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Parents of Ms. Gao Rongrong Speak Out to Demand Justice for their Daughter Who Was Disfigured and Tortured to Death
(Clearwisdom.net) Our daughter Gao Rongrong, 37, was an accountant at
the Luxun Fine Arts College in Shenyang City. She was known widely as a good
person. On June 20, 2003, the wife of graduate student Xu Zhiyang of the Luxun Fine
Arts College reported to the college that Gao Rongrong had talked about Falun
Gong with Xu Zhiyang. After Gao Rongrong was questioned, the college authorities
decided to take part in persecuting her. They and staff from the Shenyang City
610 Office, Shenyang police Hepin Branch, and Hepin District Xinxing
police station detained Gao Rongrong at the Shenyang City Detention Center. In the detention center, Gao Rongrong was subjected to shocks from multiple
electric batons, and her entire body was black and blue from the beating.
Because of the torture, Gao Rongrong became feverous and very weak. On July 8,
Gao Rongrong was sent to Longshan Forced Labor Camp in Shenyang City for a
three-year term. As soon as Gao Rongrong arrived at the labor camp, the guards forced her to
squat down for four days and nights and forbid her to sleep. Her stomach and
breasts became distended, and it was difficult for her to walk. Just before the
2004 Chinese New Year, Gao Rongrong's liver disease recurred, and she came down
with a fever. She and her family requested that the labor camp allow her a
physical examination, but the medical section of the labor camp only gave her a
prescription for vitamin B6. Despite her serious health condition, Gao Rongrong continued to suffer
violence and torture. On March 22, 2004, because of her health condition, Gao
Rongrong did not attend a group meeting of the 2nd Team. The deputy
team head Tang Baoyu dragged her from her bed and on the top layer of a futon.
Tang took her to the management section office and cuffed her to the heater.
Then, Tang beat, kicked, and shocked her face, neck and sensitive parts of her
body with electric batons. Tang shocked her for half an hour, pressed a lighted
cigar on the skin of her hands, and punched her back with his elbow. She had to
suffer more cruel torture during that time. After that, Gao Rongrong was unable
to sit straight. The X-ray showed that her spine was displaced. Many guards and
Wang Xuetao, the head of Management Section of the labor camp witnessed Tang
shocking her, but nobody stopped the torture. Deputy head of the labor camp Li
Fengshi viciously said, "What are the dictatorship organizations for? What
are the handcuffs and electric batons for? I don't believe that we cannot make
Gao Rongrong yield to our demands." During the subsequent month, the guards began to torture Goa Rongrong
physically and mentally. Around 10 a.m. on May 7, 2004, Gao Rongrong was too
weak to do hard labor. Guards Jiang Zhaohua and Wang Jichang tried to force her.
When finding out that Gao Rongrong was really weak, they took her to the Team
Head Office on the second floor, and cuffed her to the heater. Jiang Zhaohua
kicked her, slapped her face, and used electric batons to shock her for more
than one hour. In the afternoon, Gao Rongrong was taken back to the office
again. Guards Tang Baoyu and Jiang Zhaohua cuffed Gao Rongrong on the lower rail
of the heater so that Gao Rongrong had to squat down and was unable to stand.
Tang and Jiang used four electric batons to shock her. Tang cursed, "I will
torture you to death today." The guard of the 2nd Team Teng
Jilian took our photo (the photo of Gao Rongrong's parents) to the office. Tang
Baoyu put the photo on the desk and viciously said, "Now let your parents
watch how you are being shocked." The guards shocked Gao Rongrong for six to seven hours. The skin of her face,
ears, neck, back and ankle were severely burned and charred. There were big
blisters. Her face was swollen by more than two inches, and she could barely
open her eyes. They became two narrow seams and a yellowish liquid seeped from
her facial skin. The head of the labor camp, Fang Jinkai, healthcare section
head Zhang Xiaoqiu and guards of management section all witnessed Tang Baoyu's
cruel torture, but no one stopped him. A guard of 2nd Team Zeng
Xiaopin even held a small mirror in front of Gao Rongrong to mock her. The
perpetrators acted like beasts, without any sign of conscience. Around 10 p.m., a prisoner had a sudden heart attack. Tang Baoyu had to put
down the electric batons and left to check on the prisoner. Guard Tang Jiliang
did not allow Gao Rongrong to go back to her cell and told her to wait for Tang
Baoyu. Not wanting to be tortured to death, Gao Rongrong jumped out of the
office window. She fractured her left thighbone, broke her pelvis bones and the
heel of her right foot. Longshan Forced Labor Camp sent her to the Shenyang military general
hospital. At that time, her blood pressure had dropped to 40. The doctor was
shocked when he saw her burned face. Gao Rongrong asked for her family. Team
head Wang Jinhui said, "We will inform whoever is necessary to know about
this situation." Later, the perpetrators transferred her to the Public
Security Hospital and spread rumors to the outside that Gao Rongrong's wounds
were caused when she fell down the stairs. We always worried about Rongrong's health. We heard at that time that a Falun
Gong practitioner was tortured to death at Longshan Forced Labor Camp and we
were deeply concerned. On May 14, Rongrong's two sisters went to the labor camp
to find out about Rongrong. Team head Wang Jinhui and deputy team head Tang
Baoyu tried to hide from the questions and said after a while, "She was
wounded, she attempted to escape by jumping out of the building." The
sisters asked, "You beat her, didn't you? She was too weak to walk, how
could she even escape?" After the sisters' continuous urging and
questioning, Tang Baoyu said, "It was in March, This time we did not beat
her." Because of the family members' insistence , they allowed the two
sisters to visit Gao Rongrong in the Public Security Hospital. When the sisters first saw Rongrong on the bed in the hospital, they could
not recognize her because her face was severely deformed. On May 18, Gao
Rongrong was transferred to the First Affiliate Hospital of Shenyang Medical
University because of family members requests. Longshan Forced Labor Camp
dispatched many guards to watch Gao Rongrong. During Rongrong's hospitalization,
Gao Rongrong and her family members received constant threats and were cursed by
the guards from Longshan Forced Labor Camp, as well as staff from the Shenyang
City Justice Bureau, Politic and Law Committee of Shenyang City, and the 610
office. A Politics and Law Committee employee even attempted to tear the scabs
off Rongrong's face. They said, "Longshan Forced Labor Camp provided a
detailed report to the Justice Bureau, indicating Gao Rongrong was injured while
attempting to escape." We asked Wang Xuetao, the head of the management
section of Longshan Forced Labor Camp, as to who wrote the report. He said,
"The Longshan authorities made the decision." We had no other way but to plead our case under existing law. We filed a case
with the Liaoning Province Procuratorate and asked the Procuratorate to send a
medical examiner to examine Rongrong's wounds and injuries. In July, the
provincial procuratorate sent a medical examiner to room 0533 of the hospital to
examine Rongrong's wounds from electric shocks. The examiner checked the wounds,
took photos and notes, also a sample of the scab from Rongrong's face for
further tests. Even the examiner was shocked after seeing Rongrong's injuries:
how could such torture still exist in our nation? At that time, all procuratorates launched a national special campaign of
"Investigation of state personnel using their authority to perpetrate human
rights crimes." Our case was published in the newspaper. We believed that
the perpetrators would be pursued under the law and receive punishment. Staff
from the Shenyang City Politics and Law Committee and 610 Office also
investigated the situation, but they did not provide any information to Gao
Rongrong and family members. They also did not take the responsible staff and
related units to task. When we went to the provincial procuratorate to pick up the examination
report. The supervisor of the examination service, Qing Chunzhi said, "The
report was taken by the special team organized by the Shenyang City Politic and
Law Committee and the 610 Office. I don't have a copy for you, don't come again
for it." We said, "What caused the wounds on Gao Rongrong? Since the
medical examiner conducted the examination, there should be a conclusion."
Qing said, "We cannot tell you." We lost our hope that the procuratorate would bring justice. We went to the
Shenyang City Politics and Law Committee but could not find anyone willing to
meet with us. They told us on the phone to visit the city 610 Office. But
director Song of the 610 Office said, "You have to go to the provincial
procuratorate." We got the run-around, as Qing of the procuratorate told us
to visit the provincial 610 Office. No one gave us the location of the
provincial 610 Office. On October 5, 2004, despite being closely watched at the Longshan Forced
Labor Camp, Gao Rongrong escaped from the affiliated hospital of the medical
university with the help of kind people. Before Gao Rongrong's disappearance,
the Shenyang City Justice Bureau and Longshan Forced Labor Camp insisted on
sending Gao Rongrong to Shenyang City Dabei Supervised Hospital for treatment
and then returning her to Longshan Forced Labor Camp. In truth, Gao Rongrong was
persecuted to near death several times at the affiliated hospital of the medical
university. Following higher authorities instruction, Wang Xuetao and Bi Yinhong
from the management section of Longshan Forced Labor Camp carried a camcorder to
the hospital to record Gao Rongrong. When we asked them about Rongrong's
whereabouts, they did not answer directly and only told us that Rongrong was
taken away from the hospital. Kindhearted people rescued Gao Rongrong. The government and legal
organizations showed no interest in persecuting those responsible for torturing
Gao Rongrong. After Rongrong escaped, all police and law units were on high
alert to bring her back. Unfortunately, Gao Rongrong was arrested again in early March 2005. Hearing
the news, we went to look for Rongrong. Staff from the Xinxing police station
told us to go to Masanjia Forced Labor Camp in Liaoning Province. In Masanjia
Forced Labor Camp, camp head Sui Jing met with us and admitted that Gao Rongrong
was in the labor camp. But she refused to tell us more details about where she
was held and did not allow us to see her. She told us to wait for notification.
She would let us know when we could visit Rongrong. But it took three months
before we could finally see our daughter. From March 6 to June 6, a total of three months, when Gao Rongrong was
imprisoned at Masanjia Forced Labor Camp, she was sent to the hospital for
emergency treatment. We, an elderly couple of 76 and 73, went to Masanjia Forced
Labor Camp every week with the hope to see our daughter. What worried us most
was Rongrong's health. Once we went to the provincial appeals office for help to
visit our daughter. The staff told us, "When Gao Rongrong was sent to
Masanjia, a mutual agreement was signed between her and the labor camp. And they
did gave her a physical examination." We visited the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp many times, and met with Su Jing,
the head of the labor camp. But, Su refused to tell us the exact detention
location of our daughter and also did not allow us to visit Rongrong. The deputy
head Zhao Laixi also met with us several times. At the beginning, we were asked
to wait. Later, we were told that they could not make a decision about the
visitation, and they had to follow higher authorities orders. We asked them who
the "higher authority" was. They did not tell us. Every time we asked
about Rongrong's health, they always said, "Excellent. She's eating
well." When we asked to bail Rongrong out for medical treatment, they said,
"The government has sole authority over Gao Rongrong's case. As her health
is in such a bad shape, it would create a negative effect in society if we
allowed you to take her home." They even said, "Gao Rongrong has
special protection. We have assigned doctors, and special nurses to take care of
her. If we made any mistake in taking care of her, Falun Gong would deal with us
in the future." We were deceived by their words and believed that our
daughter was given the necessary medical intervention. The last day we visited Masanjia was June 10. We met with deputy head Zhao
Laixi and the other leader of the labor camp with the surname Wang. We still
asked to visit our daughter. Wang said, "I will immediately inform you once
we get word allowing you to visit her." In fact, right at this moment Gao
Rongrong was lying on the bed in an emergency room on the 3rd floor
of Emergency Building of the hospital. One week after Gao Rongrong was admitted to the hospital, around 9:30 a.m. on
June 12, Su Jing told us on the phone that Gao Rongrong was in the First
Affiliated Hospital of Shenyang City Medical University for emergency treatment.
We immediately left for the hospital. Gao Rongrong was unconscious, and hooked
up to a breathing machine. There was no reaction in her eyes and she looked like
a dead person. We read on a small blackboard in the emergency room, "Gao
Rongrong, admitted on June 6. A doctor said, "She was dying when she
arrived here." Why did they inform us one week after Gao Rongrong was admitted to the
hospital and in a deep coma? If they had informed us on the day (June 6) when
Gao Rongrong just was admitted to the hospital, Gao Rongrong could have been
saved with her family's support. Why and how could this turn out like this? From
Shi Fengyou and the head of Shenyang Zhangshi Forced Labor Camp to Su Jing, Zhao
Laixi, head Wang of Masanjia Forced Labor Camp in Liaoning Province, from levels
of the Justice department, public security, government of Shenyang City to those
of Liaoning Province, people kept lying to us, "Gao Rongrong is in good
health, and eats well. You can wait at home. As soon as we receive the authority
for you to be with your daughter, we will send her home." Why were they
playing these games? Who is responsible for the manipulation of the facts? Who
gave the perpetrators permission to murder Gao Rongrong? Our daughter Gao
Rongrong suffered such cruel and inhuman persecution because she believed in
"Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance." The staff members from all
the aforementioned organizations are responsible for her death. When we finally could see our child, she was close to death. At 4 a.m. on
June 16, our young, beautiful and lovely child, Gao Rongrong, left us without
saying a word to us! We are heartbroken. Our minds are filled with many thoughts about this tragedy. We request the
following and appeal for our rights: 1. We request all responsible government units and law organs to investigate
the officials and their staff responsible for the death of Gao Rongrong. 2. We request all work units involved in this matter to provide a detailed
explanation about Gao Rongrong's whereabouts during the three months before her
death, the tortures she suffered, health situation, why no family visits were
allowed and why she suddenly died. Who was pulling the strings behind the
scenes, and who triggered the murder of Gao Rongrong? Who manipulated all
aspects of this case? What is our government going to do about this incident? 3. Gao Rongrong was wrongly sent to a forced labor camp by the Shenyang City
Luxun Fine Art College, tortured in Shenyang Longshan Forced Labor Camp, and
secretly detained in Masanjia Forced Labor Camp and eventually died from the
persecution. We, her family, demand that Luxun Fine Art College, Shenyang City
Justice Bureau, and the Liaoning Province Masanjia Forced Labor Camp compensate
us for the financial losses we have suffered and the mental harm done to us. Appeal Personnel: Gao Yuanxiao, Zhang Sukun August 1, 2005
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