(Clearwisdom.net) Falun Dafa practitioner Li Chouren, a farmer from Huangjiazhuang Village, Zengcun Town, Gaocheng City, Hebei Province, died as the result of the persecution. On December 23, 2001, Mr. Li and several other Falun Gong practitioners were studying Falun Gong and practicing the exercises at a practitioner's home. Gaocheng Public Security Bureau and Zengcun Town Police Station illegally abducted them to Gaocheng City Detention Center where they suffered cruel torture, including beatings, being forced to stand for a long time*, sleep deprivation, riding an airplane**, and being forced to drink urine. Mr. Li was very weak from the torture. With his parents long deceased, and his sister is married, he lived alone with his mentally retarded brother. They were very poor. Because he could not afford the fine extorted by the police, he was detained for the longest of all the Falun Dafa practitioners detained that time. The detention center extorted 1500 yuan [500 yuan is the average monthly income for an urban worker in China.] from his sister's family before he was finally released. Mr. Li died ten days after his release.

On March 14, 2000, Falun Dafa practitioner Ms. Deng Meijuan went to Beijing to appeal and was brought back by Nanying Town Police Station in Gaocheng City. Ms. Deng was illegally detained for 45 days in Gaocheng City Detention Center. On June 11, 2000, she returned to Beijing to appeal and was brought back again by Nanying Town Police Station in Gaocheng City. She was detained in Gaocheng City Detention Center for 70 days. On December 27, 2000, she went to Beijing to appeal again. Because she refused to tell her name, she was detained in Yanshan Detention Center in Fangshan District, Beijing for 23 days, along with more than 50 other Falun Dafa practitioners. They went on hunger strike to protest the illegal detention. The guards in the detention center brutally force-fed them every day, causing many practitioners to suffer haematemesis and low blood pressure and putting some practitioners in critical condition. The practitioners were not released until the Spring Festival 2001.

After Ms. Deng returned home, the police came to arrest her several times, but she escaped under the protection of her family members. In July 2002, the police station wanted to send her to a brainwashing session, but she escaped due to her pregnancy. One morning at around 1:00AM in August, many policemen went to Ms. Deng's home to arrest her. Her mother-in-law was frightened and fell down, but they did not let her go, and continued to search her home. When there was no one home, they would enter from the roof of her neighbor's house. The neighbors were very unhappy about the disturbance.

Two months after Ms. Deng gave birth, the police found her and abducted her and the child to the local brainwashing session on New Year's Day. It had just snowed, and was very cold when they arrived at the brainwashing session. As the child had a fever, they finally sent Ms. Deng and her child to the hospital, where the doctor diagnosed that the child had pneumonia. To avoid responsibility, the police left her and her child in the hospital unattended, enabling Falun Dafa practitioner Ms. Deng to escape.

Falun Dafa practitioners in Gangshang Town, Gaocheng City were also persecuted by police.

In July 1999, Falun Dafa practitioner Ms. Wu Suhua was on her way to Beijing to appeal and was intercepted by the village's police station. She was illegally detained for three days and the police forced her family members to pay a fine of 1000 yuan and forced her to write the so-called "Guarantee Statement" [A statement declaring that he or she is remorseful for practicing Falun Gong and guarantees not to practice Falun Gong again, not to go to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong, and never again associate with any Falun Dafa practitioners.] Then she was detained in the village's committee building for four days and fined 350 yuan, supposedly to pay the cost of electricity and guards.

On May 1, 2003, Falun Dafa practitioners were detained for three days and forced to do farm work in the scorching heat. On October 1, Falun Dafa practitioners did a lot of farming, while others watched at the edge of the field. The practitioners persecuted were Ms. Shi Wenmei, Zheng Shujun, Ms. Ju Junyan, Ma Ruiling, Ms. Liang Ruixia and Ms. Wu Suhua.

In November 2000, Falun Dafa practitioner Ms. Wu Suhua went to Beijing to validate Dafa. She was brought back to the village committee by the village's police station and village's public security director. Ms. Wu went on hunger strike to protest. The director tried to force-feed her with her hands cuffed behind her back, but did not succeed. At night, Ms. Wu escaped with her righteous thoughts, but has since been forced to become homeless in order to avoid further persecution. People from the police station still frequent Ms. Wu's home to harass her family members.

The village committee later persecuted other Falun Dafa practitioners. They detained Falun Dafa practitioners Shi Wenmei, Zheng Shujun, and Ma Ruiling for 20 days. They did not provide any food and asked their family members to bring food. The forced Falun Dafa practitioners to clean the snow from the streets but would not let them wear warm clothes. Falun Gong practitioners were forced to write the so-called "Guarantee Statement", do self-criticism on the village's loudspeakers, and were each fined 2000 yuan.

People who are directly responsible for the persecution:

Country code 86, city code 311

"610 Office" [an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems.] of Gaocheng City, Hebei Province, Political and Security Section of Gaocheng City Public Security Bureau: Wei Liyan, Li Wenjie, Phone: 8110009

Office of Director General of Gaocheng City Public Security Bureau: 8043832í 8110068 Office of Vice Director General: 8110066í 8110065í 8110061í 8110058í 8110060

Office of Commissar:8110067
Office of Vice Commissar: 8110038
Secretary of Discipline and Examination:8110059
Command Center fax:8110002
Gaocheng City Detention Center: 8167439
Zengcun Town Police Station in Gaocheng City: 8079036
Office of Secretary of Zengcun Town: 8079001
Office of Zengcun Town bailiff: 8079002
Huangjiazhuang Village Committee of Zengcun Town: 8079019

Nanying Town, Gaocheng City, Office: 8099200
Secretary of Politics and Law Committee: Wang Guoli, phone: 8099211
bailiff:8099202

Director of Nanying Town Police Station: Wang Wenzhong, phone: 8099415

Gangshang Brigade of Gaocheng City: Shi Bingyun, phone: 8083161

*The so-called "Punishment by forcing to stand for a long time" means that the victim has to stand, facing a wall all day long except for the time spent eating, sleeping and using the toilet, from the time s/he rises at 5 a.m. until 1 a.m. or 2 a.m. the next morning when s/he is allowed to go to bed. This abuse usually lasts several days. If someone cannot withstand the intensity of prolonged standing and loses consciousness, the guards will then force-feed him or her with drugs.

**In this torture, the head is bent down until it cannot go down any further, while the hands are pulled up and held up to the highest point. The hips have to point up. One is forced to keep this position unchanged for a long time. The body in this position looks like the shape of an airplane, which is how this torture is named.

November 16, 2003