Tianjin Man Force-Fed and in Serious Condition While Serving Eight Years for His Faith

(Minghui.org) A Tianjin resident serving eight years for practicing Falun Gong was force fed, after he held a hunger strike to protest the persecution.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Mr. Li Wanbing was arrested in late December 2019 after being reported for talking to people about Falun Gong. He was held at the Hangu Detention Center and sentenced to eight years in December 2020.

Mr. Li is currently incarcerated at the Binhai Prison. He has been severely tortured there. When he held a hunger strike to protest the persecution, the guards retaliated with force feeding. He is now in serious condition and his family is asking the international community to pay attention to his case.

Previous Three-year Labor Camp Term

Mr. Li took up Falun Gong in 1998. When he was promoted to the deputy director of the Binhai New Area Bureau of Statistics in 1999, the authorities ordered the bureau to suspend him because of his faith.

For putting up posters to raise awareness about the persecution in 2000, he was given three years of forced labor. During his incarceration, he was constantly tortured and verbally abused. The guards deprived him of sleep, forced him to stand or squat for long hours and didn’t allow him to use the restroom or wash himself. He was also forced to watch propaganda videos and listen to programs smearing Falun Gong.

The long term torture caused his ankles to fester and ooze pus. The inmates brushed the wound with a dirty tooth brush, causing the infection to worsen. His calves became completely dark and swelled to be as thick as his thighs.

Despite his condition, the guards still forced him to do unpaid labor. Only when he was at risk of amputation, did they take him to the clinic. When the medical personnel realized he was a Falun Gong practitioner, they only washed the wound with tap water without any further treatment.

Just as Mr. Li recovered a little, the guards started another round of torture and forced him to stand at least 15 hours a day. His legs became swollen again.

The forced labor he had to do included making a wide range of crafts, including paper boxes and artificial flowers, as well as making office supplies and winding coils. A very cheap and toxic glue was used for the work. Without any personal protection equipment, he directly breathed and touched the toxic substance, which often caused the skin to peel on his hands.

After he was released, his workplace demoted him and reduced his salary.

His family was also implicated in the persecution. His child was discriminated against at school. His wife almost suffered a mental breakdown. His elderly mother often fell while walking and hit her head. His father often cried because of worrying about him.