Canadian Citizen Appeals for Rescue of Her Mother and Younger Sister Kidnapped by Police in Xuzhou City, Jiangsu Province

(Clearwisdom.net) I am Li Qian, a Canadian citizen in the province of British Columbia. I would like to appeal to all levels of the Canadian government, various media, society from all walks of life, and various human rights organizations to rescue my mother and my sister in China.

My mother is Zhuang Ruiping (63 years old) and my younger sister is Li Fei (33 years old). They live in Xuzhou City, Jiangsu Province, China.

On the morning of June 9, 2004, several dozen police in two groups broke into the homes of my mother and my younger sister. They searched and ransacked their homes, and seized all Falun Gong books, a computer, passports and ID's. Afterwards, my mother and my younger sister were taken away. The reason given for their arrest was that they downloaded Dafa materials from websites. At present, it is not clear where they are being held. Family members are not allowed to visit them.

In the afternoon on June 9, a family member called me to inform me of the above mishap. I immediately called the local police station, public security department and municipal government to inquire. I made a lot of calls. After I investigated through contacting many different places, I learned that the kidnapping of my mother and my younger sister was the collaborative action of the Xuzhou Municipal Safety Bureau and the National Guard Section of the Municipal Public Security Bureau. The local police were not aware of it, and were told only moments beforehand.

I called these two units and verified the facts about the kidnapping. I told them that I was calling from Canada. I asked the Safety Bureau to release my mother and my younger sister immediately and unconditionally, as they did not violate any law, and not to pressure my family members to sign the so-called "guarantee statement" (1). I told them that they should not arrest people so causally, that they had to guarantee the safety of my mother and my younger sister, return the seized property, passports and IDs immediately, and that I would continue to call to ensure that my requests be carried out. I would also make it public to the overseas media, and if necessary, invite international human rights organizations to investigate the case.

The staff receiving the call in the Safety Bureau said that he would pass on the message to his superiors.

My mother began to practice Falun Gong in 1998. Before she took up the practice, she was known as the "medicine jar" for taking so much medicine, having had various kind of afflictions most of her life. However, after she started practicing Falun Gong, she became so healthy that she no longer needs medicine. Two years ago, she came to Canada for a visit. My younger sister has family of her own and a five-year-old daughter.

My mother and my younger sister are very common ordinary folks. Just because they have their belief and choose to read Falun Gong materials on the web, their homes were ransacked and belongings seized. There is no excuse for such lawlessness.

Now that I cannot find out what is happening to them, I worry about their safety a lot.

I have already contacted the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I was not able to get a hold of the person in charge of the Asian and Pacific affairs. I have left her a message, briefing her on the unfortunate incident my family is going through, and sought her help, hoping that she could establish some dialogue with the departments concerned in Xuzhou City through the Canadian consulate in China.

I appeal to all Canadian and international human rights organizations to extend help to rescue my mother and my younger sister, and to condemn the persecution of my mother and my younger sister by the Chinese government and Xuzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau and Safety Bureau with your voice of justice.

Please help rescue my mother and my younger sister.

Xuzhou Municipal Safety Bureau: 86-516-3845135 (responsible for the arrest)

Xuzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau: 86-516-3978099

The National Guard Section of Xuzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau: 86-516-3978219, 86-516-3978200 (responsible for the arrest)

Pengcheng local police station, Xuzhou: 86-516-3745356 (the location my mother and my younger sister are detained in)

Qingnian local police station, Xuzhou: 86-516-3745357

Xuzhou Municipal government: 86-516-3735468

(1) The so-called "guarantee statement" is a written statement promising not to practice Falun Gong, not to go to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong, and not to distribute information about Falun Gong.

6-10-2004