteous thoughts.
It's my belief that this state of affairs is directly related to practitioners' basic misunderstanding about their mission in the Fa-rectification period. Our mission is to validate Dafa, and in the process of "purifying" ourselves, to save sentient beings. We "purify" ourselves further during the salvation of sentient beings.
Prior to July 20, 1999, genuine Dafa practitioners were able to strictly control themselves no matter what environment they were in. Therefore, present Dafa practitioners must be able to consider, regardless of their environment that they have arrived in an environment to validate the Fa and save sentient beings. Even if it is a detention center, a forced labor camp or prison, we must never forget to validate the Fa and save the lives of sentient beings. When we fight for early release, it is so we can validate Dafa in a more extensive environment to save even more sentient beings, but for every day that we are detained, we must still carry on the validation of the Fa, to carry out our responsibility within, and not have the weak and helpless mentality of everyday people when facing the persecution.
The evil elements have no place overseas, and within China they are also being extensively eliminated. The evil elements are now concentrated in the forced labor camps and prisons. They have linked up with the "610 Office"* in their struggle for their lives and their last resort is to force steadfast practitioners who are validating the Fa, into the prisons for persecution. They are really depending on this way to preserve themselves, as recently there has been an increase of sentencing (mainly severe sentences) of Dafa practitioners. The crux of it is how can Dafa practitioners eradicate the plans and arrangements of these evil elements.
As some practitioners were not careful and were arrested, there will be some people who will think: He did not do well, or those arrested may also think: I may have a loophole somewhere. Following that, they would think about ways like going on a hunger strike to gain release, and that has caused many practitioners to endanger their own lives, with the losses outweighing the gains. Then, why can't they rise to a higher level and become true Fa-rectification period disciples and fulfill their own mission? Being in custody, I will rectify the Fa and eliminate the last arrangements of the evil, and to provide salvation for the people there (including the inmates and police), to save their lives, and even for those who are beyond redemption by sending forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil factors behind them. They have "hired henchmen" monitor Dafa practitioners. That is the time for Dafa practitioners to save the hired henchmen, to speak to them, and be merged with them. With everyone thinking about that, it is not only in the environment outside that the Fa can be validated, but it can also be done within. By coordinating inside and outside validation, the evil will have nowhere to hide. By not being restricted in the narrow and fixed range of Fa-rectification, it will be as Teacher said:
"If a cultivator can let go of the thought of life and death under any circumstances, evil is bound to be afraid of him. If every practitioner is able to do this, evil will of itself no longer exist." (From "Eliminate Your Last Attachment(s)" in Essentials for Further Advancement II)
At present many fellow practitioners have the fear in their mind of not being able to endure if they get arrested. They are afraid that once they are arrested, they think the evil will utilize this fear to create and implement their persecution. If each Dafa practitioner would put their mission in their hearts, and discard their attachments in that most evil location, and complete the mission of Fa-rectification period practitioners, to validate the Fa, and eliminate the evil, their fears will self-destruct. Teacher said:
"If you are not afraid, the factor that would make you afraid will become non-existent." (From "Eliminate Your Last Attachment(s)" in Essentials for Further Advancement II)
If the detained practitioners, having realized this principle, give up the attachment of going on hunger strikes just to get out or avoid being brainwashed into renouncing their belief (hidden self-protection concept), validate the Fa in that most evil of locations, eliminate the evil in other dimensions in the places where the evil congregates, then the whole situation in China will change. Practitioners will reverse the situation instead of being victimized. Falun Dafa practitioners are clarifying the truth of the persecution, and while validating the Fa they should not be in extreme fear, but instead be composed in their behavior. Because out there, they are all Fa-rectification practitioners, they are all concentrating on eliminating the evil, rectifying the environment and saving sentient beings. This will thus destroy the last remaining defense of the evil.
(Clearwisdom.net) Jiang's followers are afraid of all the methods we use to clarify the truth and validate Dafa, yet a strange phenomenon has occurred in mainland China Dafa practitioners' Fa validation: many detained Dafa practitioners were released unconditionally after truth clarifying efforts involving calling and distributing flyers; however, the authorities rampantly arrested practitioners after the powerful truth clarification through TV broadcasting.
Why is there such a big difference if both methods are for clarifying the truth?
I think it is due to the following reasons:
In light of the three reasons listed above, if TV broadcasting can aim to expose more local persecutions, then not only will the truth clarifying result be better, but we can reduce the ability of the evil to persecute practitioner's without restraint. The process of clarifying the truth is also a process of eliminating the evil in other dimensions, and Jiang's group will not be able to respond if this evil is eliminated.
Above is only my personal point of view for reference.
(Clearwisdom.net) In my experience, studying the Fa and memorizing the Fa have a different effect. When I recite Zhuan Falun from memory, sometimes a sentence in the book seems to be new to me or gives me a different feeling. I would like to talk about one of the reasons that cause this to happen. When we study the Fa, if we don't quiet our minds or if our minds wander off because we are interfered with by thought karma, we are therefore neither able to assimilate to the Fa in a certain aspect nor eliminate the karma. Then, the next time we read that sentence the thought karma will again interfere with us to prevent us from assimilating to the Fa regarding the specific aspects contained in that sentence. Even if we try our best to eliminate the interference, it would still be hard for us to fully concentrate on Fa-study. Yet, memorizing the Fa is different. If you don't focus your mind on the Fa, you won't be able to recite it. When you quiet your mind you can quickly memorize the Fa and the effect is good too. One will often get the opposite result if one's mind is in a hurry to memorize it.
Studying the Fa also requires perseverance in order to constantly eliminate interference and calm our minds. Only when we do so can we assimilate into the Fa with all our hearts and as one body.
BREAKING NEWS February 26, 2004
A SYDNEY woman today said her Falun Gong-practising sister had been abducted in
China after trying to get a visa to visit Australia.
Lisa Liang said her 36-year-old sister Tang Yiwen was abducted on Monday in
Guangzhou City, in the Chinese province of Guangdong, after refusing to give up
Falun Gong.
The spiritual movement is outlawed in China.
"(My sister) applied for a passport from Guangzhou police on Monday," Ms Liang
said today.
"She was told it was the policy of Guangdong Province that Falun Gong
practitioners are not allowed to leave China."
Ms Liang, who also practises Falun Gong, said she was concerned for Ms Tang, who
had been released in August last year after a three-year detention in a women's
labour camp in Guangzhou City.
The Australian woman said her sister had been tortured during her time in the
camp.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,8796544%255E1702,00.html
(Clearwisdom.net) The Lantern Show at the 2004 Taiwan Lantern Festival began on February 5, 2004 in Banqiao City, Taipei County. As the Taipei County government estimated, nearly four million people from across Taiwan visited the lantern festival during the eleven days. Falun Gong practitioners once again held activities during the lantern show to introduce Falun Dafa to let more people learn about Falun Dafa.
It had been raining for days, but the rain quietly stopped at noon of February 5, the very day of the Lantern Festival. The lantern show officially began. A large number of people poured into the site. At every entrance, people could see banners imprinted with words,"Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance," and Falun Gong practitioners who were introducing Falun Gong to people passing by and demonstrating the Falun Gong exercises. Those who wanted to learn about Falun Gong would walk up to practitioners to ask for details and requested an introductory leaflet for reference. There were also many visitors from the Mainland; Falun Gong's Fa-promoting activity allowed them to experience that Falun Gong is well received overseas.
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| Balloons with words "Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance" can be seen everywhere | Performing the exercises at the entrance to the lantern show |
Among products being selected from the Lantern Making Contest, there was a blue scarf embroidered with words "Falun Dafa, Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance." It was displayed at a conspicuous place at the first row of the exhibition section. Everybody passing by was attracted and spontaneously read the words, "Falun Dafa, Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance."
Balloons imprinted with words "Falun Dafa is good, the world needs 'Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance'" were well received and could be seen everywhere at the site. Many people came to request them, and practitioners would always say, "Please remember Falun Dafa is good!" Some people would respond "Falun Dafa is good," "Falun Dafa is really good." One practitioner's colleague said, "Falun Dafa is so good, we have two balloons with words 'Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance' at home!"
Four to five students listened to our explanation about the persecution imposed upon Falun Gong practitioners in the Mainland, and then one of them said, "I know, I have watched a Falun Gong documentary on TV." When the practitioner gave him a truth-clarifying VCD, the student said, "Please give me some more, I want to share with other classmates." Another time, a van loaded with nine people stopped in front of our practice site. Practitioners walked up to give them some leaflets and explain to them the persecution of Falun Gong. After they understood what we were trying to explain to them, they also wanted us to give them more truth-clarifying VCDs, so they could help distribute to other people.
One person expressed that he had watched a Dafa program on TV, but he still couldn't understand why Jiang's group persecutes Falun Gong so severely. Practitioners explained to him, "Because there were many people practicing Falun Gong, in a few years, more than 100 million people in the Mainland practiced Falun Gong. Jiang's group was afraid to lose power and out of their jealousy, they launched the persecution. Falun Gong books explicitly tell Falun Dafa practitioners to take the xinxing [mind or heart nature, moral character] cultivation as fundamental, take lightly fame and profit, absolutely do not get involved in politics, let alone participate in any political dispute and activities." After the practitioners' explanation, he understood, and asked earnestly, "Can you help me find a practice site near my home? I want to learn to practice it!"
The lantern show concluded in a lively atmosphere. Falun Gong practitioners' activities received warm response from the public, at least one hundred thousand people accepted Falun Gong leaflets and truth-clarifying materials.
(Clearwisdom.net) On February 22, 2004 Falun Gong practitioners held a concert at the famous Taiwan Chung Hwa Flower Expo. They performed twice: on the stage in the "Flower Theme Park" and in the pavilion of "Taiwan Garden Park." Many people watched the performances.
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| Passing out truth-clarifying VCDs | Dance "Light of Fa Coming from the Sky" | Many visitors are watching the performance |
On the stage, practitioners performed the songs "Coming for You," the dance, "Light of Fa coming from the Sky" and the ancient Chinese Zither. One mother saw practitioners in Tang dynasty costumes and said they looked like angels from heaven.
In the pavilion, practitioners performed on the traditional Chinese music instruments "Erhu" and "Xiao" (like a flute). Many passersby stopped, listened, and took the truth-clarifying VCDs and music CDs. Practitioners also passed out colorful balloons to children. Soon, people could see colorful balloons imprinted with, "Falun Dafa is good" everywhere in the expo.
The practitioners volunteered to perform at the expo. They wanted to use music to let people see the beauty of Falun Dafa. One practitioner said, "These music CDs are valuable gifts. They will let people learn the truth of Falun Gong and counter the lies spread by China's State-controlled media."
(Clearwisdom.net)
1. [Maoming City, Guangdong Province] Practitioner Ms. Lu Shaoqing Is Tortured and Her Life Is in Great Danger
Ms. Lu Shaoqing was detained at the "Maoming Law School," which is actually a brainwashing center. While she was detained she could drink water but was not able to eat food. Other practitioners asked the police to send her to the hospital, but they didn't pay any attention to the request. As time went on, her condition got worse and worse, and she felt that she was dying. Due to the strong demands from other detained practitioners the police sent her to the hospital. On that night the guard took her clothes away. The guard supervisor told all the guards to keep it a secret. Ms. Lu Shaoqing's current condition is unclear, and no one knows her whereabouts.
2. [Yanji City, Jilin Province] Practitioner Ms. Rui Kelong, Her Son, and Her Daughter-in-Law Are Arrested
On January 23, 2004, the second day after the Spring Festival, Ms. Rui Kelong, her son Jiang Kaiyu, and her daughter-in-law Wang Na, were arrested at their home. Their home was ransacked. Now they are detained at the detention center of Yanji City. It was reported that Ms. Rui Kelong was on a hunger strike. The details are under investigation.
3. [Wuhan City, Hubei Province] Practitioner Mr. Hong Weisheng Is Cruelly Tortured at the Qinduankou Prison
When Mr. Hong Weisheng was sentenced to prison, he was first detained at the Qinglin Detention Center of Wuchang City in Hubei Province. He was then transferred to Qinduankou Prison. There he was tortured constantly in various ways by policemen and criminals. He was sent to hospital twice. In the first half of 2003 he suffered from appendicitis. The police didn't send him to the hospital in time, which caused a perforated appendix, peritonitis, and abdominal festering. The delay almost cost him his life. In the summer of 2003 the police tortured him to try to force him give up his belief in Falun Dafa. They tried to force him to write the so-called "Three Statements" [Practitioners are coerced under brainwashing and torture to write these as proof that they have given up their belief. Created by the "610 Office," the three statements consist of a letter of repentance, a guarantee to never again practice Falun Gong, and a list of names and addresses of all family members, friends and acquaintances who are practitioners]. Mr. Hong was forced to jump off the prison building, causing him to become paralyzed over half of his body. Then he was detained in the hospital of the Qinduankou Prison. But the police lied, saying that Mr. Hong was released on bail for medication. With such a serious condition Mr. Hong should have been allowed to take medication on bail, but the Prison still detained Mr. Hong at the prison hospital.
4. [Wuhan City, Hubei Province] Practitioners Detained at Qinduankou Prison Resist the Persecution with Righteous Thoughts
In early December 2003 the Qinduankou Prison of Wuhan City held a meeting to defame Falun Gong. All detained practitioners at the ninth brigade began resisting the defamation. The practitioners rushed up to the podium during the meeting to stop the police and criminals from defaming Falun Dafa. They shouted out loud "Falun Dafa is great!" The practitioners' efforts broke up the meeting. Afterwards all the practitioners in the ninth brigade were placed in confinement or put in the guardhouse. The policemen even put handcuffs and shackles on them.
Practitioners known to be detained at the Qinduankou Prison are listed below:
Mr. Shi Lei, in the seventeenth brigade
Mr. Zhou Xiaojun, in the fifth brigade
Mr. Yuan Qing, in the ninth brigade
Mr. Hong Weisheng, in the third brigade (Now Mr. Hong is detained at the Prison
Hospital.)
Mr. Feng Zhen, unknown.
5. [Liaoning Province] Practitioner Ms. Sun Yanli Has Not Been Released From the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp After Her Term Expired
Practitioner Ms. Sun Yanli has been detained at the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp for over two years. Her term expired on January 7, 2004, but she is still being detained because she refuses to give up the practice.
6. [Tangshan City, Hebei Province] Hehuakeng Forced Labor Camp Police Instigate Criminals to Brutally Beat Practitioners
Hehuakeng Forced Labor Camp has formed a so-called "Special-Force Team," which is actually a torturing team, to persecute Falun Gong practitioners. The police on that team instigate criminals to arbitrarily beat practitioners. For example, from December 2003 to January 2004 policeman Li Xiaozhong instigated criminal Feng Lianxin to beat practitioner Mr. Yin Longzhi and Mr. Zheng Hongbo many times. Li Xiaozhong himself just looked on during the torture. Mr. Zheng Hongbo's lower back was seriously injured. Mr. Yin Longzhi's teeth were knocked loose, and he had muscle spasms all over his body.
7. [Shulan City, Jilin Province] Shulan Practitioners Validate Dafa on the Chinese New Year's Eve
On the 2004 Chinese New Year's Eve the practitioners of Shulan City hung over 200 truth-clarifying banners all over Shulan City. "Falun Dafa is Good!", "Falun Dafa is the Righteous Fa!", "The World Needs 'Truth-Compassion-Tolerance'", and "Bring Jiang to Trial All Over the World!" were printed on the banners. Due to the practitioners' strong righteous thoughts and protection from Teacher all the practitioners who participated in the action returned safely.
8. [Qingyuan County, Liaoning Province] Practitioner Describes the Persecution She Suffered
I am a female Dafa practitioner. In Dec. 2000 I went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong. I was arrested and sent back to the Dashagou Detention Center of Qingyuan County. A policewoman searched me and confiscated my Falun badge. After I was released, the mining company I worked for sent someone to my home to tell me that the company had decided to deprive me of my whole year's salary, 3,000 Yuan [500 Yuan is the average monthly income for an urban worker in China.]. Without any income I had to make my living by gathering and selling waste materials.
At noon on January 13, 2003, when another practitioner and I went to Cangshixi village to clarify the truth to the people there, we were reported to the police. The supervisor of the village and the police were waiting for us when we crossed the ice-covered river. They pushed us into a car, then sent us to the police station.
In the police station Mu Shanxiang searched me while condemning us. Zhang Zhongqi, the supervisor of the police station broke into my home with a few other policemen. They searched my home and confiscated my audio recorder, tapes, Falun Gong books, Master's picture, incense, and money. Then they sent us to the Dashagou Detention Center of Qingyuan County. We were again searched there. They told us we would be detained for 15 days. When we were released 15 days later the town government fined me 3,500 Yuan. Once I was back home, I discovered there was nothing left of my belongings.
(Clearwisdom.net)
I was fortunate to obtain Falun Dafa in 1995. I became free of sicknesses after I started practicing, and learned the meaning of life from studying the Fa. Since July 20th of 1999, Jiang's group has persecuted Falun Gong rampantly. They arrested us just because we wouldn't renounce our practice. They used all sorts of indecent methods to forcefully brainwash us. I was unable to bear the torture and beating and wrote the "Guarantee Statement." For the last few years, this "Guarantee Statement" has been painful in my heart, making me unable to face Teacher and Dafa. I had damaged Dafa. Our compassionate Teacher told us in Explaining the Fa During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference, "If you trip and fall, and just keep lying there instead of getting up, then that's no good." I have to seize this opportunity to refuse the old forces' arrangements. I hereby declare: all the "Guarantee Statements" that I wrote before are null and void. I will seriously study the Fa, let go of my human notions, do the three things (study Fa, send forth righteous thoughts, clarify the truth) well, and redouble my effort to compensate for the damage I've caused to Dafa, and become a qualified practitioner.
Statement by: Feng Yulan, February 5th, 2004
http://www.minghui.ca/mh/articles/2004/2/13/67354.html
Solemn Declaration
In March of 2003, the company security guards, factory manager and unit leader forcefully took me away to the detention center while I was working. They illegally detained me for 15 days. Then, they took me back to the factory's office. They spent a lot of time lying and forcing me to write the "Guarantee Statement." My human heart surfaced. I could not shower for half a month while I was in jail as I really wanted to. When that thought came out, I felt extremely itchy all over my body. With the urge to shower, I signed my name, succumbing to my human notion and desire. I said to them, "I want to warn you that my signature is good for only 3 days. It will be null after 3 days. I will go to Beijing to appeal because the law permits this. I will go when I feel like it, and I will practice in public when I feel like it. And I can visit anyone I wish." They said in a hurry, "Sure." Later, I felt extremely upset. How come I didn't place Dafa first at the key moment. I was bargaining with the evils for some personal gain. This was selfish. The Fa is solemn. I know that as a practitioner, I shouldn't have done that. In August of the same year, the company received orders from higher up to arrest and put the practitioners into drug rehab facilities for brainwashing. So, they illegally arrested me again. With the lesson from the previous incident, I saw through their wicked purposes from the standpoint of the Fa. Nothing could move my steadfastness toward Dafa. With Teacher's hints, I walked out of the brainwashing class in an open and dignified manner. Although, I told them that the Guarantee Statement is null and void, Dafa is serious, so, I hereby declare: all the things that I've done inside the evil environment against Dafa are null and void. I will follow Teacher's requirement, do the three things (study Fa, send forth righteous thoughts, clarify the truth) well, and practice to the end from within my real nature.
Practitioner Zhang Chunxiang
February 9th, 2004
http://www.minghui.ca/mh/articles/2004/2/14/67419.html
(Clearwisdom.net) A "solemn declaration" is a person's public statement declaring to the world that whatever he or she has done or said under duress or deception that was against Falun Dafa is null and void. Most of these statements have come from Falun Dafa practitioners in China who wished to express regret that, in the face of physical torture and brainwashing, they had signed documents renouncing Dafa and guaranteeing not to practice again. Also, as more and more people in China learn the truth about how they have been deceived and lied to by the Jiang regime, many non-practitioners are also submitting "solemn declarations."
Here are some examples of the Solemn Declarations:
Please click here for more Solemn Declarations.
(Clearwisdom.net)
Facts of the Persecution
Falun Dafa practitioners who are now detained in Guilin City Prison are Mr. Chen Zhiguang, Mr. Ou Jinman, Mr. Li Jun, Mr. Wu Zhijun, Mr. Huang Tenghui, Mr. Wei Feng, and Mr. Zheng Yuanhu. Guards specially established a "small magazine room" to use for torture of Falun Dafa practitioners. They brought in two practitioners, and designated four prisoners to watch one practitioner. They forced practitioners to get up daily at 4 a.m. and squat in a circle; they were not allowed to sleep. If anything did not meet the guards' approval, they would beat or kick practitioners. Some practitioners went on hunger strike, and were force-fed. Guards would not take out the rubber tubes after force-feeding. They taped the tubes to practitioners' foreheads. If practitioners moved one bit, they would be in a great deal of pain.
On January 29, 2004, while many were enjoying the Spring Festival holiday season, in team no. 6 of the Hehuakeng Labor Camp in Tangshan City, Team Leader Li Weihua (male), Ai Zhenmin (male), and four other guards inhumanely tortured Falun Dafa practitioner Mr. Liu Jianbo with the excuse that he was "exercising and therefore violating camp regulations." They used a torture method called "tightening the rope(1)" on him six times, which left Mr. Liu immobile.
On December 22, 2003, at 6 a.m., 79-year-old Falun Dafa practitioner, Mr. Shi Peisheng, was abducted by police while posting banners that said "Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance," and "Falun Dafa is good!" Police ransacked his home. This was the fourth time police ransacked his home since 1999. Police harassed him for 12 hours, and he clarified the truth of the persecution to them the whole time. Then they allowed the elderly man to go home.
In order to persecute Falun Dafa practitioners, guards in the Tangshan City No.1 Detention Center incited the regular prisoners to hate the practitioners. The authorities punished a whole room full of prisoners if even one practitioner practiced the Falun Dafa exercises. For example they forced the prisoners who never sat in meditation to sit in the lotus position, which was very painful and caused the regular prisoners lower back pain, leg pain, and nausea. Falun Dafa practitioner, Ms. Li Shufang, went on hunger strike to protest. Guards put her on the "iron chair," (2) and stuck the thickest feeding tube in her stomach, without taking it out. Guards force-fed her daily, but did not unlock her handcuffs, so that she had to urinate in her pants.
The police in the political security office in Huadian City, Jilin Province created an atmosphere of terror in the camp to assist in torturing Falun Dafa practitioners. In the beginning of June, 2002, eight Falun Dafa practitioners, Ms. Wang Xiuyun (who has since been tortured to death), Ms. Shao Ling, Ms. Ban Huijuan, Ms. Xu Guijun, Ms. Yu Cuifan, Ms. Wei Shuhua, Mr. Wang Xiaohu, and Mr. Chen Congyu, were beaten up, shocked with electric batons, put on "tiger bench" (3) etc. Police also hung up practitioners with their hands cuffed behind their backs (4) or cuffed practitioners' four limbs on the four corners of a bed without allowing them to use the toilet. Police stuffed dirty rags into practitioners' mouths. Falun Dafa practitioner, Ms. Wang Xiuyun was tortured to the point where her life was in danger, and indeed, later she died after being sent to a detention center.
My name is Zhang Xuejie (male), and I am a resident of Baishan City, Jilin Province. I was detained by police from Fusong County and Yangquan Town many times just because I practice Falun Dafa, and went to appeal to clarify the truth. My family members were beaten up as well. The Political Security Office Chair Zhang Aimin (male) from the Fusong County Police Station extorted 15,000 yuan (5) from my family. We had to become destitute and homeless in order to avoid being wrongfully arrested at home; otherwise, police would harass us non-stop.
The following is an excerpt from an "Appeal Letter from Jilin Prison": My name is Wang Guiming (male), and I am a resident of Tonghua City, Jilin Province. I was arrested without cause just because I practiced Falun Dafa, and told people the benefits of Falun Dafa. I was inhumanely tortured in a police station, and then sent to the Tonghua Detention Center. Guards encouraged prisoners to beat me up there. Later, I was sentenced to a 5-year term in Jilin Prison. My actions never violated the law, all I did was speak out about my own personal experiences, according to my rights as a law-abiding citizen. Thus, I am innocent, and am being persecuted without reason.
Facts Surrounding the Persecution of Falun Dafa Practitioners in Donggang City, Liaoning Province
Falun Dafa practitioner, Mr. Song Jiwei, was abducted, illegally detained, sent to labor camp, and had money extorted from him multiple times. Guard Hu Daming in Dandong City Labor Camp acted as Jiang's accomplice in the persecution by forcing Song to carry 40-50 kg. bricks while running up and down the stairs in the hot summer. Hu also exposed Song under the baking hot sun for long periods, and shocked his eyes, ears, hands, the bottom of his feet, and his penis with an electric baton. After three hours of torture, Song's head was covered with blood, and he was then locked in a metal cage. Mr. Song has now been transferred to the Benxi Labor Camp. In the Dandong City Labor Camp, Guards also suspended him in the air and beat him, and tortured him with a torture method known as "five horses splitting the body," (6) etc. Guards also stripped his clothes off and injured his genitals.
Falun Dafa practitioner, Mr. Wang Changlong, was arrested because he went to appeal. Guards ordered prisoners to beat him up in the detention center, and lock him in a small cell. Guards in the labor camp were even worse. They secretly took him into a storage house, then stripped him, beat him up, and tortured him with electric batons for several hours.
On September 9, 1999, Falun Dafa practitioner, Wang Shengtang, from Gushan Town was lured to the police station under false pretenses, and was released upon his family members' request. In July, 2001, police officer Wang Yunlong and his henchmen stormed in Mr. Wang Shengtang's home by climbing a wall. They ransacked his house, arrested him and detained him for more than 15 days. Under such attacks, Mr. Wang Shengtang's previous illness relapsed, and he is now very ill.
(Clearwisdom.net)
Facts of Persecution
After July 20, 1999 Dafa practitioner Mr. Lu Shengyun went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Dafa and was arrested. In December, 1999 he was taken back to the detention center at Shuangliu County, Chengdu City, Sichuan Province for four months detention without due process. He was tortured until he was on the verge of death. In April, 2000 he was released, as he was found innocent. However, before he reached home, the Xinxing Town, Shuangliu County government officials abducted him and confined him at a furniture factory which was referred to as the "local forced labor camp" (a privately established forced labor camp). He was tormented there for a year before being released. In July, 2001 Mr. Lu went to Jianyang County to visit friends and was again arrested and detained at the Jianyang Police Station, and was tortured to force him to confess. The beatings he received left him hovering between life and death, as he sustained severe internal injuries.
On December 12, 2003 Dafa practitioner Mr. Kang Yi from Zhonghe Town was arrested, and a confession was extracted from him using torture. Several of his ribs were broken.
Dafa practitioner Ms. Zhao Huiju from Lushan County, Henan Province was abducted after she distributed flyers exposing the fabricated self-immolation at Tiananmen Square. The flyers also exposed the deaths of Dafa practitioners detained at police stations, jails, and forced labor camps. She was detained for three months without any legal due process. She had recovered from a heart illness and high blood pressure after practicing Falun Gong, but after she was detained the illnesses recurred. Though the Lushan County law court knew, from evidence presented at the Second Court in that city, that she had a serious medical condition, the court still sentenced her to five years in prison, which was inconsistent with the law.
At around 8:00 p.m. on January 2, 2004 Dafa practitioner Ms. Liu Meishuang, who had left home to avoid being persecuted, was arrested. The next day, without any due process of law, she was sent for detention to the Zhuzhou Baimalong Women's Forced Labor Camp in Hunan Province.
Dafa practitioners Ms. Kou Jinqin and Ms. Zeng Yan from Ziyun County, Guizhou Province were abducted and detained at the police station for two months. Zeng Yan is a teacher in a school in that county. Her husband, Wei Xinzhi, is also a Dafa practitioner. He was detained at the Guizhou Zhongba Forced Labor Camp and suffered from severe torture. They have two young children at home without anyone to care for them.
On December 13, 2003 Dafa practitioner Ms. Wang Yuli from Guiyang was abducted from her home by the police from the Guiyang Weiqing Police Station and officers of the Weiqing "610 Office."* She was sent to the Guiyang Lannigou brainwashing center and persecuted.
On January 14, 2004 Dafa practitioner Ms. Sun Yuhua from Heilongjiang Province was abducted from the courtyard of her residential block by the police of the Hulan Public Security Department and detained at the Hulan Second Detention Center. Her daughter Zhang Hui, 18, was also abducted by the Public Security Department. Her whereabouts are unknown. The father of Zhang Hui, Dafa practitioner Zhang Qingsheng, was abducted in November, 2003 when he was clarifying the facts.
On January 8, 2004 Dafa practitioner Mr. Wang Bingren from Jiaogezhuang Village, Zhaocheng Town, Zhaoyuan City, Shandong Province was again arrested when he reported the true situation of Falun Dafa and exposed the crimes of the "610 Office" to Liu Weiqun, the Secretary of the City Committee. He was ruthlessly persecuted. At present, he is detained at the brainwashing center. He went on a hunger strike for a few days to protest the persecution at the center. He was savagely force-fed daily and none of his family members were allowed to visit him. It is reported that he is in poor health due to the mistreatment.
Zhang Wenbin, the principal of the secondary school at Maoduzhan Town, Ningjiang Region, Songyuan City, persecutes Dafa practitioners. He forced teacher Wang Xiaoxin, who was a model teacher, to be leave home to avoid being persecuted. On March 11, 2003, a few days after Wang became homeless, the school suddenly caught fire. The principal did not wake up to fact that this was karmic retribution, but instead shirked responsibility and framed Wang as the arsonist.
* "610 Office" is an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems.