Falun Gong Human Rights Newsletter

June 2004

Dear Reader:

This issue of our Newsletter focuses on the Chinese government's severe persecution of Falun Gong practitioners and their families.

The Chinese government's genocide against Falun Gong has continued for nearly five years. Throughout this time the range of targeted victims has gone beyond the hundreds of thousands of murdered, detained and tortured Falun Gong practitioners to include their family, friends and co-workers.

The Chinese authorities regularly expel the children of Falun Gong practitioners from school, deny family members the right to visit their loved ones in detention, extort money from families, pressure spouses to divorce practitioners, and detain family members until they turn in a practitioner the authorities cannot hunt down. Countless husbands and wives have been arbitrarily detained and illegally sentenced to labor camps, leaving their children to fend for themselves. In many cases, after seeing the mangled and tortured body of their once-healthy son or daughter, the elderly parents of practitioners become depressed and pass away from grief. Since July 1999, hundreds of thousands of previously happy families in China have been torn apart, devastated, and decimated.

The cases in this newsletter, many of which have been submitted to the United Nations, highlight this persecution of entire families, though they represent only a very small fraction of the reports we receive.

Those who send this information from inside China do so at great personal risk. We ask only that you review this information, convey the urgency of the situation to your colleagues, and help end this senseless onslaught.

Thank you for your kind attention.

The Falun Gong Human Rights Working Group Table of Contents:

• Police Detained Wang Shuimei as a Hostage for Eleven Months in an Attempt to Arrest Her Husband
• Healthy Young Woman Tortured until Mental Collapse For Her Belief in Falun Gong
• "Mom and Dad, Please Come Back Home Soon"
• Three Sisters Brutally Persecuted for Practicing Falun Gong; One is on the Verge of Death
• Middle School Teacher Jailed, Husband Arrested, Child Becomes Homeless
• Xiao Guiying Abused by Her Husband for Her Belief and Tortured to Death in a Mental Hospital
• The Unrelenting Persecution of Cheng's Family

Ms. Wang Shuimei, female, is a resident of Qinhuangdao City, Hebei Province.

Since China's government started persecuting Falun Gong in 1999, Ms. Wang's husband, Mr. Dong Junming, has been arbitrarily detained many times for practicing Falun Gong. In the summer of 2002, Mr. Dong had no choice but to leave his home, to avoid further persecution. In an attempt to arrest Mr. Dong, on September 30, 2002, the city's "610 Office" and the head of the First Division of the City Police Station, Wang Xianzeng, broke into Ms. Wang's home. Ms. Wang was holding her three-year-old daughter, so Wang Xianzeng snatched the frightened child away from her. While the child watched, the police grabbed hold of Ms. Wang's hair, verbally abused her, and handcuffed her from behind. They dragged her to the living room and stuffed a towel in her mouth to silence her. She spit the towel out. Then Wang Xianzeng stuffed it into her mouth again, using a stainless steel soup ladle. They ripped out a lot of her hair, and blood dripped onto her clothes. Ms. Wang was then sent to the Changli brainwashing center in Qinhuangdao City, where she was held hostage because the police could not find her husband. She was not released until August 29, 2003, eleven months later.

During her detention, she went on hunger strikes to protest the detention, and was force-fed as a result. Because of the rough insertion of the force-feeding tubes through her nose, her nose bled profusely.

During her mother's detention, Ms. Wang's three-year-old daughter had to live with her grandparents. Since she witnessed her mother's violent arrest, she has suffered severe emotional trauma. She often screams in her sleep and awakens from nightmares.

In June 2003, Ms. Wang's husband was found, arrested again, and sent to the Hehuakeng Labor Camp in Tangshan City, Hebei Province.

Before the persecution

After release from the Brainwashing Center

Ms. Zhu Xia, 32, is a resident of Chengdu City, Sichuan Province. Address: Apt. 1, Unit 3, Building 4, 5 Jinrong Road, Guangrong District, Chengdu City, Sichuan Province. Tel: +86-28-7643584.

Since July 1999, Ms. Zhu has repeatedly been arbitrarily detained for practicing Falun Gong, including during her pregnancy and while she was nursing. In January 2001, when Ms. Zhu went to Tiananmen Square to appeal to the government, a policeman beat her and hit her eight-month-old baby with a baton. The next day, a Chengdu government official whipped the baby with a leather belt. On August 15, 2001, the police sentenced Ms. Zhu to forced labor and sent her to the Nanmusi Women's Labor Camp, where she was detained for 14 months. The labor camp authorities tortured her in every conceivable way. Guard Zhang Xiaofang instructed the inmates to stuff her mouth with a dirty cloth. Then they dragged her over ground that was covered with rough rocks. As a result, the skin on her back, hips, and thighs was torn and covered with rocks and blood. Then Zhang and some inmates tortured Ms. Zhu on a "Tiger Bench."[1] They put several bricks on her thighs and one inmate then sat on the bricks, and moved around a lot in order to intensify the pain. Later, Zhang and the inmates took turns grabbing her hair and hitting her head against the wall. Zhang told her, "I will hit your head until you have a cerebral concussion and become a lunatic." In addition to the physical torture, Ms. Zhu's was often not allowed to use the restroom, bathe, or change her clothes. Inmates were ordered to curse her. During the summer, she was forced to remain exposed to the sun, and during the winter she was forced to stand outside wearing hardly any clothing. She was deprived of sleep for long periods of time and was often forced to stand or sit for a long time without blinking.

On October 27, 2002, Ms. Zhu's term ended, but the chief of the Chengdu City "610 Office," He Yuanfu, transferred her to the Pengzhou City brainwashing center, the Pi County brainwashing center, and the Xinlu County brainwashing center in succession to further persecute her. Because of the continued sleep deprivation and physical and mental torture in the brainwashing centers, Ms. Zhu had a mental breakdown. She often hallucinated or was delirious. Even after her mental breakdown, the authorities refused to release her. As a result, her mental condition worsened, becoming very severe. She often cried or laughed at any time of day or night, knocked on doors and windows, and excreted everywhere. Ms Zhu was finally released on April 2, 2004.

Ms. Zhu's husband, Mr. Wang Shilin, who is also a Falun Gong practitioner, is still detained at the Xinhua Labor Camp in Mianyang City.

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[1] In the "Tiger Bench" torture, the victim's knees and thighs are tied to a narrow wooden or iron bench, with the hands tied behind the back. Increasing the number of boards or bricks inserted under his feet creates excruciating pain. The police often use this device to immobilize Falun Gong practitioners to force-feed them.

Yang Family Photo: Fang Nanjie(left front), Yang Xinyu(right front), Ms. Fang Jing (left rear) Mr. Yang Zhu (right rear)

The following is an open letter from two young sisters in Chengdu City, written on December 11, 2003, calling for the rescue of their parents.

How are you? My name is Yang Xinyu. I am 11-years-old and in the 5th grade. My little sister is Fang Nanjie. She is nine years old and in the 3rd grade. We go to Longzhoulu Grade School. We live in the Longzhou Subdivision, Section #4, Building #3, Unit 2, Apartment #1, Longzhounanxiang Road, Jingjiang District, Chengdu City, Sichuan Province.

We once had a happy family of five - grandfather, father, mother, sister, and me. My parents were both laid-off. To support our family, they took to peddling vegetables. They worked very hard and endured a lot of pressure. My mom was always sick with something. In 1995, my mother started to practice Falun Gong, and pretty soon she wasn't getting sick any more. Then our whole family began to practice Falun Gong. Dad, Mom and Grandpa paid close attention to my sister's and my schoolwork even though they were very busy. They patiently taught us to draw, paint, write, and do calligraphy. I loved our happy family of five. I love my dad and mom.

Since July 20, 1999, however, just like thousands of other Falun Gong practitioners, the officials tried to persuade my mom to stop practicing. My mom wouldn't quit, so they put her in jail for 15 days. After mom got out, she spent all her savings on an airplane ticket and flew to Beijing to appeal for the right to practice Falun Gong. My grandpa and dad stayed home because I was just starting first grade. Soon after mom came back, police broke into our home and arrested her for going to Tiananmen Square. My family was so sad and depressed. One month later, we received a notice that my mom would be sentenced to one and a half years of forced labor. My sister and I started sobbing when we saw the notice. On the day she was arrested, my mom did not want to go with the police, but four policemen put handcuffs on her, and carried her away. Every time I recall that scene, I always regret that I did not grab Mom's hands and stop the police.

Mom left us. So my grandma came from the village to take care of my sister and me. My mom was held in the Nanmusi Women's Labor Camp in Zizhong, Sichuan Province. The living conditions in the labor camp were miserable. In trying to force the practitioners to give up practicing, the labor camp forced my mom and other practitioners to sit straight, with both legs pushed tightly together. If anybody moved even a little, the guards and criminals would beat, kick, and taunt them. They were not allowed to take showers and only had 5 minutes in the morning and at night for brushing their teeth and washing. But my mom never gave up her belief.

In July 2001, after mom got out, my whole family took the train to Beijing to appeal again. A short while after we arrived at Tiananmen Square, a group of policemen came to us. They forcibly pushed my dad into the police car. Then they wound the yellow banner twice around my mother's neck and pulled it tight. Mom almost couldn't breathe. After a while, they released her. My sister and I again witnessed the police's wild behavior, this time at the special location of Tiananmen Square in the light of day. We couldn't hold back our tears. Later we left Beijing with our mom.

After dad came home, in a very few months, my parents were put back in jail again for telling other people about the persecution of Falun Gong. Our grandma had to come from her village to take care of us again. During these four years, our family experienced separations like this many times. Soon we received the notice of my parents' sentences: Mom was sentenced to three years in a labor camp, and Dad was sentenced to two years of forced labor. My grandpa's health deteriorated day by day, both from grief and his old age. He passed away in February 2003. If my parents heard this tragic news, they would be so sad. We were all deeply shocked and sad. Grandpa loved us dearly when he was alive. When we were in trouble, he used his small income to support the family. Before his death, he still had a lot that he wanted to tell my parents.

I hope the government and the authorities stop the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners and allow all children to grow up in warm sunshine with the love of their fathers, mothers, and families.

Mom and Dad please don't worry about us. We are all doing fine. Please take care of yourselves. To the policemen in the prison, please treat my parents nicely. To those kind people who know about this case, help us so that together we can rescue our parents and they can come home soon.

Your loving daughters:

Yang Xinyu (writer)

Fang Nanjie

Note:

Father: Mr. Yang Zhu, detained in Xinhua Labor Camp in Mianyang City, Sichuan Province

Mother: Ms. Fang Jing, detained in Dabao Village Women's Labor Camp Section #42, Dabao Village, Luodaiwen'an Town, Longquanyi District, Chengdu City, Sichuan Province

Ms. Li Huiqi was paralyzed after being tortured at Shijiazhuang Forced Labor Camp.

Three sisters, from Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, practice Falun Gong. Ms. Li Huimin is the eldest sister in the family. Ms. Li Huixin is the second-born sister, a former employee of the passenger department of the Shijiazhuang Branch of the Railroad Bureau. Ms. Li Huiqi is the youngest sister, a former employee of the Shijiazhuang Paint Factory. As a result of the torture, the youngest sister has been paralyzed for almost two years, and the second-born sister's arms are disabled. Their entire family has suffered endless grief due to the persecution of Falun Gong. The details of their story follow:

On May 8, 2003, the police arrested Ms. Li Huimin and sent her to the Shijiazhuang Railroad Police Station's hotel for interrogation.

As of 2003, Ms. Li Huixin had been forced to stay away from her home for over two years, to avoid being persecuted for practicing Falun Gong. Authorities from the local "610 Office" as well as Shijiazhuang Railroad police had been pursuing her. On May 8, 2003, policemen Huang He, Wang Liyan and others from the Shijiazhuang Railroad Police Bureau arrested her on the street. They covered her head with a black plastic hood, and secretly detained her in the Eastern Guesthouse. They hung her up by her arms and beat her for over 24 hours. As a result, both her arms were disabled, and she had wounds all over her body. Then they sent her to the Hebei Provincial Anti-Falun Gong Brainwashing Center where she suffered physical and psychological torture.

Ms. Li Huixin's son, Mao Mao was in elementary school. During his mother's detention, the Railroad Police Bureau police frequently followed and threatened him. They even forced Mao Mao's school to expel him. The child had to transfer to two different schools to continue his education. Later, Mao Mao was forced to live with his aunt, Ms. Li Huijie. The police then went to her home to keep him under observation.

On December 2, 2001, officials from the Weiming Street Police Station in Shijiazhuang City arrested Ms. Li Huiqui because she publicly revealed the facts about the persecution of Falun Gong to the local people. She was imprisoned at the Shijiazhuang City No. 1 Detention Center for two months. On February 2, 2002, Ms. Li Huiqi was sentenced to one year of forced labor and was sent to the Second Squad of the Fourth Brigade of the Shijiazhuang Labor Camp, where guards tortured her because she refused to give up Falun Gong. She was repeatedly tortured until she was on the verge of death. Her family was concerned. Several times they requested to visit her. They also asked that she be given medical treatment. However, the authorities rejected the family's requests.

By April 8, 2002, Ms. Li Huiqi's could barely breathe, so the labor camp sent her to the Peoples' Hospital of Hebei Province to obtain urgent care. When her family members arrived, they could not recognize her, because she was so severely emaciated. Despite her critical condition, the doctors performed surgery on her, cutting open her abdomen, and stitching up the wound after finding nothing wrong. The operation weakened her, causing her to develop a high fever and fall into a coma. To examine her further, the doctors inserted an instrument into her spine, causing her extreme pain. In addition, because she had difficulty breathing, the doctors performed a tracheotomy, cutting open her windpipe and inserting a breathing tube. After the operation she developed a severe infection in her lungs.

On May 30, 2002, Ms. Li Huiqi was transferred to the Third Hospital of Hebei Province for treatment. Once, the breathing tube accidentally blocked her windpipe, suffocated her, and, for a time, put her in a deep coma. Moreover, she developed bedsores. The biggest one was 3 cm by 4 cm, and was so deep that it reached the bone. Despite her critical situation, the police continued to harass her. Five uniformed and three plain-clothes policemen monitored her 24 hours a day, and attempted to arrest any Falun Gong practitioners who came to see her. Due to the intensity of the persecution, and the poor and insufficient treatment, she became paralyzed. She suffered from lung and urinary system infections, and often lost consciousness. Her whole body twitched constantly, and she could breathe only with the aid of a machine.

On December 3, 2002, the Director of the Shijiazhuang Labor Camp, Zhao Jinlong, ordered policeman Zhou Yilin to stop Ms. Li's hospital care. He told the hospital not to rescue her if her condition became critical again. Under the pretext that her term of incarceration was over, the Shijiazhuang Labor Camp stopped paying for her medical expenses. Despite the fact that Ms. Li Huiqi still relies on a tube for breathing and feeding, she has been sent home. The local "610 Office" still sends people to monitor her and her family members.

Because of the persecution, the Li family lives in poverty. Although she was already suffering financially, Ms. Li Huimin covers Ms. Li Huiqi's medical expenses. Moreover, on many occasions the "610 Office" has attempted to shut down the family's small shop, their only source of income.

After Ms. Li Huiqi's story was publicized on the Internet overseas, the local "610 Office" repeatedly threatened and put pressure on Ms. Li Huixin's husband, who is not a Falun Gong practitioner, to divorce her. He could not handle the pressure and filed the demanded divorce papers.

Ms. Xing Yuzhen was a 42-year-old senior teacher at the Daqing City Sixth Middle School, Daqing City, Heilongjiang Province. Her husband, Mr. Jiang Nianxiang, was a mining engineer. They had a 14-year-old child; Ms. Xing's mother-in-law also lived with them. Their health benefited in many ways from practicing Falun Gong. They were a happy family. However, after the central government started persecuting Falun Gong, that happiness was shattered.

During the period from June to December 2000, Ms. Xing went to Beijing three times to appeal to the government to stop the persecution of Falun Gong. Each time, she was arrested and detained. Once, she was detained for 75 days in Daqing City and forcibly brainwashed for 18 days. During her detention, she went on a hunger strike. As a result, she was tortured and force-fed.

After her release, Ms.Xing was forced to become homeless to avoid further persecution. On May 11, 2001, she was arrested again and sent to the Daqing City Detention Center, where she went on a hunger strike for 40 days and was force-fed. Later, she was sentenced to one year of forced labor in the Harbin Drug Rehabilitation Center. There, she went on hunger strike for 39 days. The police force-fed her and claimed that it cost more than a thousand Yuan. They ordered her family to pay this cost. She was released on May 11, 2002.

Since she continued to practice Falun Gong, in the early morning on September 6, 2002, police from the Rangu District Police Station arrested her at her home, and detained her at the Daqing City Detention Center, where she went on a hunger strike for more than one month. Every day the police ordered inmates to force-feed her. Then she was transferred to the Saqu District Detention Center, where she continued the hunger strike. On December 3, 2002, she was transferred to the Harbin Drug Rehabilitation Center, and was later sentenced to three years of forced labor. Because the authorities have blocked all information about her, her current condition in the labor camp is unknown.

Her husband was dismissed from his job because he practices Falun Gong. In the early morning on September 6, 2002, police from the Rangu District Police Station arrested him at home.

Ms. Xing's ailing mother-in-law passed away in October 2003 because she was unable to endure the shock and worry after the couple's arrest.

In only three years, their child not only lost his grandmother and his loving parents, but also witnessed his mom and dad being arbitrarily detained and tortured. He was also expelled from school and forced to become homeless because his parents practice Falun Gong. It is said that a relative has adopted the child.

Ms. Xiao Guiying, was a resident of Yueyang City, Hunan Province. Before she began to practice Falun Gong in 1996, she suffered for years from osteophytosis and other diseases. Soon after she took up the practice of Falun Gong, all of her illnesses went away.

Ms. Xiao's husband, Yan Youhua, was the former Treasurer of Yueyang City. Because Ms. Xiao refused to accept bribes after beginning to practice Falun Gong, Yan Youhua was very hostile towards Falun Gong and wrote some articles to slander it. Pressured by her husband, Ms. Xiao reluctantly gave up practicing Falun Gong. Her illnesses soon returned, and she became paralyzed. After the persecution of Falun Gong started in July 1999, Ms. Xiao made up her mind to start practicing Falun Gong again. Soon after, she was able to walk around with ease.

Yan Youhua, who had several mistresses, attempted to divorce Ms. Xiao, but she refused. After the persecution of Falun Gong began, in order to avoid being implicated, he intensified his abuse toward her. In early 2002, Ms. Xiao was forced to leave home.

Later, Yan Youhua and his son colluded with the police and kidnapped Ms. Xiao in Changsha City, her hometown. After they brought her back home, they kept her tied to a tree. Later, Yan Youhua sent her to the Yueyang City Rongjiawan Detention Center, where she was held for over half a year. Afterwards, Yan Youhua and his son wanted to have her sent to a forced labor camp, but she failed to pass the camp's medical examination. Ms. Xiao managed to escape on the way back from the labor camp, but was later arrested again. After her release, Yan Youhua placed her, against her will, in the Yueyang City Mental Hospital, where she suffered so much torture that she passed away in March 2003.

Ms. Cheng Ling's family lives in the town of Goumenzi in Lingyuan City, Liaoning Province. Everyone in her family, except her youngest brother, practices Falun Gong. In 1999, when the persecution of Falun Gong began, their lives were irrevocably changed. On July 22, 1999, the police ransacked their home, and confiscated all of their Falun Gong books, videos, audiocassettes, and other materials. Since then Ms. Cheng's family has suffered repeated extortion, torture, brainwashing, forced labor, and heartbreak for no other reason than their refusal to give up their practice of Falun Gong.

Ms. Cheng Ling, 20 years old, the second youngest child

Ms. Cheng Ling was only 17 in March of 2001 when the police in her hometown arrested her for hand copying a Falun Gong book. For this innocent act, she was detained for four months. Soon after, in September 2001, the police detained her again for 15 days. Yet again in October and November, the police detained her and attempted to brainwash her into giving up her beliefs. The Lingyuan City Public Security Bureau then sentenced this 17-year-old to two years in the notorious Masanjia Labor Camp in Liaoning Province where they tortured her and forced her into hard, long hours of forced labor and continual brainwashing sessions. Despite the hardships she was forced to endure, after her release Ms. Cheng remained true to her belief and continued to let others know about the suffering of Falun Gong practitioners. For this, in July 2003, the Shuangta police in Chaoyang City arrested her and put her in the Chaoyang City Prison. She protested by going on a hunger strike for 25 days. The police responded by force-feeding her. The Chaoyang City Court then sentenced her to seven years in prison.

Ms. Cheng Yun, 21 years old, the oldest child

On September 27, 2000, the local police arrested Ms. Cheng Yun, Ms. Cheng Ling's older sister, detained her in the Lingyuan No. 2 Prison for one month, and extorted 500 Yuan from her. She was 17 years old at the time. Then on December 27, 2000, the Lingyuan City Public Security Bureau sentenced her to two years in the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp where she was continuously tortured in an attempt to force her to give up her practice.

Mrs. Zheng Lihua, 50 years old, the mother

Over past four years, the local police have arrested Ms. Cheng's mother, Ms. Zheng Lihua, seven times. The have attempted to brainwash her, extort money from her, and have thrown her into a forced labor camp. On July 22, 1999, they arrested her for the first time and forced her to pay 200 Yuan. The second time, on September 27, they threw her into the Lingyuan No. 2 Prison for one month and fined her 500 Yuan. Ms. Zheng remained steadfast in her efforts to reveal the truth about the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, so in December 2000, they imprisoned her for two months and forced her to pay a fine of 350 Yuan. In March 2001, they held her for 15 days, in August 2002, they subjected her to 25 days of brainwashing, and on April 25, 2003, the local police imprisoned her for 50 days. Later, she was sentenced to three years of forced labor in the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp in Liaoning Province.

Mr. Cheng Guanghui, 48 years old, the father

In order to force Ms. Cheng's father, Mr. Cheng Guanghui to give up his belief in Falun Gong, the authorities have attempted to brainwash him nine times. The first two times they took him to the Lingyuan No. 2 Prison for forced brainwashing sessions. Then on December 12, 2000, when he went to Beijing to appeal to the central government, the police arrested him and sent him to the Beijing Fangsan City Police Station. There, they interrogated him, punched him, kicked him, forced him to remain in a squatting position, and shocked him with electric batons on his palms, back, neck, and other areas of his body for more than 20 hours. Afterwards they threw him into the No. 2 Prison in Lingyuan for three and a half months. The Lingyuan Public Security Bureau sentenced him to three years detention. During the detention, the guards consistently interrogated him at the Lingyuan Public Security System. One time, a policeman beat him on his back, shoulders, and waist for over two hours using a plastic tube more than one meter long. On December 19, 2000, the police interrogated him again, using the same method, for almost two hours. In March 2001, the police detained him for 15 days for hand copying Falun Gong materials. In September 2001, October 2001 and August 2002, the local police detained him in the No. 2 Prison and attempted to brainwash him for over 33 days. On April 25, 2003, Chiefs Guo Yaohua and Zhang Yunbin of the local police station, along with other officers, broke into their home searching for Falun Gong materials. They sent Ms. Cheng to be brainwashed and forced him to do hard labor for two and a half months at the Chaoyang City Forced Labor Camp. On September 8, 2003, the Goumenzi "610 Office" Director Pang Yujun, along with other policemen, climbed over the walls of the Cheng family's home and forced Mr. Cheng toattend another brainwashing session in Chaoyang City for 12 days. Despite every incident of arrest and attempted brainwashing he was subject to, he did not give up his belief."

The youngest son, 18 years old

Ms. Cheng Ling's brother, who was only 13 years old in 1999, witnessed the arrests and continuous persecution of all of his family members. He was left alone to take care of himself and to deal with these terrifying events.  

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