Issued by Clearwisdom Net

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has persecuted Falun Gong practitioners for seven years. Many families have been broken up and cannot reunite with loved ones at the Mid-Autumn Festival, as is customary. Following is the story of one of these families.

Falun Gong practitioners Mr. Cao Dong and his wife, Ms. Yang Xiaojing

It was recently heard from the Beijing Women’s Forced Labor Camp that Ms. Yang Xiaojing has finally been released. Ms. Yang is the wife of Mr. Cao Dong, who met with European Union Vice President The Honorable Mr. Edward McMillan-Scott. After two-and-a-half years of incarceration, Ms. Yang was to be reunited with her husband. Unfortunately, however, Beijing National Security Bureau agents secretly and unconstitutionally arrested Mr. Cao Dong after he met with Mr. McMillan-Scott.

Following their marriage, Mr. Cao and Ms. Yang lived together for a mere few weeks. Mr. Cao Dong was arrested eight days after their wedding, on the evening of November 20, 2000. He has been held at many different detention centers in Beijing, including seven different locations for death row inmates and felons. A court in Beijing illegally tried him in March 2001 and sentenced him to four-and-a-half years in prison. Mr. Cao was sent to a prison in his hometown province of Gansu, where he was savagely tortured and almost died.

Ms. Yang Xiaojing was arrested on May 20, 2001, when she arrived home from work. Local officer Wu Liya from the Jianguomen Police Station carried out the arrest. Wu Liya took Ms. Yang to a "Legal Training Center," which is, in fact, a brainwashing center organized by the Dongcheng District CCP Committee, because she refused to give up her belief in Truth-Compassion-Tolerance. Ms. Yang refused to cooperate with the officials. The police sent her to the Dongcheng District Detention Center four days later and held her there for a month. They sentenced her to 18 months of forced labor. She was savagely tortured at the Tuanhe Forced Labor Dispatch Division in Beijing and also at the Beijing Women’s Forced Labor Camp.

Chaoyang District Police Department officials arrested her again in April 2004 and sentenced her to two-and-a-half years of forced labor. She was again sent to the Beijing Women’s Forced Labor Camp where "no measure is too excessive" in dealing with Falun Gong practitioners. The labor camp policies state that all practitioners held at the camp must be individually "reformed." The practitioners’ families and supervisors from work are also compelled to pressure the practitioners.

Physical tortures include sleep deprivation and sitting on small stools and tiny kids' plastic chairs for extended periods of time. Sitting on this small stools causes invisible muscle injuries to the lower back, pelvis, spine, and neck. The labor camp authorities also lock individual practitioners in small dark rooms and force them to sit on a small stool while the guards pour cold water on them. They never give the practitioners enough food. The guards order the other inmates to beat and verbally abuse the practitioners and force them to do slave labor for long periods of time. They also make the practitioners watch slanderous videos and read books that attack Falun Gong, after which they are forced to write their "understanding" of the libelous materials. They repeatedly brainwash the practitioners. The guards also restrict practitioners' toilet privileges so that practitioners end up soiling themselves. They refuse to provide the practitioners any hygiene products during their menses. Ms. Yang Xiaojing and many other practitioners endured this inhumane detention and abuse on a daily basis.

When Mr. Cao Dong returned home after four-and-a-half years of mistreatment, his wife was no longer home. His wife's parents were struggling to live with their daughter’s absence. Mr. Cao Dong comforted the couple and visited his wife at the labor camp while he looked for a job. Mr. Cao and his wife could only meet once a month.

Mr. Cao is a French translator, and Ms. Yang is a computer engineer. They should be living a happy life together, but the CCP persecutes them, along with many other Falun Gong practitioners, because of its enmity toward Truth-Compassion-Tolerance.

Mr. Cao Dong and his wife persevered in their belief in Falun Gong and they resisted the evil with righteous belief amid the evil persecution.

Mr. Cao Dong, Mr. Niu Jinping, and Mr. Niu’s two-year-old daughter met with Mr. Edward McMillan-Scott, the Vice President of the European Union, on May 21 to expose the brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners and their families, including arrests, detentions, torture, murder, and the harvesting of organs from living practitioners. The CCP retaliated against Mr. Cao Dong by secretly arresting him. His current whereabouts are still unknown.

Mr. Niu Jinping and his young daughter have received constant threats. Agents from the 610 Office, as well as individuals from the street committee and the police, monitor them. Mr. Niu’s wife, Ms. Zhang Lianying, is still being tortured at the Beijing Women’s Forced Labor Camp.

Ms. Yang Xiaojing has finally returned home, but she is still separated from her husband.

Many other Falun Gong practitioners and their families have suffered tribulations similar to Ms. Yang Xiaojing and her husband. The persecution of Falun Gong is a terrible disaster for mankind.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2006/9/14/137829.html

Mrs. Yang Youyun, 60, is from Xinluhe Town, Zhongfang County, Huaihua City, Hunan Province. She was arrested, brutally tortured. and illegally detained numerous times for practicing Falun Gong, appealing for justice and clarifying the truth. From June 2000 to June 2002, Mrs. Yang was held in a forced labor camp. Her term was extended by one additional year by the authorities. She was held in Baimalong Women's Labor Camp, suffered inhumane persecution, and was once given poisonous injections. From May to July 2003, she was detained four times and was brutally tortured. In July 2003, she was forced to leave home and has been missing ever since.

On May 19, 2003, 610 Office Director Yang Changgou, Political Legal Committee Secretary Yang Yingfu from Zhongfa County, Xinluhe Town Police Station Director Xiao Longcai, Township leader Liu Xiaodou, and Township Political Legal Committee Secretary Liu Yunhong, along with seven or eight other people, raided Mrs. Yang Youyun's home, and sent her to the detention center, where she was held for one week.

A few days after she was released and permitted to go home, she was arrested again while sending out truth-clarification materials. 610 Office Director Yang Changgou, Political Legal Committee Secretary Yang Yingfu, and Xinluhe Town leader Fu Hongpo transferred Mrs. Yang to a detention center in Huaihua City and detained her for one month.

In early July, Mrs. Yang and her daughter, Pu Honghua, were arrested in Shenzhen while clarifying the truth. Their Zhuan Falun books were taken away and they were detained for one week in Shenzhen. They were then transferred to their hometown and held in the Jinyshanzhuang Hotel, owned by the director of the Xinluhe Town Police Station, Xiao Longcai. Mrs. Yang was held in a room on the fourth floor, she was handuffed behind her back, and she was brutally beaten and deprived of food and water. She was so weak after her release five days later that she could hardly stand up.

Mrs. Yang was again arrested a few days later. Xiao Longcai and Liu Yunhong held her in the Xinluhe Town Police Station for 15 days. Mrs.Yang went on a hunger strike for the length of her detention. Brutal beatings and severe persecution left her body bruised. She frequently lost consciousness and her life hung by a thread until she was finally released to her family.

When she was released, Xiao Longcai and Liu Xiaodou sent five people to her home to monitor her 24 hours a day. Xiao Longcai, Liu Xiaodou, and Liu Yunhong shouted at Mrs.Yang, "We will ruin you, disable you, or kill you. We will see how you can walk again and clarify the truth." Mrs. Yang Youyun was forced to leave home that night and has been missing since.

After Mrs. Yang Youyun left home, Xiao Longcai, Liu Xiaodo,u and Liu Yunhong detained her daughter, Pu Honghua for one month. Liu Xiaodou and Liu Yunhong threatened Ms. Pu, "If we cannot find your mother, we will disable you, cut the tendons in your arms and legs, and ruin your entire life."

Xiao Longcai: 86-13034884288 (cell), Huajiao Police Station

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2006/9/6/137232.html

Falun Gong Practitioner Xu Changbao from Dalian City Missing from Changhai Detention Center

Mr. Xu Changbao, a Falun Gong practitioner from Dalian City, is in his fifties. He lived at Shajian Dadui, Guangludao, Changhai County. He earned his living as a carpenter and has two children. Xu Changbao was arrested while distributing truth-clarifying materials in the winter of 2001 and taken to the Changhai Detention Center. He was later transferred to an unknown place but his family was not given any information about his whereabouts.

Falun Gong Practitioner Sun Zhigang from Jilin Province Missing for Two Years

Mr. Sun Zhigang was 37 years old. He was a worker in the Tianqiaoling Forest Bureau, Wangqing County, Jilin Province. He was arrested twice, in January 2001 and May 2003, and taken to the Yanbian Forced Labor Camp and the Yinmahe Forced Labor Camp in Jiutai, Jilin Province. In March 2004, he was taken by his family members to Shandong Province for medical parole. In August 2004, Sun Zhigang went to his home at Xiangshuichedui, Tianqiaoling Forest Bureau. He never arrived at his destination and he has been missing ever since.

Handicapped Falun Gong Practitioner Xiao Guangrong from Jiahuo County, Hunan Province Missing for Four Years

Mr. Xiao Guangrong was 44 years old. He is a villager from Shitangcun, Shiqiao Town, Jiahuo County, Shenzhuo City, Hunan Province. His left foot and right hand are crippled.

He started practicing Falun Gong in 1998. He benefited physically and spiritually and he was able to sit in the double lotus position, walk freely, and he became able to take care of himself despite his disability. On October 23, 2001, he was arrested by police from Shenzhou City for appealing for Falun Gong. He was unlawfully detained for seven months. He was released after the Jiahuo County 610 Office and the National Security Office coerced his 70-year-old father to pay a cash fine of 1,300 yuan. After he was released, policemen Lai Huaxiong and Liao Sanping from Shiqiao Police Station frequently barged into his house to harass him. Since his whole family's life was disrupted, in desperation he left his home and started living a homeless life in September 2002. His whereabouts are still unknown.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2006/8/21/136024.html

Five Falun Gong practitioners are currently imprisoned in the Pingquan Detention Center in Hebei Province: Ms. Han Shuzhen from Taitoushan, Ms. Tao Suqin (sixty years old), Mr. Yu Hanying (sixty-seven years old) from Xiaojigou Village in Taitoushan, Yu's daughter Ms. Yan Shumei, as well as another Falun Gong practitioner who had traveled to Yu Hanying's home and was also illegally arrested. This Falun Gong practitioner has already held a hunger strike for more than twenty days at the detention center, become severely ill, and is on the brink of death. Yet the detention center refuses to release this practitioner and is instead covering up any information about the practitioner.

At approximately 9:00 a.m. on August 16, 2006, leader Ji and Hu Qiwen of the National Security Team in Pingquan County, together with chief of the Taitoushan Police Station Wang Xuzi, broke into the homes of Falun Gong practitioners Yu Hanying, Han Jingyu and Han Shuzhen. The practitioners' houses were searched, belongings confiscated and the practitioners were arrested.

All the shops owned by self-employed Falun Gong practitioner Yu Hanying, from Xiaojigou Village, Taitoushan, Pingquan County, were shut down. Yu was robbed of 8,000 yuan in cash, a notebook computer, a printer, books, as well as approximately 20,000 yuan worth of personal belongings. Yu and his daughter were arrested by the police, while another anonymous female practitioner who was visiting Yu was also arrested. Passersby and witnesses to the break-in were threatened by the police and forced to leave.

Thereafter, police broke into Falun Gong practitioner Han Jingyu's home, which was in the same village. A radio cassette player, mp3 player, Falun Gong books and approximately 1,000 yuan worth of personal belongings were confiscated. As Han was not at home at the time of the break-in, the police forcibly threw his spouse, Ms. Tao Suqin (also a Falun Gong practitioner) into the police car. When Han's eldest son (not a practitioner) tried to stop the policemen from taking away his mother, but he was ruthlessly slapped by Wang Xuzi, chief of the Taitoushan Police Station. It was raining heavily that day and Han Zhijun stood in the rain reasoning with the police. As a result, he was handcuffed by seven or eight policemen and thrown into the police car as well. Han's house door was closed shut and locked up, and neighbors were prohibited from coming near. Plainclothes policemen were dispatched to secretly monitor, spy on, and eavesdrop on the activities of Han Jingyu's family members in an attempt to locate and arrest him. Han, unable to return home, was forced to live away from home. His eldest son Han Zhijun was imprisoned for one day and extorted out of 200 yuan before being released.

Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Han Shuzhen from Taitoushan, Pingquan County was also similarly arrested at home after dozens of policemen broke into her home at noon. Several Falun Gong books were also confiscated.

Relatives of these arrested practitioners were prohibited from visiting. All they could do was to send some clothes and money. The situation inside the police station is very worrisome to them. Policemen have already brutally force-fed the anonymous Falun Gong practitioner. This entire campaign of arresting practitioners was done with a reporter from the Pingquan County Television Station following along and taping the entire process. According to sources, this campaign was initiated due to someone's reporting Falun Gong practitioners' activities to the authorities. More details will be available through investigations to be conducted in the future.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2006/9/8/137317.html

Ms. Zhang Xiaoli, 43, is a teacher in Nanwang Village, Donglu Township, Qingwan County, Hebei Province. She started practicing Falun Gong before 1999 and benefited physically and mentally. After the persecution started in July 1999, she was fired from her job because of her determination to continue practicing Falun Gong.

In May 2003, when SARS was spreading in China, Zhan Shuzeng, the head of Donglu Township at that time, led a group of people to search Ms. Zhang's home and found a copy of Zhuan Falun, a sealed CD, and a truth-clarifying flyer. Under pressure, Zhang Xiaoli's husband, Hu Zhanfeng, the next day turned in a Guarantee Statement that he had written. At that time, Zhao Shuzeng said he would not investigate the issue further. To avoid harassment and to help the family financially, Ms. Zhang left her home and worked in Baoding City for six months afterwards.

In 2004, Fan Wenzhi, the supervisor of the township, promised Ms. Zhang Xiaoli's husband that his wife would not be troubled if she returned home to work in the fields. The husband readily believed him and asked his wife to come home. At 9 p.m. on September 8, 2004, when Ms. Zhang was doing some housework at home and hadn't even had dinner yet, Fan Wenzhi, accompanied by more than 20 people, broke into her home. Ms. Zhang was taken away for no reason and with no legal authorization. When her husband asked why they were taking her away, Fan Wenzhi said that they were just taking her to the township office for questioning and would soon send her back. Her family could ask him about anything later.

In the car, Fan Wenzhi let Ms. Zhang Xiaoli criticize the founder of Falun Gong and promised her that she would be released immediately if she would just say one word against him. She refused. That night, Fan Wenzhi sent her to the county brainwashing center. While she was in the brainwashing center, Fan Wenzhi tried many times to blackmail Ms. Zhang's husband for 10,000 yuan but failed. Her husband, Hu Zhanfeng, tried to reason with Fan but refused to be blackmailed, which made Fan furious. He pointed his finger at Hu Zhanfeng and threatened viciously, "I will destroy your family."

In the brainwashing center, Ms. Zhang refused to be brainwashed and started a hunger strike on October 27 to protest the persecution. On the third day, Fan Wenzhi sent some people to force-feed her. She was berated and beaten when she refused to cooperate with them during the force-feeding. A month later, when she was in a coma and her life was in danger, Fan Wenzhi still managed to send Ms. Zhang Xiaoli to Bailizhuang Forced Labor Camp in Baoding City and had her sentenced to three years of forced labor on November 5. The labor camp officials at first refused to accept her because of her poor health, but Fan managed to get her accepted. Her family was not notified. Her husband only found out about it when he went to the brainwashing center to visit her.

In the labor camp, she was still brutally force-fed. The guards stepped on her limbs and held her head down to force-feed her. She vomited blood afterwards. Later they had to give her a blood transfusion. She continued to vomit during the transfusions and had extremely bad headaches, and was very weak. For many days, her mind was not clear and she didn't even know she was in a forced labor camp.

The reasons Ms. Zhang was sentenced to forced labor were fabricated and untrue. Her sentencing statement listed the following incorrect evidence: Ms. Zhang's age was listed as 56, but in fact she was 12 years younger. She was accused of having three copies of Zhuan Falun at home, but in fact there was only one. Several CDs and many flyers were supposedly found at her home, but in fact there was only one CD and one flyer. It said that she eluded arrest for six months, but she was not on the wanted list during the time she worked in Baoding City.

On November 15, the labor camp finally granted permission for a visit and her family members were allowed to see her. They were shocked when they saw her. She was lying on the floor in the Women's Group office. Previously a little plump, she was very thin. She was unable to speak or move. Her breathing was rapid and her pulse was unsteady. She could not open her eyes, and her stomach hurt when a little pressure was applied. She was very healthy before, but now she was reduced to such a state. Her family was very worried and asked the labor camp officials to get her medical treatment. Camp officials said they would not unless the family paid for it. After returning home, Ms. Zhang's husband; her oldest son, Hu Shan; and several other relatives went to Donglu Township government office and asked Fan Wenzhi why Ms. Zhang Xiaoli had been sentenced to forced labor. The officials couldn't give any reasonable explanation. To avoid responsibility, they said, they had just wanted to threaten Zhang Xiaoli but didn't expect such consequences. Fan Wenzhi and other officials, including the head of the township, Duan, said they would report to higher authorities and try to get bail for Zhang Xiaoli so she could receive medical treatment as soon as possible.

Hu Zhanfeng believed them and returned home to wait for her release. More than a week passed and he still hadn't heard anything further. He and his son, Hu Shan, went to Donglu Township government office again. Fan Wenzhi avoided meeting them. Hu Zhanfeng went to the work unit where Fan Wenzhi's wife, Lu Lihong, worked but she was not there. Hu Zhanfeng had no other recourse but to visit Fan's home to ask what was going on. He got the address from Fan's father. Fan Wenzhi was very angry and made a call to others to come and deal with the situation. Hu Zhanfeng had to leave and return home.

When Falun Gong practitioners heard the news about Zhang Xiaoli they distributed flyers to alert people about her unfair treatment. However, while Hu Zhanfeng was waiting for his wife's release, disaster struck his family again. At 10 p.m., on December 1, Hu Zhanfeng's older son, Hu Shan, was dragged from his bed and taken to the Donglu Township government office. Hu Zhanfeng was not at home when this happened. Hu Shan, just 16 years old, was brutally beaten. They forced him to admit he practiced Falun Gong, too, so that they could get evidence that Ms. Zhang Xiaoli's whole family practiced. When Ms. Zhang's relatives went to see the child, they saw he had a bloody nose, a swollen face, several bumps on his head, and many wounds on his body. He had been beaten by Wang Shen and others from Donglu Township Police Station. At last they sent him to the Qingwan County detention center, where he was detained for one year. At that time, he was still in middle school. His education was interrupted because of the detention.

Hu Zhanfeng had to leave his home with his 12-year-old son. While wandering from place to place to avoid arrest, he worried about his wife and his older son. He wrote appeal letters and sent them to officials in Donglu Township. Fan Wenzhi arranged for the police to monitor his phone calls and they tracked him down. At 4 p.m. on December 27, 2004, Hu Zhanfeng was arrested at his temporary residence. He was brutally beaten and sent to Qingwan Detention Center. Fourteen days later, he was sentenced to 18 months of forced labor. His supposed crime was "threatening the government." Later it was changed to "threatening the normal lives of others."

During his detention, guard Li Changle extorted 260 yuan from Hu Zhanfeng's older sister, claiming it was for meals in the detention center. Wang Zhanming, Cui Chaoyang, and Guo Lei from the National Security Group of Qingwan County Police Department sentenced him to 18 months of forced labor. The reason for the sentence was that his handwriting was the same as the letters and the contents in the letters were similar to Falun Gong flyers, and therefore he was "threatening the government." Hu Zhanfeng didn't agree to such a ridiculous sentence and tore up the paper. He was brutally beaten and had many wounds on his face and body. Then he was dragged into a police car and taken to Balizhuang Forced Labor Camp in Baoding City.

Hu Ze, Mr. Hu Zhanfeng's younger son, suffered also. He watched his father, the only family member left, be taken away and beaten. He cried and ran through the streets. The next day a kind-hearted family took him in. More than a month later, he returned to his home in Nanwang Village. Since there were no parents to take care of and educate him, he became lax in his studies at school and often went on the Internet. He wandered around all day long and lived a lonely and meager existence.

Ms. Zhang Xiaoli refused to give up her belief and suffered brutal torture in the labor camp. She was put in a solitary confinement cell and tortured with the Death Bed. After her husband, Mr. Hu Zhanfeng, was also sent to the forced labor camp, when she met her family members on January 11, 2005, she could only cry. The whole family's bitter experiences are indeed grievous. Due to the long term persecution, her health has become very bad. On May 25, 2005, she was diagnosed at No. 252 Hospital in Baoding City with two tumors, one the size of a goose egg and the other a chicken egg, in her abdomen and uterus respectively. There was also a cyst on her ovary. She could not eat anything and would vomit anything she ate. She only weighted about 50 kg. The hospital doctor recommended her release for medical treatment, but the labor camp refused. When her parents, who were over 70 years old, and her disabled younger brother came to the labor camp to visit her, they were rejected and told, "Zhang Xiaoli is not allowed to see anyone."

When her father asked to bail her out for medical treatment, the labor camp officials said, "We will give her medical treatment. If we cannot treat her, you can take her back."

Four months later Mr. Hu Zhanfeng finally saw his wife on September 26, 2005. At that time, she had already become mentally disordered. She kept repeating the same word and kept crying.

On December 6, 2005, Ms. Zhang's older son, Hu Zhan, was released. The two sons lived together without any income. After 14 months of detention, Mr. Hu Zhanfeng was finally released. His home was in poor condition. The roof had leaked and many things, including clothes and the TV, had been stolen. Mr. Hu Zhanfeng had been a doctor for over 20 years, but since he was sentenced to forced labor, his license was terminated and he lost his job with the Nanwang Village clinic. He has tried to talk to Fan Wenzhi more than 30 times and Fan still hasn't resolved the issue. Currently, Mr. Hu Zhanfeng and his older son work at temporary jobs.

In June 2006, the news about Ms. Zhang Xiaoli in the labor camp came out. She had been tortured many times, including being hung up and getting electrical shocks. On the night of June 13, guard Bai Jie handcuffed her to the bed frame and kept her from sleeping all night. She was given electric shocks. At 4 a.m., her painful screaming woke up everyone in that building. She still has deep handcuff marks on her wrists. She is in a stupor and is not in a normal mental state.

While Ms. Zhang and her family members were in detention, their relatives, friends, and other good people appealed to the government on their behalf. After Fan Wenzhi heard about this, he went to Zhang Xiaoli's parents home in Nanwang Village, and threatened to arrest anyone who was involved.