Falun Gong practitioners Mr. Cao Dong and Mr. Niu Jinping met with Mr. Edward McMillan-Scott, Vice President of the European Parliament on May 21, 2006. The meeting took place as part of Mr. McMillan-Scott's investigation into the Chinese Communist regime's persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, particularly the harvesting of organs from living Falun Gong practitioners and the sale of these organs for profit.
This was the first time a Western dignitary met with persecuted Falun Gong practitioners in Mainland China to learn the truth of the persecution. The meeting took place in Beijing, and is regarded as a milestone. Mr. Scott later published an article detailing his trip in which he pointed out, "The Chinese regime remains brutal, arbitrary and paranoid." He also called for an end to the persecution.
Cao Dong and his wife Yang Xiaojing
After Cao Dong met with Mr. Scott, he disappeared later the same day. It was learned that CCP National Security agents abducted and held him at an undisclosed location.
The law of China explicitly states that the government agency responsible for any arrest must notify the detainee's family via written notice, giving the reason for the arrest and the time and location of detention within 24 hours of the arrest. The length of detention should not exceed one month, after which the detention would be considered illegal.
However, 24 hours has already passed, one month has already passed. It has been two months since Cao Dong's arrest, yet the regime's agency that ordered the arrest has never issued any notice to Cao Dong's family, oral or written, and Cao Dong is still being held against the law. His family went from place to place, including the 610 Office, the police and the National Security Bureau in an attempt to find out his whereabouts. The officials refused to give any reason for the arrest and the location where Cao Dong was detained. They claimed they don't know, or it's the responsibility of another agency, among other things.
Five men and one woman from the National Security Bureau went to Cao Dong's home at Room.704, Unit 3, Baozhuzi Alley, Zhaojialou, Beijing, on May 26, 2006 and ransacked it. They never notified Cao Dong's family, did not present any search warrant or IDs or provide a list of items taken, as dictated by law.
Furthermore, they deceived and threatened Cao Dong's family to prevent them from exercising their legal rights. Following are details about Cao Dong:
Cao Dong and his wife Yang Xiaojing were married four years ago. Nine days after their wedding, the couple was illegally detained, sentenced to labor camp and sentenced to prison. They were together not more than a few weeks. Yang Xiaojing is now being held at the Beijing Women's Labor Camp and has not seen her husband for two months. Her parents in Beijing spent many sleepless nights worrying about Cao Dong after his disappearance. Her father experienced severe tinnitus and other symptoms two days later. The doctor said it was the result of tremendous mental trauma and could not be treated with normal medication.
Cao Dong's parents live in Gansu Province. He has a grade-school age sister. His father developed severe heart disease following previous persecution of Cao Dong and his wife. The family dared not tell him about Cao Dong's disappearance, fearing that he couldn't withstand another mental attack.
Cao Dong is innocent! He met with Mr. Scott with a compassionate and open heart. He told the truth about the persecution of Falun Gong he has experienced firsthand and learned from fellow practitioners. In order to maintain its rule, the Chinese Communist regime has lowered the fairness that the law must have to the lowest level possible, but even those laws do not specify that Chinese citizens are forbidden to accept interviews with foreigners or to speak the truth during interviews.
The persecution of Cao Dong is not an isolated case. From a legal perspective, countless innocent Falun Gong practitioners never violated any law, yet the Chinese Communist regime has brutally persecuted them for seven years. Right now, the persecution of Falun Gong is attracting more and more worldwide attention as the biggest and most severe human rights issue. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), who claims to "rule the country by law" is so evil that it tramples and violates its own laws; so how is it possible for the CCP to follow universal human rights standards? Although the CCP is in the spotlight of international scrutiny, it is still unscrupulous, which will only work to expose the savage and shameless nature of the CCP to the world.
It is difficult to understand the mental pressure and physical torture Cao Dong has undergone. However, he firmly refused to cooperate with the lawless officials and refused to tell them anything. The officials are threatening to continue to detain him and throw him in prison.
Falun Gong practitioner Li Guoshun from Baisha Town, Xinluo District, Longyan City, Fujian Province was arrested and imprisoned by police on August 23, 2004. He went on a hunger strike to protest and was persecuted to death on October 14, 2004. Recently, the town police chief had someone convey a message to Li Guoshun's mother that if some people came to investigate Li Guoshun's case or asked about anything related to Falun Gong, she had to reply, "I don't know."
Li Guoshun died a tragic death, and he was cremated by the authorities. His family members have not seen any medical records or postmortem examination reports. So far, they have no place to appeal, and their injustice cannot be redressed. Li Guoshun's mother often cries, but now she is actually being told to maintain silence about the police's crime.
Mr. Li Guoshun was 27 years old. In August 2000, he was sent to a forced labor camp for one year for going to Beijing to appeal on behalf of Falun Gong. He was released on August 9, 2001. In December 2001, he was again sent to a forced labor camp for two years because some truth-clarifying materials were discovered at his residence.
On August 23, 2004, less than six months after his release from the forced labor camp, Li Guoshun was arrested once again and imprisoned at Longyan Detention Center. Li Guoshun went on a hunger strike to protest, but the detention center and Minxi Prison Hospital intentionally delayed his treatment indefinitely. Li Guoshun's mother twice asked for him to be released on bail for medical treatment, but her requests were rejected both times. Only when Li Guoshun had reached a critical condition and could not be rescued did the police request his family members to obtain a guarantor to post bail. On October 3, 2004, Li Guoshun was sent over to the Longyan City Second Hospital for emergency treatment. The doctor said that had the jail hospital treated Li Guoshun in a timely manner, the situation would not be as dire.
It has been reported that on the day when Li Guoshun was sent to the hospital, he was extremely thin, his limbs were icy cold, he was handcuffed under the quilt, his lower body was naked, and his buttocks were very red and ulcerated. Afterwards, the detention center refused to pay the fee, and the hospital forced Li's family members to pay, threatening to withhold medical treatment. The family members implored the physician-in-charge many times, asking her to treat Li Guoshun with every effort. The physician-in-charge just shook her head and told the family members' that Li was beyond hope. The detention center chief tried to get the family members to leave several times to prevent them from having private talks with the doctor.
Liu Juhong suffered a mental collapse because of abuse
Shaanxi Province Women's Labor Camp is detaining and persecuting more than thirty practitioners at present. Among them, Liu Juhong has been persecuted until she suffered a mental collapse. The labor camp however, refuses to release her.
Ms. Liu Juhong, 21, just graduated from a university. Because of practicing Falun Gong, she was detained unlawfully at the Group 2, Shaanxi Province Women's Labor Camp. She was exhausted by heavy physical work for 17 to 18 hours a day along with severe mental torture. The wardens forced her to take medication and continued torturing her, which caused her to suffer a mental collapse.
In order to cover up their criminal behavior, the wardens lied and said that practicing Falun Gong caused her mental disorder. They did not release her, but instead they tortured her more brutally. When Li Juhong screamed, the wardens would lock her in an isolated cell and order an inmate, Lei Ming, who was sent to the labor camp due to drug abuse, to stab her with big, thick needles. While doing this, a radio would be played loudly to prevent other inmates from hearing Ms. Liu's horrible screaming.
Ms. Liu's parents have requested to take their daughter to a hospital, but the labor camp refused to release her.
Xu Lanzhen was brutally beaten
Xu Lanzhen, a practitioner in Xianyang City, was detained in the 2nd Group of Shaanxi Province Women's Labor Camp in 2005. She was detained and tortured in an isolated cell that was dark and damp. Wardens Ren Haizhen, Pei Heng, Zhang Ya, and Zhang Xueni from the 2nd Group tried to "transform" her. As they could not force Xu Lanzhen to give up her belief, they instructed drug abusers Yan Pingping and others to beat her. The wardens on duty did not pay attention to Ms. Xu screams of pain, and they allowed the drug abusers to torture practitioners at will. Ms. Xu was forbidden to purchase daily necessities, to see family members, or to sleep, but was forced to work day and night, and only at the end of the day could she use the toilet.
Li Suping was physically disabled from abuse
Practitioner Li Suping was detained unlawfully in the 2nd Group of Shaanxi Province Women's Labor Camp in 2004. Wardens Ren Haizhen, Pei Heng, Zhang Ya, and Zhang Xueni often beat Ms. Li and forced her to stand for long periods of time or stand outside on cold days. They ordered drug abusers to bang Ms. Li's head against the wall. Ms. Li was not allowed to sleep at night, and was not even allowed to eat or use the toilet. Because she was forced to do heavy work every day, even on extremely cold days, Ms. Li's fingers suffered from frostbite. Instead of providing treatment, the labor camp continued to force Ms. Li to work hard, which caused permanent disability to her fingers.
Vicious persecution methods
The persecution methods that the Shaanxi Province Women's Labor Camp used are cruel and inhumane. All practitioners new to the labor camp would be locked in a dark cell with the windows closed (thick paper was glued onto the glass). A few drug abusers assigned by the wardens would monitor each practitioner. The drug abusers sometimes pretended to be nice to the practitioners in order to try to persuade them to give up Falun Gong. If the practitioners refused to "transform", the wardens would instruct the drug abusers to torture them.
In March 2004, the labor camp was doing a campaign to "transform" the steadfast practitioners for a whole month. All steadfast practitioners were detained in the southern building and forced to watch videos that defamed Falun Gong. While being prohibited from sleeping every day, each practitioner was monitored by three or four drug abusers. All were forced to write comments upon finishing watching the videos. Refusing to do so would result in cruel physical abuse.
To protest such behavior in the labor camp, all of the practitioners went on a hunger strike. The wardens then instructed drug abusers to force-feed the practitioners. Warden Pei Heng beat practitioner Xue Lijun's head with a bowl until it bled because Ms. Xue had refused to eat. After that, they continued to force-feed Ms. Xue by holding her down on the bed rather than treating her injury. Later, the steadfast practitioners were transferred to the 2nd Group and detained in separated cells. The torture continued.
When Yuetong sees other kids with their parents, she thinks they really must be lucky. Those kids get to learn beautiful Tang dynasty poems and know where to buy delicious treats. However, they do not know about a brainwashing center in Changli County. Little Yuetong does know about it.
Guo Yuetong is a six-year-old girl in Changli County, Hebei Province. When Yuetong was one year old, she was detained in the brainwashing center for a long time. At present, five years later, she is again detained there.
Yuetong's parents, Mrs. Liu Aihua and Mr. Guo Yuting, are Falun Gong practitioners in Changli County, Qinhuangdao City, Hebei Province. When Yuetong was born, Jiang's regime started to rampantly persecute Falun Gong practitioners. Because Yuetong's mother did not give up being a good person according to the principle of "Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance," the local officials detained Yuetong and her mother in the notorious Changli Brainwashing Center. At that time, Yuetong was just one year old.
In the Changli Brainwashing Center, Falun Gong practitioners are detained in cells without windows. In the same cell, they eat, drink and use the toilet. In order to force Falun Gong practitioners to give up their beliefs, the guards of the brainwashing center force them to watch defamatory videos and read books full of lies. In addition, they torture practitioners via all kinds of means: sleep deprivation, handcuffing and shackling them, shocking them with electric batons when their hands are handcuffed behind their backs and their mouths are covered in tape, or their hands are handcuffed to the windows and doors, beating them with rubber batons, forcing them to run in circles, and forced feeding. Every day, Yuetong's mother and other practitioners were tortured both mentally and physically.
Whenever the guards tortured her mother, Yuetong was so scared that she hid in the corner and cried. When no wicked guards were shouting and her mom was not taken away for torture, little Yuetong just looked out through the iron bars of the cell.
Later, the persecution against Yuetong and her mother was exposed. Many people in the world found out about this case, and the local officials had to release them. At that time, Yuetong was only three years old.
After her release, little Yuetong saw her dad, Guo Yuting. At that time, her father could not walk due to injuries suffered in the persecution. The long-term separation made Yuetong not recognize her father. However, just when little Yuetong got used to calling him "dad," the guards of the brainwashing center broke into her home and took her father away again.
Later, he was released and their family was reunited again. Yuetong was very happy. However, the good situation did not last long. This May, Yuetong and her parents were again arrested and taken to the brainwashing center.
Yuetong wants to go home, and she wants to go home with her parents. She is already old enough to attend school, and she should go to school.
The Second Squadron of the Sixth Group, Xinhua Forced Labor Camp in Mianyang City, Sichuan Province is specifically designated to persecute Falun Gong practitioners. There are currently more than 30 Falun Gong practitioners detained in the squadron.
Officer Gao Yunyuan, captain of the Second Squadron and officer Liu Zhiyong, director of the Second Squadron Self-Disciplinary Committee, are chiefly responsible for the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.
One of the practitioners detained in residential room 15 of the second squadron is a male practitioner from Sichuan Province. The police have failed to discover his name and home address, so they simply call him "nameless." In order to learn more about "nameless" to accomplish "transformation," Liu Zhiyong ordered four drug addicts to persecute him. These drug-addicts from the Self-Disciplinary Committee forced "nameless" to watch video CDs and read books that defame and slander Falun Gong, and tried to brainwash him. Gao Yunyuan conducted many so-called "heart-to-heart" talks with him at all times of the day and night in an attempt to harass and persecute "nameless" mentally.
"Nameless" gets very little sleep. Guards and inmates persecute him with beatings, personal insults, forced standing, and long periods of forced squatting. They also require him to sit on a small backless stool (square in shape and less than 20 centimeters in height and length) everyday. His buttocks have been injured from the sitting. The guards haven't allowed him to change clothes for several months.
Currently Gao Yunyuan, Liu Zhiyong and the other officers are using all kinds of methods to persecute Falun Gong practitioners at the Xinhua Forced Labor Camp. We hope that all practitioners who read this article will send forth righteous thoughts, use various methods to help strengthen our fellow practitioner's righteous thoughts and stop the evil people's actions. We also appeal to all kind-hearted people to lend a hand, uphold justice and resist this senseless persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.
Phone number of the Second Squadron of the Sixth Group, Xinhua Forced Labor Camp, Mianyang City, Sichuan Province: 86-816-2830769.
On December 13, practitioner Mr. Pan Zhaowen from Jilin Province was secretly arrested by local national security agents. After the Minghui website reported this incident, many practitioners inside China and abroad were very concerned. Mr. Pan Zhaowen went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution. Failing to force Mr. Pan to renounce Falun Gong after exhausting their methods, the national security agents then extorted 10,000 yuan from Mr. Pan's relatives and released him before the Chinese New Year. They claimed that Mr. Pan participated in the interception of TV signals and operated an underground publishing place somewhere in Jiaohe.
After Mr. Pan started practicing Falun Gong, he became very healthy. However, since he was force-fed by the national security agents, he developed pain in his stomach several times. He could not even sleep due to the pain. Another practitioner, Mr. Li Qiang, had the same problem.
The following is an account of Mr. Pan Zhaowen's secret arrest and persecution.
On December 13, 2005, Mr. Pan Zhaowen and his friends were meeting to talk about business. At around 4 p.m., Mr. Pan left and was soon followed by national security agents. He was too busy talking to the taxi driver about the truth of Falun Gong to notice that he was being followed. When he was dropped off near a branch of Jiaotong Bank on Jiefang North Road, there was a black Honda parked by the curb. A couple of agents surrounded him and handcuffed him. Mr. Pan asked, "Who are you? Why did you arrest me?" They refused to answer and pushed him into the car, covered his face with a piece of black cloth, and took him to a secret place.
Mr. Pan again asked who they were and why they brought him here. He was told that someone would tell him later. After a short while, someone who looked like the leader of the group came over and asked him, "What is your name? We invited you here to help you." Mr. Pan asked, "Do you handcuff your guests?" The man lost his temper and claimed that it was for security reasons. He continued to ask where Mr. Pan lived, but Mr. Pan refused to answer. Then he replied, " I know all about you." "Why did you still ask then?" Pan asked. He replied, "I just wanted to see your attitude." They left after that. Later, a group of security officers used a piece of clothing to blindfold Mr. Pan and drove him to Changchun city.
When he got out of the car, Mr. Pan Zhaowen shouted, "Falun Dafa is good!" They all got very scared and threatened Mr. Pan not to do it again. He was taken to a 60 square meter room with surveillance cameras and microphones for interrogation. Pan was made to sit on a metal chair with his limbs shackled. After he was locked inside a metal structure, they took off the blindfold. Right in front of him, there were three spotlights below the interrogation platform.
Security agents named Zhang and Sun took turns interrogating Mr. Pan all night, and they issued something for Pan to sign, but he refused. They kept saying that Mr. Pan had organized and participated in the interference of broadcasting and operated an underground publishing house. However, they did not have any evidence. When Mr. Pan asked why he was brought here for illegal interrogation and torture, they said it was for his safety.
Mr. Pan went on a hunger strike to protest. Some agents threatened that they would throw him out to the dogs, but Pan did not waver. He used all the opportunities to clarify the truth to the guards and the interrogators, persuading them not to do wrong and consider their own futures.
He told the nurses who force-fed him that he was a Falun Gong practitioner and pointed out they were abetting in the persecution.
Due to him being shackled to the chair for a long time, his legs got so swollen that he could barely take off his pants. On New Year's Day, the national security agents, fearing that he might die, pretended to show that they cared about him by arranging a meeting for him to meet with his brother Pan Zhaofeng in a hotel on Xi'an Road in Changchun City.
On December 31, Mr. Pan stopped his hunger strike, making the agents think that they had succeeded. They arranged for him to meet with his two other brothers, Pan Zhaotian and Pan Zhaorui, who had turned against Falun Gong, in an attempt to "transform" him. But after two meetings, they still did not succeed. Then they brought in two former practitioners who had turned against Falun Gong to brainwash Pan Zhaowen. Three days later, they stopped after getting concerned that the former practitioners were being influenced by Mr. Pan, instead of the other way around. In the meantime, they kept threatening Mr. Pan, telling him from time to time that he would be sent to the police department, he would be put on trial, or his family members or practitioners who had been in touch with him would be arrested.
Due to the publicity of the news of Mr. Pan's arrest being published on the Minghui website and of the truth clarification from the practitioners, the national security agents had no choice but to release Mr. Pan shortly before the Chinese New Year. However, they extorted 10,000 Yuan before they released him, and refused to return Pan's IBM X31 Notebook and Dell X51 Palm Reader, which were worth 20,000 Yuan.
[Note: The following is a shortened version of a longer and more detailed article that appeared on the Minghui.org website (Chinese version of Clearwisdom.net).]
On July 1st, 2006, Mr. Ye Zhenlie, a 76-year-old Falun Gong practitioner, went to Wanzhou District, Chongqing City to clarify the truth about Falun Gong to the public. Ye was reported by an employee of the town government and was illegally arrested by the local town police. Ye was able to get away, but was secretly arrested again on the next day by the Fourth Police Station of Wanzhou District and the Wangjiang Road Resident Committee. Ye is currently being illegally detained in the Zhoujiaba Detention Facility.
Between 2000 and 2003, Ye Zhenlie was sentenced to 2 years in jail, sent to brainwashing sessions for more than one year, and illegally arrested 4 times because of his firm belief in and practice of Falun Gong. Ye's wife, Ms. He Zhengxiu, was also sentenced to jail due to her practice of Falun Gong. Ms. He Zhengxiu was also sent to brainwashing and tortured many times both mentally and physically. Ms. He Zhengxiu passed away in March 2006. (For more details, please read the following Clearwisdom article: /emh/articles/2006/4/12/71862.html.) Currently, there is nobody taking care of Ye's daughter, who is mentally ill.