Latest News from China - 10/17/2000

[Mainland] Jiang Zemin secretly orders "strengthening the campaign [against Falun Gong] overseas" In early October, Jiang Zemin and his followers issued a classified document undersigned by the Central Office of the Chinese Communist Party to high-level officials. In some provinces, the document was re-issued under the name of the provincial government and passed down to the section chiefs. This document accuses the founder of Falun Dafa by claiming that he is attacking and attempting to overthrow the Chinese government and puts the prosecution of Falun Gong as the most important thing of this country. It also directs all action toward "strengthening the campaign [against Falun Gong] overseas against those foreign forces, collecting more information and preventing protests". It also instructs local governments to summarily sentence all Falun Dafa practitioners whenever they are arrested. Observers consider this to be direct retaliation from Jiang Zemin. During the New York trip, Jiang refused to hold any peaceful dialogue with Falun Gong practitioners and later on his name was publicly denounced in many articles. We hope the overseas Dafa practitioners will be cautious and aware of this matter and inform local governments if necessary, to prevent Jiang's followers from damaging the reputation of Data and disturbing social stability. [Shandong Province] Local governor takes personal responsibility for all practitioners deaths in order to push the police to persecute practitioners more harshly Jia Wanzhi, the governor of Jining City, reported to the provincial leaders about the situation of Falun Gong and was criticized because a number of practitioners appealed to Beijing from Jining City. When he returned to the city, he berated and blamed the police department using, all types of dirty words, for not doing a good job. When some police officers reported that some Falun Gong practitioners went on a hunger strike to protest the evil deeds in the detention center, Jia got so angry and yelled: "Give them food, if they refuse to eat, it's like they are committing suicide. If they die, I will take the responsibility." To Jia Wanzhi, his personal interest is the most important thing. He can trifle with the lives of dozens of practitioners in order to obtain his personal and political capital. We have known those practitioners for a long time and we find they have done nothing wrong and they are innocent. Can Jia Wanzhi really take the responsibility for the deaths of dozens of innocent people? [Beijing] Zhao, a painter and also practitioner, was arrested during National Day Holidays Zhao Baoli and his wife Wu Junxiang were arrested during the National Day Holidays (10/1~10/7). Zhao is a painter and also a Falun Dafa practitioner. Address: No.28, Licun, Chongwen District, Beijing [Xinjiang] Five Dafa practitioners from Xinjiang were put into mental hospital In XX City of Xinjiang, five Falun Gong practitioners were detained by the local police department for going to Beijing to appeal. Later they were committed to a mental hospital against their will, and were injected large doses of drugs and were forced to injest several unknown drugs. Those practitioners were also ordered to take care of other patients which they did in a caring manner and without complaint. The doctors, nurses and patients were all deeply moved. The chief asked them if they wanted to tell others about Falun Dafa, and they agreed. So once in a meeting in the hospital, they were given the chance to promote Dafa. They were released after two months. Those practitioners were outstanding workers in the field of education, but now they all have been dismissed from their work units. According to reliable information, Xinjing police began to arrest practitioners on a large scale on October 15th. Dafa practitioner Hu Jingyao was arrested secretly by police last night (10/16). His house was searched and everything related to Dafa was taken away. The police also confiscated all personal computers, printers and other personal assets. [Gansu Province] Two practitioners from Yumen, Gansu Province are sentenced to forced-labor education In late September, police from the public security of Yumen, Gansu Province sentenced two Dafa practitioners to forced-labor education for revealing the true facts about the crackdown against Falun Gong to the public. Dafa practitioner Song Yanzhao, male, about 25 years old, was sentenced to 18 months of forced-labor education; Cao Dianfeng, male, 29 years old, was sentenced to 1 year of forced-labor education. Now, they are detained in a labor camp in Lanzhou, Gansu Province. At the same time, the police confiscated their computer and copy machine. The person in charge of this case is Zou Hong, female in her 30's, Zou Hong is the section chief of Political Security Department of Public Security of Yumen City. The police also confiscated the computer and printer of another practitioner who was suspected of participating in the activity of distributing materials to reveal truthful information about Falun Dafa. [Chongqing] News from Maojiashan Women Labor Camp in Chongqing In winter, 1999, more than 10 practitioners including Liu Tiansu, Li Xiao, Liu Lan were sentenced to forced-labor education for going to Beijing to appeal. They were cruelly tortured by the guards for persisting in practicing Falun Gong in the labor camp. The most common method of torture is the punishment of being forced to stand for long periods of time. Practitioners are forced to stand once they get up in the morning until the time to go to sleep, about 15-16 hours every day. The practitioners cannot move, the three meals are brought to while they are standing, and there is only one Chinese ounce of rice (about two US ounces) in one meal. Practitioners are punished by having to stand for at least 7-14 days. Under such constant persecution and torture, Dafa practitioners are fearless. When they are forbidden from practicing they go outside to practice! The guards became angered by these actions. They put those practitioners who practiced the Falun Gong exercises, separately into small dark cells. Once a day, one practitioner would be taken out and exchanged with another practitioner to be handcuffed to the gate. The practitioner would be handcuffed in a position that would not allow them to sit nor sleep and was fed a minimum amount of food. Falun Dafa practitioner Liu Tiansu who is already 50 years old, was confined alone on the suspicion of being a Falun Gong organizer. Her one hand was handcuffed to the open iron window forcing her to stand during the day. At night she was given a high chair to sit in which was taken away at dawn and was fed a minimum amount of food. The ruthless guards call this punishment the "The Blowing-wind Lantern"! Liu Tiansu was handcuffed in this way for 15 days. During the winter in Chongqing City, the cold wind blew and it rained continuously. Liu Tiansu is a thin lady and did not have enough clothes, therefore, she fainted many times during the "Blowing-Wind Lantern" punishment from coldness and hunger. In order to get back the Dafa books confiscated by the guards, practitioners co-signed an appeal letter, but they were punished for doing this. Therefore, 19-year-old Li Xiao and Liu Lan a woman in her 40's, cut their wrists in protest to call for the return of the Dafa books. The inhuman guards handcuffed their hands above their heads to the head of the bed while their wrists were still bleeding! They lay on the bed like this at night, without being able to turn or move, sit or stand and were watched by the guards 24 hours a day. They were not allowed to talk to one another and were only given a tiny amount of food for each meal. Such torture lasted for a whole month! In spite of such suffering, these great Dafa practitioners did not bow to the evil force and withstood the harsh tests one by one, establishing their perpetual mighty virtue in the future. [Guangzhou, Guangdong Province] Dafa practitioner Lu Minhui, from Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, was dismissed by her work unit for persisting in practicing Falun Gong. Later she was sentenced to 1 year of forced-labor education for going to appeal in Beijing in early September. (Translated on October 18, 2000 from http://www.minghui.cc/gb/0001/Oct/17/news_china_101700_shishi.html and http://MINGHUI.CC/gb/0001/Oct/18/news_china_101800_shishi.html)