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3.2 Mass Arrest of Falun Gong Practitioners Who Appealed to the Local Government following the Nationwide Arrests of Falun Gong Coordinators on July 20, 1999
3.2.1 News from China
Victims: Falun Gong practitioners who went to appeal
Location of incident: Major cities in China
Description:
[Qiqihar, Heilongjiang Province] on July 21
On the night of July 21, Qiqihaer police started to arrest practitioners. Zhan Naihui was arrested.
[Haerbin, Heilongjiang Province] on July 21
Falun Gong assistants in Haerbin City were arrested.
[Changzhou, Jiangsu Province] on July 21 On the morning of July 21, four practitioners in Zhangzhou were detained.
[Beijing, July 22]
On the Morning of July 22, Falun Gong practitioners including many from other regions gathered in Qianmen Street, Xidan, Fuyou Street, Tiananmen Square, and North Huangchenggen Street in Beijing. Practitioners stood on sidewalks in an orderly way and left enough space for pedestrians. Some practitioners helped to keep order.
Beginning around 8:00am, riot police forced practitioners on to buses. Because the practitioners came in succession and were all over the square, it was hard to estimate the actual number of practitioners. It is said that the total number of practitioners on the street was 100,000 on July 22. When the riot police tried to force the practitioners on to the buses, most practitioners did not resist. They calmly got on the buses. There were a small number of practitioners who did not want to get on the buses, as a result, they were beaten by the police.
At 11:30am, we were taken onto a bus and sent to a suburban police station along with 400 other practitioners in several buses. They made us watch the TV news at 3:00pm for important news on Chinese Central TV. We were asked to register our names, addresses and work places. At 3:00pm, CCTV started to broadcast the decision of the Chinese Central Government regarding the nature of Falun Gong and decision to ban it. Then, there was a video shown defaming Master Li. After that, police divided us into groups according to our home addresses and released us at 6:30pm. From 11:30am to 6:30pm, 400 practitioners’ freedom was denied for 7 hours without food.
Practitioners from Xidan were sent to Shijinshan Stadium and then moved to the district police stations according to their addresses. They were forced to watch the same TV program slandering Master Li. Several practitioners from Tsinghua University and hundred of others were sent to 101 Middle School and kept there. They had not been released by 9:00pm, nor were they allowed food.
According to the news from practitioners in Hebei, on the evening of July 22, nearly 10,000 practitioners who went to Beijing were arrested. At first they were taken to Fengtai Stadium. Later they were transferred to Langfang Agriculture Research Institute. No water or food was provided.
[Yancheng, Jiangsu, July 22]
At 10:00am on July 22, nearly 1,000 Falun Dafa practitioners in Yancheng City, Jiangsu Province appealed to the city government. During the appealing process, they behaved in an orderly way. There were no drastic action, no posters, and no slogans. They silently waited there for the answer from the leader of the city government. After 5:00pm, policemen had arrested more than 20 practitioners and dispersed others.
[Shanghai, on July 22]
We are Falun Gong practitioners in Shanghai. Yesterday morning, more than 1,000 Falun Gong practitioners went to appeal in People Square in front of the city government. They hoped that the central government would change their wrong decision about Falun Gong, and release the arrested practitioners. All the practitioners were in good order on the square.
Around 3:00pm, the policemen took away 3 students from Shanghai Jiaotong University and one employee in Tongji University. According to eyewitnesses, they might have been taken to the Huangpu police station.
Around 5:00pm, more than 200 policemen came and began to force the practitioners to leave the square and into the buses nearby.
Around 6:00pm, the practitioners on the square were all gone. Some of the practitioners who were forced onto the buses were brought to some places in the counties where they live. The leaders of their working places were called to bring back the practitioners.
Not until 9:00pm were they allowed to go home.
Around 3:30am, two practitioners were taken away from their homes by policemen. It was said that many college students who are practitioners were also taken away.
[Harbin, Heilongjiang, on July 23]
At 4:00am, around 10,000 practitioners assembled in front of the Provincial Government office in Harbin and requested the release of four practitioners. They had been detained for more than 48 hours. Practitioners were in very good order.
Around 6:00am, policemen and riot policemen started to force practitioners onto buses. Messages were repeat-edly broadcast to the practitioners using several speak-ers: “Falun Gong research society is illegal and controlled by somebody. Anybody who doesn’t leave here will be responsible for the consequences themselves.”
At 7:30am, all practitioners were sent to the Provincial Stadium and were told that a meeting would be held. In the stadium, practitioners either did exercises or read books. The situation was harmonious.
At 9:30am, practitioners began to be taken away by buses. When the practitioners refused, four policemen forced one practitioner onto the buses. Troops were also used sometimes.
At 11:00am, it was known that some practitioners were moved to an elementary school, a middle school and other places. They were taken into different classrooms. However, a large number of practitioners still gathered in front of the provincial government building because more and more practitioners were coming from different regions.
3.2.2 Over 1,000 Falun Gong practitioners were detained without water, food and toilet for more than 48 hours
Message received: July 25, 1999
Victims: 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners, Hebei Province
Location of incident: Hebei Stadium, Hebei Province, China
Description:
Since the early morning of July 20th, the Public Security Departments in different parts of China have begun to arrest Falun Gong practitioners who are key contact people. Upon learning of the above arrests and many more, numerous practitioners went to the Government Appealing Office to explain the true situation of Falun Gong to the government. The Department of Public Security sent a large number of policemen to deal with the practitioners. Many practitioners are arrested and detained in stadiums and other places.
10, 000 held in Hebei Stadium since July 22 without water and food.
3.2.3 A thousand Falun Gong practitioners were held without food or water
Victims: A thousand Falun Gong practitioners in Beijing
Location of incident: Hebei Stadium, Hebei Province, China
Description:
1,000 detained Falun Gong practitioners held in the Agricultural Institute in Beijing without water, food and electricity since July 22.
3.2.4 Arrested Falun Gong practitioners transferred to northeast China in a train
Message received: July 25, 1999
Victims: Falun Gong practitioners in Beijing
Location of incident: Beijing, China
Description:
Starting from July 23, The Chinese government started another wave of nationwide arrests of Falun Gong practitioners. Police have searched practitioners’ homes and taken away their books, videotapes and posters related to Falun Gong. Some practitioners have been detained for about 15 days and forced to pay heavy penalties. On July 24 & 25, more practitioners were arrested.
On Saturday, July 24, more than one thousand practitioners were taken from Fengtai Stadium in Beijing to
Langfang Agricultural Science Institute. They have been
detained with no water, food and electricity since July
22.
A train full of arrested Falun Dafa practitioners were transferred to Dongbei (Northeast China). Many practitioners were beaten. Some female practitioners were beaten with their upper garments torn. Many arrested practitioners were exposed to the burning sun
All large practice sites are occupied by police cars.
3.2.5 Several hundred practitioners that went to Beijing to appeal were arrested
Message received: July 24, 1999
Victims: Several hundred Falun Gong practitioners at Beijing
Location of incident: Beijing, China
Description:
Several hundred practitioners that went to Beijing to appeal were again arrested on the July 24. Every department or unit gathered the name list of the Falun Gong practitioners and demanded them to write a pledge of not practicing Falun Gong any more. But the practitioners would rather quit their jobs than give up the practice. Many policemen stopped pedestrians one by one to question whether they are Falun Dafa practitioners on the streets of Xidan.
3.2.6 One will be under arrest if went to Beijing appealing
Victims: Falun Gong practitioners in Guangdong
Location of incident: Guangdong Province, China
Description:
All people that went to Beijing to appeal have been arrested. At the beginning people were released eventually after the arrest. There was no release later on. Many people are arrested.
3.2.7 Even Falun Gong practitioners’ family members were detained
Victims: Falun Gong Practitioners and their family members (non-practitioners) in Zhuhai City
Location of incident: Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, China
Description:
Even people who did not appeal in Beijing including the families of the practitioners were detained in one place. No one is allowed to go home in the name of attending the ”reeducation” class, watching video, and being brain washed. The requests by their families of allowing them to go home were rejected. That put some people in tears. No practice site was permitted to practice exercises. Early every morning, police block out the practice site with police cars. Some practitioners practice at home.
3.2.8 The continuing appeal in Beijing
Message received: July 23, 1999
Victims: About 500 Falun Gong practitioners in Hainan
Location of incident: Haiko, Hainan Province, China
Description:
July 23 was the fourth day of the continual appeal at Beijing. Among the 500 practitioners arrested that day, some had appealed many times. Falun Dafa practitioners showed extreme endurance and tolerance in face of police violence. The clothes of a young female practitioner were torn apart and she was beaten inhumanly by the chief of Shinhua Police Station. Practitioners continued to appeal on the morning of the 24th. Policemen detained everyone and had put many in jail.
3.2.9 Appealing Falun Gong practitioners were dispersed
Victims: Over 1000 Falun Gong practitioners in Qingdao
Location of incident: Qingdao, Shandong Province
Description:
The practice-site assistants were under surveillance 24 hours a day, practitioners volunteered to go to city government to appeal. More than a thousand were dispersed and packed away in cars by force.
3.2.10 Practitioners in Dalian were arrested and beaten when appealing to the government
Message received: July 21, 1999
Victims: Falun Gong practitioners in Dalian
Location of incident: Dalian, Liaoning Province, China
Description:
Since the early morning of July 20th, the Public Security Departments in different parts of China began to arrest Falun Gong practitioners who are in responsible positions on a large scale. At 4:15am, police arrested some Falun Gong practitioners. Upon learning of the above arrests, and many more, practitioners went to the Government Appealing Bureau in the afternoon. At 1:30pm, the Department of Public Security sent a large number of policemen to deal with the practitioners.
Police began to drag the practitioners to cars while severely beating them. Many women had their hair pulled right out. Some were choked, while others who fell and stumbled were still beaten. There were even some young practitioners beaten twice, by four and five officers simultaneously. Children were dragged by their feet and thrown into cars. A thirty-year old woman was dragged and beaten by three or four policemen.
One hundred practitioners were dragged and beaten. An 80-year-old on-looker said “I have never seen police beat people like that.”
3.2.11 Practitioners were arrested when appealing to government in Wuhan, Hubei Province
Message received: July 21, 1999
Victims: About 3,000 Falun Dafa practitioners
Location of incident: Wuhan, Hebei Province, China
Description:
About 3,000 Falun Dafa practitioners from Wuhan came in front of the Provincial Party Committee building to appeal. It was very hot. Falun Gong practitioners stood quietly along the streets. At 4:00pm, five to six thousand practitioners came spontaneously to the Provincial Government Building to request that the arrested practitioners be released. The Provincial Party committee refused to see them. At 6:30pm, the number of practitioners who came to make an appeal increased to about 10,000. The Provincial Party Committee still refused to listen to them.
Around 7:30pm, many police were brought in. Even the military police that were supposed to guard the dam against flooding were urgently sent in. They began to forcefully drag Falun Gong practitioners onto buses and carry them away. The practitioners did not want to leave since their representatives were still inside the government building. The practitioners bought bottled water for the police officers and bus drivers. Some military police were moved to tears. After being pushed into the buses, the Falun Gong practitioners even voluntarily bought tickets. They clearly showed to the public that Falun Gong practitioners are good people under all circumstances.
3.2.12 Police searched for Falun Gong books in several practice sites
Victims: About 3,000 Falun Dafa practitioners
Location of incident: Changchun, Jilin Province, China
Description:
In the morning, over 3,000 Falun Dafa practitioners came in front of the Provincial Party Committee Building, requesting the immediate release of the arrested practitioners. Up to that time, 29 practitioners had been arrested. The police forcefully dispersed them. They also dispersed several practice sites, snatched the publicity materials and Dafa banner. The police went to a few practice groups, searched for Dafa books forceful-ly without presenting any search or arrest warrant. A few policemen even hit the practitioners.
3.2.13 Two hundred kunming practitioners were held in second Heilingpu Xishan High School
Victims: Over 200 Falun Dafa practitioners
Location of incident: Kunming, Yunnan Province, China
Description:
On July 21, when over two hundred Falun Gong practitioners in Kunming were on their way to voice their concerns to the government department, they were forced into three buses on South Cuihu Road by many police officers. At the same time, many streets were blocked to prohibit the passage of both vehicles and people. Those practitioners were taken to the second middle school in Xishan, and were put into separated classrooms under heavy police surveillance. The practitioners who went to the city government were also sent to the same place and went through the same procedures. Those practitioners were detained there from noon to 9:30pm, and then were taken back by police from their own districts (about 200 practitioners in total).
3.2.14 Around 10,000 practitioners beaten by police
Victims: Around 10,000 Falun Dafa practitioners
Location of incident: Dalian, Liaoning Province, China
Description:
Around 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners encountered violent beating and dispersion by over a thousand policemen when they tried to make an appeal to the Municipal Government in Dalian. Xing Jun has been arrested.
3.2.15 Around 10,000 practitioners were held in Shenyang Stadium
Victims: Around 10,000 Falun Dafa practitioners
Location of incident: Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China
Description:
Starting at 7 o’clock, after hearing the news that Falun Dafa practitioners are being arrested all across the country, practitioners from various districts across the province gathered spontaneously in front of the Liaoning Provincial Party Committee Building. However the Provincial Party Committee refused to listen to them, instead, they used armed police to forcefully send the practitioners to a stadium on buses. By 10 o’clock, there were about 10,000 practitioners held in the stadium. Many practitioners came to Shenyang City from all over the province in succession.
3.2.16 Around 10,000 Practitioners were held in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province
Victims: Close to 10,000 Falun Dafa practitioners
Location of incident: Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, China
Description:
Around 10,000 practitioners went to appeal in front of the Provincial Party Committee Building. It was not until later that day that the practitioners could enter. Because the police forcefully took practitioners away several times, the actual number of practitioners who came to the Provincial Party Committee Building could not be counted. It was estimated to be over three thousand people.
3.2.17 In Shanghai, 400 Falun Gong practitioners were taken away
Victims: Over 400 Falun Dafa practitioners
Location of incident: Renmin Square, Shanghai, China
Description:
Practitioners in Shanghai went to Renmin Square in Shanghai. They hope to reveal to the municipal government the situation of how the police have arrested innocent Falun Gong practitioners. They requested that the government stop persecuting Falun Gong practitioners and release arrested practitioners immediately. The police took away about 400 practitioners and forcefully dispersed the rest.
3.2.18 We were taken away by bus and detained for peaceful appeal
Victims: Over 400 Falun Dafa practitioners
Location of incident: Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China
Description:
At 8:00am, Falun Dafa practitioners in Shenzhen gathered in front of the Provincial Party Committee Building and waited to appeal to the relevant departments. Around 8:30am, five to six hundred practitioners were forcefully driven away on buses prepared in advance. At about 11:30am, police wearing steel helmets forcefully took several thousand practitioners to a high school. At noon, fifty representatives of the practitioners went in to have a discussion with the government while the rest of the four to five thousand practitioners waited inside the school.
In Shenzhen, Police detained Falun Dafa main contact people without any reason. When the practitioners went to the municipal government to make an appeal, 500 practitioners were arrested at the beginning. Later, a total of 3,000 practitioners were arrested. Some of them were Li Jianhui and Luo Zinan.
3.2.19 Tens of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners arrested when appealing to government in Beijing and other provinces of China
Message received: July 21, 1999
Victims: About 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners at Beijing
Location of incident: Zhongnanhai Appealing Bureau, Fengtai Stadium and Shijingshan Stadium, Beijing, China
Description:
Because the police started to arrest and persecute Falun Dafa practitioners across the country since July 20, this morning, the practitioners spontaneously came to Zhongnanhai to make an appeal. However, police heavily blocked the streets. The airport and train stations in Beijing are all blocked. There are policemen in uniform and in plain clothes everywhere in the city. The city is on alert. All roads to Zhongnanhai (the Chinese Government leadership compound in Beijing) are blocked.
In the early morning, about 10,000 practitioners went to the Appealing Office on North Huang Chenggen Street to make an appeal request that all arrested practitioners be released. About 3,000 practitioners made it to the State Council Appealing Bureau. The practitioners who went to make an appeal were arrested and beaten.
The police used shields to surround the practitioners and beat them willfully. There are police all over the Changan street and Fuyou street (two major streets near Tiananmen Square). A few practitioners who were able to come near these streets were forced into police vehicles. Around 8:00am, about 2,000 practitioners were blocked near the second inpatient department of the Beijing University Hospital at Xisi. Large number of police immediately rushed over and dragged the practitioners onto the big buses they prepared in advance. Many practitioners were taken to the Shijingshan Stadium and the Fengtai Stadium.
Around 9:00am the police started to force the practitioners onto buses and send them to Fengtai Stadium and Shijingshan Stadium. The practitioners did not want to go on the bus but the police dragged them and some police used force. The practitioners yelled “Uphold the Constitution, Stop arresting people.” A couple of policemen threw an old female practitioner in her sixties onto a bus. Some police pulled the practitioners’ hair. The two stadiums each held about 4,000 to 5,000 practitioners. There were also practitioners from outside Beijing coming in succession and they were also taken to the stadiums. Practitioners who were held there said that they did not have any freedom and were not even allowed to use the washroom.
About 11:00am, police dragged some practitioners onto t buses. However, the practitioners started to crowd together, arm in arm. More troops were then send in, since the police were unable to pull out individual practitioners. Soldiers, mostly in service for 1 to 3 years, formed a line surrounding the practitioners, then forced the practitioners onto the metro buses by fiercely dragging, pulling and wrestling.
At around 12:00pm, practitioners were driven to Fengtai Stadium. At the time, there were 20 buses and more than 3,400 practitioners in total. When 2 more buses came in the afternoon, the number of practitioners summed up to about 3,700.
At 2:30pm, the police started to register the practitioners. The practitioners sat in the field orderly, some were studying the book, some were doing the sitting exercise, and some were reciting Falun Gong articles together.
Around 5:30pm, the police ordered the practitioners to stand in separate rows according to their home districts, so that they could be sent back. The practitioners did not move. At around 6:00pm, it began to rain. The practitioners recited “Lun Yu” in the rain.
At around 6:30pm, the police began to forcefully escort the practitioners onto the buses. In the meantime, the practitioners formed a human wall to stop the police. Later, more policemen came. During the process of escorting the practitioners, the police used force. Some pulled the practitioners’ hair, some tore the practitioners’ clothes, and some kicked the practitioners. An elderly woman, over 80 years old, was pushed to the ground and almost fainted. A practitioner said, “My clothes were torn into pieces by the police. They dragged my feet and pulled me on the ground for 30 meters, kicked me and pulled my hair.”
At 7:30pm, they forced about one hundred practitioners and me onto a bus. Many practitioners were beaten, especially male practitioners. It was estimated that after 8:30pm, all practitioners detained in the Fengtai Stadium were sent away by force. The practitioners were denied their personal freedom for nearly eight hours.
3.2.20 Tens of thousand Falun Gong practitioners arrested when appealing to government in Guangdong Province
Message received: July 21, 1999
Victims: Over 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners at Guangzhou
Location of incident: Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
Description:
A witness described, “In the early morning, about a thousand Falun Gong practitioners went to the Provincial Government to appeal. They were directed to the sidewalk besides the Provincial Government Building. At around 8:00am the police began to block the roads, and the Provincial Government did not send anyone to receive these practitioners’ messages. On the contrary, more and more police with police batons and shields showed up. These practitioners tried to appeal to the government about the unfair treatment they had received and hoped that a reasonable solution could be reached peacefully. However, instead of treating these people who tried to make a rightful appeal fairly, the government forcefully dispersed them alleging an “illegal gathering” and “holding a demonstration.” The road near the Provincial Government Building was sealed off. Practitioners arriving after 8:00am were not allowed to enter and those within the building were not allowed to leave. Many police were standing by.
In the morning, nearly 10,000 practitioners came to make an appeal. They stood on the sidewalk orderly without interfering with the traffic. At 9:00am, many police came. They forcefully dragged the practitioners onto buses and sent them to remote suburban areas. I went to videotape the situation but my tape and identifi-cation card were confiscated without a reason. Starting at 9:00am, the police began to disperse the practitioners. The majority of the practitioners remained calm and did not fight back. They merely tried to talk with the police. The police used buses to send those who did not want to go to remote suburban areas. Right now, practitioners from outside Guangzhou have heard the news and are also coming to appeal while the practitioners being driven to remote areas are coming back and continuing to wait to appeal to the government.”
3.2.21 Falun Gong practitioners arrested when appealing to the government in Dalian, Beijing, Tianjin and Changchun
Message received: July 21, 1999
Victims: Chen Jiafu and other Falun Gong practitioners, from Dalian, Liaoning Province. They currently stay in Beijing
Location of incident: Beijing, China
Description: (Below is the description by him/herself)
On July 19th, several main contact persons of Falun Dafa in Dalian City were arrested. Then I heard that the government had banned Falun Dafa. On July 20th, I went to the Appealing Office with some other practitioners but no one came out to talk to us. An announcement from a loud speaker on a propaganda vehicle denounced us as an illegal gathering. We went to the Appealing Office again the next morning. The police came and beat us. They pulled our hair, kicked us, and dragged us into police vehicles. I witnessed that all the practitioners had endured all these without complaint. They had truly complied with “No fighting back and no cursing back” taught by Master Li. We were sent to a local police station. Every practitioner I saw in the station had their clothes messed up and had bruises on their bodies. Some practitioners were beaten for 5 to 6 hours and got hyperemia in the eyes simply because they “spoke loudly”.. Many practitioners were beaten. I did not recover from the beating for one week.
3.2.22 Practitioners beaten and kicked by police
Victims: Wang Baogang, a Falun Gong practitioner. Home address: Ledong Village, Lequn Street, Changchun, Jilin Province. Workplace: Xinlicheng Credit Cooperative. (He is currently in Beijing)
Location of incident: Changchun, Jilin Province, China
Description:(Following is the description given by Wang Baogang)
On July 20, the contact people of Falun Gong in our city were arrested . On July 22, we went to the provincial government to appeal. The police dispersed us. They also beat and kicked us. They detained us for 12 hours. There were bruises on my face and my clothes were torn apart. My cellular phone and pager were all broken. My belt was broken too. Many policemen encircled me and beat me, kicked me and swore at me. On July 23 when I went back to my workplace, the officials in my workplace came to talk to me one by one. They continuously threatened me and restricted my personal freedom. For example, I was forbidden to leave the city and to practice Falun Gong, etc. The police also interrogated me. They threatened me that they would detain me in jail or even shoot me to death if I refused to give up Falun Gong. Later my wife and I decided to go to Beijing to appeal. On our way to Beijing, we had been investigated, followed, and searched by the police. On August 3, we were detained in Fengtai Stadium for 8 hours. The police did not allow us to use toilets. They beat us and swore at us. Later I was sent to the Changchun liaison office in Beijing and we all have been body-searched. A Changchun police officer even threatened me that they would throw me out of the building if I did not obey him. Our personal belongings were all confiscated.
3.2.23 Our clothes were torn as police dragged us
Victims:
1. Liu Wenyu, 1st year Ph.D. student at Qinghua University.
2. Yao Yue, female, 4th year graduate student in the Micro-electron Institute at Qinghua University.
Both are Falun Gong practitioners currently in Beijing
Location of incident: Beijing, China
Description: (The following is a description by the practitioners)
On July 21, we went to appeal but nobody came to talk to us. We were sent to Fengtai Stadium by the police and were detained there for one day. The police wanted to send us back to our institute. We refused to go back so the police dragged us for about 50 meters. Our clothes were torn and our arms were scratched and bleeding. Also the police kicked my (Liu Wenyu) head. We were later sent back after being thrown onto the bus.
3.2.24 Pushed into police car for peaceful appeal
Victims: Zhang Chao, undergraduate student of the Department of Foreign Language in Siping Normal University, Siping, Jilin Province. Currently in Beijing
Location of incident: Beijing, China
Description: (Below is the description given by him/herself)
At 7:00am on July 22, some Falun Gong practitioners and I went to the Jilin provincial government to appeal for the release of those arrested Falun Gong contact persons in Changchun. The provincial government had nobody answer our appeals. Instead they dispersed us by violence. I was sitting on the ground. A policeman grabbed my left leg, another policeman grabbed my right hand and hair, and they threw me out and I fell down two meters away. They then pushed me into the police car.
3.2.25 On-the-spot report concerning Dalian Falun Gong practitioner’s appealing on July 20, 1999
Message received: July 20, 1999
Victims:
1. Zhang Manhong
2. Yu Xianmin
3. Fang Heming
4. Huo Jitian
5. Tian Yongsheng
6. Tang Guihong
7. Li Jinhu
8. Yu Rui
and many other Falun Gong practitioners in
Dalian
Location of incident: Dalian, Liaoning Province, China
Description:
Around 1:00pm on July 20, thousands of practitioners went to the Governmental Appeal Bureau to inquire about the situation of some practitioners who were arrested early morning under the accusation of “assembling to make trouble and disturb social order.” They could not understand why this had happened.
Around 1:30pm, police broadcasted “Do not listen to rumors, go home”, which made practitioners even more confused. They were still holding the “Notice to Family of Arrest,” which police issued when arresting practitioner Tang Qiaoyun. How could it be a rumor? Then, the policemen started dragging out young male practitioners and beat them. 4 policemen beat Liu Wenjie. Another practitioner (Wang Hongbin) was beaten in the same way. These two practitioners were dragged to police cars and were taken to the police station. The policemen asked for their personal information and threatened them that, if they went to the municipal government again, they would not be treated as “gently” as this time.
One young female practitioner (Li Qun) went to the People’s Square at 12:30pm. She was dragged by her hair and carried away to police cars at 1:30pm. Then she was sent to the police station along with 8 or 9 other practitioners. When they arrived, they found out that around 10 practitioners were already there. The policemen said, “We are the authority here.”
A 63-years-old grandmother was dragged to the street and fell many times because the policemen kept pushing and beating. One female practitioner lost her shoes while she was being dragged along.
A 13-year-old girl got a 4 inches long scratch on her arm. A policeman carried a 10-year-old child to the police vehicles by holding his legs. A practitioner was beaten in the face after being dragged out of the crowd. A 66-year-old woman (Qu Xiuhua) was dragged out of the crowd with clothes buttons ripped off. A woman around 50 (Liu Shuziang) was dragged by her hair and pushed to the ground many times. A female practitioner was dragged and got bruises on her arm. However, when she saw a policeman dropped his walkie-talkie, she picked it up for the policeman. Many practitioners were beaten in the police station. A 30-years-old woman was dragged by the hair and beaten by 3 or 4 policemen. A 30-year-old practitioner (Zhang Zhaodong) was dragged by 5 or 6 policemen while trying to help those who fell on the ground. His clothes were torn and his neck was heavily bruised. At 8:00pm, there was still no reply from the government.
3.2.26 Things that were too horrible to watch
Message received: July 20, 1999
Victims: Falun Gong practitioners from Dalian
Location of incident: Governmental Appealing Bureau, Dalian, Liaoning Province, China
Description: (Below is a description from himself/her-self)
I am a Falun Dafa practitioner in Dalian, a big city in Northeastern China. This morning, I heard that 7 practitioners had been arrested, and among them, two had been arrested under the accusation of “assembling people to disturb social order.” Upon hearing this, many practitioners went to the Governmental Appealing Bureau to inquire about this. The answer from people in the Bureau was that they didn’t know anything about it and we should wait for a while. Although we knew that they were making excuses, we still waited outside silently.
Around 1:00pm, more and more practitioners came. We voluntarily kept everything in an orderly way and left room for pedestrians. But policemen blocked the street and asked us to leave. They said that we shouldn’t believe rumors and that it was illegal to gather there. But we had the notice issued by the police when arresting a practitioner to prove that the message we heard was not a rumor. In response to our inquiry, they said that they were just following orders from their supervisors. Since we didn’t leave, they started using forces, even beating us. They started pushing people then dragging people and finally beating people. Some policemen did not dare to beat senior citizens or kids at first, but they gradually did it under orders. When a big policeman was dragging an elderly women beside me, I came to her assistance. Seeing this, the big man held my hair and dragged me out. Another policeman dragged me by my hair to the middle of the street, and a third policeman kicked me from behind. Three or four people dragged me to the police car. I ran back. Seeing this, one policeman beat me in the face and punched me on the cheek. My upper lip is still swollen now. While I am writing this report, my arms are still trembling because of the beating.. Many others Falun Gong practitioners suffered from the violence as I did. I saw two police vehicles full of practitioners leaving the spot. Most of the arrested practitioners were young people, and I could not estimate the exact number. Now, practitioners are still there, waiting peacefully for those arrested to be released. The police cannot disperse us, so they pushed us to one side of the Governmental Appealing Office.
We hope that those officials in government will act according to their conscience and release the arrested practitioners as soon as possible.
3.2.27 “This is the first time for me to see policemen beat people like this”
Message received: July 20, 1999
Victims: Falun Gong practitioners from Dalian
Location of incident: Governmental Appealing Bureau, Dalian, Liaoning Province, China
Description:
7 Falun Gong practitioners in Dalian, China were arrested by Public Security Bureau for no reason. Upon learning this news, many practitioners went to the Governmental Appeal Office in the afternoon to inquire about the situation. Practitioners stood on the sidewalk outside the Bureau and waited there quietly for an explanation. They made sure to leave room for pedestrians. All the practitioners there were in good order, with no slogans or signs. Some practitioners even collected the fallen leaves and garbage on the ground into plastic bags.
Around 1:30pm, the Public Security Bureau sent a large number of policemen to expel the practitioners. The situation was very frightening. Policemen violently pushed and beat practitioners and dragged them to the police cars by the hair. Many female practitioners’ hair was pulled out. Some policemen seized some male practitioners into police cars by the throats. Many elderly people were dragged, pushed, and beaten by policemen. Many people fell onto the ground, and many people stumbled but the policemen continued to push and beat them. Some young practitioners were beaten twice with their clothes torn. Some policemen even shouted, “Take off his belt!” A practitioner was beaten by four or five policemen simultaneously, and thrown into the police car. When his body was in the car but his feet were still outside the car, policemen kicked his legs. Many practitioners got bruises on their faces, necks and arms. Many policemen got so tired that they breathed heavily with sweat all over their faces. An 80-year-old practitioner said in tears, “This is the first time for me to see policemen beat people like this.” There were nearly 100 practitioners who were dragged around and beaten that afternoon. All practitioners followed Master Li’s teaching of forbearance, and suffered all this silently. Some elderly people said with kindness, “We tried to be good people. You shouldn’t beat us.” The policemen said, “We have no choice. Our supervisors told us to do this.”
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