(Clearwisdom.net)

1. My name is Lei Zhengxia. I was born on June 1, 1946. I'm a male Falun Gong practitioner. I'm a retired teacher from the Advanced Vocational School of Xiaolongkan, Chongqing City. On January 18, 2001, the authorities abducted me and took me to a brainwashing center for forced brainwashing. On January 25, 2001, I managed to escape from the illegal detention and started a month-long life of homelessness to avoid further persecution. On April 11, 2002, the local policemen violently abducted me once again and took me to the brainwashing center. They imprisoned me for over ten months and tried to force me to write the "Three Statements" (1) many times.
2. Practitioner Su Mei from Laiwu City, Shandong Province, upheld her belief in Falun Dafa. The local police officers illegally abducted her and extorted money from her several times. To avoid further harassment and persecution, she and her husband both left home. The authorities extorted around 80,000 Yuan (2) from them. As of this writing, they are still living as homeless people far away from their hometown.
3. Ms. Zhao Xuemei is an honored "Outstanding Teacher" in Weifang City, Shandong Province. The authorities illegally abducted her on March 14, 2002, and took her to the "conversion class" (3) at the Industrial Cadres School to "convert" her. Not only did she lose her basic rights of freedom, but her salary was also withheld starting from April of 2002. Moreover, they extorted from her 3,000 Yuan in the name of "conversion fees." Under both the mental and financial persecution, Ms. Zhao regained her former illnesses, which had once been cured after she began the practice of Falun Gong. After Ms. Zhao returned home, the authorities continued to monitor and harass her. She was forced to leave home to avoid further persecution. In October of 2002, police officers managed to find her and then arrest her. They first imprisoned her in the Kuiwen Detention Center, and then moved her to the Weicheng Detention Center. They brutally force-fed her after Ms. Zhao went on a hunger strike to protest the detention. Later they sent her to another brainwashing class. Ms. Zhao continued her hunger strike in protest. After thirteen days of being on a hunger strike, she was on the verge of collapse and was finally released. It has been two years since the authorities have deprived Ms. Zhao of her right to work as a teacher.
4. I am Yang Suhong, a resident of Kunmin City, Yunnan Province. I am twenty-three years old and am physically disabled. I used to suffer from tuberculosis, peritonitis, leukemia, and terminal osteocarcinoma (bone cancer). I was very fortunate to get to know Falun Dafa. Since I started to practice Falun Dafa, all of the symptoms of my illnesses subsequently disappeared. Because of my firm belief in Falun Dafa, the police officers searched my home several times in 2002. The authorities from the Association of the Disabled, the security officers at the local school, and some teachers all talked to me, trying to persuade me to give up my cultivation practice. The police officers and the authorities from the local "610 Office" (4) frequently came over to my home to harass me.
5. Practitioner Xiao Zujun from the city of Suining, Sichuan Province, went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Dafa. Later, the authorities illegally detained him twice and imprisoned him in a forced labor camp for one year. Furthermore, they fined him 9,600 Yuan for his practice of Falun Gong. Another practitioner, Ms. Wang Jifang, was also involved in clarifying the facts of the persecution and appealing for Falun Dafa. As a result, the authorities abducted her and detained her many times. Police officers from the local police station searched her home five times. They tapped her telephone, monitored her at night, and dispatched others to follow her during the day. Then they illegally sentenced her to two years of imprisonment in forced labor camps.
6. I am Zhao Wenshan and I am from Qiqihar City, Heilongjiang Province. Both my wife and I used to suffer from numerous illnesses, but all of them disappeared after we practiced Falun Dafa. In May of 2002, the authorities from the "610 Office," together with the officers from the local police station, broke into our house and abducted the four members of my family. They abducted my wife, Wang Xiuzhen, and imprisoned her for half a month in the No.2 Detention Center. I was imprisoned also for half a month in the Detention Center of the Angxi District. That incident happened in the rice cultivation season when we had just bought the rice seedlings. Obviously, when we were released and returned home, all of the seedlings had perished. This has created a tremendous financial loss to us. As a result, we had to borrow money from our relatives to survive the rest of the year. Later the authorities frequently came to my home to harass us. Therefore I was forced to leave home to avoid further persecution.

Notes --

(1) Practitioners are coerced under brainwashing and torture to write these as proof that they have given up their belief. Created by the "610 Office," the three statements consist of a letter of repentance, a guarantee to never again practice Falun Gong, and a list of names and addresses of all family members, friends and acquaintances who are practitioners.

(2) 500 Yuan is the average monthly income for an urban worker in China.

(3) A "conversion class" is a series of brainwashing sessions employing violent attacks such as beatings and electric shocks to force practitioners to give up their belief.

(4) The "610 Office" is an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems.