(1) Sentenced to Three Years of Labor Reeducation Merely for Inquiring About A Practitioner's Status
On the evening of December 27, 2000, 5 or 6 policemen rushed into Zhou Fenglin's home, seized her by the head and hands and began to take her away forcefully. I was present and tried to reason with them by telling them that she had a child to take care of, was currently unemployed and that her husband, Yang Chanrong, had been sentenced and incarcerated for practicing Falun Gong. They paid no attention to my argument and illegally took her to the police station. Later, two policemen were overheard chatting, "Zhou Fenglin cannot be released since she is such a devoted practitioner and she must be kept locked up." The police arrest people at will and detain them unlawfully. They trample on the constitution and civil authority and could care less for human rights.
Most likely, Zhou Fenglin did not have anything to eat since being arrested and I had no information about her. At 4 PM, January 20, 2001, I went to the Qingtan Police Station to find some news about her. All I wanted was the facts of her situation, to see her if she was alive and to see her corpse if dead. I told them that as Falun Gong practitioners we are guaranteed freedom of belief and are not guilty of anything. As a result of this inquiry, two officers came to my place early the next morning. They told me that the superintendent wanted to talk with me. I told them to come back later after my child had woken up. After 9 AM, they returned and I hushed my child and didn't answer when they knocked. They got a locksmith and broke in! My child and I were taken to the police station and incarcerated with no warrant or charges.
As an honest citizen, all I wanted to find out was the situation of a friend. I did this via a legal channel, which is a basic right. However, the police throw aside the constitution and the law, and detained citizens illegally. How can this be called upholding human rights?
A Falun Dafa practitioner in China
February 26, 2001
Postscript: The author of this article has been sentenced to three years of labor reeducation without due process, and is now in Xilin Jail.
(2) Five-Year-Old Child Orphaned
There is a very happy family living in Qingtan village, Changzhou City, consisting of the father, Yang Changrong, 41 years old, the mother, Zhou Fenglin, 32 years old and the five-year-old son, Yang Yanjun. But since the parents are Falun Gong practitioners, they have had to endure many hardships. At present, Yang Chanrong is serving a three-year labor reeducation sentence, and as will be detailed below, his wife Zhou Fenglin was tortured to death while in Xilin Jail. So now the boy is left all alone with no one to care for him. Can the destruction of such a sweet and loving family be justified?
Here are the events leading up to Zhou Fenglin's demise. She was arrested in November 2000 by the Qingtan Police Station and illegally beaten. The police forced her to strip down to her underwear and poured cold water all over her. While pouring, they sneered, "How does winter's warmth taste?" She was then sent to Xilin Jail where they tortured her illegally, which lasted nearly eighteen days and nights! At night, she was handcuffed to a rail and prevented from sleeping. As the sharp handcuffs bit her flesh, her wrists swelled. Furthermore, she was still required to work a dozen hours during the day! She was finally released on December 18 and went home. But after only a week, several officers ferociously rushed into her house and arrested her once again without a warrant or probable cause. She never returned that time.
As told by an insider, her cruel persecution was escalated further by the following means. Poor Zhou, who was barely recognizable and on the verge of death, was put on a "confinement board," which is supposed to be used only for capital offenders. Both hands and feet were cuffed to the board making it impossible to move. Left there during the harsh winter, she was forced to relieve herself in this condition for many days and nights. Her death occurred at some unspecified time while on this "confinement board." (The insider says that the death was reported on January 9, 2001.)
An older brother of Yang Changrong got the word about his sister-in-law's death on January 28, 2001. He immediately went to a petitioning office three times, a city police bureau's petition office four times and to Xilin Jail five times. He made three requests: That Zhou's parents in Sichuan be informed, to be allowed to see his brother (whose condition is unknown) and that an autopsy on Zhou be conducted and the results stated. All of his requests were denied, so he doesn't know if she's been cremated or not. Another relative, Yang Shundi, also a Falun Gong practitioner, pleaded with the police to see Zhou, if alive, or to see her body, if dead. For this simple request, she was taken away and sentenced to three years of labor reeducation! Any relative who made similar inquiries ran into threats and intimidation. They were told that if they wanted to see her, it would be considered "participating in political affairs" (being against the government), which carries grave risks...
Now here is a very frightening incident concerning the five-year-old boy, Yang Yanjun. On January 21, 2001, he was detained in Qingtan Jail for 24 hours, causing him to be so scared that he wet his pants. Though it was one of the coldest days of the winter, he was given no change of clothes and had to wear the wet ones. His uncle brought him home the next day, but the damage to his psyche had already been done. For instance, he cries in his sleep, "Do not arrest me!" He frequently cries for his poor parents and once, upon seeing a police car, said that it was from hell. The upshot is that a lively and likeable child is now an orphan. His uncle inquired about his support and education from the relevant departments and was told to send him to an orphanage! How can this be in conformity with any standards of decency! Isn't it clear who is righteous and who is evil, who destabilizes society and who breaks up families? No doubt, history will not treat these issues lightly.
Written on February 26, 2001.
Addendum: Details on the horrific persecution of Zhou Fenglin
Zhou Fenglin is a 33-year-old wife and mother, residing at Apt. 502, Suite A, Building 148, Qingtan, Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province. A Falun Dafa practitioner, her ancestral home is in Sichuan.
She was initially arrested on November 24, 2000, and illegally sent to Qingtan Jail. All she had to wear there were her underclothes and she froze the whole night. At the detention center, she worked all day and was interrogated all night, which prevented her from sleeping. She was released on December 21. As recounted above, she was taken away on the 27th, wearing only a sweater. Protesting the violent treatment she received at the detention center, she went on a hunger strike. Her captors then force-fed her, which made her feel ill and damaged her esophagus. When she complained, they subjected her to insults and abuse. On January 8, other detained practitioners heard her miserable screams, and on the 9th, she had to have CPR performed on her. But she had already passed away; the onerous physical labor and mistreatment by the police made this practitioner prematurely leave this world.
Conditions at the detention centers are deplorable; there is round-the-clock labor, lousy food and insults and humiliations of the jailers. Several dozen people are forced to live in a small prison house. The police take special "care" of the Falun Dafa practitioners, making them work all day and interrogating them all night such that they are not allowed to rest for several days in succession. The guards also punch and kick the practitioners, making them face many ordeals that people on the outside couldn't even imagine. These tragic circumstances are published on www.minghui.ca (clearwisdom.net) in order to encourage more Falun Dafa practitioners to step up bravely during this persecution! We hope practitioners will be encouraged to do their bit straight from their hearts so as to assist Teacher in their journey in this world! In order to allow more predestined people encounter Dafa, we all should do better!
Please read this article in remembrance of our beloved Zhou Fenglin.
February 26, 2001