The Facts of the Persecution of Falun Gong  -- March 29, 2007

Issued by Clearwisdom Net

Content

  • Ms. Liu Meizhen Tortured to the Brink of Death at Liaoning Province Women's Prison

  • Mr. Luan Fusheng is in Serious Condition Due to Abuse in Jail

  • Ms. Zhang Lianying Suffers Brain Hemorrhage Due to Torture and Is in Critical Condition

  • The Persecution of Falun Gong Practitioners in Yishui County, Shandong Province

  • The Persecution at the First Detention Center of Datong City, Shanxi Province

  • Ms. Chen Shaoqing Forcibly Taken to a Brainwashing Center in Zhanjiang City, Guangdong Province



  • Ms. Liu Meizhen Tortured to the Brink of Death at Liaoning Province Women's Prison

    On March 9, 2007, the family members of Falun Gong practitioner Liu Meizhen, from Dadong District of Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, received a call from the Women's Prison of Liaoning Province to take Liu Meizhen home. At that time, Ms. Liu was already extremely weak due to the torture she endured, and was unable to walk.

    Ms. Liu Meizhen, 66, is a retiree of the Heating Company of the Real Estate Bureau of the City of Shenyang. She began practicing Falun Gong in 1994. Since then, her many chronic illnesses, including arthritis, cough, and sciatic numbness, and residual problems after her tonsillectomy were all cured. She lived according to the standards of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, and became even kinder to others. Whenever there was a conflict, she always looked inside and considered others first. She felt the distinct honor of cultivating in Falun Gong and the joy of a rebirth.

    Since the persecution against Falun Gong began in 1999, like many other Falun Gong practitioners, Ms. Liu began clarifying the facts and exposing the persecution to the public. In August 2001, she was illegally sent to Longshan Labor Camp in Shenyang for two years. Her actual detention duration was 18 months.

    On November 21, 2005, while posting truth-clarification materials about Falun Gong in the Liaoshen Area in Dadong District, Shenyang City, Ms. Liu was illegally abducted by police from the Liaoshen Police Station, Dadong District of the Shenyang City Police Department. She was severely tortured at the police station. Several police threw her to to the ground. As a result, she shook constantly and could not walk. She was later sent to the Shenyang City Detention Center, and in February 2006, was secretly sentenced to serve three years at the Women's Prison of Liaoning Province.

    According to people familiar with her situation, when Liu Meizhen was sent to the Women's Prison in February, she was examined by two paramilitary police as a part of the routine exams. Because she was very weak, she did not pass the exam, and the prison rejected her. The prison warden negotiated with the detention center staff for a long time. In the end, the detention center staff said that Ms. Liu was already sentenced and forced the prison to accept her. The detention center staff just left Ms. Liu at the prison and left.

    On April 10, 2006, Liu Meizhen's family members visited her at the prison. Her body was still very weak. Two guards had to hold her up so that she could see her family, as she couldn't even walk. She was detained in the 6th Team, the 3rd Ward of the Women's Prison of Liaoning Province , where she was inhumanely tortured.

    As soon as she entered the prison, the warden ordered other inmates to cut her hair and make her change to inmate's uniforms. Because she was very weak and couldn't walk, a kind-hearted inmate helped her obtain a temporary bed.

    The inmates, under the orders of the guards, tried to brainwash her. At least two inmates watched her all the time, even when she went to the bathroom or ate. They prohibit Falun Gong practitioners from talking to each other. The prison also formed three-person teams, forcing each Falun Gong practitioner to always be accompanied by two non-practitioner inmates.

    Once, An Rui, supervisor at the 3rd Ward, tried to brainwash her. When she learned that Ms. Liu's cell mates were all asleep during the day because they were on watch duties at night, she immediately sent two more inmates to watch Liu Meizhen closely. The horrific environment at the prison had worsened Liu Meizhen's already-poor health. Because she could not control her bladder, the prison guards called her family and asked them to bring more toilet paper. She also lost several teeth and could not eat the cornbread and pickled vegetables at the prison.

    Liu Meizhen was firm in her belief and refused to give up the practice. She was too physically weak to do hard labor. At the same time, many of her organs were failing. The prison staff were afraid that Ms. Liu would die in prison, so they released her on medical parole. She was taken home by her family members on March 9, 2007.

    According to insiders, Ms. Yang Shumei, a Falun Gong practitioner from Zhuanghe, Dalian City, who was in her 40s, was also detained at the 3rd Ward of the Women's Prison of Liaoning Province. She had hepatitis and was released on medical parole. Later, she was sent back to the prison. The inmates often beat, cursed at, and physically tortured her. Falun Gong practitioner Li Huixia, who is from Chaoyang, Liaoning Province and in her 30s, was also tortured. At the end of 2006, because she shouted "Falun Dafa is great," the guards taped her mouth shut and tied her hands behind her back. She couldn't breathe, and her face turned purple. A kind-hearted inmate tore away the tape for fear that she would die. The inmate said to the guards, "Are you going to suffocate her to death?" Falun Gong practitioner Shi Shengying from Shenyang was another practitioner tortured for refusing to denounce her faith. In the winter of 2004, she was detained in solitary confinement, which was not heated. It was very cold. She was monitored by an inmate. The prison threatened that she would be in solitary confinement until she denounced Falun Gong. Whenever it became cold, the inmate tortured her severely as punishment. She was tortured to death on August 25, 2005.

    More than 10 Falun Gong practitioners have been tortured to death at the Women's Prison of Liaoning Province. Many more became permanently disabled. Because of the information censorship in China, many cases cannot be verified. We hope others can help us verify the deaths of Falun Gong practitioners Li Ling (in her 50s) and Zhang Juxian (age unknown) at the Women's Prison.


    Mr. Luan Fusheng is in Serious Condition Due to Abuse in Jail

    Mr. Luan Fushen is a Falun Gong practitioner from Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province. He had been abused at Jinzhong Prison in Shanxi Province (also known as the 1st Prison of Shanxi Province, and as Qi County Prison) to the extent that his entire body is swelling up. Some parts of his body have turned purplish black. His lower stomach region has swollen up, and he is in extremely serious condition.

    Mr. Luan Fushen is from Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province. He was unlawfully sentenced to eleven years in prison for practicing Falun Gong and clarifying the truth. He was held in the Jinzhong (Qi County) Prison in Shanxi Province. After over 20 days of his family and friends' coordinated efforts, he was released on parole.

    On March 21, 2007, after his family strongly demanded his release, Mr. Luan was "escorted" in a police vehicle by four guards from the prison. The guards dropped him off at the Weiming Police Station. The police officers there saw his emaciated body and terrible physical condition, and they let his family take him home.

    Mr. Luan Fushen is in extremely weak condition. He had an ashen complexion and his body gave off an odd odor. He was not cared for in the No. 109 Police Hospital. Instead, he was carried upstairs by his family members.


    Ms. Zhang Lianying Suffers Brain Hemorrhage Due to Torture and Is in Critical Condition

    On March 20, 2007, Ms. Zhang Lianying, a Falun Gong practitioner from Beijing, suffered a brain hemorrhage due to long-term torture at the Beijing Women's Forced Labor Camp. She was rushed to Renhe Hospital, Daxing District, Beijing for emergency care. Ms. Zhang is in a coma and fighting for her life.

    On January 10th, Ms. Zhang's husband Niu Jinping went with their three-year-old daughter to the administration office at the labor camp and requested to visit his wife. The director denied his visit. Around the Chinese New Year, Mr. Niu heard that his wife had been on a hunger strike and was in critical condition. He went to the local government office, 610 Office and police station many times, requesting to see his wife, but was refused.

    After some time, they transferred Ms. Zhang from the Sixth Team to the Concentrated Training Team and kept her in isolation. She is kept away from other practitioners and suffers even more severe torture.

    In the morning of March 20, Ms. Zhang began to feel dizzy and could not walk properly. At around 9 a.m., staff from the labor camp took her to see a doctor. They first took her to a small nearby hospital. The hospital staff did not dare to treat her due to the severity of her condition. She was then taken to Renhe Hospital in Daxing District. She was diagnosed as having suffered "massive hemorrhage on both sides of the brain" and is in critical condition. Doctors performed an emergency operation immediately. Ms. Zhang's family members were notified at 3 p.m., and they rushed to the hospital. By that time, Ms. Zhang was in a deep coma.

    Ms. Zhang Lianying is 46 and has a B.S. degree. She worked as an official and registered accountant at the Beijing Guangda Group. After Jiang Zemin's regime began to persecute Falun Gong in July 1999, Ms. Zhang wrote "The Journey Home," where she recounted her experience and exposed the CCP's brutal and systematic persecution. On June 14, 2005, when Ms. Zhang was taking care of her baby daughter, more than 10 police officers from the Xianghe Police Station broke into her home and arrested her. On June 30, she was illegally sentenced to two years and six months of forced labor. From August to mid-October 2005, she was severely beaten at the 9th Team of the Beijing Tuanhe Dispatching Office. There were many 3cm-long cuts of different depths on her head and face. The shape of her face was distorted, and she became absent minded and could no longer move around with ease. She requested to sue those who beat her, but the Beijing Re-education Through Labor Bureau, Dispatching Office, and Procuratorate denied her requests.

    On April 20, 2006, Ms. Zhang Lianying was transferred to the women's labor camp, where she was again physically and mentally tortured. Mr. Niu Jinping, Ms. Zhang's husband, saw no other hope to find help for his wife in China. On May 21, 2006, he met with Vice President of the European Parliament Edward McMillan-Scott. He told Mr. McMillan-Scott the facts about the persecution that he, his wife, and friends were suffering. Mr. Niu showed him the location of the Beijing Women's Forced Labor Camp on the map, evidence of the torture of Ms. Zhang, a document of his wife's sentence, receipt of paid fines, and so on. Since this meeting, Mr. Niu Jinping, Ms. Zhang Lianying and Mr. Cao Dong, another practitioner who met with Edward McMillan-Scott, have suffered continued threats and retaliation from CCP officials. The torture of Ms. Zhang at the Beijing Women's Forced Labor Camp was escalating when she suffered this brain hemorrhage. Ms. Zhang Lianying is currently in critical condition.


     The front gate of the Beijing Women's Forced labor Camp



    The Persecution of Falun Gong Practitioners in Yishui County, Shandong Province

    Since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Jiang Zemin's followers started persecuting Falun Gong on July 20, 1999, the practitioners in Yishui County, Linyi City, Shandong Province have suffered from ruthless mental torment and physical torture.

    I. Partial Account of Persecution of Falun Gong Practitioners in Shagou Township

    On July 20, 1999, Falun Gong practitioners Wang Yuecheng, Li Fujiang, Li Lechang and Zhao Wenan from Shagou Township of Yishui County went to Beijing to appeal. They were illegally arrested and detained at the Yishui County Detention Center for four days and were each fined 200 yuan. Later, they were transferred to a brainwashing session held by the Shaogou Township Party Committee and were persecuted for seven days. Moreover, they were forced to write the three statements.

    Mr. Li Fujiang clarified the truth to the guards, but the guards tortured the practitioners even more severely. Guard Xiao Jinggang forced the practitioners to sit on the cold concrete floor, with their arms raised and held out straight at eye level, and kicked them when they lowered their arms. Later, he forced them to hold their hands behind their heads while handcuffed, sitting upright, and beat them when they could no longer keep the posture. He forbade them to eat or sleep, and poured cold water on their heads or faces if he saw them dozing off. He made no exceptions for elderly practitioners, including Wang Yuecheng and Li Lechang, who were in their 60s.

    Practitioner Mr. Zhao Liwei was arrested in Beijing and taken back to Yishui County. He was detained and tortured at the Yishui Detention Center for more than a month, then detained at the Shagou Township Party Committee. During his detention, township officials Xu Yilin, Xu Maowei and Ji Yuqing incited others to torture him ruthlessly. They kicked him with heavy shoes. When he fainted, they poured cold water on him to wake him up, and then continued torturing him. They kept him in a dark room and forbade his family members to visit him. One day, he fainted again from beatings and the guards had to send him to the Yishui Central Hospital. After Mr. Zhao was released from the hospital, the guards still denied family visits. They detained him until he agreed to sign the "three statements" and pay a fine. From then on, they required him to report to the township government twice a day.

    The township authorities have never stopped harassing Falun Gong practitioners. A person named Lu Jinhe wrote many letters in the name of a Falun Gong practitioner and delivered them to Falun Gong practitioners' homes, telling them, "Spread it, and come gather at the Shangyuhe Bridge." Then, the township authorities made the practitioners hand over the letter and if anyone refused, they would persecute that practitioner for "refusing to report." The authorities made a video recording of Mr. Li Fujiang and ordered him to repeat what they told him to slander Falun Gong and poison people's minds.

    Toward the end of 1999, the Shagou Township officials, including Xu Maowei and Ji Yuqing, along with agents from the police station and leaders from the village, fined Falun Gong practitioners in the township, including Mr. Li Lechang, 200 yuan each.

    On November 21, 1999, practitioners Ms. Zhou Rong and Ms. Liu Weijuan went to Beijing to appeal, but were arrested and detained in Zibo City. Later, Shagou Township police officers Lu Jingmin and Feng (surname) went to Zibo City to take them back. On the way, the officers beat Ms. Zhou so brutally that she lost her hearing. Moreover, they arrested practitioners Mr. Ren Lifa (Ms. Zhou Rong's husband), Zhao Wenan, Zhao Liwei, Wang Aihua, Li Xiaofen, Zhang Baojun, Wang Tao and Li Xiaomei, and took them to the Shagou Township government compound. Incited by township officials Xu Yilin, Xu Maowei, and Su Guiming, and police officers Ji Yuqiang, Lu Jinhe and Duan Baoliang, more than twenty individuals tortured the practitioners ruthlessly. They locked them in separate rooms, removed their cotton-padded jackets and trousers, made them sit on the cold concrete floor with their arms raised and held out straight at eye level, and put bricks on their arms. When Mr. Ren Lifa could no longer hold the bricks, town official Xu Maowei kicked him so heavily that he sustained a broken rib. The guards also forced practitioners to curse Falun Gong and Master, and beat them if they refused. They tied Ms. Li Xiaofen to a tree and beat her, leaving bruises all over her body.

    Guard Xiao Jinggang grabbed practitioners Ms. Zhou Rong and Ms. Liu Weijuan by the hair and dragged them into a room. Xiao removed Ms. Zhou's cotton-padded jacket, threw her to the floor, and ordered more than ten people to kick her ruthlessly. They dug into her ribs using handcuffs. She fainted again and again from the pain. The former township director and the CCP committee secretary Xu Yilin said viciously, "If you die today, it counts as committing suicide and no one will find out!" After being tortured for an entire night, the guards forced the practitioners to clean the courtyard. They were forbidden to eat anything from November 21, 1999 until 5:00 p.m. the next day. The guards kept the practitioners in detention until each of them paid 1,500 yuan and wrote a guarantee statement. Then they were released.

    However, on the morning of November 23, township official Su Guiming took Ms. Zhou Rong and her husband Mr. Ren Lifa to the Shagou courtroom. Xu Lilin said that Ms. Zhou had not made her statement clear enough and ordered three guards to beat and kick her again. They removed her jacket and shocked her with electric batons until she could not get up or walk. Then they ordered her and her husband to report to the town government twice a week. They also ordered practitioners Zhao Wenan, Zhao Liwei, Zhao Xuesheng and Wang Tao to do the same for more than a month.

    During the night of May 25, 2001, practitioners Ren Lifa, Zhou Rong, Zhao Liwei, Zhao Wenan, Wang Aihua and Liu Qijuan went out to hang up Falun Gong banners. Police officers Ji Yuqing and Duan Baoliang arrested them and took them to the Shagou Police Station. The practitioners were then sent to the Yishui County Detention Center and sentenced to forced labor terms a month later. Mr. Ren Lifa and Ms. Zhou Rong were sentenced to two years of forced labor, Zhao Liwei, Zhao Wenan and Liu Qijuan to three years, and Wang Aihua to a year and a half. Police officers extorted more than 5,000 yuan from Mr. Ren and Ms. Zhou. Their school-aged child was severely discriminated against and was forced to drop out of school. The police fined Mr. Zhao Liwei many times for a total of nearly 10,000 yuan.

    Practitioner Wang Tao is only 17 or 18 years old. As soon as he was taken to the Shagou Township government compound, he was severely beaten. He sustained a swollen neck and a bruised face. After being detained in the Shagou Township government compound for nearly a month, he was transferred to the Yishui County Detention Center for more than two weeks. He was fined 1,000 yuan after being released. His family was having financial difficulties but was still fined 4,700 yuan.

    Police officers handcuffed practitioner Mr. Lu Fengtian from Jinzhongyu Village to a bed and tried to brainwash him, with three police officers taking turns monitoring him day in and day out. When the on-duty police officer was asleep, Mr. Lu walked away. To avoid further arrest, he had to leave home. His mother died from worry, but he could not go home to be with her in her last days. Ever since he escaped, Shagou Township Police Station head Duan Baoliang has repeatedly led four or five police officers to search for him in other practitioners' homes, harassing them in the middle of the night and disturbing their lives. The police won't leave Mr. Lu alone. His whereabouts are unknown.

    On July 20, 1999, Party secretary Zhao Futing called practitioner Mr. Zhao Baojun to the Shagou Township Brainwashing Center and fined him 300 yuan. On November 25, 1999 of the Chinese lunar calendar, Shagou Township deputy supervisor Jin Yuqing arrested Mr. Zhao and took him to the Shagou Township government compound, forcibly removed his cotton-padded jacket and pants, and made him sit on the cold concrete floor. Jin kicked him in the mouth so hard that he immediately fainted. When he came to, deputy supervisor Su Guiming punched him in the face and made him squat, with his legs wide apart, while more than twenty people took turns kicking him. They tortured him from the evening until the next morning without stopping. Mr. Zhao had huge bruises all over his body. The guards did not release him until he agreed to pay a 100-yuan fine. Mr. Zhao could not walk for a week after this. Besides Jin Yuqing and Su Guiming, the more than twenty people who have beaten him include Xing Shouren, Xu Maowei, Jiang Hui, Xu Yilin, police officer Duan Baoliang, Liu Jinxin, and Ji Yuqiang.

    Practitioner Mr. Wang Yucheng chose to leave home and live with his out-of-town relatives because of frequent mental torment and extortion by the police.

    In July 2001, when practitioner Mr. Li Lechang was visiting Mr. Zhao Liwei, someone reported him. The police officers immediately ransacked his home and confiscated two tape recorders. They detained him for two weeks and fined him 3,000 yuan. His wife Xiang Zhaomei was also persecuted and fined 800 yuan.

    Since the persecution started, the Shagou Township authorities have extorted money from Falun Gong practitioners in amounts ranging from 300 yuan to several thousand yuan. The authorities in Yazhuang Village have been even more rampant. They have fined every person who has been seen practicing the Falun Gong exercises 300 yuan.

    II. Incidents of Persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in Yaodianzi Township

    Practitioner Ms. Zong Guiyun and her husband Mr. Zhang Shengji live in Fengtaizhuang Village, Yaodianzi Township in Yishui County. They started practicing Falun Gong in 1998, and both became healthy after practicing cultivation.

    On July 20, 1999, the CCP regime began an overwhelming persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. One day, township officers Wang Zhaocai and Liu Peiyu forced Ms. Zong Guiyun to attend a brainwashing session held in the Yaodianzi Township Center, where numerous Falun Gong practitioners were already detained. The guards included Shi Jun, Lin Qingbai, Liu Zhen and Zhao Wei. They forced practitioners to watch videos denouncing Master and Falun Gong, and ordered practitioners to curse Master. If anyone was sleepy or refused to watch, they would beat him or her with a stick or book, or otherwise punish him or her using varying methods. Ms. Zong Guiyun was detained for seven days and fined 800 yuan. Her husband was fined 1,000 yuan. Since then, the police have been frequently harassing them, day and night.

    On August 29, 1999, Ms. Zong Guiyun and Mr. Zhang Shengji went to a practitioner's home in Jizishan Village. Officer Wang Sike led a group of people from Yaodianzi to arrest the practitioners and take them to the Yaodianzi Education (Brainwashing) Committee. They beat the practitioners, and further tortured them using all kinds of methods, including forcing them to squat with their legs wide apart and both arms raised in the air, or forcing them to stand on one leg for a long time. The perpetrators included Shi Jun, Lei Fudong, Wu Gang, Zhang Yudong and many others. Ms. Zong Guiyun and Mr. Zhang Shengji were detained for six days and fined 3,300 yuan.

    On January 16, 2000, Ms. Zong Guiyun hung the following words on her door to celebrate the Chinese New Year: "The Buddha-Light Illuminates Everywhere and Rectifies All Abnormalities." (Zhuan Falun) Someone reported her. Wang Sike led a group of officers to arrest Ms. Zong and take her to a room in the Township Police Station. Dou Yutan beat her with a hard rubber baton. Later, Wang Sike moved Ms. Zong to a different room and ordered a group of people to beat her with wooden sticks and rubber batons. Both of Ms. Zong's legs turned blue and she sustained bruises all over her body. She was released the next day.

    Early one morning in June 2002, officer Wang Zhaocai led a group of officers and broke into Ms. Zong Guiyun and Mr. Zhang Shengji's home. They arrested the practitioners and took them to the Township government compound. That same day, they sent Ms. Zong to the Wang Village Brainwashing Center and didn't release her until a month later. They sent Mr. Zhang to the Yishui Brainwashing Center, where he was held for 11 days.


    The Persecution at the First Detention Center of Datong City, Shanxi Province

    At the end of 2006, more than ten practitioners were detained in the First Detention Center of Datong City, Shanxi Province; these practitioners had been arrested during a raid even though they had not broken any laws. They ranged in age from 17 to 62 and were in the middle of ordinary tasks such as cooking, eating dinner, or talking with relatives who were visiting when they were arrested. These kind-hearted practitioners were arrested without cause; they simply insisted on cultivating Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance.

    Li Cuiye (male) led the "reform" of practitioners at the Detention Center and was also primary in plotting out the persecution.

    In order to uphold their beliefs, the detained practitioners went on a protest hunger strike. During the hunger strike, several practitioners' lives were in jeopardy. Li did not stop the torture, but instead incited several strong, young criminal inmates to tie practitioners to chairs and hold down their heads, arms and legs to force injections. If the inmates had difficulty locating the veins for injections, they would prick the practitioners carelessly, often resulting in more than ten piercings. Li even said that if they were unable to locate a vein, they were to cut open a blood vessel arbitrarily. He also threatened practitioners, saying that if they moved during the injections, he would have the criminals prick them with needles. Sometimes they added an unspecified drug to the injections that caused nausea, dizziness and drowsiness.

    The practitioners were also persecuted via force-feeding. Li used the same barbaric technique of binding a practitioner to a chair, but then forced non-sanitized tubes up the practitioner's nose and then down into the stomach for force-feeding. The perpetrators would shake the practitioner's body during the force-feeding, causing great pain and suffering. Li did not care if a practitioner became unconscious during the process, he would still continue to incite the criminals to carry out the persecution.



    Ms. Chen Shaoqing Forcibly Taken to a Brainwashing Center in Zhanjiang City, Guangdong Province

    At about 8 p.m. on March 9, 2007, the 610 Office of Mazhang District, Zhanjiang City, Guangdong Province dispatched two cars to Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Chen Shaoqing's residence and forcibly took her away.

    Before she was taken, her neighbors tried to rescue Chen Shaoqing by holding onto her, and they asked the officers, "Why do you want to take her away?" However, they responded, "This has nothing to do with you." They claimed that they may arrest her at any time since she refused to write a guarantee statement and thus her case was not closed.

    When Chen Shaoqing's mother tried to block the officers' car door, the officers beat her to the point of serious injury. Now Chen Shaoqing is detained in a "Legal System School", a euphemism for a brainwashing center, in Zhanjiang City.

    There are more than 10 Falun Gong practitioners presently detained in this brainwashing center, including Chen Shaoqing, Zheng Caiyun, Chen Xiaoxia, and Liang Rongfang.

    Chen Shaoqing, who is from Shandun Village, Mazhang District, has been subjected to persecution by the Chinese Communist Party for years. In 2003, she was forcibly taken to the Sanshui Women's Labor Camp. At the camp, she endured all kinds of torture and became critically ill. Later, her family was able to take her back home. After returning home, officers from the Mazhang District 610 Office repeatedly made visits to her home to harass her. She did not have any personal freedom.