November 10, 2001

(Clearwisdom.net)

Officials of Mengyang Township used many cruel measures to persecute practitioners, hoping to shake their righteous beliefs. What follows is a partial record of their criminal acts.

Extortion of Money

Since July 20, 1999, officials have forced every practitioner in the town to post so-called "surety bonds." The amounts vary from a few hundred Yuan (Chinese currency. The average monthly income of an urban worker in China is approx. 500 Yuan) to over a thousand. Those who were not able to come up with the money would have to do hard labor. What's more, practitioners were asked to submit fifty Yuan per day as a "management fee." They have extorted as much as 60,000 to 70,000 Yuan from practitioners who had gone to Beijing to appeal. One practitioner's entire family (except for her father-in-law) practices Falun Gong. She went to Beijing to validate Dafa with her mother-in-law. Upon her return, over 20,000 Yuan was extorted from her. Her husband and father-in-law make their livings as auto mechanics. They are the only people providing financial support for the family. In order to restore the reputation of Falun Dafa and Teacher, they went to Tiananmen again on New Years Day, 2000. This time, even her non-practicing father-in-law accompanied them. The family was charged a fine of over 20,000 Yuan.

Set Up Private Court, Torture Practitioners Extensively

Practitioners who went to Beijing to appeal were arrested and turned over to local authorities, who held them illegally for approximately fifteen days. Upon completion of their detention, they were sent back to the township. The minute the practitioners stepped into the courtyard of the township office, they received harsh beatings from authorities from the local 610 Office (a bureau specifically created by the Chinese government to persecute Falun Gong. It has absolute power over each level of administration in the Party, as well as over the political and judiciary branches). Throughout the beatings, people from the 610 Office demanded answers from the practitioners as to whether they would continue to practice Falun Gong, and whether they would go to Beijing again. If the answers were affirmative, more beatings would follow. They stripped one female practitioner and beat her with bamboo poles 2 inches in diameter until she couldn't speak. Because the practitioner refused to submit, she was beaten again and finally passed out. The evil perpetrators then splashed cold water over her so she would regain consciousness so they could beat her again. When the bamboo poles broke, they switched to leather belts. What was even more cruel was that these thugs held her down and stepped all over her. A person with the nickname of "Three Strikes Jiang" was particularly vicious. The practitioner passed out many times during the torture. In the end, the people from the 610 Office were afraid of causing a death, so they asked her family to take her back. When her family members received her, she had been tortured beyond recognition. There was not one piece of undamaged skin left on her body. Her stomach had bloated severely and a few inches of intestines were exposed. This practitioner could barely walk after being confined to bed for six months. There was another practitioner who was over sixty years old. She had been beaten many times. In the end, she was sentenced to Nanmusi Women's Labor Camp in Cizhong for two years. She has since been released.

In addition, people from the 610 Office forced practitioners to carry boards around their necks ridiculing themselves and Falun Dafa and paraded them around in the streets. There also have been numerous cases of illegal extension of detention terms.

All kind-hearted people, please be sure to distinguish right from wrong, good from evil. Please take this chance to position yourselves well and treasure your future.