As of Early 2004, At Least Seven Falun Gong Practitioners Known to Have Died from the Persecution in Jieyang City

(Clearwisdom.net) During the past five years in Jieyang City, Guangdong Province, the number of Falun Gong practitioners known to have died from the persecution has reached at least seven. The number of practitioners illegally detained was at least 14, and those illegally put into labor camps was at least 60. At least two practitioners were illegally put into the Provincial Legal and Law Institute, and at least four are currently being held in detention centers. Over 3,000 practitioners have been detained, arrested and put into brainwashing classes, including those who were detained more than once.

Practitioners Who Have Lost their Lives Because of the Persecution in Jieyang City

Mr. Zhang Bihong, in his fifties, was from Rongcheng City. He was deprived of the right to practice Falun Gong. His wife Zheng Huaqing was illegally sentenced to a prison term, and his daughter was also arrested. Mr. Zhang was unable to endure the horrific tortures and died in the first half of 2001.

Ms. Huang Liena, in her thirties, was from Rongcheng City. She had had appealed to the government on behalf of Falun Dafa several times and was detained several times. After writing the three "Guarantee Statements" in the brainwashing class under pressure, she died in tremendous pain and anguish in 2001.

Ms. Fu Manyu, 42 years old, was from Rongcheng City. Her health deteriorated because she was deprived of the right to practice Falun Dafa. She died in March 2002.

Ms. Wu Jingfang, 51 years old, was from Jiedong County. She was abducted in the city on March 31, 2002. After being sent to Jieyang City's No. 2 Detention Center, she went on a hunger strike for over ten days. The on-duty Dongshan police used violence against Ms. Wu and she died of the torture. On April 11, her body was secretly cremated.

Ms. Huang Weijun (also called Huang Sujun), in her fifties, was from Rongcheng City. She was arrested and put in Jieyang City's No.1 Detention Center for validating Falun Dafa in early April 2002. After more than 20 days on a hunger strike, she became very weak and died on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival.

Ms. Lin Lifen, in her fifties, was from Rongcheng City. She was abducted and taken to the brainwashing class for persecution. Her health deteriorated rapidly in the class. After Ms. Lin was released she was hospitalized, but it was too late and she died in early 2004.

Mr. Lin Youhui, in his sixties, was from Xichang Town in Jiedong County. Because he had been harassed, threatened and detained several times, his body and mind were severely devastated. Before the 16^th Party Congress, he was arrested and persecuted again. His old diseases returned. Mr. Lin died on February 14, 2004.

Jeiyang City Practitioners Heavily Fined and Threatened

During the past five years, practitioners in Jieyang City were detained, arrested, put into brainwashing classes, fined heavily, threatened, and had money extorted from them countless numbers of times. The total amount of funds extorted is beyond calculation. The police usually extorted money or property out of the practitioners and their families by threatening them with arrest. The police would secretly take personal possession of the money or property. The administrative offices in Rongcheng District have been very aggressive in using these extortion tactics.

For example, the police fined practitioners who went to Beijing to appeal for amounts of 3,000 to 10,000 yuan (1) each. They would demand a fee of 30 to 50 yuan per day from those practitioners who were detained, arrested or put into brainwashing classes. Detained practitioners usually had to pay thousands of yuan before being released. Such cases number in the thousands. Officials also targeted those practitioners who were financially better off. They usually made threats like intensifying the persecution or sending the practitioners away to forced labor, to get money and property out of the practitioners' families. In the case of Dongshan District practitioner Lin Penghui alone, the police extorted over one million yuan from him over the past several years. He had to move to another area due to this harassment.

The Jieyang Area Is Deteriorating

Because of these brutal acts by Jieyang City officials and related personnel, the environment and climate of that area have deteriorated, and natural and man-made disasters occur nonstop. The social order has also declined. The standard of living sharply dropped. Jieyang City slid from being a mid-level city in terms of economic development, to its current designation as the most underdeveloped and impoverished city in the whole province. These lawless officials squandered vast financial, material and human resources to persecute Falun Gong. They imported advanced phone monitoring and auto-positioning devices from Russia, hired people to follow and monitor the activities of practitioners, set up institutions for the persecution of practitioners, founded a terrorist spy organization and network, and dispatched numerous police personnel to persecute practitioners. Because of this, they have wasted and degraded many national resources and greatly hampered economic development in the Jieyang area.

September 28, 2004

(1) Yuan is the unit of currency in China; 500 yuan is equal to the average monthly income for an urban worker in China.