NEWS -- Aug. 25, 2003 Falun Dafa Information Center, www.faluninfo.net

NEW YORK (FDI) -- Ms. Zhengshu Cui, an ethnic Korean living in northeastern China, died on August 12, 2003, from extended torture and abuse sustained while imprisoned for her beliefs in a forced-labor camp.

Ms. Cui, 36 years old and mother of one, lived in Chuanying District, Jilin City. Ms. Cui was a graduate of the Baicheng Finance and Trade Training School, and a Falun Gong practitioner.

In March 2002, officials from the Jilin City "6-10 Office" (about) and Chuanying District Police Department arrested her because of her practice. Ms. Cui was illegally sentenced to three years of forced labor, and sent to No. 4 Division in the Heizuizi Female Labor Camp in Changchun City.

According to reports from China, guards at the labor camp brutally tortured Ms. Cui because she refused to renounce Falun Gong and she persisted in her practice. On one occasion, these reports say, she was only allowed 22 hours of sleep during a 33-day period.

Due to extended torture in the prison camp, in April 2003, Ms. Cui's condition had deteriorated to the point where she had difficulty eating and could not take care of herself, the reports say. Afraid that she may die in the labor camp, the guards released her on April 18, 2003.

Despite efforts by Ms. Cui's family to restore her health, she never recovered and died on August 12, 2003.

In the last four years, thousands of testimonies from Chinese residents report wide-spread, arbitrary arrest in China of anyone believed to practice Falun Gong -- part of a national-wide campaign ordered by former Chinese leader, Jiang Zemin, to "defame their reputations, bankrupt them financially, destroy them physically." According to the U.S. State Department's Human Rights Report 2003, "Mere belief in [Falun Gong] ... has been sufficient grounds for practitioners to receive punishments ranging from loss of employment to imprisonment, and in many cases to suffer torture and death."

Ms. Cui is survived by her husband and young son.

Partial name list and contact information of labor camp guards responsible for Ms. Cui's death

Heizuizi Female Labor Camp in Changchun City: main switchboard: 86-431-5384312

No. 4 division: 86-431-5384312 ext. 6104

Head of the labor camp, Fan Youlan, 86-431-7697329 (home)

Lian Guangri, head of the administrative section, 86-431-7919799 (home)

Liu Hu: 86-431-2713609 (home)

Zhang Lilan: 86-431-5675939 (home)

Guan Wei, No. 4 Division: 86-431-5705043 (home)

Zhang Guimei, No. 4 Division: 86-431-7965537 (home)

Li Xiaohua, No. 4 Division: 86-431-5682402 (home)

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NEWS -- Aug. 25, 2003

Falun Dafa Information Center, www.faluninfo.net

Background

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa (about), is a practice of meditation and exercises with teachings based on the universal principle of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance." It is a practice that was taught in private for thousands of years before being made public in 1992 by Mr. Li Hongzhi. Falun Gong has roots in traditional Chinese culture, but it is distinct and separate from other practices such as the religions of Buddhism and Taoism. Since its introduction in 1992, it quickly spread by word of mouth throughout China, and is now practiced in over 50 countries.

With government estimates of as many as 100 million practicing Falun Gong, China's President Jiang Zemin outlawed the peaceful practice in July 1999 (report), fearful of anything touching the hearts and minds of more citizens than the Communist Party. Unable to crush the spirit of millions who had experienced improved health and positive life changes from Falun Gong, Jiang's regime has intensified its propaganda campaign to turn public opinion against the practice while quietly imprisoning, torturing and even murdering those who practice it.

The Falun Dafa Information Center has verified details of 772 deaths (reports / sources) since the persecution of Falun Gong in China began in 1999. Government officials inside China, however, report that the actual death toll is well over 1,600, while expert sources estimate that figure to be much higher. Hundreds of thousands have been detained, with more than 100,000 being sentenced to forced labor camps, typically without trial.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT THE FALUN DAFA INFORMATION CENTER -- Gail Rachlin 917-501-4441, Levi Browde 914-720-0963, Erping Zhang 646-533-6147, or Feng Yuan 917-941-1097. Email: faluninfoctr@nycmail.com, Website: http://www.faluninfo.net/