Summary of Other Articles and News -- May 13, 2004

(Clearwisdom.net)

Facts of the Persecution

--Falun Dafa practitioner, Mr. Zhang Zhong is being detained in the Daqing City Prison (Heilongjiang Province) because he refused to write a "repentance statement" (1) and continued to practice the Falun Gong exercises. Police officer Li Fangjie tortured him until his life was in danger. The prison leadership ignored the abuses.

--The brutal persecution of Falun Gong is still going on in Yanshi City, Henan Province. Falun Dafa practitioner Mr. Sun Yaoting was passing out truth clarifying materials on April 26, 2004. He was abducted and taken to the Yanshi City Police Station where he was beaten up and became unconscious for more than two hours. Doctors discovered that his internal organs were injured, making it difficult for him to breathe, and putting his life in danger. Authorities continue to torture him in the Yanshi City Detention Center, force-feed him, and try to force him to tell the source of the Falun Gong materials he had been distributing.

--Falun Dafa practitioner Mr. Zhang Haiduo's sentence was increased from two years to four years when he was transferred from the Tangshan City Labor Camp to the Shijiazhuang City Labor Camp, both of which are in Hebei Province. He went through inhuman torture in the Shijiazhuang Labor Camp. He was confined in a solitary compartment (2), often beaten up and verbally abused. He was put through brainwashing sessions, and he was force-fed after going on hunger strike.

--A special task force dedicated to arresting Falun Dafa practitioners was established in Heze City, Shandong Province. Many practitioners were recently abducted from their homes. On April 23, 2004, the perpetrators abducted three from Ms. Lu Aiyun's home. They are Ms. Lu Aiyun, Ms. Xu Shuying, and Ms. Lu Yanqing. On the same night, practitioner Ms. Yu Hongmei was also abducted from her home. The next day, practitioner Ms. Lu Mei was abducted from her home as well. We heard that practitioner Ms. Wang Yuhuan was abducted from her home recently, and sent to another city/county to be kept in detention. Many other practitioners were arrested in other counties.

--Mr. Tang Chengrong is in his 50's, and ever since he was young, had a swollen liver/spleen, a stomach ulcer, a duodenal ulcer, and anemia. After beginning the practice of Falun Dafa, all his sicknesses went away. After the persecution began, lawless authorities brainwashed him and dismissed him from his position as a school principal. On February 18, 2001, they illegally ransacked his house, abducted him, and sent him to the Tongchuan District Detention Center in Sichuan Province. In only 40 days, he went from 120 pounds to 90 pounds. After being released, the "610 Office" (3) did not allow him to work. They forced him to watch videos or read books that slander Falun Dafa, and would not allow him to work until he totally disassociated from Falun Dafa.

News from China

--Ms. Zhang Xiuxiang, age 53, was a farmer who lived in Minhe village, Zhanqian Neighborhood, Jinzhou District, Dalian City, Liaoning Province. She went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Dafa in October 2000. She was arrested on Tiananmen Square and detained in the Jinzhou District Detention Center. She was sentenced to 18 months of labor camp in February 2001. She was coerced to give up her practice of Falun Dafa while in Masanjia Labor Camp. Her old sicknesses returned and she died at the end of July 2002.

--Ms. Bao Caijun, age 37, was also a farmer in Minhe village. She went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Dafa in October 2000 and was detained in the Jinzhou District Detention Center. She was sentenced to 18 months of labor camp on January 19, 2001. Under high-pressure while in the Masanjia Labor Camp, she gave up cultivation. Her former illnesses returned. Only three months later, she appeared to be close to dying. The labor camp was scared, and then extorted 1,500 yuan (4) from her family. They arranged for her to be bailed out for medical treatment. The perpetrators forced her husband to watch her closely at home. After a long period of suffering, she died in June 2003.

Perpetrators' Evil Deeds

--Violence filled the Linyi City Brainwashing Class in Shandong Province. In March 2004, security guard Wu and others beat up practitioner Mr. Yang Jian-guo with a stick. They hit his head, face, and body with sticks. His blood splattered onto the wall, and the stick broke into three pieces. His face was covered with blood, and he passed out on the spot.

--Falun Dafa practitioner Ms. Sun Mingxing was an employee of the Linyi City Textile Factory. She was locked in the Jinan City Women's Labor Camp for three years. When her term ended in March 2004, the Linyi City "610 Office" ignored the law, and transferred her directly from the labor camp to a brainwashing class.

(1) "Repentance statement": a statement in which a practitioner is forced to admit remorse for practicing Falun Gong, promise to give up Falun Gong, and never again associate with other practitioners or go to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong.

(2) "Being confined in a solitary compartment": locking up a single detainee in a solitary cell, which contains a basin and a pair of handcuffs. The basin is used for face washing as well as urination and defecation. One end of the handcuffs fastens to the wrist and the other end attaches to the door railing. The handcuffs can be fastened onto the door railing at three different heights. In the highest position, the detainee has to extend his/her arm upward. The middle position is at waist level. In the lowest position, the detainee can sit on the ground.

(3) "610 Office": A national agency created to persecute and "reform" practitioners, while destroying Falun Dafa. It has absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems.

(4) Yuan: the Chinese currency; the average monthly salary of an urban worker is 500 yuan.