Latest News from China - 06/02/2000

[He-fei, An-hui Province]

According to Xin-hua Net on May 31, the people's court of West District of He-fei City sentenced Falun Gong practitioner Wu Yun-rui, former deputy director of the An-hui Tourist Bureau, 3 years of imprisonment, Jiang Feng 3 years of imprisonment and Yang Jing-fang one year of imprisonment, under fabricated accusations.

[Lang-fang City, He-bei Province]

The police department of Lang-fang City has been continuously monitoring, interrogating and arresting Falun Gong practitioners since July 20 of last year, the day they secretly arrested some local contact people of Falun Gong..

The police wiretapped the phones of many practitioners. Whenever a 'sensitive' time was to come, the police would take practitioners away from their homes beforehand in case they would go to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong. During the interrogation, the police would physically abuse the practitioners and force them to kneel down.

Ms. Liu Ya-jie got detained for over 3 months for having appealed in Beijing for Falun Gong. The detention centers were crammed with Falun Gong practitioners. Up to 43 people had been detained in a single cell measuring only 30 square meters. The detained practitioners had to work over ten hours everyday, without being paid. Moreover, the police required their family members to pay a deposit of 4,000 Yuan when the practitioners got released.

The "610" office of the Piping Department of Lang-fang City held 20 practitioners released by the police in the Yue-cheng Hotel for a so-called "thoughts transformation" class. The class lasted for up to 3 months. During the class, the practitioners were denied of their salary and bonus and lost their personal freedom. In this April, the Department administration punished some other practitioners by removing them from their posts, etc. Its security staff could also arrest practitioners at home at will.

The police station of Nan-jian-ta Village, Lang-fang City, used electrical clubs to beat practitioners who got escorted back for appealing in Beijing. The township authority picked up practitioners from the detention center, detained them for one month, and then sent them back again to the detention center. Moreover, the township authority required practitioners' family members to pay deposits. Some family members had tried all means to put together over 10,000 Yuan in order to bail the practitioner out.

The Luo-fa township government and the Chou-zhuang township government are still detaining some practitioners who had been released from the detention center and would not free them unless they pay enough money.

The Xin-kai-lu police station of Lang-fang City arrested Ms. Lu Cai-xia at her home and sent her to the detention center for administrative detention. After the administrative detention term expired, she was imposed of a criminal detention. After over one month of criminal detention, she has not been freed. Surprisingly, when Ms. Lu's family members went the local police department to ask for her release, the police department claimed that they were not aware of her arrest at all.

A dozen practitioners are being detained in the Wan-zhuang labor camp of Lang-fang City. They have to work 18 hours a day. Some "determined" practitioners are forced to work up to 20 hours a day.

[Jin-zhou City, Liao-ning Province]

Since May 20, a dozen practitioners from the Jin-zhou Development Zone have gone to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong. Later, they were escorted back by the police and given administrative detention. Their family members were required to pay a fine of 5,000 Yuan and an escorting fee of 3,000 Yuan for each practitioner. The family members of practitioner Cai Su-li refused to pay the money. A dozen of police then went to her home and robbed of her washing machine, a tape-recorder and a walkman, etc. The police also went to practitioner Liu Fu-yun's home and robbed a color TV, a washing machine away. The police went to practitioner Chen Jian-xin's home and robbed a TV and a refrigerator away.

[Cheng-du City, Si-chuan Province] A Senior Engineer Persecuted For a Phone Call

On the morning of February 27, practitioner Ms. Liu Gui-ying, a senior engineer from the 29th Institute of the Ministry of Information Industry living in Cai-dian-zi of Cheng-du, made a phone call to practitioner Ms. Zhu Yi-fang living in the Huang-zhong district. However, the phone was picked up by the police who were living at Ms. Zhu's home attempting to trap more practitioners. On the phone, a policewoman pretended to be Ms. Zhu and chatted a few words with Ms. Liu. Then, the police forced the 29th Institute to remove Ms. Liu from the party and her post under the accusation of "associating through phone". Afterwards, the police detained Ms. Liu in the "thoughts transformation" class held in Ying-men-kou police station of the Jin-niu district for a long term.

Ms. Liu had not gone to Beijing to appeal, neither had she written to the government to report the truth of Falun Gong. She was persecuted just because of a phone call.

The number of 29th Institute is 011-86-28-7551800;

The number of Cai-dian-zi police station is 011-86-28-7524114;

The number of Ying-men-kou police station is 011-86-28-7529986.