Records
of Chinese Government's Violations of
Human Rights
of Falun Gong Practitioners
(Updated on March 30th)
THE FOLLOWING
IS ONLY AN INCOMPLETE LIST. WE WILL UPDATE THIS AS WE RECEIVE MORE REPORTS.
Chinese government blocks the passage of information
in all means, including:
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Forcing domestic peoples to be silent by using their
dictating power like army and police;
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Preventing international media, even those physically
in China, from obtaining the first-hand facts;
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Spreading lies all over the world after cutting the
contact between people and foreign media.
People have risked their lives to get
this information out of China. Thus, for some happenings, we
may not have exact location and time. All phone lines, email, and Internet
web sites in China are closely monitored or cut off. We now reveal to the
world a small sample of the faxes and emails that friends and relatives
have received from Falun Dafa practitioners.
As early as before July 20th, Falun Gong practitioners
had already been harassed, wiretapped, tailed. However, the situation became
extremely severe after July 20th and the persecution towards Falun Gong
was escalated as shown in the records below. Thus, this report is divided
into two parts:
The situation in China is still developing and getting
worse by the hour. We call on all kind-hearted people in the world to appeal
to the Chinese government to stop these brutal persecution and respect
human rights and to allow Chinese citizens the basic right to read the
virtuous book and to practice the health enhancing exercises of their choice.
Part 5 From January up to present
January 1,
2000
China
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At the first second of the new millennium, about 20
practitioners were arrested at Tian-an-men Square while they were trying
to hold up a banner of "Falun Dafa". Among them, 10 came from Australia.
All these practitioners are in custody now.
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At 11:40am on January 1, 2000, two Falun Dafa practitioners
held up a banner that read "Falun Turns Forever", and they were arrested
immediately. The morning of January 1, arrested practitioners filled seven
or eight police vans.
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A student from Wu-Han Police School went to Beijing
to appeal. After he was released from detention, he continues to practice
Falun Dafa. Now, he has gone to Beijing again to appeal.
Practitioners From Japan Did
Group Practice on the Tiananmen Square to Celebrate the New Millennium
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On the eve of the new millennium, a dozen practitioners
from Japan gathered at Tiananmen Square to practice Falun Gong and were
arrested by the Chinese police. Six practitioners with Japanese passports
and one practitioner with a Taiwan passport were deported and sent back
to Tokyo on the afternoon of January 1st, 2000.
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Over 40 practitioners from Japan volunteered to go to
Beijing. Some with Chinese passports were denied entrance to China at Beijing
or Shanghai customs. When being questioned for the reason, the customs
officers said perfunctorily that they were simply following the orders
of their supervisors. Practitioners lost their personal freedom for more
than 12 hours and were put onto the airplane returning to Japan the next
day.
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On December 31, practitioners who successfully arrived
in Beijing went to Tiananmen Square. When it was approaching midnight,
thousands of people gathered at the Square. The practitioners started to
practice Falun Gong as soon as the new millennium arrived. Japanese practitioners
also found many practitioners from China and Hong Kong practicing Falun
Gong separately at different locations of the Square.
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As soon as the police noticed
them, they rushed to the practitioners and dragged them onto police vans.
Many female practitioners were dragged into the vans by their hair.
The police force seemed inadequate because a group of Japanese practitioners
were not taken away until they had practiced Falun Gong for about ten minutes.
They were sent to detention centers in Beijing. Some police officers' hands
became swollen or even bloody from beating up practitioners. Many police
officers became very tired. Many people and foreign journalists witnessed
police officers beating up practitioners.
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Practitioners with Japanese passports were sent back
to Tokyo after being detained for 12 hours while practitioners with Chinese
passports remained in custody. When this news was written, Zhang Yu-fu
and his seven-year-old son were already being escorted back, by police,
to their hometown in Harbin. Zhang Yu-fu's mother-in-law had been informed
to pick up the child. Zhang's wife is also a practitioner and she had been
denied entrance to China twice. The whereabouts of other arrested practitioners
are unknown.
January 2, 2000
Beijing
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The Fangshan Changguan police
station has sent over 50 practitioners they arrested to a mental institution(located
in Zhou-Kou-Dian) and have not released them yet. According to the authorities,
the practitioners were held in custody so that they could not appeal during
the period China was reclaiming Macao. Each of
them had to pay 800 to1000 Yuan for the "expenses". It was said
that the officials in the police station had the right to decide when to
release them.
January 10, 2000
Beijing
Courageous Practitioners Continued to Appeal
in Beijing
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Ten practitioners from a remote suburban area in Cheng-hua District of
Cheng-du City arrived Beijing today. They made a statement to the international
media that they would protest the local government's escalating persecutions
against Falun Gong practitioners and appeal to the United Nations Human
Rights Organizations, International Human Rights Organizations, all governments
and kind-hearted people for support.
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These ten practitioners came to Beijing to appeal because an official named
He Wei-yuan had used vicious slanders to humiliate Falun Gong practitioners
for many times in the "forced education class".
January 11, 2000
Sichuan Province
Falun Gong practitioner Ms Zhang Hui-fang lost
her job and home; a 78 years old practitioner Ms. Wang Shu-zhen cannot
go home
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Ms. Zhang Hui-fang, a staff member of the department of services in the
Si-chuan army district, was dismissed from the party, and her post. Her
apartment was also taken back by the authorities (in China, the apartments
of workers are usually owned by the state). Later she was arranged to rent
an apartment near the Lu-you village police station.
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Since police station sent police officers to monitor and interrogate Ms.Zhang
everyday and therefore brought disturbance to nearby residents, the landlord
had to take the apartment back. Therefore, Ms. Zhang had to stay with her
friends in turns.
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Ms. Wang Shu-zhen, 78 years old, living in Dong-cheng-gen Street of Chengdu
City, went to Beijing on December 26 of last year in order to tell the
truth of Falun Gong to the central authorities. After she was escorted
back to Chengdu City, she was under home arrest instead of being sent to
detention center, because the police was concerned about her old age. The
police told all her neighbors that they should immediately report to the
police station anyone who went to visit her. In order not to bring trouble
to fellow practitioners who might visit her, Ms. Wang had to stay with
her children in turns.
Wen-jiang County, Sichuan Province
Practitioners went to appeal during the New
Year's Day; local police officers ransacked practitioners' homes
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During the New Year's Day, about 40 practitioners from Weng-jiang County
went to Beijing to appeal. Therefore, the local governmental officials
were criticized by the authorities for not being able to prevent these
practitioners from going to appeal. Recently, the local police officers
have started to arrest Falun Gong practitioners and ransack practitioners'
homes on a large scale. Many practitioners have already been arrested.
Chengdu City, Sichuan Province
Chengdu authorities continue to throw "stubborn"
practitioners into jails
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Chengdu authorities have thrown practitioners who refuse to give up their
beliefs in Falun Dafa during the "transformation class" into jails. The
practitioners have been sentenced to administrative detention or criminal
detention.
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Li Zhi, a teacher of the fourth middle school in Xin-dou, was forced to
resign from her job and divorce her husband in order not to bring trouble
to her supervisors and her family. She was sent to the "transformation
class" and later to the detention center. Practitioner Jiang Yun-hong was
transferred to the criminal detention center of Lian-hua Village after
15 days of detention in the administrative detention center of Jiu-ru Village
of Chengdu City. He was threatened that he would be sent to a labor camp
if he refused to give up Falun Gong.
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Practitioner Li Zhi-jie and other practitioners who are still serving their
15 days of dentition have also been informed that they would be sent to
the criminal detention center if they refuse to give up Falun Gong.
January 12, 2000
A Major of the Armed Police Appealed on the
Tiananmen Square
Yu Feng-lai, a major of the armed police in Shan-dong Province, came
to Beijing to appeal to the authorities for Falun Gong, after successfully
escaping the intense surveillance by the local armed police officers. After
many failed attempts, he finally came to the Tiananmen Square on January
2 and practiced Falun Dafa exercises to show the world that Falun Dafa
is the righteous practice. After about 20 seconds, he was taken away by
the plain police officers. Currently he is being detained in the armed
police corps and has already been removed from duty.
Da-qing City, Heilongjiang Province
The police in Da-qing City set up a "penalty
for appealing"
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Some practitioners in Da-qing City of Helongjiang Province were detained
by the police department under the accusation of "association", because
they went to visit other practitioners in labor camps.
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In order to prevent practitioners from going to Beijing to appeal, the
police department added a "punishment for appealing", which is 3 months
of detention.
January 13, 2000
Chinese air force general sentenced to 17 years
for Falun Gong role
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According to reliable sources, Falun Gong practitioner, Professor Yu Chang-xin
of the China Institute of Air Command was secretly given a sentence of
17 years in prison on last Thursday by the Air Military Court under the
accusation of "supporting Falun Gong".
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It was reported that 74-year-old Yu Changxin is an important military official
with high authority who has performed outstanding service to the air force.
His research has tremendously reduced the occurrence of air accidents.
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Yu Changxin's sentence is one of the heaviest since the Communist Party
outlawed Falun Gong last summer and follows an 18-year sentence meted out
by a Beijing civil court last month to Falun Gong practitioner Li Chang.
He has already appealed to the Advanced Military Court of People's Liberation
Army.
Chengdu City, Shichuan Province
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Recently, Chengdu police department has escalated its persecutions against
Falun Gong practitioners. In the recent forced "education classes", the
police department announced that they would detain whoever practices Falun
Gong privately or goes to Beijing to appeal. Moreover, the police department
will detain the practitioner as long as he/she attempts to go to Beijing
to appeal.
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Those who are escorted back from Beijing will be put on handcuffs and shackles.
Due to the pressure from the higher authorities, the police officers and
officials have committed numerous violations of the basic human rights
of Falun Gong practitioners. So far, 4 groups of Falun Gong practitioners
have gone to Beijing to appeal. They appeal for Falun Dafa at Beijing by
taking great risks.
January 15, 2000
Da-qing City, Heilongjiang Province
284 Practitioners from Da-qing City Signed
an Appealing Letter to the Authorities; Representatives Were arrested and
6 were sent to labor camps
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In Da-qing, 284 practitioners signed an open appealing letter to the Chinese
authorities. Their representatives were arrested before they were able
to go to Beijing to deliver this letter. The appealing letter and the banner
with signatures were also confiscated. Afterwards, many practitioners were
detained. Up to January 3, six practitioners including Wang Tian-you and
Wang Bing were given forced labor "education".
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More practitioners from Da-qing City have gone to Beijing to appeal by
escaping the police' blocking and interception. Whoever goes to Beijing
to appeal will be detained after they are escorted back. Those who refuse
to give up Falun Gong after "being educated" (which means physical and
mental abuses) will be sent to forced labor camps.
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In Rang-hu District alone, there are many practitioners who have been detained
because they had gone to Beijing to appeal since the mid-December 1999.
Among them were Yang Shu-hua, Hou Shu-nan, Guo Yu-xia, Ren Zhao-yan, Tao
Wei-ji, Li Shu-mei and Wang Guo-fang etc.
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Some workplaces forced Falun Gong practitioners to pay more than ten thousand
Yuan (more than the annual salary of an average employee) as deposit. Once
they go to appeal, security officers of their workplaces will go to Beijing
to arrest them by using this money. Some workplaces warn practitioners
that if they go to Beijing to appeal, their spouses or children will be
fired.
Member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative
Congress Was Relieved of Duties for Calling an End to the Ban on Falun
Gong
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In Chong-qing, a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative
Congress, Zhou Jia-ying, was relieved of her duties on Monday after she
protested the ban on Falun Gong and called for an end to the ban on the
group.
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Zhou is an engineer in the He-chuan Electrical Company of Chong-qing. During
a meeting of the conference in December last year, Zhou made a proposal
stating that the government's view of the group as a "religious sect" was
not correct and called on the authorities to allow it to legally register.
The local authorities of Chong-qing were extremely angry with her and on
January 10th they removed her from duty.
Japan
Falun Gong Practitioners from Japan Detained
in China For More Than 2 Weeks
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On the New Year's Eve, practitioners from Tokyo, Xiao Xin-li and Wu Lili
were arrested when practicing Falun Gong on the Tiananmen Square.
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Wu Lili was sent back to her hometown in Anhui Province. Her family in
China has already learned that she is being detained in the Luo-shi-gang
Detention center in He-fei City, but they are not allowed to visit her.
Wu Lili's 2-year-old son, now in Japan, misses his mother very much. Wu
Lili's sister, Wu Xiao-hua, an associate professor of He-fei Architecture
Institute, was also arrested in Beijing for attempting to audit the trial
of the four major contact people of Falun Gong, and she was sent back to
He-fei City on December 26th. She has also been detained in the same detention
center up to now.
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Xiao Xin-li is a graduate student in a university in Tokyo. Her whereabouts
is unknown.
January 16, 2000
Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province
Guangzhou City Is Intensifying Persecution
Against Falun Gong Practitioners
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Since November 1999, some universities in Guangzhou City started to punish
practitioners who went to Beijing to appeal by expelling them from school.
In both Huanan Normal University and Jinan University, there were students
who had been ordered to quit school. Some practitioners were removed from
their posts for appealing in Beijing.
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On December 19 1999, seven practitioners from Guangzhou City were arrested
in Zhongshan City when they were having a conversation with some local
practitioners. The next day, they were sent back to Guangzhou and
have been detained since then. .They are Wang He, Lin Kai, Lin Xiang,
Lin, Zhi-yong, Zhao Yu, Shen Li andSong Hong-feng. It is said that they
might be given "forced labor"education".
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On December 24, five practitioners were arrested when they were eating
at a practitioner's home. Four of them were given criminal detention (i.e.,
being detained for an indefinite period of time while waiting for a possible
sentence); the other one was given administrative detention (up to 15 days).
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On December 31, eleven practitioners were arrested as they were having
lunch at the Tian-he Park. All of them were given criminal detention. They
were Liang Wen-jian, LiuHai-li, Gao Xian-ming, Chen Wu-hua, He Li-hua and
Chen Chun-li, etc. They have not been released yet. Police started to arrest
Falun Gong practitioners on a large scale in each park. The situation of
those practitioners who were arrested in other parks is still unknown.
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In the Tian-he detention center, practitioners were required to do forced
labor as do other criminals. They were required to make a certain amount
of artificial flowers at certain hours and would be punished if they could
not finish their work. Those who continued to practice Falun Gong
were handcuffed and shackled. Right after a practitioner expressed his
desire to continue to practice Falun Gong, the director of the detention
center kicked his neck and he spit up blood on the spot.
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Feeling that their legal rights were violated, some practitioners started
a hunger strike. The next day, they were forced to swallow salt water
by inhumane means. For example, a director of a cell ordered five male
criminals to hold a female practitioner down on the ground. They used wet
towels to block her nostrils and then added a bag of salt of 500g into
a cup of water and forced it down her throat. After swallowing two bags
of salt, this practitioner was suffocated. Later she vomited grains of
salts.
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Pan Dong-zhen, a graduate student in the foreign language department of
Hua-nan Normal University, was dismissed from the university because she
went to Beijing to appeal several times. After she was released from
administrative detention for the second time, she was rearrested when she
was eating with four practitioners at home. She is now in criminal detention.
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Zhang Meng-ye, a former contact person of Falun Gong assistance center
in Tian-he District, graduated from Qing-hua University in the 1960s. He
had suffered from cirrhosis (liver disease) for several years. After practicing
Falun Gong for half a year, he recovered from this disease. Since July
22, he has been continuing to practice Falun Gong. He and his wife went
to Beijing to appeal and were detained several times. Now he is still being
detained in Tian-he detention center. It is said that he will be sent to
a labor camp.
January 17, 2000
China
We Mourn for Two More Practitioners Who DIED
in Chinese Police Custody
Three Practitioners Suffered Carbon Monoxide
Poisoning in a Police Station; One of them Died
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On January 10, three practitioners from Chang-gou-gu Coal Mine in Fang-shan
District of Beijing, Ms. Liu Zhi-nan, Ms. Pu Shu-nan and Ms. Li Fu-hua
went to appeal for Falun Dafa and were arrested. On the afternoon of that
day, they were sent to the Zhou-kou-dian police station. They were required
to do forced labor such as shoveling the snow and cleaning the environment
everyday.
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On January 14, they had their lunch by the boiler room of the police station
after they finished their work. At about 2pm, all three of them suffered
carbon monoxide poisoning and lost consciousness. They were sent to Yan-shan
District emergency room for treatment. Ms. Li Fu-hua, who was thirty years
old, regained consciousness at 9pm. When she was able to move, she started
to take care of Ms. Pu Shu-nan who was over 40 years old. On the night
of January 15, Ms. Pu opened her eyes but then lost consciousness again.
On the morning of January 16, she finally regained consciousness.
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Ms. Liu Zhi-nan was over 40 years old. She lost consciousness and was unable
to recover. She was already in the mortuary when her family members visited
her. The police warned the family members of the three practitioners that
they should not disclose the news of Ms. Liu's death to other practitioners.
A Practitioner from Guangzhou, Gao Xian-ming,
Died in Detention
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On December 31 of 1999, Mr. Gao Xian-ming was arrested in the Tian-he Park
of Guangzhou City when he and another ten practitioners were having lunch.
Later he was sent to the Tang-xia detention center of the Tian-he District.
On the afternoon of January 18, Gao Xian-ming's family members suddenly
received a notice of his death from the security section of Ji-nan University.
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It was said by the police officers that Mr. Gao Xian-ming lost consciousness
suddenly after several days of a hunger strike. Later he was sent to the
hospital for emergency room but he did not recover.
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Mr. Gao Xian-ming, 41 years old, 1.8 meters tall, was very healthy after
many years of practicing Falun Gong. He was the only son in his family.
His father is over 70. His daughter is in the first grade of the middle
school. His sudden death made his family members extremely sad. They did
not know what to say. The real cause for Mr. Gao Xian-ming's death in police
custody is still unclear.
Daqing City, Heilongjiang Province
Six Practitioners from Da-qing Sent to Forced
Labor Camp for Writing An Appeal Letter to Chinese President Jiang Ze-min
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284 practitioners from Da-qing City of Hei-long-jiang Province signed an
open letter to president Jiang to request him to rescind his wrongful decision
to crackdown on Falun Gong and stop the large-scale persecution against
peaceful Falun Gong practitioners. Six practitioners including Wang Bin
and Wang Tian-you were sent to labor camps in the last week for drafting
the letter.
January 18, 2000
Sichuan Province
Professor of Si-chuan University, Hong Ji-rong,
Was Sentenced to Three Years of Forced Labor for Writing an Appeal Letter
to Mr. Annan
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Practitioner Ms. Hong Ji-rong, 62 years old, a professor of Si-chuan University
was sentenced to three years of forced labor by the Chengdu City police
because of his suspected involvement in drafting and signing "an appeal
letter to United Nations Secretary Mr. Annan from Practitioners in Si-chuan
Province".
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Nine practitioners from Si-chuan Province have been sentenced for reporting
the truth of Falun Gong to the Chinese government and international human
rights organizations such as the United Nations
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In addition, six practitioners from Shuang-liu County of Si-chuan Province
who went to Beijing to appeal were given criminal detention and are waiting
for possible sentences. They are Jiang Hong, a teacher in Hua-yang Middle
School, Zhou Zhu-qing, an Engineer in the 103 Airport, Sun Chun-fan, Xiang
Meng-hua, who is a Representative of People in Shuang-liu County and Xie
Xia, who is a teacher in Hua-yang Professional High School. In addition,
Xiang Meng-hua's certificate of real estate and certificate of residence
were confiscated. It was said that they would be sentenced before the Chinese
New Year (February 5, 2000).
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Also, Li Zhi-jie and other practitioners were transferred from Jiu-ru Village
detention center to Lian-hua Village detention center for criminal detention
because they refused to sign their names on the pledge promising that they
would not practice Falun Gong. Zhang Ai-li was directly sent to Jiu-ru
Village detention center for criminal detention for reading "Zhuan Falun"
(the main text of Falun Gong) in the transformation class. Li Ying-xiang
and other practitioners have already been sentenced.
Guizhou Province
Practitioner from Gui-zhou Province, Song Bang-fu,
Was Given Three Years Forced Labor "Education" for Appealing in Beijing
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Song Bang-fu has been determined about Falun Dafa. Since July 22, he exchanged
experiences with practitioners from other places in Gui-zhou Province and
encouraged them to continue to practice Falun Dafa and protect Falun Dafa.
October 28, he went to Beijing to appeal and was arrested at Tiananmen
Square. After he was sent back to Gui-yang, he was given three years of
forced labor "education" without a trial.
Ireland
News from Ireland: Practitioner from Ireland
Are still Being Detained by the Chinese Communist Regime
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Last Christmas, some practitioners from Ireland returned to China to appeal
and were arrested. He is still in custody.
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Practitioner Liu Feng went to appeal alone and was arrested. Now Liu Feng
is under house arrest.
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Zhao Ming was arrested on January 5th when he appealed in Beijing. He is
also under house arrest. The police have not returned his passport. The
police are demanding him to sign a pledge that he will not express any
dissent against the government's crackdown on Falun Gong.
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Yang Fang was arrested together with several British practitioners. Later,
she was escorted back to her hometown and she is still in police custody.
Those British practitioners have already been deported to the United Kingdom.
Beijing
Tsing-hua University Is Imposing Greater Pressure
on Falun Gong Practitioners
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It was said that since July, the Vice Premier Li Nan-qing has been directly
involved in dealing with Falun Gong practitioners in Tsing-hua University.
Under pressure from the central authorities, the university has to severely
punish those students and faculty members who continue to practice Falun
Gong. Most of them are excellent students. Since November, many students
and several young faculty members were ordered to withdraw from the school
for two months and were returned home to their parents.
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The university will expel them if they do not write a pledge that they
will not practice Falun Gong. Many students are bearing the pressure from
both the university and their families. It was said that the university
has already transferred other practitioners' files (the Chinese communist
regime maintains a file for each Chinese citizen) to their local police
departments. Three students will be expelled.
More Barbaric Persecution: 52 Practitioners from
Fang-shan District Detained in Zhou-kou-dian Hospital for Mental Patients
by Chinese Communist Regime
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Practitioners from the Cheng-guan town of Fang-shan District were very
determined about Falun Dafa, so the local police station, the District
Committee and the police department of Cheng-guan town detained local practitioners
in a hospital for mental patients.
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Below are statements from some detained practitioners that we managed to
obtain.
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We 52 practitioners are being detained in the Zhou-kou-dian hospital for
mental illness . On December 6, the police station of Fang-shan District
took us to the police station with all kinds of excuses such as attending
transformation classes, having a meeting, filling a form and having a conversation
etc. Later, all of us were sent to Zhou-kou-dian hospital for mental illness
without any legal or medical formalities. Now it has been more than 40
days. They also block the news about us. The director of the hospital said,
"They detain you here because they are afraid that you might go to appeal
during Macao's return and the New Year's Day."
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Here we live a very simple and crude life. We have nothing but one bed,
one quilt, two bowls and one set of chopsticks. We do not have any other
articles of everyday use such as washing utensils, let alone changing clothes
or taking a bath. At night, the staff members in the hospital come to check
us from time to time like treating mental patients. They turn on the lights
and count heads from time to time. The walking noise could be heard all
night. Moreover, our room is next to an entertaining Karaoke room. Every
night, we have to bear loud noise and can hardly fall asleep for more than
half a night.
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Everyday, We have one bowl of cereal, a steamed bun and several pieces
of pickle for breakfast and dinner. For lunch, we have in addition a half
bowl of rice and a little boiled cabbage. We simply do not have enough
food.
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We are a couple. Our detention has brought a lot of inconvenience to our
family. The government puts pressure on our 18-year old and 13-year-old
children. They have shut off the power of our apartment for one month.
They also said they would send our two children to the hospital for mental
patients and torture these children. My elder-daughter now also quit her
job. She cannot go to work because she needs to stay at home to take care
of her younger brother and sister. We have suffered severe financial loses
in addition to the inhumane mental and physical suffering. These two children
have suffered unbearable mental pressure.
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On December 6, I was arrested by the police. My mother-in-law did not know
about that. That noon, nobody took care of her lunch. I heard that
after I was taken into custody, my mother-in-law cried at home everyday.
One of my sisters-in-law is also being detained here. How could my mother-in-law
bear this tragedy? My daughter is only 11 years old and could not take
care of herself, let alone her aged grandmother.
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Not only did the police cheat us but they also swindled us. Ten days after
I was detained here, the official of my village went to my home to ask
for money. He said that we would be detained for one month, and we need
to pay 1,000 Yuan (more than one month of salary of an average employee
in China) to cover the living expenses. My family members, who were trusting
and honest, gave him 1,000 Yuan without any argument and without any receipt.
After New Year's Day, the official went to my home again to ask for money,
saying that we need to pay a deposit of another 1,000 Yuan. I heard that
my family has not paid that money yet because they could not afford it.
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All 52 practitioners who had been detained in Zhou-kou-dian hospital for
mental patients were released on January 22. 21 of them were released after
their family members paid the "deposit". The rest of them started a hunger
strike yesterday morning. Meanwhile, American journalists went to the hospital
in order to interview the practitioners. The Chinese government had to
release the practitioners under the pressure. But the government claimed
that the practitioners were freed only for celebrating the upcoming Chinese
New Year. They might be detained again after the Chinese New Year.
Jiangsu Province
Jiang-su Practitioners Urge the Government
to Stop Violating The Human Rights of Falun Gong Practitioners
The Yangchen City police department has intensified its persecution
against Falun Gong practitioners. Gao Yu-lan was arrested at 5am of December
31st when she was practicing Falun Gong at home. The police dragged her
by her hair, slapped her face and kicked her. Moreover, the police pushed
her head under water to punish her. It has lasted, like this, for 16 days.
She has suffered all kinds of inhumane treatment.
January 20, 2000
Chengdu City, Sichuan Province
An American citizen, Ms. Kong Bin, Arrested
in Cheng-du City
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On the afternoon of January 18, an American citizen, Ms. Kong Bin, was
arrested by the Chinese police when she was exchanging experiences in Chengdu
City with some local practitioners including Liu Bang-chen. All practitioners
were arrested on thespot. The details are unknown yet. Ms. Kong was
a lawyer in the United States. Last year, she was deported from China for
going to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong.
More Persecutions against Falun Gong practitioners
in Chengdu City: detention of family members, homes ransacked, 18-19 hours
of hard labor, tortures, humiliations, and fines.
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Three practitioners from Long-quan-yi District of Chengdu City, among them
Cheng Zhan, who had gone to Beijing to appeal, were arrested and their
homes were ransacked. Because their workplaces refused to pay the 350,000
Yuan of penalties to the police department, they are now serving criminal
detention (i.e., detention while waiting for possible sentences). Recently,
some other practitioners from Chengdu City including Li
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Xiao-jun are also serving criminal detention. The local police also detained
a dozen of the family members and relatives of these three practitioners
who also practiced Falun Gong. After their homes were ransacked, they were
all taken to the police station for 3 days of detention. The police officers
constantly asked them whether they would continue to practice Falun Gong,
and they all answered "yes". Then, they were all given 15 days of detention.
They were released later after their workplaces or family members paid
several thousand Yuan (amounts to several months of salary of an average
employee in China). All of those released male practitioners had their
heads shaved by the police. Many of them had bruises due to police torture.
They were forced to do hard labor for 18 to 19 hours every day while in
police custody. They also had to suffer beatings by both the detained criminals
and the police officers. They did not have enough food. Now they are under
intense surveillance by the security sections of their workplaces as well
as the police station.
January 21, 2000
Shuang-liu County, Sichuan Province
Shuang-liu Communist Authorities Humiliated
Practitioners by Parading Them Through Street on Market Day
-
January 8 was the market day of Peng-jia Town of Shuang-liu County, Si-chuan
Province. On that day, the local police paraded 15practitioners who had
gone to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong through the street in the chilly
wind. These 15 practitioners were all barefoot. The street was full of
people watching.
Jing-men County, Hubei Province
Many Practitioners Arrested, Including the
Head of a Local Police Station
-
From December 1 to December 30, 64 practitioners went to Beijing. The police
officers from Jing-men County escorted all of them back to Jing-men on
January 2nd of 2000 .Currently, more than twenty practitioners including
Long Ting and Zhou Ping, who are a couple, Chi Bao-shen, Zhu Cui-hua, Li
Qin-xia and Liu De-yu etc have been sentenced to one to three years of
forced labor "education". All of them have already been sent to labor camps.
-
Another twenty practitioners are still being detained in the police station.
In addition, more than a dozen practitioners are detained in the detention
center, and another dozen practitioners are being detained in a technical
school. The contact person of Jing-men Falun Gong assistance center, Meng
Xiang-long, was also arrested. Jing-men County has become the focus of
Hubei Province for persecuting Falun Gong practitioners.
-
Chi Bao-shen, who was the head of Yue-liang-hu police station, and Zhu
Cui-hua, were both contact people of Falun Gong. They went to Beijing on
July 22 to appeal for Falun Dafa. Three months later, when they went to
the appeal offices to appeal, they were arrested and escorted back to their
hometown in Jing-men County.
February 1, 2000
Chinese Diplomats in Thailand Asked Local Chinese
Businessmen to Report on Falun Gong Activities
-
According to Duowei Chinese news net (January 18), the Chinese Embassy
in Thailand held a Y2k banquet entertaining the leaders of the overseas
Chinese. During the banquet, a high rank official of the Chinese Embassy
made an astonishing speech. Besides asking the hundreds of guests to continue
to contribute to the promotion of the relationship between China and Thailand
in the new year, he also expressed his wish that they could help the Chinese
Embassy by reporting any activities of Falun Gong practitioners in Thailand.
-
"Asian Weekly" reported that it was the first time that the Chinese Embassy
has ever asked the overseas Chinese, who care only about business, to report
on Falun Gong. It is estimated that there are about one thousand Falun
Gong practitioners in Thailand. The founder of Falun Gong has visited Thailand
a dozen times since1993 and has held numerous lectures.
Beijing
Chinese Communist Regime Sentenced another
32 Practitioners in Beijing Before the Chinese New Year; More to Be Sentenced
-
AFP reported on February 1, 2000 that 32 Falun Gong practitioners were
sentenced in Beijing to 4 months to 7 years in jail. These 32 practitioners
were secretly put on trial in two groups on January 28. A Hong Kong
Information Center for Human Rights said that about 300 practitioners would
be secretly sentenced before the Chinese New Year (Feb. 5).
-
According to a newly released practitioner, these 32 practitioners had
been detained in the Dong-cheng district detention center in Beijing. Among
them, Li Xiao-mei and Li Xiao-bin, who are sisters living in Beijing, were
respectively given 6 years and 7 years in jail for selling Falun Gong books.
The others were punished mainly for holding up banners on Tiananmen Square
in October and November of 1999. Most of them were from outside Beijing.
Currently, practitioners are contacting the family members of these 32
practitioners and helping them hire attorneys to appeal.
Beijing
Practitioners Calling the Hotline on "the Issue
of Religions and Beliefs" Interrogated
-
During the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, held from
January 27 to 29, a hotline was set up in Beijing to invite people's opinions
on "the issue of religions and beliefs". Some practitioners in Beijing
called in about Falun Gong. Especially on January 28 and 29, many practitioners
called the hotline to talk about the government's injustice against Falun
Gong.
-
The hotline made a detailed record of the callers' names, addresses and
phone numbers. On the second day, practitioners who called were interrogated
by local police. The police demanded them to reveal where they got
the news about the hotline, who told them the news, and who asked them
to call etc. The police authorities are intentionally violating the legal
rights of citizens.
Huairou County, Beijing
Practitioners from Huai-rou County of Beijing
Resumed Group Practice and Are Arrested
-
Several days ago, 14 practitioners from Huai-rou county of Beijing were
arrested when practicing Falun Gong exercises in front of the local super
market. 9 were arrested the first day and another 5 were arrested the second
day. They had resumed the group practice of exercises in the middle of
January. Among the arrested practitioners, those who had gone to Beijing
to appeal might be sentenced.
Heilongjiang Province
Brutal Persecutions in Hei-long-jiang Province;
Member of Political Consultative Congress Sentenced to Three Years of Forced
Labor
-
About 16 practitioners from Mi-shan City of Hei-long-jiang Province were
sent to labor camps because they went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong.
After those practitioners who had gone to Beijing to appeal were escorted
back to their hometowns, male practitioners would be brutally beaten. In
order to get released, they must write a pledge that they would give up
Falun Gong, denounce Falun Gong and pay a penalty of 6,000 to 10,000 Yuan.
They would be sent to labor camps if they refused to do so.
-
Ms. Wang Jun-hua, a state official and a member of the political consultative
congress in Mi-shan City, was given three years of forced labor "education".
She was first arrested on September 24 because she told the police
that she would continue to practice Falun Gong. She was then detained for
64 days without any legal formalities. On the eleventh day after she was
freed, she was again arrested for refusing to promise not to go to Beijing
to appeal for Falun Gong. She was sentenced at the end of December 1999
without any legal formalities. Her family members have not received any
written notice.
-
In addition, about 29 female practitioners from Ji-xi City of Hei-long-jiang
Province were sent to labor camps. The number of male practitioners is
unknown.
Dongyin City, Shandong Province
Practitioners from Dong-yin City of Shan-dong
Province Attempted Group Practice; Many Arrested
-
Practitioners from Dong-yin City of Shandong Province planned to hold a
group practice at 9am of January 29 in the Xi-shui Park. The police got
the news beforehand so that many practitioners were monitored and were
not able to come. Therefore, only about 50 practitioners showed up. At
8:40am, the police cars arrived. Some police officers took photos of practitioners.
They forced practitioners to stand near a wall. The practitioners still
tried to tell the truth about Falun Dafa to the police. After reading the
notice issued by the Ministry of Public Security and Ministry of Civic
Affairs, the police then took all the practitioners away. Some practitioners
might be detained. There is no further information.
Laixi City, Shandong Province
Practitioners Still Being Detained for Not
Being Able to Afford Financial Penalty; One Practitioner's Home Robbed
by Police
-
Yu-mei Liu and her daughter Zhi-li Liu were escorted back to their hometown
on December 5, 1999 after being arrested in Beijing. They have been detained
in the Nan-su Town of Lai-xi City, Shandong Province without any legal
formality, and they have not been released because they could not afford
the financial penalty of 10,000 Yuan (about the annual income of an average
Chinese worker). During the detention, they suffered inhumane treatment.
They were forced to run, and would be beaten if they could not run. They
were also forced to squat down on a very narrow plat and would be kicked
if they failed to do that.
-
Jie Liu was escorted back on November 23, 1999 and detained in the He-li
Wu-jia Town of Lai-xi City, Shandong Province. He has been detained until
now because he could not afford the penalty of 10,000 Yuan (about the annual
income of an average Chinese worker). His home was ransacked allegedly
searching for his ID cards. The police seized 2,700 Yuan from his home
and took away a farm-use three-wheel motor vehicle (about 2,000 Yuan) without
leaving any receipt.
Lanzhou City, Gansu Province
Unimaginable Sufferings in Detention Center
of Lanzhou City, Gansu Province
-
Many practitioners are being detained in the Xi-guo-yuan Detention center
of Lan-zhou City only because they wanted to practice Falun Gong in order
to be good people by following the principle of truthfulness, benevolence
and forbearance. What they are suffering in the detention center ishard
to imagine. Every three of them are required to peel off a large bag of
seeds. They have to squat down from 7am to 12noon. They could not sit,
kneel and stand up. After lunch, they have to continue the work until they
finish. They are not allowed to sleep before they finished work
-
Their hands are cut and bleeding from peeling the seeds. Some of them have
been detained for three months. Everyday, they have to suffer abuse from
the cell heads.A partial list of the suffering practitioners: Li-lin Xi,
Yan-hong Xiao, Feng-ru Zheng, Hui-nan Zhu, Yuan-gui Xin, Bao-sheng Li,
Yong-qiang Yao, Jun Ma, De-sheng Wang, fromYin-chuan City of Lin-xia, and
Xiang-dong Lu from Tong-xin County of Lin-xia. The last three have been
"officially" arrested.
-
From July 22 to July 23, 9 workers (6 males and 3 females) from The Third
Wool Factory of Lanzhou City were detained respectively in the Xizhou district
guesthouse, security section of The Third Wool Factory, the guesthouse
of The Third Wool Factory for up to 32 hours.
-
Jin-mei Zhang was detained for 6 days in the police department of Lanhua
from November 10 to November 16. She was detained for 15 days in Taoshu-ping
detention center of Lanzhou from November 17 to December 3. She was again
detained for 24 days in the police department of Lanhua from December 4
to November 28. She has been detained there since January 18, 2000.
-
Jinyu Bai has been detained in the police department of Lanhua since January
18, 2000.
Qinhuangdao City, Hebei Province
Hundreds of Practitioners from Qin-huang-dao
City, Hebei Province Went to Beijing to Appeal; Some Walking, Some Bicycling.
-
More practitioners from Qin-huang-dao City are going to Beijing to appeal
after they were released from the detention center. Because they could
not afford the train tickets, practitioners from Qing-long county walked
to Beijing; some practitioners from Qin-huang-dao City bicycled to Beijing.
This time, about 200 to 300 practitioners went to Beijing to appeal for
Falun Gong.
-
Practitioners continued to practice Falun Gong exercises in the detention
center. In some cells, practitioners would be beaten by the cell heads
as soon as they practiced. One cell head broke a broom by beating them
and then demanded them to buy a new one. They were slapped on the face
with leather shoes. The director of the detention center used a club to
beat the practitioners and then took them to the water room and turned
the cold water on their bare feet. Practitioners still continued to practice
Falun Gong exercises under such harsh circumstances.
-
Yi-zhen Li, Zhi-mei Du and another two practitioners had been illegally
detained for more than three months. Regardless, more practitioners are
going to Beijing. The police officers of the detention center said, "We
can not arrest all the practitioners. Everyday, there are practitioners
coming to Beijing."
February 4, 2000
Hard Evidence of China's Violation Of Constitutional
Rights --- An Official Announcement of A Village Government
[Note: The following is an announcement posted by the Committee of Xiao-Jia
Village. One can see from this official announcement that the local communist
authorities' persecutions against Falun Gong practitioners have gone to
a ridiculous extent.]
Announcement to All Villagers
Comrade Villagers,
The Falun Gong "organization" has been charged with the crime of "overturning
the state power" by the authorities, and whoever refuses to give up Falun
Gong will be deemed as a criminal. According to the principle set by the
authorities, from now on, any Falun Gong practitioner who has gone out
of town to appeal to any governmental department beyond the township and
to make trouble will be fined 10,000Yuan after being escorted back by the
police. His/Her water supply, electricity and telephone will be cut off.
All his/her certificates will be confiscated too. He/She will be severely
punished by law.
All backbone members of Falun Gong must write a pledge of breaking up with
XXX and Falun Gong, turn in their ID cards and pay a deposit of5,000 Yuan.
The township government will hold a class for those who refuse to break
up with the Falun Gong "organization" until they write the pledge and pay
the deposit in full.
If one refuses to break up with Falun Gong, the police department will
confiscate all his/her certificates issued by the state. Moreover, the
village will not issue any certificates to him/her, or provide any service.
All his/her directly-related family members will be expelled from school,
kindergarten, or state-run workplace until he/she breaks up with Falun
Gong.
Committee of Xiao-jia Village
December 18, 1999
With Official Seal
Beijing
Chinese New Year’s Eve Witnessed Brutal Violence
on Tiananmen Square [1]
-
On the night of February 4, 2000, the Eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year,
many Falun Gong practitioners from US, Australia, Japan and Mainland China
gathered at the Tiananmen Square to appeal to the Chinese central authorities
to stop their brutal persecutions against Falun Gong by holding up banners
of Falun Dafa and practicing the serene meditative exercises on the Square
peacefully. However, the Dragon’s New Year’s Eve witnessed the brutal violence
of the Chinese communist regime.
-
Uniformed police officers, plainclothes agents and armed policemen were
all over the Square. Many police vans were moving around the Square. On
the corners of the Square, there were many police vans. Passersby were
questioned and body-searched and were asked by the police whether they
were Falun Gong practitioners. Some were taken to the police vans without
any reason. I was also grabbed by the police rushing out from a police
van and was forced to get on the van.
-
At 11pm, in the center of the Square, two Beijing practitioners, Ms. Lili
Bai and Ms. Shu-ge Wang, each held up a flag with Falun emblem. While the
police officers rushed over to seize the flags, they risked their lives
to protect the flags. They were pushed down onto the ground and were brutally
beaten up by the police officers. Even after they were taken to the police
van, the police officers still continued to slap their faces madly. Other
arrested practitioners on the same van asked the police officers to stop
beating them, however, the police officers continued their violence and
humiliations. Later, many practitioners on the Square held up banners reading,
"Falun Dafa practitioners have no hatred or anger" and "Falun Dafa practitioners
appeal to the government because they trust the government" etc. All of
them were brutally beaten up by the plainclothes agents and uniformed police
officers and then taken to the Tiananmen Square police station.
-
We arrived at the Square at 11:30pm. At that time, many practitioners had
already walked towards the Square. At the Southeastern corner of the Qian-men,
we saw dozens of practitioners being detained inside the outdoor steel
banisters guarded by the uniformed and plainclothes officers. Police vans
full of arrested practitioners leftmone after another and took the arrested
practitioners to the Tiananmen Square police station. In less than 15 minutes,
more than 20 police vans left. Many practitioners were pushed onto the
police vans before they were able to walk into the Square.
-
Before the New Year’s Eve, many practitioners had already been detained
by their local police stations. They were told that they would be detained
for a few days until the holidays were over. Many practitioners were warned
not to go to Tiananmen Square by local police officers. They were threatened
that they could not expect to spend the New Year at home if they went to
Tiananmen Square.
-
At 1:00am of February 5, a witness saw at least 4 buses full of practitioners;
each one had about 100 practitioners.
February 5, 2000
Sichuan Province
Recent Persecutions in Sichuan Province (1)
1. The Head of a Police Station Was Removed
from His Post for Failing to Prevent Local Practitioners from Going to
Beijing to Appeal
-
Several days ago, the head and the political instructor of the Niu-shi-kou
police station of Chengdu City were removed from their posts and will be
punished by high authorities because they failed to prevent local practitioners
from going to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong.
-
According to sources, the authorities hope that pressuring different levels
of government officials will enable them to intensify its persecutions
against Falun Gong.
2. Bonus Was Revoked, Family Members Were Threatened
-
All the Falun Gong practitioners living close to Wu-gui-qiao of Chengdu
City were required to attend the "transformation education" class
held in the local police station. Practitioners were required to bring
their living utensils with them and could not leave the police station
24 hours a day. They have not met their family members for many days. A
practitioner's son-in-law who is a soldier was threatened by the police
station that if he could not make his mother-in-law give up Falun Gong,
the police station would ask the army authorities to discharge him and
send him back to his hometown.
-
For all practitioners living close to Wu-gui-qiao who had gone to Beijing
to appeal, their villages revoked the yearly bonus of their family members
including their children and grandchildren.
3. Kept in Police Custody Because Uncertain about
Whether to Go to Beijing to Appeal
-
Recently, Falun Gong practitioner Zhang Xiao-ying, an employee of the Factory
of Seamless Steel Pipe of Chengdu City, was taken to the police station
by the security section of her workplace only a few days later after she
got released after 15 days of detention for going to Beijing to appeal
for Falun Gong. The police officer asked her whether she would continue
to practice Falun Gong, she said yes. The police officer then asked her
whether she would go to Beijing to appeal again. She said that she was
not sure about that. The police officer then struck the table and roared,
"Detain her for another 15 days."
4. Professor Hong Ji-rong Were Sentenced with
Three Years of Forced Labor and Removed from Party
-
Falun Gong practitioner, Ms. Hong Ji-rong, who was a professor of Si-chuan
University, was sentenced to three years of forced labor "education", and
was expelled from the party shortly afterwards.
5. Doctor Went to Appeal; Clinic was Confiscated
-
Falun Gong practitioner, Doctor Miao, is living close to the Wu-gui-qiao.
Her clinic was confiscated by the police because she went to Beijing to
appeal. She is now under criminal detention.
6. Reported By the Neighbor; Wife and Son Were
Gone
-
Mr. Wang was living in the residential area of the Factory of Seamless
Steel Pipe of Chengdu. After being reported by his neighbor, his son was
sentenced to one and half year of forced labor education and his wife had
to attend the "transformation class" held by the police station for many
days. In order to avoid more trouble, he had to move to another place far
away from his workplace.
Beijing
Chinese New Year's Eve in Tiananmen Square:
Chinese police brutally beat and arrest over 1000 Falun Gong practitioners
-
According to telephone reports from eyewitnesses in Beijing, many Falun
Gong practitioners practiced their meditation exercises in Tiananmen square
on the Chinese New Year's Eve (Feb. 5, 2000). Some of them raised banners
with "Falun Dafa" and "Truth-Compassion-Forbearance". Police stationed
in the square started to beat and arrest the practitioners as soon as they
discovered any. There were bloodstains, clothes, and watches left
on the ground. However, the practitioners have always been peaceful.
They follow the teachings of Falun Dafa that "when beaten not to return
the fist, when cursed not to return the word". (There had been numerous
reports of brutal beating and torture of practitioners by the Chinese police
before, but the Chinese government had always openly denied the facts.)
After midnight, there were at least three large buses that drove away filled
with arrested practitioner, from which, it was estimated that over 1000
practitioners were arrested.
Chinese New Year’s Eve Witnessed Brutal Violence
on Tiananmen Square [2]
-
Today was the first day of the Chinese New Year, the year of the Dragon.
At 2:30pm when we passed by Tiananmen Square, the Square was still under
curfew. Around the Square, there were armed policeman every few meters.
Behind the steel banisters around Tiananmen Square, crowds were standing
quietly and looking toward Tiananmen Square. There were several thousand
people. It appeared to us that most of them were Falun Dafa practitioners.
Their silence sent the Chinese government a clear message that it is totally
wrong to treat Falun Dafa and its kind-hearted practitioners so brutally
and inhumanely.
-
An old gentleman told us about the violence against Falun Dafa practitioners
at Tiananmen Square last night. The wife and daughter of this man were
both arrested last night on the Square. This gentleman told us that
last night the police arrested and intercepted every person they met. Many
police vans were full of arrested practitioners.
-
Three practitioners from Lin-yi of Shandong Province, Qun Zhao, Wei Xu
and Hong-shen Li held up a banner on the Square last night. After about
20 seconds, 6 police officers rushed over and beat them to the ground.
They could not stand up after a long time. The police tried to tear off
the banners. Later, the three of them were taken to the police van by some
other police officers. The 4-year-old daughter of Wei Xu cried for her
mother and was also taken to the police van in a short while. Her father
is still being illegally detained in Shandong province.
-
A 5-year-old practitioner called Tian Yu held up a banner of Falun Dafa
with his parents on the Square. The whole family was taken to the police
van.
-
At the northeastern corner of the Square, more than 100 practitioners sat
down simultaneously to do the sitting meditation after a 40-year-old woman
said, "sit down". The police rushed over and beat these practitioners.
They grabbed the hair of female practitioners and dragged them into the
police van. A practitioner from Australia named Dai fell down onto the
ground after being kicked on the back three times by a police officer and
was then taken to a police van. A practitioner from Lin-yi district
of Shandong Province named Zhen was severely beaten, and there was blood
on his face. A female practitioner from Hong Kong, You-qun Wang,
was arrested at about 8:30am when she was holding up a banner.
-
Practitioners from Ba-yan County of Hei-long-jiang province, Men-lin Fei,
Lin-yan Ju and the other four were taken to the Tiananmen Square police
station.
-
According to our knowledge, in alone, about 100 practitioners from Lin-yi
district of Shan-dong province were arrested. About 30 people from Shun-yi
county of Beijing were arrested. More than 40 practitioners from Shi-jia-zhuang,
Xin-ji and Lin-cheng etc who came with us were all arrested. Many
practitioners from Jiang-su province were arrested in the hotel before
they went to the Tiananmen Square.
-
We estimated that over 1,000 practitioners were arrested on the Tiananmen
Square on the New Year’s Eve.
Falun Gong members arrested as China welcomes
Year of the Dragon
By JOHN LEICESTER
Associated Press
-
BEIJING (AP) - As fireworks thundered from Beijing's outskirts, police
on Tiananmen Square beat, kicked and detained at least 50Falun Gong members
who welcomed the Year of the Dragon with one of their biggest and most
dramatic protests of recent months.
-
Practitioners, ranging in age and some with children, began converging
on the vast square minutes before the new year began. Many pulled
red banners from beneath their clothing and waved them aloft. At least
two dozen people emerged from a pedestrian tunnel that opens onto the square
and sat down cross-legged in unison, a pose typical of the sect that the
government banned in July.
-
Police pounced on the protesters immediately, running toward them from
all corners of the square. They kicked, punched and dragged protesters
to their feet, herded them into vans and drove them away.
-
Other protesters who came to the square alone or in smaller groups of two
or three were likewise quickly and violently tackled. At least two
men were felled by police who took running kicks and knocked their legs
out from under them. Some officers shouted obscenities at practitioners
as they beat them into submission.
-
The buildings around the square were decorated for the holiday, which is
traditionally celebrated with family reunions and feasts of steamed dumplings.
Trees were strung with multicolored lights, and Tiananmen gate, which overlooks
the square, was decorated with big red lanterns.
-
Wang Xiaoping, a Falun Gong member from Beijing in her 20s, said she felt
it was more important to express her dissatisfaction with the government
ban on the group than spend the most important holiday of the year with
her family. "They won't let us practice, they are trying to crush us,"
she said. "We're not against the government, we just want the government
to have peaceful talks with our master, Li Hongzhi."
-
She then walked straight for the police, pulling a red banner from her
anorak, and was flung to the ground within seconds. As she tried to get
up, she was knocked back to the ground and kicked several times. Wang and
her two companions, a man in his 50sand a woman in her 40s, were also hit
and shouted at by at least six policemen before being taken away.
-
A man, strolling with a woman and a young girl, also was set upon.
Police punched him in the face, while the girl screamed, "Don't hit, don't
hit!" Three tourists were detained, apparently because one took pictures.
The film was removed from the camera.
-
After about 25 minutes, columns of police ran into the square and closed
it, ushering bystanders away. Officers were positioned every twenty yards
to keep anyone from entering, and police vans patrolled the edges.
-
Beijing banned Falun Gong in July as a threat to Communist Party control.
The blend of meditation, slow-motion exercises and ideas drawn from Buddhism,
Taoism and the group's founder, Li, had attracted millions of followers
around the country. China has issued a warrant for Li's arrest, and he
now lives in New York.
-
The streets of Beijing had been eerily quiet earlier Friday as people headed
home to welcome the Year of the Dragon, which is considered one of the
luckiest times in the 12-year zodiac.
-
Many people left work early to gather with family at home to feast and
watch a gala of song, dance and comedy on New Year's television specials.
Prisons sent welll-behaved inmates home to join with loved ones. Villages
prepared fireworks shows, staged to scare off evil spirits.
-
This year is particularly special for Chinese, many of whom identify themselves
with the dragon, calling themselves the "dragon's descendants." In ancient
times, emperors regarded themselves as reincarnations of dragons, and children
born during the year are considered blessed.
Dalian City, Liaoning Province
-
On the Lunar New Year's Day (Feb 5), many police officers appeared on the
Xin-hai-wan Square. They questioned people whether they practiced Falun
Gong or not. If they said yes, they would be taken away. About 70 people
including all ages were taken away and were thrown into drug-rehabilitation
center of Judicial Bureau of Dalian City. The police demanded their family
members pay 2,000 Yuan but did not allow them to visit practitioners. These
practitioners are still in police custody.
February 6, 2000
Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province
FREEDOM OF THE PRESS: TV ANCHORWOMAN, FIRED
FOR NEWS REPORT, ARRESTED
-
BEIJING, Feb 6 (AFP) - Falun Gong member, Gu Linna, who took an active
role in organizing a clandestine press conference, was arrested along with
15 other people as they were preparing a group meeting in southern Guangzhou,
The press conference was an open challenge to the authorities and provoked
anger from police who interrogated several journalists who covered the
event, temporarily confiscating their work permits. Gu, 37, was being held
in northern Shijiazhuang, where she worked as a television presenter until
April, Chen said. She was fired after managing to broadcast a report favorable
to Falun Gong.
February 7, 2000
Changsha City, Hunan Province
-
Practitioners from Changsha City, Mi-mi Tan and Fei Feng, have been detained
since last August and September, for selling Falun Dafa books, and promoting
and defending Falun Dafa. Their family members are not allowed to visit
them. Moreover, their family members must pay about 1,000 Yuan per month
to the detention center.
-
On January 23 of this year, they showed up in the public for the first
time in the Fu-rong Court. The court has not sentenced them yet and will
make the decision after the advising group from the central government
visits Changsha on February 19. They are now being detained in the First
Detention Center of Changsha.
-
Moreover, Mr. Yang Chen, Mr. Zhi-ming Cao and Ms. Li-ying Jiang were arrested
in Beijing when they were exchanging experiences with other practitioner.
Li-ying Jiang was secretly given a sentence of 2 years of forced labor.
Yang Chen and Zhi-ming were given a sentence of 2 years in jail.
Weinan, Shanxi Province
Chinese Communist Authorities Admitted That
a Slanderous Report Was a Total Fabrication
Note: The propaganda campaign launched by the Chinese communist regime
against Falun Gong and its founder has been unprecedented since the "great
Cultural Revolution" in terms of intensity and viciousness. The slandering
has gone to such an extent that, recently, the communist authorities had
to admit that a special report claiming "Zhang Zhi-wen committed suicide
by burning herself and her daughter, in protest of the government's crackdown
on Falun Gong", which had been reprinted by many Chinese newspapers, was
a 100% fabrication. The following is a report by a journalist from Voice
of America. Hai Tao, of Voice of America, reported from Los Angeles:
-
Since the Chinese government started to crack down on Falun Gong in July
1999, all state-run media agencies started to attack Falun Gong, its founder
and its key members. On November 28, a special report authored by Li Xin-gang
was published in the newspaper "the Xi-an Workers". The article "reported"
that "Zhi-wen Zhang", who was a lady living in Wei-nan region of Shan-xi
Province, burned her six month-old daughter and then committed suicide
by setting herself on fire, in protest of the government's crackdown on
Falun Gong. This report made a stir in the country and it has been reprinted
by many newspapers in Shen-zhen, Harbin, Shanghai and other places. Recently,
the Hong Kong Information Center for Human Rights and Democratic Movements
conducted an investigation and found out that the report was a total fabrication.
The center said, by quoting Chinese officials, that the people, location,
time and the story in that report were all fabricated. An official in the
Wei-nan Communist Political and Law Committee of Shan-xi Province named
Wu testified that there was absolutely no fire-suicide event and moreover
there did not exist a lady named Zhi-wen Zhang at all. In addition, many
news agencies in China called them for verification and got the same answer.
-
John Li, a Falun Gong practitioner in Caltech, said that in China, a lot
of news about Falun Gong is fabricated. When some Chinese Falun Gong practitioners
asked the author why he fabricated the news, the author's reply was, "I
was writing fiction."
-
Senior journalist Mr. Wei-guo Zhang commented, "Since the Chinese news
agencies are "pens" for the Communist Party, they must speak for the party
and the government. So it loses its journalistic function as a public monitor.
Therefore, they are full of corruption, paid news, and fabricated news.
It is very serious"
-
A commentator of current events in the US, Mr. Chang-qin Cao, who was a
former journalist in China, thought that it was not strange to have this
type of news appear in China. The Chinese news media follows "one country,
two polices". Different news is published in party newspapers and small
newspapers. Small newspapers accept free submissions. Because of the shortage
of manpower, they have no way, nor do they want, to verify the authenticity
of news. Meanwhile, in order to gain market and expand their circulations,
small newspapers resort to all possible means to please the public with
claptrap. Their first priority is to attract more readers, with no respect
for facts and authenticity of news.
-
The problem here, however, is that newspapers such as "Xi-an Workers" and
"Harbin Metro Newspaper", that published the article about "murdering daughter
and committing suicide", are not typical small newspapers. Mr. Chang-qin
Cao said, "This phenomenon indicates another problem. There are two kinds
of news that the media dare not fabricate: first, they dare not fabricate
articles with opinions differing from those of the government, nor dare
they fabricate big economical or financial news. Otherwise, they would
be punished by the government. Second, for those famous figures such as
writers and high ranking officials, they dare not fabricate news about
them because they would be sued."
-
"Under these circumstances," said Mr. Cao, "there is only one type of news
that they dare to fabricate, namely, news about those figures disliked
by the government, such as exiled dissidents or political criminals in
jail. Obviously, the government will not find trouble with them if they
do that."
Beihai City, Guangxi Province
Practitioner Detained and Forced to Take Injections
in Mental Hospital for More Than Two Months (Self-account)
[The doctors and nurses even made fun of me, "Aren't you practicing
Falun Gong? Let us see which is stronger, Falun Gong, or our medicines?"...
As long as they knew that I was practicing Falun Gong, they would increase
the dosage of medicines on me.]
-
My name is Jin-chun Huang. I was born in June 1966. I am a Falun Gong practitioner
from Bei-hai City of Guang-xi Province. I was a former judicial officer
in the Intermediate People's Court of Bei-hai City.
-
On September 19, 1999, I went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong. Later
I was escorted back by the local police officers as well as members of
my workplace. I was then detained for 15 days under the accusation of "damaging
social order". After I was freed, I was removed from my post on November
8 because I refused to give up my belief in Falun Dafa. On November 15,
two police officers came to my home and asked me to go with them. Assuming
that it might just be another routine interrogation, I followed them. However,
they drove me directly to the Long-xiang-shan Mental Hospital in the Zhuang
Nationality Autonomous Region of Guang-xi Province. I asked them why they
sent me here. They said, "It is the order of the officials of Department
of Public Security. They want you to take a rest here for a few days."
Since then, I have been detained in this mental hospital.
-
This is a medical institute of forced treatment. If the patient does not
comply, the staff members will resort to violence by beating or roping
the patient. When the medicines were taking effect, I felt very weak all
over my body. I felt sleepy and anxious for days. Under such circumstances,
I have an unspeakable feeling of pain. But I will never give up my belief
in Falun Dafa.
FULL TEXT OF TESTIMONIALS BY PRACTITIONERS DETAINED
IN MENTAL HOSPITALS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET AT HTTP://WWW.FALUNWISDOM.NET
Anhui Province
False news reports must be exposed -- Exposure
of Mainland China's false news report by a Falun Gong practitioner who
suffered from slanders
My name is GuangHua Li, 37 years old. I am currently
employed as a lecturer at the Department of Foreign Language of Foreign
Language Institute in affiliation with AnHui Normal Institute. I
am also a firm believer of Falun Dafa. Not long ago, I was deeply
astonished by the false news report about me published by major newspapers
including AnHui Daily and People's Daily. To ensure a correct understanding
of the facts, a clarification to the public must be made.
January 11, 2000, AnHui Daily published an article titled "Walk Out
of The Falun Gong Mud" on its front page. There were three points
in that untruthful article. 1." I declared renouncement from Falun Gong
illegal organization". 2. "I did not care about the quality of my teaching
while I was a practitioner of Falun Gong, and the teaching quality has
been improved after I was transformed". 3. "I did not give much attention
to scientific research, but after being transformed I published two papers".
I must point out that these are simply NOT facts.
First of all, I have been a determined Falun Dafa practitioner and I
will be a Falun Dafa practitioner for the rest of my life. There
never existed the issue of my renouncing Falun Dafa, let alone was I transformed
and re-educated.
Secondly, I have always been conscientious and responsible regarding
my teaching career. As a result, I have earned praise among the students.
Being responsible for one's job is a requirement for practitioners of Falun
Dafa. Besides, since I have never stopped practicing Falun Gong,
the issue of the differences before and after the so-called "transformation"
has never existed.
Thirdly, in the second half of 1999, I had two papers published on academic
journals. But they were written and submitted in the first half of 1999.
Both publications carried the dates when my papers were received.
They can be used as evidence. The issue of publishing papers as a
result of the "transformation" does not exist.
Of course, it is necessary to point out that on July 22, 1999, under
tremendous political pressure, I made statements on TV and newspapers that
I would "separate from the Falun Gong illegal organization", "will no longer
take responsibility as the main contact person of the WuHu city Assistant
Center". However, shortly after I made these statements against my
will, I realized that I had made mistakes under pressure. Therefore,
when the local police station and city public security department contacted
with me in later days, I clearly told them that I had always been practicing
Falun Gong. Strangely, there was no reaction to my positive attitude
towards Falun Gong. What is difficult to understand is that the propaganda
office of the party committee in my school, motivated by their own political
interests, without making me aware of the situation, fabricated a false
news report with a reporter from AnHui Daily based on the irresponsible
remarks by the school officials that recklessly distorted the facts.
Even aware of the fact that I had always been practicing Falun Gong with
determination, they still made up such a story of how I was transformed.
What a ridiculous thing in the world!
It is a great pity that a report with such distortion of facts was published
on the Party newspaper, and was even reprinted on the well-known newspapers
like the People's Daily. I can't refrain from asking, what
kind of people are they who could disregard facts, confuse black and white,
right and wrong to defame Falun Dafa? Where is the work Ethics of
news media workers in China? Is there any authenticity in the circle
of news media in China?
In order to prove to the people of the world the greatness of Falun
Dafa and to eliminate the sufferings that the evil force has caused to
Falun Dafa practitioners using my name, I came alone to Beijing in the
Chinese traditional New Year's Eve to appeal. As long as the damages
to Falun Dafa practitioners caused by the false news report could be recovered,
I am willing to sacrifice my life for it.
Beijing
Falun Gong Practitioners from Bridgewater,
NJ Arrested in China
-
Jackie Yu, a financial consultant of Bridgewater went to China last month
in the hope of helping fellow practitioners of a controversial offshoot
of Buddhism known as Falun Gong. Instead, she wound up in jail. On Jan.
23, Yu and several Falun Gong practitioners were arrested in Tiananmen
Square.
-
The 44-year-old Yu was released yesterday. But Ms. Yu said she remained
fearful of another arrest and suspected that her phone was being tapped.
-
She was unsure whether she and her 14-year-old son, David Wei Cui, who
was left alone for more than 10 days after his mother's arrest, would be
allowed to return to the United States. ''I'm not home yet," she said.
"I can't see my future." Falun Gong practitioners have stepped up acts
of defiance in the face of a severe crackdown by the government.
U.S. And Australian Falun Gong Members Held In
China
-
BEIJING, Feb 7, 2000 -- (Reuters) At least two foreign members of the banned
Falun Gong sect, an American and an Australian, were unaccounted for after
being detained by Chinese police during a Tiananmen Square weekend protest,
a sect member said on Monday.
-
American Tracy Zhao and Australian Shelley Jiang were among about 100 people
taken away in several buses in the early hours of Saturday, said the spiritual
movement's member, who witnessed the detentions.
-
The Falun Gong adherents were taken to a detention center in the city of
Xiaotangshan, about one hour north of the Chinese capital, she said.
-
The Falun Gong member declined to give her name but described herself as
a New York-based citizen of China who came to Beijing with several other
Falun Gong members to meet Chinese adherents amid the crackdown.
-
She said she witnessed the demonstrations and detentions, but did not participate
or get detained. In a second incident, she said, a 14-year-old Chinese-born
holder of a U.S. "green card" (resident permit) was grabbed by police on
Saturday and gagged and beaten for defending the Falun Gong leader from
police insults.
-
David Cui, the son of a Falun Gong practitioner, was released on Sunday
after being held overnight without food, his eyes swollen and red
from beatings, she said.
-
Chinese police and officials from the U.S. and Australian embassies were
not immediately available for comment.
February 8, 2000
Beijing
A Falun Gong Practitioner from USA Were Arrested
in Beijing
-
BEIJING, Feb 8 (AFP) - A US citizen is missing after being arrested by
Chinese police during a weekend protest by the banned Falungong movement
in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, the group said Tuesday. Tracy Zhao, an air
stewardess, was detained as pratitioners staged a Lunar New Year protest
early Saturday, US-based group spokeswoman Gail Rachlin told AFP. She said
Zhao contacted friends by cell-phone as she was being driven with three
busloads of Falungong practitioners to a detention Center in the city of
Xiaotangshan about an hour north of Beijing after her arrest. Rachlin said
family had received no news of her since, although the Falun Gong had contacted
the US State Department. Zhou, born in Beijing, is a U.S. Citizen working
for Northwest Airlines.
Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province
Practitioners in Shijiazhuang, Ye-ning Liang
and Rong-xin Duan, Were Sentenced 6 and 8 years jail terms
-
According to sources, Ye-ning Liang and Rong-xin Duan were given sentences
of 6 and 8 years in jail respectively on February 1, 2000.
Tangshan City, Hebei Province
Xi-meng Zhou and other practitioners tortured
in the Tang-shan Labor Camp
-
A fellow practitioner saw Xi-meng Zhou, the former contact person of Falun
Dafa Shijiazhuang assistance center in the first women labor camp of Tangshan
City on January 27, 2000. On that day, she was on the eight day of a hunger
strike. Some other practitioners were also on hunger strikes. The number
of them was unknown.
-
On January 19, 2000, all practitioners detained in the first women labor
camp of Tangshan City started a hunger strike to protest the physical torture
because of practicing Falun Gong. They were forced to stand outdoors in
weather of 15 degrees below zero; some practitioners had their hands or
other body parts frozen.
Chengdu City, Sichuan
Practitioners in Chengdu City Were Sentenced
Before the Chinese New Year
-
Before the Chinese New Year, some practitioners in Chengdu were sentenced.
Xiao-song Wang was given a sentence of 7 years in jail. Yan Li, Zhi-jie
Li and some other practitioners were sent to labor camps.
-
The arrest and sentence of Xiao-song Wang made a stir in his former workplace,
the Dayi County education department. His supervisors and colleagues all
went to the department of public security to question the police officers
why such a well-known good person was arrested and sentenced. In the New
Year's celebration of his work place, everyone felt sad when talking about
his sufferings.
-
Currently, practitioners who are waiting for sentences in the Lian-hua
Village detention center of Chengdu City are from all walks of life. There
are workers, peasants, college students, professors, a school president,
senior engineers and retired officials (such as An-rong Cao) etc.
-
Practitioners who were arrested together with Ms. Bing Kong are being detained
in the Lian-hua village detention center. Ms. Bing Kong and her son were
deported from China on January 26, 2000.
-
In addition, graduate students of Si-chuan Universtiy, Min-pu Luo and Tao
Liu, graduate student of Si-chuan Industrial College, Min-yong Chen, were
transferred to Lin-xia street Jail of Chengdu City, waiting for sentencing.
They are detained together with murderers, drug dealers and other criminals.
Yun-hong Jiang was also transferred to the city jail.
-
To prevent practitioners from going to Beijing to appeal and exchange experiences
with each other, the "transformation class" held by the Chengdu public
security department were still in operation on the Chinese New Year's Day.
Many enterprises stated clearly that practitioners could not take vacations
during the New Year's Day.
February 9, 2000
We Urge The Government To Respect The Law And
Stop Persecuting Falun Gong Practitioners --- Report from Jiaozhou City,
Shandong Province
-
Recently, Falun Gong practitioners are facing severe persecution such as
illegal detention, cruel torture, and stiff fines. In order to present
the truth to the government, many practitioners are continuously going
to Beijing. In Jiaozhou City of Shandong Province, each level of the communist
authorities has adopted some method to stop practitioners from going to
Beijing to appeal.
-
After arresting the appealing practitioners in Beijing, the local authorities
would punish them in many ways, such as physical torture, long periods
of detention and stiff financial penalties. Since July 1999, the detention
center of Nantan Village appeal office located in Zhuo-an of Jiaozhou City
has detained a large number of Falun Gong practitioners. The detention
center is now over full.
-
In one case, on the way back from Beijing, the police from Beiwangzhu Town
of Jiaozhou City put seven appealing practitioners with handcuffs all in
the back seat of a small cab, which can only hold three people. In the
police station, the police used all kinds of punishments, such as hitting
faces, grabbing hair, biting ankles, elbows and toes with sticks, forcing
practitioners to squat on the concord floor in bare feet etc.. At midnight
of 15 Dec 1999, the police took off the cotton overcoats of eight practitioners
who had gone to Beijing, and handcuffed them to the trunk of a tree for
eight and a half hours. When the practitioners were untied, their
hands and feet were all frozen and swollen. Being treated like this,
they were still detained for 18 days and fined 30,000 yuan (three years
of income of an average Chinese worker).
-
In Jiaozhou City, the local authorities of Zhuoan and Zhongyun have issued
the official document regarding the fine to be imposed on those Falun Gong
practitioners who had gone to Beijing. The fine is up to 12,000 yuan.
The document also stresses that none of Falun Gong practitioners are allowed
to go to Beijing or the capital city of the province, otherwise the people
involved will be punished.
Changchun City, Jilin Province
-
On February 4, more than one hundred practitioners from Changchun City
went to the local government to appeal for Falun Gong and got arrested.
All of them were sent to the Da-guang detention center of Changchun City.
On that same day, all of these one hundred practitioners started hunger
strikes.
February 10, 2000
Nanyang City, Henan Province
Persecutions in Nan-yang City, He-nan Province
-
Since April 1999, many practitioners in Nan-yang City have stood out and
gone to Beijing to defend Falun Dafa. Several hundred practitioners have
been illegally detained for 15 days to 4 months. Currently, dozens of practitioners
are still being detained.
-
Some practitioners were on hunger strikes in the jail for up to 7 days.
Some practitioners refused to write the pledge promising that they would
give up Falun Gong and would not go to Beijing to appeal, even though they
were under great pressures. Because of that, they have suffered more tribulations
physically and mentally.
-
Some practitioners were put in handcuffs and shackles for more than one
month. For example, practitioners Jin-ting Fan,
Yu-lian Zhang, Zhi-yun Jiao, Yong-zhen Xiao, Juan Niu, Xiu-yun Wang and
Yu-juan Kui etc were put in handcuffs and shackles for a long time in jail.
-
Some practitioners were humiliated in jail by officers and criminals. For
example, Hong-cheng Lu was forced to bend down to smell the toilet for
more than 4 hours.
-
Some practitioners were illegally detained just for exchanging experiences
with other local practitioners.
-
Some practitioners were thrown into jail for writing to the local officials
to report the truth of Falun Gong. Practitioners Xin He, Yu-qing Gao and
Doctor Zhang from the cancer hospital were detained for more than one month
for writing to their supervisors or city officials to report the truth
of Falun Gong.
-
Some practitioners were under home arrest for 24 hours a day. For example,
Gui-lian Su, Zhi-yun Jiao and Pei-jie Yao were monitored by their workplaces
after they were freed from the detention center. Some practitioners'
home phones were monitored by the police. Some practitioners' ID cards
were confiscated and they were required to pay 2,000 Yuan to 5,000 Yuan
as deposit.
-
Practitioners Dong-mei Peng and Wen-ting Li were illegally detained for
more than three months before they were given a sentence of 2 to 3 years
of forced labor only because they refused to write the pledge of giving
up Falun Gong.
-
Practitioner Chun-zhi Liu was detained for more than one month and fined
9,000 Yuan for going to Beijing to appeal. She was detained again in January
for refusing to write the pledge of giving up Falun Gong. She has been
detained until now.
February11, 2000
Zhaoyuan City, Shandong Province
Six Latest Reports on Persecutions in Zhao-yuan
City, Where Ms. Zhao Jinhua Was Tortured to Death in October 1999
[Police officers and local government officials often took turns to
torture practitioners continuously by beating and electrical shocks until
practitioners lost consciousness. They also imposed stiff fines on practitioners.]
1. On September 22, 1999, the local government and the police department
of Ling-long Town of Zhao-yuan City, Shan-dong Province arrested practitioners
You-ying Lu, Rui-su Gao, Ke-ying Wen, Yan-qin Sun, Mei-feng Li, Dong-fang
Chang and Wen-de Li and detained them without going through any legal procedures.
-
On September 23, 1999, they also arrested and detained practitioners Jin-guo
Li, Zi-Fang Zhang, Jin-wei Wen, Jin-hua Wei, Rui-hong Li and Xiu-fen Hao
without any legal formalities.
-
In two days, more than 50 practitioners were arrested and detained and
were tortured afterwards. For examples: In the detention center where
You-ying Lu and De-wen Li were detained, 15 people were allowed only one
kilogram of water each day. Sometimes, no water was given for several
days and nights.
-
They were insulted and beaten every day. Once, in the police department,
5~6 people took turns to beat practitioner Cai-mei Lu for more than two
hours (the electrical punishment had been used) until she lost her consciousness.
On the same night, the chief of police, Mr. Ma and another two people tied
Ms. Dong-fang Chang and then beat her for more than 4 hours, and another
4 more hours on the following night. Her face was swollen and there
was internal bleeding under her skin in many places. She also had
been electrically shocked on both nights. On the night of September
22, 1999, Mr. Wen-de Li was hung up and beaten for the whole night.
He was also put in handcuffs and shackles and had been electrically shocked.
Practitioner Jin-guo Li was beaten up and could not stand up from the ground
for the whole night. Zi-fen Zhang, Jin-wei Wen, etc were beaten with pails
covering their heads. Qi-hua Wei and Jin-Qin Wei who were nearly
60 years old, were forced to stand in a position with their arms stretching
out and legs bent from 7:00pm to very late at night.
-
These practitioners were detained for more than 40 days without any reason.
At last, those who were arrested on September 22, 1999 were released after
their relatives signed and left their thumbprints on the "pledge" of quitting
Falun Gong, and paid 5000~6000 Yuan (about a half year's income of an average
Chinese worker) to the police department. Those who were arrested
on September 23, 1999 were released after their relatives paid 2000 Yuan.
2. On September 28, practitioners Wei-dian Qin, Mei-xin Li, Xi-bin Fu and
Xi-li Fu from the Da-qin-jia village of Da-qin-jia Town in Zhao-yuan City
were arrested at midnight by the local police station without any legal
formalities. More than 15 people were put into an "iron cage" which
is less than 4.5 square meters. They were detained for 12 to 18 days.
The police station did not notify anyone to send them food. A secretary
of the township government used the shoe brush to hit the head of the practitioner
Ying-xia Fu and the brush was broken from the beating. Later, that practitioner
bought a new shoe brush for the police station.
-
After October 1, these practitioners were still in custody. Several
Falun Gong practitioners from Nan-yuan town of Zhao-yuan City went to the
Da-qin-jia Town government to request them to release the detained practitioners.
However, these practitioners, including Zhi-gao Li, Shu-ying Li, Yun-ying
Zhou, De-fa Lu, Xi-rong Lu, Ai-hong Yun, were detained by the Da-qin-jia
Town government and tortured.
3. On October 1, Ms. Chun-na Lu, practitioner from Da-qin-jia Town of Zhao-yuan
City, went to Beijing to appeal by walking and getting ride. She arrived
at Beijing on October 4. She was sent to the police station immediately
because she told the truth when asking the directions from a police officer.
She was escorted back to the Da-qin-jia Town on the next afternoon. As
soon as she got off the car, some local officers surrounded her and beat
her. She lost her consciousness very soon. These officers thought that
she was pretending to be dead, and continued to torture her. Later, they
even waved a lighter in front of her to see whether she had any response.
When they found that she had no response, they thus poured cold water on
her face. It still didn't work. They then sent her to Da-qin-jia hospital
for emergency treatment. After her relatives came, the police officers
lied that she looked liked that because she had refused to eat anything
for 3 days. Three days later, she was sent to the city police station for
detention for half a month. After she came back home, the officers
went to her home asking her to pay for the transportation fee, and threatened
to confiscate the salaries of her elder sister and father.
4. On November 9, two practitioners from Da-qin-jia Town of Zhao-yuan
City, Ms. Yu-hua Zhang, who was 55-year-old, and Ms. Lian-fang Wang, who
was 58-year-old, went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong. They were intercepted
by police in Wei-fang Train Station. Some governmental officials of the
Da-qin-jia Town came to pick them up.
-
In the public, these officials beat and kicked these two women as soon
as they met them. After that, they robbed the only 330 Yuan of these two
women. On 9:00pm at night, dozens of people from the Da-qin-jia town government
beat these 2 women on the ground, 4 people held the two women on the ground
and others took turns to beat them using police clubs and rubber clubs
until they lost consciousness. They had been beaten to lose consciousness
for several times during one day and two nights. Later they were sent to
the police department of Zhao-yuan City for a 15-day detention.
5. On November 10, Cai-xia Fu, practitioner from Wo-hu Village of Da-qin-jia
Town of Zhao-yuan City, went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong. The next
morning, at the entrance of the Appealing office, when she was just handing
over the appeal letter, some officers from the government of Da-qin-jia
town rushed over and took away the letter by force. Then she was brought
into a hotel where she suffered beatings until she lost consciousness.
Right after she woke up, she was handcuffed on a closet for about 40 hours.
She was sent back to the Da-qin-jia Town on the night of November 12. Some
officers continued to torture her for more than two hours until they got
tired. After that, they demanded her to pay 10,000 Yuan and threatened
that her tractor used for farming (worth 14,000 Yuan) would be taken away
if she refused to pay. An officer whose last name is Wang wrote a mortgage
document and forced her to copy it by hand and leave her thumbprint on
it (the mortgage document still exists). Then they sent her to the local
police station. On November 15, she was transferred to the City Public
Security Bureau for criminal detention.
6. On December 15, Fu-shan-zhen local police station of Zhao-yuan City
arrested 7 Falun Gong practitioners including Xiang Liu, Shu-qing Li and
Ming-zhu Liu who went to appeal. They were detained in underground prison,
no light at all. And they had been tortured. The punishments include being
forced to squat down with both arms stretching out, heels lifted off the
ground; being forced to hold clubs by bending legs; electric shock; etc.
Latest News from Japan and China
[1] Practitioners from Japan Arrested by Chinese
Police
-
Practitioners from Japan, Jie Xu, Yi-hong Zhao and Guo-ping Hu were arrested
when they practiced Falun Gong on tTiananmen Square on Chinese New Year's
Eve (February 4). Their whereabouts are unknown since then. Some other
practitioners from Japan who hold Chinese passports were again denied entry
to China.
-
According to a practitioner who was a Japanese citizen and who was deported
from China after joining the practice on Tiananmen Square on Chinese New
Year's eve, they had been beaten up by police officers. They lost contact
with each other after being transferred a few times.
[2] President of Architecture Institute Arrested
for Supporting Falun Gong
-
Zhong-lin Jiang, a senior engineer and the President of the Ming-yuan Architecture
Institute, and his wife were arrested by the Chengdu police for writing
to Jiang Ze-min to report his experience of practicing Falun Gong, and
publishing the letter on Chinese Minghui Net.
[3] Practitioner Detained for Doing Exercises
at Home
-
Xiao-yu Zhang, practitioner from the Guang-rong district of Chengdu City,
was arrested because when she practiced Falun Gong exercises at home, an
official of the residential committee heard the practice music and reported
her. She was given a 15 days of administrative detention. The police officers
in the Guang-rong police station told practitioners that to practice Falun
Gong exercises is against the law.
[4] Chief Police Officer Punished; Authorities
Transferred Police Officers
-
The head of the Ren-min-bei-lu police station of Chengdu City was punished
by being reduced to a lower rank for not being able to prevent local Falun
Gong practitioners from going to Beijing to appeal.
Dalian City, Liaoning Province
Ms. Qiu-ju Gao, Key Contact Person of Falun
Gong in Dalian City, Was Secretly Sentenced to 9 Years in Jail
-
The Hong Kong Information Center for Human Rights and Democratic Movement
reported that Ms. Qiu-ju Gao, a key contact person of Falun Gong in Dalian
City, was recently sentenced to 9 years in prison by the Court of Xi-gang
district of Dalian City.
-
The center said that the authorities sentenced Ms. Qiu-ju Gao on February
1, while her family did not receive the notice of the sentence until February
10.
-
The 59-year-old Qiu-ju Gao was the president of a foreign trade company.
She became the key contact person of Falun Gong in Dalian City in 1994.
She was arrested on July 24 1999 under the accusation of "organizing April
25 event", "giving the government's secret documents on cracking down Falun
Gong to Zhi-wen Wang in Beijing", etc.
-
The center also disclosed that the four major contact people who were sentenced
on December 26 of last year, Chang Li, Zhi-wen Wang and Lie-wu Ji are being
detained in the No. 1 Prison of Beijing, and Jie Yao is being detained
in the Beijing Women Prison.
Guangxi Province
Jin-chun Huang, a Judge in Guang-xi Province,
Was Sent to Mental Hospital and Injected Sedatives with Damaging Side Effects
-
According to Duowei Chinese news net, Jin-chun Huang, 34, who was a judge
of the Beihai City Intermediate People's Court, was sent to a mental hospital
because of his belief in Falun Dafa. He was injected with sedatives with
damaging side effects.
-
Jin-chun Huang went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong in September 1999,
which upset the authorities of the Political and Legal Committee of Guang-xi
Province. On November 15 of last year, two police officers arrested him
and threw him into a mental hospital. They told him that it was the decision
of the provincial public security department.
-
Because Jin-chun Huang continued to practice Falun Gong in the mental hospital,
the hospital injected him with sedatives everyday. It was said that these
injections have strong side effects and could damage one's mental abilities.
February 12, 2000
Zhuozhou City, Hebei Province
Appalling Experiences of Five Falun Gong Practitioners
from Zhuozhou City, Hebei Province
-
I am Ling-mei Chen, a common countrywoman. On November 19, several Falun
Gong practitioners and I went to the Tiananmen Square. The police asked
us whether we practiced Falun Dafa or not. We said yes. Thus, we were taken
to a place where many practitioners had already been detained. They were
all talking about their experiences. After a while, the police took us
to the Baoding Liaison Office and then transferred us to Zhuozhou city
police department.
-
When being interrogated on that day, we were beaten. I was beaten again
while they were interrogating me on the second night. They pushed me down
to the ground and let me kneel. Later, they held a "class" for Zhang Cui-qing,
Hen-chun Chang, Jun-hua Xin and me. Everyday, they forced us to write the
pledge of giving up Falun Gong, and to read the newspapers slandering Falun
Dafa. If we refused, we would be taken to a room to be tortured one after
another. The shocked us using an electric club from the lower back to the
top of the head. Then they slapped us. After they got tired of that, they
kicked and beat us with clubs. They even used a piece of wood about
10 inches to slap us. We were tortured until midnight.
-
Ling-mei Chen, 50 years old, said that a police officer shocked her skin
using an electrical club. She had to bear that pain by holding her fists
tightly. Then the police officer shocked her armpit for a long period of
time. She felt so painful that she held her pants tightly. She said that
it felt like being burned.
-
After Hen-chun Chang got released, she said that Ling-mei Chen's husband
had been arrested. He would rather die than write the pledge. He is still
in police custody.
-
Unable to bear the inhumane torture any further, Jun-hua Xing bumped her
head against the wall and lost consciousness. Blood came out from her head.
-
Cui-qing Zhang could not endure what she was suffering any longer. She
then pretended to go to the restroom and committed suicide by hanging herself
with her belt. She would rather die that write the pledge. After a few
minutes, two police officers went to the restroom and found that she had
hung herself. They untied her and took her to the stairway. They kicked
her, "Do not pretend to be dead." The police officers became worried when
they got no response from her. They then sent her to the hospital for emergency
treatment. She regained her consciousness without emergency treatment.
On the second day, Cui-qing Zhang was escorted back to her hometown.
-
During that period, practitioners endured all kinds of torture. Finding
that the torture did not work, the police then demanded their family members
write the pledge that if they went to appeal again, their families would
be fined 20,000 Yuan each. The police then released them.
Beijing
-
On February 12, 4 police officers from the branch 14 of Beijing police
department and the Tsinghua University ransacked the home of Yu Jia, a
faculty member of the Tsinghua University. The police officers seized Falun
Dafa materials. Her brother was beaten for protecting those materials.
February 13, 2000
Chinese government will intensify the persecutions
against Falun Gong
According to sources within the Chinese government, the persecution
against Falun Gong will be intensified starting from mid-February.
New detention centers built recently in the Northwestern China will be
used to jail practitioners who appeal for Falun Gong. It was also
reported that the communist authorities believe that there should be no
problem to jail 20,000 to 30,000 practitioners.
Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province
An Official of Department of Security of Hebei
Province Jailed for Appealing for Falun Dafa
-
Mr. Hong-sheng Tao, an official in the Department of Security of Hebei
Province, got arrested on December 25 1999 when he and Mr. Bing Wu, a teacher
from the 18th middle school of Shijiazhuang city, unfurled a banner reading
"Falun Dafa" on Tiananmen Square. Mr. Tao's wife and daughter also got
arrested. Mr. Tao was expelled from the party and removed from the post.
He was given a sentence of 3 years of forced labor. Mr. Wu was given a
sentence of 2 years of forced labor.
-
Mr. Tao's wife and daughter were escorted back to the local police station.
They were forced to write pledge and pay the fine. Mr. Tao's wife refused
to do that. The department of security had already confiscated their apartment
in order to put pressure on Mr. Tao's wife.
Guangdong Province
-
In the suburban of Pu-ling city, starting from February 8, many practitioners
held a Falun Dafa experience sharing conference for several days. On the
afternoon of February 10, about 100 police officers came and arrested about
210 practitioners.
Beijing
-
On February 6, some practitioners were taken away from the their homes
when they were doing meditation in the lotus position. On the morning of
February 12, about 30 practitioners were arrested at the Tao-ran-ting Park
in Beijing when practicing Falun Dafa exercises.
-
Jian Li, a college student from the East China University, wrote a letter
to the president of the university in last December to communicate his
understandings about Falun Dafa. He was suspended on the second day. Later,
he and his girlfriend went to the Political Consultative Appealing Office
to appeal. The police received them and transferred them to the Xi-cheng
police station for detention.
February 14, 2000
Changchun, Jilin Province
Some practitioners in Da-guang detention center
are on the 11th day of hunger strike (starting from February 4, 2000).
More practitioners are joining the hunger strike.
February 16, 2000
Beijing
-
According to reliable sources, the Chinese government arrested more than
1,700
practitioners from February 4 to February 7.
-
A prosecutor in Beijing said that there were over 7,000
practitioners sent to the Changping Detention Center in Beijing on
the lunar New Year's Eve. Currently, the police are still arresting practitioners
at home in order to find out the organizers of the New Year's Eve protest
on Tiananmen Square.
Xinjiang Province
-
At 8am of Feb. 15, eight practitioners were arrested from the Liyushan
Park of Urumuqi city when they were practicing Falun Gong exercises together.
So far their whereabouts are still unknown.
Chengdu City, Province
Before the Lunar New Year, Chengdu police department
sentenced many practitioners.
-
Practitioners Xiang Ying and her mother got arrested in their apartment
in the Guang-rong district because an official from the residential committee
heard their practice music. After being detained for 15 days, they were
sent back to their hometown in Meizhou. They were threatened that they
should never return to the Guang-rong district. They would be arrested
as soon as they were found.
-
Before the Lunar New Year, Ding-hui Yan and the other two practitioners
got arrested when they were practicing Falun Gong in the Xin-hua Park.
They are now detained in Lian-hua Village detention center waiting for
sentence.
February 17, 2000
Zhaoyuan City, Shandong Province
Local authorities of Zhaoyuan City, where Mr.
Zhao Jinhua was tortured to death, continued to persecute other Falun Gong
practitioners relentlessly
1. On September 20, the associate chief of police (Last name Nan) of
the Ling-long Town police department ransacked the home of practitioner
Ms. Youying Lu without any warrant and confiscated her Falun Dafa materials.
-
On September 22, police officer Gui-bo Li searched practitioner Rui-su
Gao's home without any warrant and took away Falun Dafa materials and a
tape recorder. Then they arrested Gao. On the same day, 15 practitioners
were taken to the local police station and detained in a place 6 square
feet. Three days later, 18 more practitioners were taken to the Ling-long
hotel and detained in two rooms.
-
During the detention, the police officers beat these practitioners at will
and ordered them to do a lot of physical labor such as cleaning floors
and windows but did not provide practitioners drinking water. One day,
practitioners were required to read a book slandering Falun Gong and its
founder, but they all refused to do that. Therefore, Dong-fang Chang, Cai-mei
Lu and the other practitioner were tortured for more than 3 hours including
being electrically shocked. Practitioner Mr. Wen-de Li had been hung up
and beaten for a whole night. He suffered all kinds of torture devices.
In the end, he was force-fed with poison. The Communist Party Secretary
Yu-hao Shao tortured Cui-hua Liu and Chun-nan Qu till they lost consciousness,
but he continued to torture them after pouring cold water on them.
2. On December 28, 1999, 5 practitioners, Shao-mei Sun, Cui-xiang
Wang, Xiu-fang Nu, Yuan-mei Lu and Cui-qing Song, were intercepted on their
way to Beijing and taken back to the Ling-long police department. A police
official, Zheng-tao Chen, body-searched them by stripping them. It was
cold winter. They were cold and shivering on the ground. At night, they
slept on the cement floor without quilts. The guard Bing-xin Li did not
allow them to use the restrooms and kept the windows open. They were very
cold for two days and two nights. Shao-mei Sun was later sent to a hospital
for emergency treatment by her family members and was able to recover.
3. From January 23 to 27 of 2000, 9 of us practitioners including You-ying
Lu and Cui-hua Liu were escorted back from Beijing and detained in the
police station. We slept on the cement floor and were forbidden to use
the quilts sent to us by our family members. We were forced to clean the
floors and windows everyday. Otherwise, we would be denied food.
-
On the afternoon of February 4, we were released. Our home phones were
monitored. We lost our personal freedom. Each of us was monitored by two
local villagers everyday. We could not have a normal life.
February 20, 2000
Practitioners Abused in Mental Hospital
Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province
1. A First Rank Police Supervisor "Treated" in Nanjing Mental Hospital
-
Ding Jian-hua, female, 47, a first rank police supervisor and the head
of the Department of Health Care of the Public Security Bureau of Jiang-su
Province, was sent to the Nanjing Brain Hospital (mental hospital) on October
3 of 1999 to accept forced treatments because she refused to give up her
belief in Falun Gong. The abusive "treatments" have been very detrimental,
slowing her reaction and blurring her eyesight. Currently, she is being
detained in the 27th Bed of Sixth District in Nanjing mental Hospital.
Three other practitioners are also being detained and abused there. They
could be visited from 2pm to 5pm every day. Practitioners hope that journalists
could interview them and expose their sufferings.
Laiyang City, Shandong Province
2. More than 20 Practitioners "Treated" in Lai-yang Mental Hospital
and Demanded Expensive Fees
-
Up to now, more than twenty practitioners have been sent to the Yan-tai
Mental Recovering Center located at Lai-yang City. They were forced to
take medicines and injections. The hospital would force-feed them if they
refused to take medicines. The Chinese authorities attempted to disturb
the mental abilities of practitioners. Moreover, they were required to
pay the expensive medical fees.
-
Among them, there were teachers from the Lai-yang School of Medicine, teachers
from the Lai-yang Higher Education through Broadcasting and TV, and doctors
from the Lai-yang Central Hospital etc. A practitioner from Qingdao City
was also detained there because when he was sent to the local mental hospital,
the local hospital refused to accept him since he is perfectly normal mentally.
February 24, 2000
Zhaoyuan City, Shandong Province (Message received on Feb 24,
2000)
How the Da-qing-jia Township Government in
Zhaoyuan City Tortured Falun Gong Practititioners from January 1 to January
3
(Provided by a practitioner in Da-qing-jia Town, January 7, 2000 )
-
[January 1, 2000] Two officials from the Da-qing-jia Township government,
Sheng and Yu, went to arrest Falun Gong practitioner in person, Chen Xie-ye,
who was living in the Xiao-zhuan Mountain Village. They started to beat
him in the Village office, and continued to beat him upon arriving at the
Township government office. Two wood sticks were broken during the beating.
They also used police club to beat him.
-
Practitioners Liu Rong-xi and Li Ju-hua were beaten to the extent that
their faces were swollen. Zhang Xue-feng is a 22-year-old girl. At night,
Sheng and other people beat her to the ground. Then, Sheng pulled her up
from the ground by dragging her breast and kicked her lower abdomen madly,
cursing that "I will make you unable to give birth..." After Ms. Zhang
was tortured and lost consciousness Sheng spit into Ms. Zhang's mouth several
times. After Ms. Zhang regained consciousness, she found that she had lost
control of her excrrtion and started to vomit madly.
-
[January 2, 2000] At night, the officials from the Da-qing-jia Township
government stripped off the clothes of practitioners Chen Xie-ye, Chen
Dian-yuan, who is a crippled soldier, and Chen Dian-cui etc and kept them
outdoors for up to 2 hours. It was about minus 12 degrees Centigrade.
The political secretary Liu and another 7 to 8 people including Wang beat
practitioners including Li Mei-xin.
Beijing
"You have no right to arrest me just because
I am walking"
-
Wang Xian, female, 46, was an official of the Zhan-lan-lu Apartments Management
Department in the Real Estate Management Bureau of Xi-cheng District of
Beijing. On February 4, she got arrested for having given an affirmative
answer to the police's question "are you a practitioner of Falun Gong?"
when she passed by Tiananmen Square. She was then detained in the Xi-cheng
District police detention center. When the police asked her to sign on
the detention warrant, she refused. She said, "You have no right to arrest
me just because I am walking, even if I am a Falun Gong practitioner."
-
On February 10, she started a hunger strike. As of February 21, it had
been 11 days. During her hunger strike, the police force-fed her many times
by cuffing her hands and feet. However, she vomited all that was
force-fed. The police also gave her an injection. According to a fellow
practitioner who is being detained with her, she now looks skinny and weak.
February 25, 2000
China
1. [Chengdu, Si-chuan Province] Help! Pregnant Woman Still in Custody
-
Ms. Zhu Xia, who is pregnant for 8 months, is detained alone by the Guang-rong
district police station. The contact number of the police station is 011-86-28-765-6434.
She is about to give birth but the police refuse to release her. We appeal
to all international human rights organizations, media and kind-hearted
people to pay attention
-
The Yin-men-kou police station phone number is 011-86-28-752-9986. The
address is Yin-men-kou Overpass, 2 Lunar Road, Chengdu City, Si-chuan Province.
2. [Beijing] Suppression on Falun Gong Intensified before "Two Conferences"
-
The Beijing Bureau of Public Security issued an internal document on arresting
"active" Falun Gong practitioners in large scale before the Conference
of the National People's Congress and the Chinese Consultative Conference
("Two Conferences"). Yesterday, all police stations held a meeting
planning on how to arrest those "active" practitioners in large scale,
how to investigate the initiators and organizers who wrote appealing letters
to the National People's Congress, and how to closely monitor internet
"activists", especially those who send Emails to the National People's
Congress.
3. [Changchun, Ji-lin Province] Over 400 Practitioners in Detention
-
On February 19, the police in Changchun arrested many practitioners. They
continued to arrest practitioners for 3 days. Over 400 practitioners are
being detained in Ba-li-bao detention center. 16 of them are in male cell.
The number of practitioners in female cell is unknown. 3 couples are being
detained.
4. [Changchun, Ji-lin Province] Hunger Strike in Ba-li-pu Detention
Center
-
Recently, many practitioners from Ji-lin Province have gone to Beijing
to appeal. Usually, they would be detained for 15 days. Currently, the
Da-guang detention center of Changchun City is full. Starting from February
19, arrested practitioners would be detained in the Ba-li-pu detention
center. About 40 practitioners have started hunger strikes. Some have been
on hunger strikes for 5 days. As of today, the longest one has been on
a hunger strike for 9 days. (They have been on hunger strikes in Da-guang
detention center for some days and are continuing their hunger strike after
being transferred to Ba-li-pu detention center.)
-
Today, a practitioner on a hunger strike was given an injection. The hunger
strike is still going on [Provided by a practitioner who just got released
from Ba-li-pu detention center, February 25, 2000]. The previous hunger
strike in Da-guang detention center ended on February 16, 2000, because
the officials in Changchun City went to visit the detention center and
released all those who had been on a hunger strike for many days. Those
who had been on a hunger strike for a short time were all transferred to
Ba-li-pu detention center.
Feb 25, 2000 Reuters: U.S. Says Human Rights in China Worsened in 1999
-
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China's human rights record worsened noticeably
in 1999 as authorities hit at the China Democracy Party, the Falun Gong
spiritual movement, the media and unregistered churches, the United States
said on Friday.
-
"Beginning in the spring, Communist Party leaders moved quickly to suppress
what they believed to be organized challenges that threatened national
stability and Communist Party authority," the State Department said in
its annual report on the state of human rights around the world.
-
"The government's poor human rights record deteriorated markedly throughout
the year, as the government intensified efforts to suppress dissent," the
report on China said.
-
Several thousand people are in Chinese jails, in violation of international
conventions, for peacefully expressing their political, religious and social
views, and in 1999 fewer political prisoners than usual were released early,
it said.
-
By the end of the year almost all the key members of the fledgling opposition
China Democracy Party were in jail, either serving long prison terms or
in custody without formal charges. "Only a handful of dissidents nationwide
dared to remain active publicly," the report added.
-
On the Falun Gong movement, an irritant in relations for many months, the
report said tens of thousands of members have been detained. Quoting "some
reports," it said the government has started putting members in psychiatric
hospitals.
-
The Chinese authorities say the mass movement, a mixture of Buddhism, Taoism,
meditation and breathing exercises, is an "evil cult" responsible for the
death of 1,400 practitioners and a threat to the country's social stability.
-
The United States has already announced it will sponsor a resolution critical
of China at a meeting in March in Geneva of the U.N. Commission on Human
Rights.
-
China said this would be a blow to resuming a bilateral dialogue on human
rights, suspended by China in May 1999 after the United States bombed the
Chinese embassy in Belgrade.
-
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, briefing reporters on the report,
dismissed the argument that the United States should respond to Chinese
abuses by denying China the permanent normal trade relations which it seeks.
"We will continue to speak out on behalf of those in China who are systematically
denied basic political and religious freedoms ... but we also see greater
prospects for progress by pursuing our interests through our ties with
China than by cutting those ties," she said.
-
On the media in China, the State Department report said, "The government
tightened restrictions on freedom of speech and of the press, and increased
controls on the Internet; self-censorship by journalists also increased."
-
"Control and manipulation of the press by the government for political
purposes increased during the year," it said.
-
On religion, which the Communist Party dislikes but tolerates within limits,
the report said, "The government continued to restrict freedom of religion
and intensified controls on some unregistered churches."
-
In some areas, the authorities broke up religious services, harassed and
sometimes fined, detained, beat and tortured church leaders and members,
it said.
-
The crackdown on dissent extended to outlying regions with restive ethnic
minorities, such as Tibet and the western province of Xinjiang, which has
a large Uighur population.
-
China vigorously defends its human rights record and deeply resents U.S.
criticism. In a white paper released last week it boasted that its 1.2
billion people enjoyed "unprecedented democracy and freedom" safe from
hunger, cold and ignorance.
-
The document rejected the Western approach to human rights and insisted
China would follow its own path, focusing on the right to subsistence and
economic development.
-
The State Department said its full report on China was to be available
later on Friday through the State Department's Web site, www.state.gov.
February 28, 2000
Falun Gong Member Beaten To Death By Chinese
Police
-
BEIJING, Feb 28, 2000 -- (Agence France Presse) An elderly member of the
banned Falun Gong has been beaten to death by Chinese police, a Hong Kong
rights group said Monday.
-
Chen Zixiu, a 60-year-old farmer, died on February 21, four days after
she was taken to a center for "the detention and conversion of Falungong"
in Weifang, eastern Shandong, said the Information Centre of Human Rights
and Democratic Movement in China.
-
She was found by her family "covered in bruises and bloodied wounds, with
blood in her ears and mouth and several broken teeth," the center said
in a statement.
-
A policeman in Weifang confirmed to AFP that Chen had died after she was
placed in detention but denied the accusations of torture. "We don't know
what she died of," he said.
-
She had been arrested on February 17 by police who suspected her of wanting
to go to Beijing to protest against the ban on the Buddhist-inspired movement.
-
Police also demanded a 1,000 yuan (120 dollar) fine from her family in
return for her release. But as the fine was not paid on time, police began
to beat their prisoner, the center said. Chen's family was alerted by a
freed detainee, but they arrived too late at the center.
-
According to the center, no lawyer is willing to represent the family which
wants to sue the police and has been placed under constant surveillance.
-
Chen was the eleventh Falun Gong member to die in detention since Falun
Gong was banned by Beijing in July, either from police brutality or from
hunger strike, the center said.
-
Falun Gong posed an unprecedented challenge to Beijing's Communist leadership
in April 1999 when it gathered 10,000 members outside the party's headquarters
in a silent protest.
-
It was banned three months later. The movement advocates clean living and
combines physical exercise with spiritual beliefs which it claims can cure
illnesses without the need for a doctor. The Chinese government has said
such practices had led to the deaths of 1,400 followers. ((c) 2000 Agence
France Presse)
Monday, 28, February, Falun Gong Member Dies After
China Beatings-Group
-
BEIJING (Reuters) - A 60-year-old member of the banned spiritual movement
Falun Gong died after beatings by Chinese police, a human rights group
said on Monday in a report issued days before the U.N. rights chief is
to visit China.
-
The Hong Kong-based Information Center of Human Rights & Democratic
Movement in China said Chen Zixiu died from police beatings sustained after
she was detained by police in Weifang in the eastern province of Shandong
for failing to pay a fine.
-
The center said family members called by police to fetch her body on February
21 -- four days after her detention -- found it covered with bruises, the
teeth broken and blood coming out of the ears.
-
Chen, a member of Falun Gong China outlawed last July, was detained by
police on February 17 on suspicion she was going to Beijing to petition
the government over the Falun Gong ban, the center said.
-
While Chen was kept in a government-run ``Falun Gong reconversion camp,''
police demanded her daughter pay a fine of 1,000 yuan ($120) -- a sum Chen
couldn't raise because she had already paid a 5,000 yuan fine, the center
said.
-
Police in Weifang could not be reached for comment.
-
The Hong Kong-based center said Chen's death brings to 11 the number of
Falun Gong adherents who have died from beatings or hunger strikes in custody
since China banned the sect in July.
-
China acknowledged three Falun Gong deaths as of December, but said one
was a suicide and two died of heart failure.
-
The center urged U.N. rights chief Mary Robinson, who will visit Beijing
on March 1-2 and meet Chinese leaders, to ''frankly criticize these extremely
grave violations of human rights in the handling of the Falun Gong issue.''
-
Robinson, will discuss technical cooperation with China and raise various
human rights concerns with Chinese officials during her visit, according
to spokesman Jose Diaz.
-
A scathing report issued last week by the State Department report which
said China's human rights record ``deteriorated markedly'' in 1999 focused
heavily on China's exhaustive campaign to destroy Falun Gong.
-
The report said thousands of members of the sect -- which mixes Buddhism,
Taoism and traditional Chinese Qigong calisthenics -- have been detained
and others interned at psychiatric hospitals.
-
China's Communist government angrily rejected the report as interference
in its internal affairs.
(... the situation is still developing. Due to the
severe blockage of communications networks (telephone/fax/email/web sites),
we have no news from the villages and many more other cities where there
are significant numbers of Falun Dafa practitioners. All we know is that
the Central government has ordered that the whole country forbid the practice
of Falun Dafa. People who dare to continue to practice Falun Dafa will
be dishonorably dismissed from the Communist Party, from school and from
their jobs. All this because Falun Dafa is a traditional, high-level Qigong
practice that focuses on Truth, Benevolence and Forbearance and offers
people better physical and mental health and has attracted millions of
people all over the world are learning and practicing it now.)
This information was collected by some Falun Dafa
practitioners in North America.
All kind-hearted
people around the world,
please help
us.