The Facts of the Persecution of Falun Gong  -- March 16, 2007

Issued by Clearwisdom Net

Content

  • Jilin Prison Fabricates Excuses to Rampantly Persecute Falun Gong Practitioners

  • Ms. Zhao Xiuqin from Beijing and Ms. Zou Yongping from Liaoning Province Died as a Result of Persecution

  • How a Physician Suffered from Persecution

  • The Police from Xinwen Mining Group in Shandong Province Arrest Four Falun Gong Practitioners

  • The Persecution of Dr. Li Wei from Anshan City, Liaoning Province



  • Jilin Prison Fabricates Excuses to Rampantly Persecute Falun Gong Practitioners

    In early April 2004, the Jilin Prison rampantly persecuted Falun Gong practitioners. The prison staff gave a dozen prison guards the prisoners' uniforms to wear. They were pretending to be Falun Gong practitioners. Each of them held a wooden stick in their hand and started to smash the iron gate. They yelled, "We have not committed any crime, we want to be released." At the same time, the prison education department (Tackle the Fort Office) video-taped the whole process. They said that Falun Gong practitioners were planning to bomb and disturb the prison. A list of crimes were deceitfully added to Falun Gong practitioners charges. After fabricating the evidence, the prison reported to the Jilin Prison Management Bureau, Jilin Judicial Department and the Provincial Party Committee. They claimed that "Falun Gong practitioners in Jilin Prison are planning to bomb the prison. The recorded video is provided as evidence. A decision from our superior is requested." It was in fact used to persecute Falun Gong practitioners. When the order of persecution arrived, the prison guards started a more severe and unbridled attack towards Falun Gong practitioners.

    On the day following the report, the Jilin Prison started to renovate the abandoned detention cells. There are six small rooms in total. Each room has a fixed bed to tie practitioners (also called a "Dead Man's Bed"). One week later, they started locking up people to persecute them. The steadfast practitioners were sent there and their bodies were tied onto the bed. They had to eat and urinate on the bed. The thugs used various ways to persecute practitioners. There was a discussion among the prisons about how to persecute Falun Gong practitioners. The first group of practitioners who were sent to the Dead Man's Bed were Zhang Wen, Zhang Weixin, Yang Junsheng, Shi Wenfeng and Lei Ming.

    Lei Ming was twice placed under "strict control" in the Jilin Prison. The first "strict control" lasted three months. He was locked on the Dead Man's Bed (the bed is flexible, it can be extended in length until the person on the bed loses his limbs). Lei Ming's body was stretched. His feet became disabled and he then walked with a limp.

    On March 20, 2004, Lei Ming was again sent to the Dead Man's Bed. He firmly believed in Falun Gong and didn't yield. The prison guards locked him up for more than six months. After Lei Ming was released from the detention cell, his life was in great danger. He was released on bail for medical treatment. Prison guard Li from the education department is the prime person who persecuted Lei Ming. The thugs, Sun Zhigang and Ding Zhaosong were the accomplices. Many practitioners' lives were in imminent danger, some died soon after they were released. Lei Ming died on August 6, 2006.

    Practitioner Zhang Wen from Changchun was sentenced after the "March 15 Cable TV Tapping." He was sent to the 3rd Team of the 5th Group of Jinlin Prison to be persecuted in December 2002. On the day he was sent to the prison, prison guard Zhang Jianhua instigated several thugs to beat Zhang Wen, whose feet became limp for more than a month. Later,one thug told practitioners, "I had to listen to the prison guard in order to gain points and reduce my sentence. You must sit on the board every day. You are not allowed to talk to anyone. If you break these rules, I must hit you." In May 2003, Zhang Wen was called into the office for writing an appeal letter to prison guard Zhang Jianhua. He was told that Falun Gong practitioners are not allowed to appeal, as practitioners do not have this right. They asked him to take the appeal back and promise not to appeal anymore. Otherwise, he would be placed under strict control. Zhang Wen insisted that he had committed no crime by appealing. Prison guards Lin Yubin and Zhang Jianhua sent Zhang Wen to the "Strict Control Team." Zhang Wen neither gave in nor cooperated with them. He was released from the strict team after he was locked up for more than six months. They transferred him to the 2nd Ward in November. In April 2004, he was again locked up in the detention cell to be tortured on the Dead Man's Bed. Zhang Wen's heel was deeply cut by the iron caliper that was used to tie him. It made him bleed and limp.

    Practitioner Zheng Weidong is from Jiutai City, Changchun Province. He was illegally sentenced and sent to the 2nd Team of the 5th Group in May 2002. In October 2002, prison guard Guo Donghu instigated thugs lead by Liu You and Shi Jingyu to beat Zheng Weidong, who didn't listen to or cooperate with them. The practitioner who sat behind Zheng Weidong tried to stop them by saying, "Do not hit people, it is illegal to beat someone." As soon as he finished his sentence, he was beaten on the ground. After they finished beating him, the prison guards gave an admonitory talk and again threatened everyone. They authorized the thugs to beat practitioners if they do not listen. Then prison guards Lin Yubin, Guo Dongbiao and the other thugs decided to move Zheng Weidong to the ground. They forced him to sit on the ground and deprived him of sleep for 24 hours. At about 4:00 a.m. on the morning of the eighth day, when Zheng Weidong went to use the toilet, he started to ram himself against the heater, in protest against the persecution. After his wound was dressed and the bleeding stopped, the torture continued. He was again sent to the Dead Man's Bed until his body nearly gave up. The Jilin Prison constructed fixed beds in every team in order to persecute Falun Gong practitioners. At the end of February 2004, he was transferred to Siping with a large group of people.

    On Chinese New Year's Eve in 2005, one prisoner was stretched to death on the fixed bed. This is not uncommon. Thugs Sun Zhigang and Ding Zhaoshong removed the dead body from the fixed bed to a stretcher. They carried the dead body to the hospital and claimed that this person had died even though every attempt was made to rescue him. Many people in Jilin Prison died in this manner.


    How a Physician Suffered from Persecution

    By Pan Qi from Liaoning Province, China

    My name is Pan Qi. I am a single woman and was born on June 26, 1974. I am a physician of internal medicine and live in Ganjingzi District, Dalian City, Liaoning Province. I was weak and unhealthy since childhood. In 1996, when I was in my third year of college, I began practicing Falun Gong. From then on, I have been following the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and I have become a very healthy and happy person.

    Persecution at Yaojia Detention Center

    On July 20, 1999, Jiang Zemin's wicked regime began openly persecuting Falun Gong. In order to defend Falun Gong and our Master, some practitioners and I went to the Dalian municipal government to appeal on July 20. The police harassed us and took us far away to a school by bus. During the day, they did not allow us any food. By 10:00 p.m., the officers had registered each of us before releasing us.

    To resist the lies and persecution, on August 9, 1999, I and seven other practitioners openly did the Falun Gong exercises in the Haimao 523 Factory Elementary School. Policeman Wang Guoyu of Haimao Police Station led a group of officers and arrested us. They later sent us to Yaojia Detention Center, where we were detained for seven days. During this detention, I refused to stop practicing. To punish me, the guards locked me up with rusty shackles. They said that these shackles had not been used for a long time. They chained my hands and feet to a frame. I could not lie down, nor could I stand up. When I tried to move a little, my wrists and ankles hurt badly. After 24 hours, my body could not stop shaking. An elderly lady in her 70's was also tortured the same way. She looked younger than her real age because of her Falun Gong practice. When she had her period, the police did not let her wash, so she was soaked with blood. A guard even cursed her.

    My older sister Pan Ling was also detained. She and another practitioner were handcuffed together back to back. When one of them used the bathroom, the other had to go along. It was very painful.

    Detained practitioners occupied an entire floor of the building. It was so crowded that we could hardly find a place to sleep. Some practitioners recited Master's books from memory. To stop them, the guards beat them. After that, they assigned one or two people to monitor each practitioner. Because the place was overcrowded, we did not eat meals or ate less to avoid trouble. We had to sleep on the bare floor with no bedding.

    After seven days, I returned home and found that my house had been ransacked by the police. They had confiscated all of my Falun Gong books. My family members were very scared.

    In late October 1999, I went to Beijing to appeal. When I arrived at Tiananmen, a soldier asked me who I was. I said that I was a Falun Gong practitioner and I wanted to visit the government appeals office. I was taken to Qianmen Police Station. The police officers refused to listen to my appeal and just wanted to know my name and address to send me back to my hometown. I refused to tell them my name and address. To punish me, they handcuffed my arms behind my back, one from above and another from below. After 20 minutes, they opened the handcuffs and questioned me. When I refused to cooperate, they handcuffed me again. After several rounds, my hands turned purple for lack of blood circulation. They then changed their tactics and hung me up by my hands to a steel cage. My toes could barely touch the floor. The officers closed the door, turned off the light, and left me there alone. With my body weight on my hands, I felt as if I was being deformed. My body felt like it was being torn to pieces. After a long time, the officers lowered me down. This torture did not stop until the next morning. I could not move my hands for a long time.

    One of the police officers lied to me. He said that if I told them my name, they would give me the Falun Gong books they had confiscated from practitioners, and I could take as many as I wanted. Otherwise, they would destroy the books. I believed the lie and told them my name. They immediately took me to the Dalian City Liaison Office in Beijing. From there I was sent to Jinzhou Detention Center in Dalian.

    The food in Jinzhou Detention Center was terrible. A meal usually consisted of hard corn bread and a piece of salted turnip. Bathroom breaks were very short and only at designated times. As a result, some of us suffered from constipation. After six days, the guards sent me to Masanjia Forced Labor Camp without informing my family.

    Persecution at Masanjia

    In Masanjia Forced Labor Camp, I suffered all kinds of mistreatment. I was monitored and tortured, forced to do hard labor, punished physically with electrical batons and sleep deprivation, and forced to stay in very cold place. After all this, the guards still could not force me to renounce Falun Gong. Frustrated, four guards (Wang Naimin, Wang Suzheng, Zhang Xiurong, and Huang Haiyan) placed Master's picture on the floor and carried me to step on the picture. They then told me to say bad things about Master and Falun Gong and threatened to shock me again. They wanted to destroy me physically and mentally. Under the high pressure, I compromised. Afterwards, I no longer wanted to live, but I also knew that committing suicide was a sin for a practitioner. However, at the time, I wanted to end the difficult situation and protest the persecution with death. My plan failed. Detention Center director Su Jing had an interview with me after I was "reformed." I told her about my thoughts of suicide. After that, the officials gave up the plan to have me appear on TV to glorify their "success."

    I then wrote a letter of "My Declaration" to indicate my resolve to continue cultivating. After I gave it to police team leader Wang Naimin, three months were added to my term. The guards also said that I had a mental problem and took me to a hospital. Using 400 yuan of my money, they bought some drugs and forced me to take them. I told Wang Naimin that I had no mental problem and there was no need to take the drugs. She said, "You couldn't sleep." I said, "But that doesn't mean I have to take these." In fact, they did not allow me to sleep regularly. Wang said, "These drugs are expensive." I told her, "It's not good to take them." She said, "You can do whatever you want. You can lie down or sleep, as long as you take them." Several collaborators pinned me to the floor. One sat on my body and they pinched my nose so I had to open my mouth to breathe, then they dumped the drugs into my mouth. Afterwards, I often felt dizzy and could not stand still. They said, "Once you are 'reformed,' then everything will be over." Fellow practitioner Su Juzhen was also forced to swallow some drugs.

    Three months later, I was still not "reformed." The detention center told me that I would either remain there indefinitely or go to Dabei Prison to serve a sentence. After my family members' efforts, I received a medical parole after four months in Masanjia. I left Masanjia in February 2001.

    Detained in Dalian Forced Labor Camp

    In June 2001, my sister and I went to Dalian Finance College to clarify the truth about Falun Gong. The security and police officers arrested us and sent us to Yaojia Detention Center. In the detention center, I told the officials that I did nothing wrong. To punish me, guard Lu Yimei (female) chained me with handcuffs and foot shackles. She also tied the cuff and foot shackles together with a short chain, so that my back could not be straight. In their "normal" practice, this torture should not be used on anyone for more than 14 days. Otherwise, it could cause a permanent handicap. However, they chained me that way for 40 days. To protest this torture, I went on a hunger strike twice, for a total of 14 days. Each time, the prison doctor and some assistants force-fed me with salt water and porridge. Later, the guards took me to Dalian Forced Labor Camp. After a physical exam, a doctor declared that I was too sick to serve the hard labor. At the time, I could not even stand freely. When I walked, I had to lean on the wall and walk slowly. Finally after 15 days, they released me.

    Morally Declining Society Rejects Good People

    Repeated detention caused severe damage to my life. I lost my job, I was physically hurt and exhausted and was mentally distressed. My family members were unhappy and people tried to stay away from me. Not long after I was released, I took a qualifying exam for chief physician and passed. I would have become a doctor if not for the persecution, but now these basic rights were not available to me.

    After I returned home, I worked in an Internet café, a family business. However, the officers from Haimao Police Station said that Falun Gong practitioners are not allowed to run an Internet café. In the end, we had to close the business.

    Because I clarify the truth and insist on my belief in Falun Gong, I have been repeatedly arrested by the police and dismissed by quite a few employers. These employers are: Ganjing District Hospital, Dalianwan District Hospital, Ganjing District Beishi Group Hospital, Nanguanling District Hospital, Dalian New Century Hospital, Dalian New Development District Hospital and Moushi Hospital. The heads of these hospitals tried to pressure me to give up Falun Gong cultivation. They also assigned people to watch me and forbade me from talking about Falun Gong with anyone. They were afraid of being fined, or their bonus being affected. They also feared that the police might harass them.

    Some hospitals ended my employment because I was detained. For example, when I was in Beishi Group Hospital, chief of staff Zhang destroyed my chance to get training. He said that if I was arrested again, my training was wasted and that he would rather send a nurse for the training. During the Chinese New Year, I sang a Falun Gong song. For that, he fired me. Another time, when I was an ER doctor in the New Development District, I picked up a patient with a driver. The patient gave us 300 yuan in cash. The driver wanted to share the money with me but I told him that I am a Falun Gong practitioner and would never take this kind of money. The driver was upset and he reported me to the chief of staff Li. Chief Li told me to write an apology statement, but I refused, so they fired me. The communist rulers in China encourage people to lower their morals, and in the meantime, they attack good people. Ms. Zhang Xilian, the director of the ER, witnessed this incident.

    The Wicked CCP Wants to Kill Solid Practitioners

    On April 5, 2004, policeman Liu Hui and more than ten other people from the New Development District came to my dormitory in Dongte Clinic to arrest me. To protest their conduct, I decided to start a hunger strike. The police pushed me into a chair and started to force-feed me with a soup that contained drugs and salt. It tasted awful and I felt dizzy immediately afterwards. Dr. Wang said that they gave me some medicine for dysentery to treat my diarrhea, but their activity was very suspicious. Ten days later, I experienced kidney failure symptoms. Officer Liu Hui asked my mother to take me home after she paid a 5,000 yuan fine. My mother saw my dangerous condition and refused to pay. Liu Hui was so scared that he ran away without a word.

    In July 2005, official Luo Gan came to Dalian. To please Luo, Dalian's National Security Police system headed by Chen Xin started an intensive harassment of practitioners. They monitored our phone calls, followed us, and made arrests. One day after work, they arrested me, along with fellow practitioners Tian Yunhai, Sun Liwen and Zang Lianmei.

    In the detention center, I refused to eat or drink. The guards deprived me of sleep and guard Wang Tao asked doctor Su to force-feed me. They inserted a hose in my windpipe which caused me to cough strongly and spit out the food. Suddenly I heard the sound of heavy rain and could not hear another sound because I was almost dead from suffocation. They stopped the force-feeding and sent me back to my cell and the rain stopped. After that, I reported the incident to director Meng, guard Wang Tao and other police officers, but no one cared to listen to such a horrible act.

    Fellow practitioners Chi Yulian and Li Xiumei died of force-feeding. I believed that if I did not survive this, the officials would probably issue a "death from illness" statement like they did for Chi Yulian and Li Xiumei. The next day, doctor Su came to force-feed me again. He fixed the feeding hose to my hair and tied my limbs to the bed. To avoid further damage, I agreed to eat some food and the force-feeding stopped. However, my stomach and mouth were both badly hurt. My family picked me up 15 days later.

    I later went to the Ganjingzi Procuratorate to investigate the tortured-to-death cases in the detention centers, and asked them to protect the innocent; however, after they heard the cases, no one wanted to help.

    Persecution of My Fellow Practitioners

    Fellow practitioner Mr. Tian Yunhai received a ten-year sentence by Ganjingzi Procuratorate and Ganjingzi Court, headed by chief judge Wang Lijuan. Mr. Tian is detained at the 6th Group of the 1st Ward of Panjin Prison. In prison, Mr. Tian once wanted to stop the guards from beating practitioners. As a result, guards headed by Zhang Guolin and Wu Fenggang assaulted him with punches and kicks, they also used electric batons and the tiger bench to torture him, and they tied him to a iron chair for over 50 days. On August 19, 2006, Mr. Tian started a hunger strike to protest the illegal detention and persecution. The hunger strike lasted more than six months. Guard Zhang Guolin did not let his family see him, saying that they don't even care if he dies. Now Mr. Tian has been transferred to a special prison hospital. The head officer in the hospital, Zhang Huiyu, said that Mr. Tian's health is deteriorating. The hospital chief, Zhang Yawei, and Doctor Gao Junman continue to force-feed him and perform involuntary infusions. They said that they are not sure about his safety. He is unable to walk and has to be carried on another's back. He also cannot speak.

    I went to see the prison politics section chief, Hu Meifa, to report Mr. Tian's situation. Hu called some guards from the Xinsheng Branch to intimidate me, and they searched my bags and threatened to arrest me. After my strong resistance and others' intervention, they failed to make an arrest. Moushi Hospital's chief Liu Rulin had several talks with me to try to force me give up Falun Gong. After I refused, he fired me.

    Practitioner Sun Liwen is being detained at Dalian Forced Labor Camp. Zang Lianmei is detained at Shenyang Prison Area. They are both very diligent practitioners.

    Because I have been followed, when I have seen other practitioners on the street, we could only exchange a glance and move on. Because of the repeated detention and mistreatment to which I have been subjected, my physical condition is not as good as before. The right side of my body feels numb all the time. My strength and weight have not recovered. The local police officers often come to my house to harass me. They forced my family to sign some documents and fill out forms, and they often make threats of arrest. My family members are all afraid of them and have a short temper.

    The red terror is all over China. All Falun Gong practitioners are facing arrest, prison terms, torture and even death. They face possibly being sent to concentration camps and having their vital organs harvested.

    My sister went to Japan in late 2005. I planned to visit her there, but the government refused to issue me a passport. They told me to get a "not a Falun Gong practitioner" statement from our district police branch. I asked them, "Why do you refuse my passport application?" They did not answer this question. In fact, they are worried that the persecution in the prison would be exposed to the world.



    The Police from Xinwen Mining Group in Shandong Province Arrest Four Falun Gong Practitioners

    On the morning of February 22, 2007, Public Security Section Chief Gao Lei and Chinese Communist Party Secretary Zhao Mou at the Xinwen Mining Group of Huaheng Mining Corporation brought more than ten people with them, broke into Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Liu Qin's home and arrested her. They took three Falun Gong books that belonged to her. Then they broke into Falun Gong practitioner Niu Rongtian's home, confiscated all her Falun Gong materials and arrested her. In the afternoon, they broke into Falun Gong practitioner Ren Zhizhen's home, searched her house, confiscated all the Falun Gong materials and arrested her. The next day, they broke into Ren Zhizhen's home again and arrested her husband Zhao Wenzhu (who is about 50 years old and recently started to learn Falun Gong).

    Ms. Liu Qin is 63 years old. On June 13, 2006, while she was putting up some Falun Gong truth-clarifying materials at Wennan Township, Xintai City, the deputy chief of Wennan Local Police Station Li Xin and several policemen arrived at the scene. They beat Ms. Liu badly and then took her to the local police station to be violently interrogated. The next day, they sent her to Xintai Detention Center, and extorted 1,400 yuan from her family. The Public Security Section of Huaheng Mining Corporation wanted to arrest Liu Qin and send her to Wangcun Forced Labor Camp in Zibo City. Because of this, Liu Qin was forced to leave her home. She returned home at the end of 2006 and had hidden at home since then. After the Lunar Chinese New Year, Liu Qin was discovered by police from the Public Security Section when she was visiting her friends and relatives, and they arrested her again.

    Ms. Niu Rongtian is over 40 years old. On the night of January 3, 2003 when she was giving out truth-clarifying materials, someone reported her to the 610 Office at the Public Security Section. She was arrested and sent to Wennan Coal Mine. Zhang Chuanyu, Gao Lei, Yang Bin, Niu Xuedong, Song Zeng and Zhang Mou from the Public Security Section beat her up and illegally detained her for two days and two nights. They also extorted 5,000 yuan from her family. On the morning of January 6, Ms. Niu was sent to Wennan Women's Labor Re-Education Camp to be persecuted. She was there for 80 days. When she was incarcerated in the 3rd Team, team leader Zhao told her while striking her head, "You are here to 'transform' your thoughts." Niu Rongtian was not allowed to sleep or go to the toilet. There were two persons assigned to watch her closely and torture her in turn. She was force-fed three times, causing her mouth to bleed, and she was forced to do hard labor for more than 10 hours daily. Ms. Niu returned home on April 5, 2003. Since then, the local police have continuously followed and harassed her.

    Ms. Ren Zhizhen is about 50 years old. She was reported by someone in January 2002 when she was giving out truth-clarifying materials. Ms. Ren was arrested by the Xintai 610 Office and the Public Security Section of Wennan Coal Mine, and was sent to the Public Security Section (Zhang Chuanyu was the leader and Gao Lei was the driver). After two days, Ren Zhizhen was jailed in the Jinan 2nd Women's Forced Labor Camp for 50 days. In the labor camp, she was subjected to forced brainwashing attempts (being forced to watch the self-immolation video and other false and slanderous materials), was deprived of sleep for a long period of time, and was not allowed to use the toilet. Ms. Ren was also verbally abused and forced to stand for a long period of time. In the later stages of her detention, she was forced to do hard labor for more than 10 hours every day. The perpetrators also extorted 6,000 yuan from her without giving any receipt. They often harassed Ms. Ren after she was released and sent home.


    The Persecution of Dr. Li Wei from Anshan City, Liaoning Province

    Mr. Li Wei, 40, is a medical doctor at the Qianshan Hospital in Anshan City. He was sent to a forced labor camp for one year due to practicing Falun Gong. He was unlawfully sentenced to three years, which was later extended to five years. During the delay period, the Anshan Court wanted to re-try him, but he refused to cooperate. The Anshan City Police Department sent a large police force to arrest him. Li Wei was sentenced to a five-year prison term. His house was illegally ransacked, and Mr. Li's elderly parents were greatly traumatized by the incident.

    During the time when Mr. Li Wei was detained in the Anshan City Detention Center, the guards instructed Fan Hongzuo, a male inmate who was on death-row, and Cai Bin, the No. 207 Cell Leader who is a male prisoner, to torture Mr. Li. They cut off Li Wei's nipples with scissors and used other torture methods in an attempt to force Li Wei to accept the brainwashing and give up his belief.

    Mr. Li Wei's legs were stretched apart while in the custody bu Anshan City Police. His groin area became bluish black and his testicles became swollen to the size of one's fists. He was unable to walk.

    In November 2006, Li Wei was sent to the Anshan City Prison. He is now detained in the Sixth Ward. His parents are too afraid to visit him.