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Chapter 5 Public Destruction of Books and Tapes
TABLE OF CONTENTS
5.1 CASES REPORTED BY FOREIGN JOURNALISTS
5.1.1 Falun Gong books are thrown into a pulping machine in Shanghai
5.1.2 Falun Gong members have been ordered to hand over their literature
5.1.3 Falun Gong books and materials being destroyed in the thousands
5.2 CASES COLLECTED FROM THE STATE-RUN NEWSPAPERS IN CHINA
5.2.1 Department of Culture issues notice to confiscate multimedia products of “Falun Gong”
5.2.2 Province of Guangxi seizes nearly 10,000 copies of “Zhuan Falun”
5.2.3 Confiscate and destroy the “Falun Gong” publications throughout the country
5.2.4 Over 1,550,000 copies of Falun Gong publication confiscated nationwide
5.2.5 Over 2 million copies of Falun Gong publications confiscated nationwide
5.2.6 Public Security Bureau quickly attacked “Teacher Wu’s Bookstore”
5.2.7 Quick action to confiscate Falun Gong publications in Shantou
5.3 CASES REPORTED BY EYEWITNESSES AND FALUN GONG PRACTITIONERS
5.4 FALUN GONG BOOKS CONFISCATED
5.4.1 A young teacher was arrested and her Falun Gong books were seized
5.4.2 Authority used force to take away books from Falun Gong practitioners’ home
5.4.3 A Falun Gong practitioner threatened by dismissal from work if his book
was not turned in
5.4.4 Police forced practitioners to turn in all their Falun Gong materials
5.4.5 Police ransacked a practitioner’s home taking away many of her Falun Gong materials
5.4.6 Police confiscated several hundred copies of Falun Gong books and tapes
5.4.7 Police broke into a practitioner’s house and confiscated Falun Gong materials
5.4.8 Falun Gong coordinators’ homes ransacked; books taken away
5.4.9 Jinchen public security bureau confiscated Falun Gong books from
practitioners
5.4.10 Dazhou police confiscated 1,300 copies of Falun Gong books and 253 video and audio tapes
5.4.11 Police searched passengers and confiscated any Falun Gong books they could find
5.5 PRACTITIONERS ARRESTED FOR COPYING FALUN GONG MATERIALS
5.5.1 Ten printing factories closed down for printing Falun Gong materials
5.5.2 A practitioner arrested when making copies of Falun Gong materials
5.5.3 A practitioner was arrested for copying an article related to Falun Gong
Introduction
“In the afternoon of July 28, the first nationwide destruction of Falun Gong publications and promotion materials was held in Beijing, Tianjin, Jiangsu, Jilin and Hubei provinces. It is reported that at this news hour, more than 1,550,000 copies of Falun Gong publications have been confiscated. Large scale destruction of such publications is scheduled for July 29 in Guangdong, Shandong, Hubei, Shanghai, Liaoning, Sichuan and Shanxi provinces.”
As part of the Chinese Government’s ongoing persecution and campaign against Falun Gong dating back to the Summer of 1999, hundreds of thousands of Falun Gong’s books, videotapes, cassettes, and other related materials have been confiscated, burned, and destroyed throughout China.
Local authorities and government agencies have employed various unlawful means to forcefully confiscate Falun Dafa materials; breaking into printing shops, warehouses, resellers’ stores, seizing cargo during transportation and ransacking practitioners homes. Some have even grabbed Falun Dafa literature from the hands of practitioners’.
5.1 Cases Reported by Foreign Journalists
5.1.1 Falun Gong books are thrown into a pulping machine in Shanghai
[CNN, July 29, 1999] CNN’s Rebecca MacKinnon shows the book destruction in video at the following website: http://cnn.com.
Books of the banned Falun Gong meditation group are thrown into a pulping machine in Shanghai.
5.1.2 Falun Gong members have been ordered to hand over their literature
[BBC, July 26, 1999] BBC’s James Miles in Beijing.
Falun Gong practitioners have been ordered to hand over their literature.
5.1.3 Falun Gong books and materials being destroyed in the thousands
[BBC, August 6, 1999] BBC’s Asia analyst Francis Markus in his report “Beijing’s zero-tolerance policy”
The government is cracking down hard on potential opposition. Books and materials are being destroyed in the thousands.
5.2 Cases Collected from the State-Run Newspapers in China
5.2.1 Department of Culture issues notice to confiscate multimedia products of “Falun Gong”
July 25, 1999, People’s Daily, Classification: Major News, Pg. 2
Title: Department of Culture issues notice to ban and confiscate multimedia products of “Falun Gong”
Xinhua News Agency (Beijing, Jul.24): The Department of Culture has recently released a public notification, asking the departments of culture and administration at all levels as well as the administration departments on multimedia publications to ban and confiscate the multimedia products of Falun Gong immediately.
5.2.2 Province of Guangxi seizes nearly 10,000 copies of “Zhuan Falun”
July 26, 1999, People’s Daily Classification: News Roundup, Pg. 5
Title: Province of Guangxi seizes nearly 10,000 copies of “Zhuan Falun”
Typical scene in which practitioners were forced to turn in their Falun Gong books and tapes. The photo was taken by reporter Can Sun of the Xinhua News Agency.
5.2.3 Confiscate and destroy the “Falun Gong” publications throughout the country
July 28, 1999, People’s Daily, Classification: Important News, Pg. 4
Title: Completely Remove the Evil: Confiscate and Destroy the “Falun Gong” Illegal Publications Throughout the Country
Xinhua News Agency (Beijing, Jul. 27): Law enforcement agencies throughout the country have recently ferreted out and destroyed books and multimedia publications of Falun Gong. It is said that the administration of publications in Tianjin has recently confiscated 22 different kinds of books promoting Falun Gong, which accounts for more than 73,000 copies.
The Wuhan city department of public security has recently destroyed 130,000 copies of the confiscated publications. These include 100,000 illegal books, 27,000 pieces of multimedia products and 3,400 pieces of other materials such as practicing costumes, banners, and pictures of Li Hongzhi.
On July 24, the economic supervisory team of the Industry and Commerce administration in Urumuqi, Xinjiang Province combed all the bookstores and private book-stand throughout the city and ferreted out more than 3,200 copies of books, over 1,200 copies of videotapes and VCD’s of exercise instruction, as well as over 10,000 tapes of “Lectures in Dalian By Li Hongzhi”. On July 27, according to Song Xuechun reporting from Qingdao, more than 10,801 copies of books and multi-media publications were confiscated.
5.2.4 Over 1,550,000 copies of Falun Gong publication confiscated nationwide
July 29, 1999, People’s Daily, Headline News
Title: Over 1,550,000 copies of unlawful Falun Gong publications confiscated nationwide.
On the afternoon of July 28, the first nationwide destruction of Falun Gong publications and promotion materials was held in Beijing, Tianjin, Jiangsu, Jilin and Hubei provinces. It is reported that at this news hour, more than 1,550,000 copies of Falun Gong publications have been confiscated. Large scale destruction of such publications is scheduled for July 29 in Guangdong, Shandong, Hubei, Shanghai, Liaoning, Sichuan and Shanxi provinces. The picture shows workers throwing Falun Gong publications into the pulping machine. --Xinhua news reporter, Jundong Li.
People’s Daily Overseas Edition, July 29, 1999 reported that 90,000 copies of Falun Gong publications were destroyed.
5.2.5 Over 2 million copies of Falun Gong publications confiscated nationwide
July 30, 1999, People’s Daily Classification: Major News, Pg. 4
Title: Over 2 million copies of Falun Gong publication confiscated nationwide. Mass destroying held in various locations.
Reported July 29, Xinhua Agency Beijing - Various local authorities actively cleaned and confiscated Falun Gong publications. To this date, over 2 million copies of Falun Gong publications have been confiscated nationwide. Today, more than a dozen provinces, cities, and autonomous regions will destroy big batches of Falun Gong publications. In Shanghai, approximately 40 to 50 thousand copies were destroyed. 3,367 copies were destroyed in Yunnan province.
5.2.6 Public Security Bureau quickly attacked “Teacher Wu’s Bookstore”
August 2, 1999, Guangming Daily News
Public Security Bureau, together with Industry and Commerce administration and publication authorities, quickly attacked “Teacher Wu’s Bookstore”. Authorities conducted lawful searches both in the store and at the owner’s home and confiscated Falun Gong books and multimedia products. Currently, Wu is under criminal detention. On July 27, the authorities of Xiangtan City collectively searched more than 289 bookstores, street vendors, multimedia stores, and printing shops to confiscate more than 40 thousand copies of Falun Gong books and 1,000 copies of video and audio products.
5.2.7 Quick action to confiscate Falun Gong publications in Shantou
August 8, 1999, People’s Daily Classification: News Roundup, Pg. 2
Title: Quick action to confiscate Falun Gong publications in Shantou further exposes and repudiates Falun Gong.
By reporter Weisheng Hou on August 7 - Public Security Bureau, Industry and Commerce, and news and publication authorities in Shantou City, Guangdong Province, quickly acted together to clean and confiscate unlawful Falun Gong publications, aiming to eliminating Falun Gong’s impact and its harmfulness. Prior to August 2, more than 7,359 copies of books and 2,132 video and audio products have been confiscated in Shantou.
Typical scene of public destruction of Falun Gong books and tapes. The above photo shows workers destroying Falun Gong books and videos.
5.3 Cases Reported by Eyewitnesses and Falun Gong Practitioners
1. In Dalian, Shandong Province, 200,000 copies of Falun Gong books were unlawfully confiscated and destroyed on June 17, 1999. A big cargo truck (license plate “Liao B-90743”) transported approximately 200,000 Falun Gong books to the Northeast Finance University’s printing shop warehouse where they were to be destroyed. While being shipped to Dalian via Lushun, this cargo of Falun Gong books was first unlawfully seized at Lushun New Port as smuggled goods. The Culture & Publication Department declared it to be a forbidden publication. Although Falun Gong books have nothing to do with smuggling, the cargo was nevertheless sent to be destroyed.
2. According to Wang Hansheng and Xu Xianglan, Falun Gong practitioners from Wuhan City, Hubei Province, a total of 7.8 million books and 4.9 million videotapes were confiscated in the Chinese cities of Wuhan, Hubei Province, and Jinan, Shandong Province.
3. On June 23, 1999 according to Falun Gong practitioners from Gaoan City, Jiangxi Province, county officials and policemen broke into practitioners’ houses illegally. They confiscated Falun Gong Books, pictures and exercise tapes and tape players used for practice. They took away the books practitioners were reading by force. One female practitioner was insulted and beaten when she went to the county government asking for the tape player back.
4. On July 28, 1999, a total of 175,000 Falun Gong books and 15,000 audio and video products were destroyed in Nanjing city, Jiangsu province.
5. On July 28,1999 more than 22,000 Falun Gong books, 11,000 printed materials and 5,000 audio/video tapes were destroyed in Tianjin City.
5.4 Falun Gong Books Confiscated
5.4.1 A young teacher was arrested and her Falun Gong books were seized
Victim: Liu Xiao from Xiehe Medical School, Beijing, China
Location of incident: Beijing, China
Description:
Liu Xiao, a young teacher in the Beijing Xiehe Medical School, was arrested when she was chatting with fellow practitioners about her experiences with Falun Gong. Her apartment was ransacked, and her Falun Gong books were seized. [Minghui http://minghui.ca]
5.4.2 Authority used force to take away books from Falun Gong practitioners’ home
Victims:
1. Wu Siwei
2. Chen Meifen
Location of incident: Nanjing district, Zhangzhou City
Description:
Two cadres from the Zhangzhou Municipal Political and Legal Committee used force to take away books from Falun Gong practitioner Chen Meifen’s home. Jingcheng Public Security Bureau in Nanjing district forcefully confiscated the books from Wu Siwei’s home claiming that the government demanded the confiscation. They did not show any government documents nor did they follow any legal procedure to justify their actions. [Minghui http://minghui.ca]
5.4.3 A Falun Gong practitioner threatened by dismissal from work if his book was not turned in
Victim: A Falun Gong practitioner in Guangzhou
Location of incident: Guangzhou, Guangdong Province
Description by his wife:
My husband also experienced similar unfair treatments. The head of his department asked him to turn in the book “Zhuan Falun”, and said that it was wanted by the “higher authority.” He threatened to fire him if the book was not turned in. My husband is an obedient person and thought that they wanted the book just for inspection. He told them, “This book is very precious to me. Please take care of the book. Give it back to me in a few days.” After a few days when my husband approached the division head for the book, he said the book had been given to the “higher authority” and burned. My husband was so regretful and said, “If I knew it would come out this way, I would not have turned in the book even if it meant losing my job.” [Minghui http://minghui.ca]
5.4.4 Police forced practitioners to turn in all their Falun Gong materials
Victim:Ya Xiao, currently in Beijing
Location of incident: Anguo City, Baoding county, Hebei Province, China
Description:
The following is a statement by Ya Xiao.
In the morning of July 24, policemen forced us to turn in all of our Falun Gong materials such as books and tapes. The Falun Gong contact person in our city was arrested and fined 20,000 Yuan. Every Falun Gong practitioner who went to Beijing was fined 200 Yuan. They treated us like criminals. We were monitored at all times and had little personal freedom. Many practitioners went to Beijing to present the facts. When they were escorted back from Beijing, some were taken into custody, and some were beaten many times.
5.4.5 Police ransacked a practitioner’s home taking away many of her Falun Gong materials
Victim: Wang Yan, female and 56, currently in Beijing, Falun Gong practitioner. Address: Liuwei Jiuzu, Fuzhen Street, Liaoyuan City, Jilin Province.
Location of incident: Shanhaiguan, and Fuzhen Detention center, Liao-yuan City, China
Description:
The following is a statement by Wang Yan.
On July 21, I was intercepted by some policemen at the Liaoyuan Train Station when I was trying to go to Beijing to appeal. On the second day, I went to Beijing to appeal but I was caught by the policemen at Shanhaiguan, and detained there for a night. On July 23, I was first sent to Jinzhou, then to Liaoyuan and detained in the Fuzhen Detention Center. That night, the police ransacked my home and took away many of my Falun Gong materials. Later they transferred me to the street office where they forced us to watch TV programs and newspapers full of fabricated slander about Falun Gong. They watched over me closely. They tried to force me to write a statement of guarantee promising that I would give up the practice of Falun Gong. They demmanded that I give up appealing in Beijing. I refused to do so. Consequently, they beat me up and swore at me. Under the intense pressure, I wrote the statement of guarantee that I would not go to appeal again in Beijing. They then forced me to write the statement of guarantee promising that I would give up Falun Gong. I refused to do that.
5.4.6 Police confiscated several hundred copies of Falun Gong books and tapes
Victim: Xiao Yanhong, Female, currently in Beijing, Falun Gong practitioner. Workplace: Maternal and Child Care Institute of Gansu Province.
Location of incident: Gansu Province, China
Description:
The following is a statement by Xiao Yanhong.
My husband is Li Wenming. He works at Lanzhou Locomotive Factory. He is the key contact person at the Qinihequ Falun Gong assistant center in Lanzhou City.
At 3:00AM on July 21st, some policemen from the Qinihequ police department took him away from his workplace. I was at the practice site at the time. He was accused of “joining illegal religious activities”. They confiscated several hundred copies of Falun Gong books, cassette tapes and videotapes.
5.4.7 Police broke into a practitioner’s house and confiscated Falun Gong materials
Victims:
1. Wang Kai from Chengdu City
2. Gao Fangchen from Chengdu City
And others
Location of incident: Wang Kai’s home at Chengdu,
China
Description:
At about 2:00PM on October 13 when 20 or more practitioners were watching a video of the “Biography of Jesus” at Wang Kai’s house, a group of policemen suddenly broke into the house and arrested practitioners Wang Kai, Gao Fangchen and others. They also confiscated the video tape and materials on Falun Gong. These arrested practitioners remain in detention.
5.4.8 Falun Gong coordinators’ homes ransacked; books taken away
Victims:
1. Li Hongkui
2. Zhang Shengjie
3. Li Xiubo
4. Wu Hongzhu
5. Wu Wenfang
Location of incident: Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China
Description:
Five key Falun Gong coordinators’ homes were ransacked; books and other materials about Falun Gong were taken away. They are Li Hongkui, Zhang Shengjie, Li Xiubo, Wu Hongzhu, and Wu Wenfang.
5.4.9 Jinchen public security bureau confiscated Falun Gong books from practitioners
Victims: Falun Gong practitioners in Shenzhen and Dongguan Cities
Location of incident:
1. Jinchen publice security bureau in Nanjing
district, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province
2. Dongguan, Guangdong Province
Description:
Jinchen public security bureau in Nanjing district began to confiscate books from practitioners without following any legal procedure or showing any legal documentation.
5.4.10 Dazhou police confiscated 1,300 copies of Falun Gong books and 253 video and audio tapes
Victims:
1. Chen
2. Ding
3. Li Falun Gong practitioners from Sichuan
Province
Place of incident: Fang-shan County, Beijing, China
Description:
It was reported by “Dazhou Daily” that the police department in Dazhou City, Sichuan province detained three practitioners. Chen Ding, Li Chen and Li were arrested at Tiananmen Square. Ding was arrested in the Fangshan County of Beijing. They were charged with “damaging the implementation of state’s law”, although all they had done was to exercise their constitutional rights. The newspaper also reported that since October 30th, police in Dazhou City had implemented a large-scale persecution against Falun Gong practitioners. They had confiscated 1,300 copies of Falun Gong books, 253 video andaudio tapes, 95 pieces of VCD, 21 Falun badge and 129 copies of the Falun Emblem.
5.4.11 Police searched passengers and confiscated any Falun Gong books they could find
Victims: Falun Gong Practitioners
Location of incident: Qidong, Jiangsu Province
Description:
Starting early in the morning on May 22, public security members blocked major road intersections in the city, searched passengers and confiscated any books or practice costumes they could find about Falun Gong.
5.5 Practitioners Arrested for Copying Falun Gong Materials
5.5.1 Ten printing factories closed down for printing Falun Gong materials
Message received: February 29, 2000
Location of incident: Guangzhou Province, China
Description:
Ten printing factories in Guangzhou were closed down by the authorities because they had printed Falun Gong materials. According to the Yangcheng Evening Newspaper, these ten printing factories had printed Falun Gong books and pictures in large quantities before January. These ten enterprises were fined and four of them had their licenses revoked.
5.5.2 A practitioner arrested when making copies of Falun Gong materials
Victim: Wang Yajuan, 34, female. Address: Changchen Bldg 15, Room 703, Shenzhen, Guangdong province
Location of incident: Xiwan Hotel of Beijing, China
Description:
The following is a statement by Wang Yajuan.
At 6:00pm on July 23rd, I was copying Falun Gong materials in the Xiwan Hotel of Beijing where I was spotted by a plain clothes policeman and taken to the hotel basement. I was interrogated until 4:00am the next morning. Later, I was transferred to Shenzhen City Liaison Office in Beijing. On July 24th, I was escorted back to the Huali detention center in Shenzhen. The police forced me to write a pledge to give up Falun Gong. They also ransacked my home at night and took away all books and materials concerning Falun Gong. The police went to my workplace many times to put pressure on my supervisors. My company had no choice but to suspend me from my job. The police and the residents committee often came to my home to disturb me. I have come to Beijing to appeal. My 9 years old child has been left in the care of a friend.
5.5.3 A practitioner was arrested for copying an article related to Falun Gong
Victim: Liu Jingxing, employee of Insititute of Changchun Biological Products Institute, Jilin Province
Location of incident: Changchun, Jilin Province
Description:
The following is a statement by Liu Jingxing.
On the afternoon of August 27 after I finished copying an article entitled “The Opinions of International Human Rights Organizations on China’s Crackdown of Falun Gong”, I was arrested by some plain clothed policemen and taken to the Youth Road detention center in Changchun. In the director’s office after the policemen had searched all my belongings, the director grabbed my hair and yelled at me, “Tell us!” I was quite perplexed and didn’t know what he wanted me to say. The director immediately issued a certificate for detaining me and asked me to sign my name. I refused to do that and asked them for a reason. They said, “We will search your home even if you do not sign.” They hand-cuffed me and brought me home in a police car. My wife Gao Tong was at home at that time. They took away Falun Gong books and cassette tapes, a tape recorder, three cassette players, a radio, a VCR, a beeper and three meditation mats. They did not leave us any receipts. They still have not returned these personal belongings to us. When my wife asked them why they took away our money, they said, “We are afraid that you are going to Beijing.” My wife and I were both taken to the detention center. I was handcuffed to the heating pipe for more than 20 minutes. Later, I was transferred to the Luyuan District police department.
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