Since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began its persecution of Falun Gong in July 1999, Mr. Gao has been arrested 11 times. His most recent sentencing ocurred on March 28, 2008.
Withthe excuse of "preparing for the Olympics," two Falun Gong practitioners in their 70s were taken to a brainwashing center in March 2008 by police officers in Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province.
The Persecution of Mr. Gao Guangchong from Huili County, Sichuan Province
On March 28, 2008, the Huili County Procuratorate held a trial to sentence Mr. Gao Guangchong, a Falun Gong practitioner who has been illegally detained for five months. He had been tortured until his body swelled and he could not stand up by himself.
Mr. Gao Guangchong, around 68 years old, used to suffer from a serious stomach illness that made it difficult for him to eat anything. It would take him an hour just to finish a meal. He also used to suffer from lung and heart problems. However, six months after Mr. Gao began practicing Falun Gong in March of 1996, he became healthier, and his illnesses disappeared.
Since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began its persecution of Falun Gong in July 1999, Mr. Gao has been arrested 11 times. Each time he was brutally tortured. He has been detained several times in a forced labor camp and was forced to leave home twice to avoid further persecution. His home has been ransacked many times and his personal possessions confiscated.
Below is an overview of the persecution Mr. Gao has been subjected to.
After the CCP began to persecute Falun Gong on July 20, 1999, police officers Yu Minggang, Yang Shaoliang, Li Yongkun, Lu Jianrong, and others from the Huili County Public Security Bureau took Mr. Gao into custody and held him for 15 days in a detention center.
In October 1999, Mr. Gao was again imprisoned in a detention center for three weeks. He was handcuffed and shackled. Mr. Gao's term was extended for another month at a different detention center.
In September 2000, police officer Yu Minggang of the public security bureau and five other officers from Hongqi Police Station arrested Mr. Gao while he was at another practitioner's home. Mr. Gao was illegally imprisoned for 60 days in a detention center. The officers extorted 6,000 yuan from Mr. Gao's daughter before releasing him.
Towards the end of August 2001, police officers Yang Shaoliang, Li Yongkun, and someone by the surname of Hu ransacked Mr. Gao's home. They confiscated over 190 truth-clarification brochures. Then they arrested Mr. Gao and took him to a detention center, where he was imprisoned for 25 days. He was also fined 1000 yuan.
On April 3, 2002, policemen Yang Shaoliang, Li Yongkun, and others broke into Mr. Gao's home. They took away his Falun Gong books and arrested him. He was taken to a detention center and detained for five months. For one entire month, he was forced to wear shackles that weighed 10 kilograms. Later, Mr. Gao was sentenced to two years of forced labor and transferred to a forced labor camp. There, he went on a hunger strike for seven days. Only after he was in imminent danger of losing his life was he released.
On the evening of October 3, 2002, Mr. Gao was arrested by police from Dongqu Sub-Bureau while he was staying with his relatives in Panzhihua City. He was then detained in Wanyaoshu Detention Center for 26 days. He was then taken to a forced labor camp. Mr. Gao escaped from Jinjiang Train Station and left home to avoid further persecution.
On July 23, 2003, police officers Wen Xiaohong and Hu and another officer from the county public security bureau broken into Mr. Gao's home to arrest him. Dozens of villagers who witnessed what the police officers were doing said, "Why are you arresting him? He is a good and kind man. He spent a great deal of money and hired over 40 workers to build this new road." They pointed to a new cement road in their village.
The villagers also told the police officers, "During a drought, he spent a lot of money to get water into a big pool in our village. He has done good things for us. Why are you doing this? Why don't you arrest criminals? Why do you arrest a good man?" The officers did not listen to the villagers and called for back up. They arrested Mr. Gao and took him to a detention center, where he was detained for three months and 20 days. At the detention center, Mr. Gao went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution. The guards then handcuffed him and brutally forced-fed him. The director of the detention center, Xiong Zhijiang, ordered several guards to forcibly pull on Mr. Gao's hands, legs and head. After cruelly torturing him, the detention center authorities had the audacity to call Mr. Gao's family to extort 80 yuan for their force-feeding treatment.
On August 1, 2005, Mr. Gao Guangchong and another practitioner, Mr. Liu Tianhou, took a bus to Panzhihua City. Yanbian county police officers arrested both of them because someone reported them to the authorities. Eleven days later, on August 12, Mr. Gao was illegally sentenced to three years of forced labor and taken to Xinhua Forced Labor Camp in Mianyang City. However, Mr. Gao was released before his term was over.
On October 14, 2007, Mr. Gao Guangchong was arrested for the eleventh time by 30 police officers from the Domestic Security Team. They confiscated his satellite receiver, a television, and other personal items.
Around March 10, 2008, Ms. Zhao Jiabi, 70, a retired police officer, was arrested at home and taken to the Xi'an City Brainwashing Center at Chang'an District.
Since the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP's) started to persecute Falun Gong, Ms. Zhao has been arrested, detained, and sentenced to prison for steadfastly believing in Falun Gong and clarifying the truth to sentient beings. When she was at the Shaanxi Province Women's Forced Labor Camp, she was handcuffed and locked in a dark, wet cell for a month. Every day the guards ordered the prisoners to beat her.
On January 10, 2008, six to seven police officers from the Xi'an City Baishulin Station went into Ms. Zhao's house and took away many Falun Gong books. In addition, they extorted 10,000 yuan in cash that Ms. Zhao used for her daily living expenses.
Ms. Liu Jing, 75, was a doctor at Xidian University Hospital before retirement and lives in Renjiazhuang Community, Xi'an City. On her way home on the afternoon of March 17, 2008, she was arrested and taken to the Xi'an City Chang'an District Brainwashing Center, where she was tortured.
Before Ms. Liu practiced Falun Gong, she had skin cancer and coronary heart disease. She suffered a great deal and went to all kinds of doctors and hospitals, but did not recover. After she practiced Falun Gong, she became healthy and it was like a miracle. Although the CCP began to persecute Falun Gong, Ms. Liu steadfastly believed in Falun Gong and clarified the truth to many people. She was then arrested, detained, and watched by CCP officers in Xi'an City. At present, the CCP is conducting a new round of persecution of Falun Gong practitioners all over the country, using "the Olympics" as their excuse. Because of this, practitioners are being arrested and detained.