(Clearwisdom.net) Wang Zhen, a graduate of Tongji University, was released from the Shanghai Qingpu (No. 3) Forced Labor Camp in September 2003. Because he was severely tortured at the labor camp, his lower back was badly injured. When he went home, he walked slowly and with a limp. Mr. Wang is only in his twenties, but he has the appearance of an old man. After his release, Mr. Wang worked for his former employer for some time before he started working for the Shanghai Siemens High-Voltage Switch Co. Ltd. However, in March 2004, his supervisor unexpectedly had a talk with him and persuaded Mr. Wang to quit his job. The reasons given were as follows: First, it was ostensibly to assist him in his job search (in this way, they said he could tell people that he had not been fired); secondly, the authorities felt that he has only one professional skill. It is true that Mr. Wang does not know much about electrical equipment; however, they mentioned nothing about this issue when they first hired him.

Liu Xianyang is a specialized pipe engineer. His wife divorced him because he was sent to forced labor camp for practicing Falun Gong (because she was deceived by the negative propaganda, his wife is also the victim of this persecution). He was released from detention some time in October 2003. Mr. Liu had no place to go after being released. Early in 2004, all of his colleagues from his department went on a special trip to Hong Kong, but he was the only person who was not allowed to go.

Lu Jinquan is the former deputy director of the Shanghai Huangpu District Civil Administration Bureau. He was dismissed from his position for practicing Falun Gong, and sent to a labor camp. In June 2003, Mr. Lu was released, and he has been unemployed since returning home. His son graduated from university and has not been able to find a job, either. The family of three depends on his wife's monthly salary of 600 yuan [500 yuan is the average monthly income of an urban worker in China]. It is very difficult for them. When his younger sister went to apply for her passport, the staff refused to process her request after they discovered that she practiced Falun Gong. When she asked, "Where are the regulations stating that Falun Gong practitioners are not allowed to go abroad?" the person answered, "There is no reason for your being refused."

A man with the last name of Yang was working for an air conditioner factory close to Yangshupu Road. Because he practices Falun Gong he was sentenced to forced labor. He was released in September 2003 from the Qingpu Labor Camp. Mr. Yang was a salesperson before, and had made over several million yuan in profits for the company. After he was released from the labor camp, Mr. Yang's workplace arranged for him to work in the workshop, welding appliances. Later, the company wanted Mr. Yang to sign a contract agreeing to work in the storeroom. Everybody is talking about this arrangement -- why is such an excellent salesperson being demoted to the storeroom? Later it was disclosed that his supervisors were afraid that he would clarify the truth about Falun Gong to his sales contacts.

In the majority of the above situations, the supervisors dared not say that these kinds of demotions and special arrangements were made because their employees practice Falun Gong. This is due to the fact that the persecution is largely hidden, and the authorities are really terrified of it being exposed. In China, the severe persecution of Falun Gong practitioners is not confined within the walls of labor camps and jails; it also happens in everyday society, where people who do not know the truth about Falun Gong maintain surveillance of practitioners and treat practitioners differently.

The switchboard for the Shanghai Siemens High-Voltage Switch Co. Ltd: 86-21-56035500.