Summary of Other Articles and News - 2/17/2003

(Clearwisdom.net)

Persecution Facts

On October 26, 2002, at least ten police officers from the Zhengyang Police Station in Changchun City used an iron bar to pry open the door of Falun Gong practitioner Su Xiufu's apartment. They handcuffed Xiufu and then beat and kicked him. Later, they took cash and other belongings from his apartment. While in the Luyuan Police Substation, both of Mr. Su's hands were handcuffed behind his back and he was hung up in the air so that his feet barely touched the ground. After enduring the cruel tortures, Xiufu was sentenced to "re-education through forced labor."

Zhou Shu, a Dafa practitioner from Luan County, Hebei Province related the persecution he has been suffering over the past 3 years: The cadres in our village forced us to hand in our Dafa materials and to write the so-called "guarantee statement to give up Falun Gong". They also often harassed and monitored our families. In September 1999, the village police station abducted me and twice tortured me using the method of "tying the ropes". They tied me up using a thin rope, circled the rope around my neck, and then tied my hands behind my back. I felt so much pain that I almost lost consciousness. They also hit me in the face, held me tightly by my hair, and used a cigarette to burn my wrist, which injured a large section of skin. After I was released, I lived under even more strict surveillance. At the end of 2000, they forcibly took my picture and posted it on the Internet, which caused my wife and I to leave our home to avoid further persecution.

News from China

Damaging statues of Gods caused disasters for three generations: Over 40 years ago in Mainland China, during the furious campaign of smashing temples and damaging statues of Gods, a family in Shangdong Province was bewitched by atheism and smashed every sculpture of a God in the temple in their village. Shortly after, the family lost their dwelling and all their belongings in a big fire. The mother was burned so badly that her face was badly scarred and her hands were distorted by the severity of the injuries. Soon after that, the youngest son of the family passed away from a disease. The oldest son became mentally deranged and died a few years later. The husband of the family also passed away after suffering a few years of guilt and depression. The second son became muddleheaded and the daughter was not mentally stable either. At the end of the 1980s, the family finally had a grandson after many years of trying; but the grandson was not normal mentally either.

People from All Walks of Life Continue to be Concerned About the Legislation of Article 23 in Hong Kong

During an interview with Ming Pao reporters, senior attorney Mr. Alan Leong pointed out that an automatic mechanism to ban groups associated with Mainland organizations deemed to endanger China's state security still remains in the draft bill of Article 23. This made people suspect that Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee had reneged on her previous promises. Mr. Leong said that he was most astonished by the newly added "secret interrogation" section, which was not in the original consultation document. He expressed that he was more worried than ever. The government only made some technical concession on crimes of treason and secession, but did not concede at all on the items that will affect the Hong Kong people's current standard of living the most, such as the freedoms of speech, assembly, and freedom of the press.