Update on the Persecution of Practitioners from Jinan City, Shandong Province

Since the time certain individuals inside the central government ordered the crackdown on Falun Gong, law enforcement personnel have been arresting and beating practitioners. Beginning in October this year, the Shandong Provincial government ordered the police to follow practitioners and arrest them secretly regardless of whether they have gone to Beijing to appeal to the central government or not. Many practitioners were unlawfully arrested at their homes. Sometimes, the whole family of a practitioner was arrested. The government also uses other contemptible means to mistreat the practitioners, including dismissal from their government positions and expulsion from schools. Here are some specific cases:

1. Yu Zongping and his wife, Ji Guangli, of Jinan City, Shandong Province have practiced Falun Gong for several years. They have very high xinxing and have gone to Beijing to tell the truth about Falun Gong several times. One day in October of this year, they were arrested at their home. They have a 14-year-old daughter, and no one is taking care of her.
2. Ye Jinglun was a professor of physics from Jinan City, Shandong Province. Ye's parents were martyrs. Ye, who has practiced Falun Gong for many years, was arrested at his home for his beliefs and sentenced to three years in prison without a trial. Ye has a 25-year-old daughter, also a practitioner, named Ye Chunqing who graduated from Qingdao University. Ye Chunqing has been arrested several times for going to Beijing to appeal and she has been a participant in hunger strikes numerous times. The last time she was arrested was in September of this year and she was also sentenced to a three-year prison term. However, she was diagnosed with hepatitis, so her sentence was not carried out. Instead, she was sent to the detention facility at a police branch office, where the police chained her to an iron chair. The police at the facility resorted to inhumane treatments, including depriving her of food, water, and sleep for three days and three nights.
3. Dr. Xi, a woman, is 60-years-old. She was discharged from the military hospital because she had multiple illnesses and also could not see well. She became strong and her eyesight improved substantially after practicing Falun Gong. As a result, her husband also began to practice Falun Gong. One day in October of this year, the police came and arrested Dr. Xi and her husband at their home while they were having a meal.
4. Wang Xuefan was arrested at his home with his wife and son present. He was removed from his position, and sentenced to three years in prison.
5. Ms. XX has practiced Falun Gong for many years. She has aging parents with serious illnesses. Her mother is paralyzed and has been confined to bed for many years. Her father is paralyzed on one side of his body and has only one functional hand. The daughter has to do all the housework. One day in October this year, the daughter was arrested while taking care of her parents.

Updated List of Sentences to Reform-through-Labor: Recently, Lixia District of Jinan City sentenced some practitioners to the Reform-through-Labor program without any legal process: Jiang Guoqin, three years at forced labor for appealing in Beijing; Xu Meixun, three years at forced labor for disseminating materials telling the truth about Falun Gong; Zhang Hong, three years at forced labor for disseminating materials telling the truth about Falun Gong; and Jiang Weidong, three years at forced labor for appealing in Beijing. Additional practitioners from Jinan City who have received three-year forced labor sentences are: Liu Yunxuan, Sun Yingjie (Liu Yunxuan's daughter), Wang Jinxiang, Tang Fumei, Liu Miao (18-year-old middle school student, Tang Fumei's daughter), Wang Tongqin, Tong Ruilian, Xue Ziqing, Zhao Yonghui. Unlawful House Arrest and Forced Transformation Since late October this year, agencies of the Jinan city government deceived a large number of practitioners and forced them into a detention facility, calling it a "Falun Gong Transformation Through Studying Program." Below is how they "transform" practitioners in Guodian Village, Lixia District:

1. They restrict the practitioners' personal freedom: practitioners are not allowed to open the doors during the daytime or to close the doors during the nighttime. They are not allowed to talk to each other, to sit on the bed, or to practice. Practitioners who disobey the rules are beaten severely.
2. They take turns interrogating the practitioners 24 hours a day: If any practitioner refuses to be "transformed," he or she is beaten brutally while wearing handcuffs and foot shackles, then forced to lie on the ground and perform indecent gestures as a form of humiliation.
3. They tie practitioners to their beds and stick feeding tubes through their noses or send them to psychiatric institutions when they conduct hunger or water strikes to protest.
4. They collect unlawful fees of 100 Yuan per day from each practitioner as "living expenses." The food they provide is two pieces of pickled turnip in the morning, and one dish of vegetables at noon and in the evening;

This so-called "study program" is in fact a strictly supervised prison where practitioners are tortured. However, their faith in Falun Dafa is unshaken by the torture. The government's tricks have failed again, and the officials from the District Communist Committee have started writing the "guarantees" [not to practice anymore], and "transforming experiences" supposedly from the practitioners. Three Practitioners Receive Inhumane Torture, and Two are on the Verge of Death On November 18, practitioners Liu Jian, Nu Tao, Li Xiaoping (female) of Jinan City were arrested when they were telling the truth about Falun Dafa to the public. They have been on a hunger strike to protest their unlawful arrests since the first day of their detention. On the second day, Nu Tao was tied to the "dragon bed (an extremely painful device usually reserved for criminals charged with very serious crimes)" and suffered gruesome bodily abuse. On the fourth day, Liu Jian was subjected to the same torture. Li Xiaoping slammed her head against the wall to protest the persecution by the police, and blood ran all over her face. Despite her condition, she was sent to Liu Changshan Detention Center and tied to the "dragon bed." A practitioner who saw Li Xiaoping at the detention center said that her face was no longer recognizable, and she had to have three or four people to support her by the arms in order to walk. These three practitioners were sent to the hospital at the Shandong Provincial Bureau for Reform-through-Labor on the 18^th day of their hunger strike. The hospital force-fed them through their noses. Liu Jian has had multiple heart attacks, and his blood pressure is no longer measurable. Liu was released to his home for the time being. Nu Tao and Li Xiaoping are both in critical condition. We strongly urge the international human rights organizations and other kind people to intervene and rescue them from this dangerous situation. The number for the switchboard of the Hospital at the Bureau for Reform-through-Labor of Jinan City: 86-531-297-6881 The number for the switchboard of the Public Security Bureau of Jinan City: 86-531-691-5454

Practitioners in China December 9, 2000