June 20, 2001

[Minghui Net] At the time this news is posted, four Falun Gong practitioners have been beaten to death in Macheng City, Hubei Province. After one practitioner was beaten to within his last breath, the crazed thugs dragged him in front of a government building in Jinyuan Square, set him on fire and burned him to death. Then they claimed it was "self-immolation."

In addition, they tied two other Dafa practitioners from Baiguo Township to their motorcycles and drove the motorcycles very fast, dragging the Dafa practitioners along the ground. These vicious people seem to have lost all touch with humanity.

The experiences of the illegal brainwashing class held by the "610 office" [the office set up on June 10, 1999 specializing in the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners] in Baiguo Township, Macheng City, were spread in Macheng City as the model to copy. The following is a record of crimes committed by the vicious gang in Baiguo Township.

(1) Their illegal requirements for Dafa practitioners were extremely harsh. Xu Shiqian, the director of Township Politics and Law Department, shouted, "Your guarantee of not practicing, not appealing, and not contacting each other is not enough. Here (in our township), our target is that you should also curse your teacher besides meeting all the requirements above. Those who do not know how to verbally abuse others should learn how to do it now." The words of abuse they required practitioners to use were the most filthy and degrading. That a government official could have such a lack of morality and such hideous thoughts shocked us. His behavior is worse than that of a beast.

(2) The method the thugs used was beating -- beating people ruthlessly to death. The main criminal was Xu Shiqian. He forced all the practitioners to take off their shoes and then he and his people beat practitioners' faces and heads with the shoes. Some female practitioners wore high heels. They were detained in the brainwashing class. He pounded practitioners' faces and heads with the high heels. Some victims' faces were beaten until deformed and unrecognizeable. After Xu Shiqian fractured a male practitioner's foot by trampling on it, he was afraid word of his shameful behavior would spread, so he locked the practitioner in a room and did not let him out or permit his family to visit him.

After they found that they could not shake Dafa practitioners' determined will even though they tried to beat Dafa practitioners to death, they tried another tactic which was to deny Dafa practitioners sleep for days at a time. The thugs on duty tormented Dafa practitioners in turn using a variety of methods. They forced some Dafa practitioners to run for an hour. If practitioners ran a little slowly or they could not run any more, the gang beat practitioners and forced them to stand for long periods of time while remaining completely still. They did not permit practitioners to have any rest. With all these hateful means, they tried to wear down practitioners' will and forcibly "reform" them. Some practitioners could not endure the agony any more and wrote the so-called guarantee letters, against their will.

(3) These thugs also imposed heavy fines on practitioners and their families. Everyone in the Baiguo Township knows that the real purpose in rounding up these Falun Gong practitioners is to steal their money under the guise of "reforming" them. The practitioners who are forced into the brainwashing class, must pay a large sum of cash (3,000 to 10,000 Yuan, equivalent to US$450 to $1,200) for their release. Many families are brought to total financial ruin after paying this fine. In particular, most of the fined practitioners are either unemployed workers or peasants. In contrast, township officials use the money to purchase extravagant meals and entertainment. Since the beginning of the illegal brainwashing classes in January 2000, some poor practitioners who don't have the money are still being detained . We appeal to the world and ask all people of conscience to pay attention to this event. Baiguo Township telephone: 011-86-713-2625202.

(4) Xu Shiqian, along with other corrupt officials, has lost all his human nature and has become a wild animal. He told the practitioners during their hunger strike, "I don't care about you not eating. I will wait until you're near death and release you to your family, so you can die in your home." As a result, some practitioners' hunger strike lasted more than 20 days. Xu Shiqian also said, "I want to make every one of you go insane, then I will quit worrying."

The summer of 2000 was very hot. The authorities locked the practitioners in a dark room for over 100 days. The practitioners were not allowed to bathe, brush their teeth or wash their feet. Even drinking water was restricted. They also ordered the practitioners to stand under the burning summer sun for long periods of time. They used all kinds of inhumane tortures against the practitioners.

The township officials, led by Xu Shiqian, had beaten the practitioners, robbed them, and destroyed entire families. They have now even murdered four practitioners. After all the atrocities, they are shamelessly asking Dafa practitioners to thank them. The law of the universe is not to be violated without consequences. The thugs are being punished one at a time. One Macheng City police officer who participated in the beating and the murder of four practitioners died a horrible death the very same night! Other murderers such as Xu Shiqian will get their just retribution soon.

We appeal to all Dafa practitioners in Macheng City, and others who have read this news, please use your most powerful righteous mind to resist the evil, to stop the torment, and to eliminate the evil causing these terrible events.