Oct. 20, 2002

(Clearwisdom.net)

More than twenty Falun Dafa practitioners in Maoshi City, Jianli County of Hubei Province were arrested for going to Beijing to clarify the truth to the government soon after July 20, 1999. They were taken back to Jianli and all of their money was confiscated, sums ranging from 6000 Yuan [approximately one year' salary of an average urban worker] to over 10000 Yuan. Except for one practitioner, who was released some time later, all of them were sent to Shayang Forced Labor Camp of Hubei Province.

Since then, some other practitioners have gone to clarify the truth in Beijing. They were taken back, detained for a few months and finally released after being forced to pay a heavy fine. One couple was illegally detained for a month because of their appeal in Beijing, and both were fined fifteen thousand Yuan each. (The police believed that they were rich because their son lived in the United States.) Nobody was released before paying a fine of at least 3000 Yuan. The police arrested dozens more practitioners around the Spring Festival in early February 2000. Hu Shunxian and Hu Nianxian are sisters. When they went to visit a relative, they were accused of going to appeal in Beijing and arrested. They were badly beaten and detained for no reason, and eventually sent to a forced labor camp. Li Dayao and Fu Zimin were suspected of being involved in distributing flyers, and even though there was no evidence they were arrested without any legal process. Li Dayao was sentenced to three years in prison, and Fu Zimin was sent to forced labor camp for a year and half. Xu Yingzi was sentenced to seven years in prison just because she was suspected of having made some copies of Falun Dafa truth clarification materials. During the period when the Two National Conferences were held in March 2001, more than ten practitioners from Bianhe, Jianli went to appeal in Beijing. Some of them were sentenced to jail, and some were sent to forced labor camp after being taken back.

Wan Guifan, Liu Liping and another practitioner from Fenyan, Huangxie were sent to Shayang Forced Labor Camp for appealing in Beijing. Today, there are still six practitioners being held in Jianli Detention Center without a set term. Among them is Ma Zitang, who was arrested and detained after police broke into his home without any legal process and found some articles from the Clearwisdom website and Teacher's new articles. The local police had arrested him to fulfill a quota to arrest a certain number of practitioners. When his family asked the department about his case, they were told to submit 10000 Yuan for his release. But now the police said he would not be released even with the fine, because the 16^th National Conference of the Communist Party will be held soon. It is uncertain how much longer he will be detained.