(Clearwisdom.net) Mr. Zhou Xiangyang, an engineer at the Tianjin Railroad Department's No. 3 Exploration and Design Institute, who was arrested and tortured in Gangbei Prison, has been the subject of domestic and foreign attention. Approximately 1,500 fellow villagers from Changli County, Qinhuangdao, Hebei Province, petitioned the government to release Mr. Zhou and conduct an investigation into crimes of torture at Gangbei Prison. Current indications are that the Tianjin Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Procuratorate is now investigating Gangbei Prison as a result of the intense pressure applied by citizens demanding justice. His family, however, has not received a reply from the authorities.

Zhou Xiangyang's family submited a joint petition in Changli County, Qinhuangdao

The Persecution of Zhou Xiangyang

Zhou Xiangyang was illegally sentenced to nine years of incarceration in 2003. In Gangbei Prison, he underwent multiple torture sessions. He was confined in small areas, shocked with electric batons for extended periods, deprived of sleep, and beaten. Even worse, guards tortured him for four months by restraining him in painful positions. They stretched his arms and legs into different positions, then anchored them to the ground with iron hoops for extended periods of time. He could not straighten up after they released the bonds. Tianjin Falun Gong practitioner Li Xiwang was persecuted to death within ten days of being tortured like this in Gangbei Prison.

Zhou Xiangyang, Falun Gong practitioner and former engineer at Tianjin Railroad Department's No. 3 Exploration and Design Institute

Mr. Zhou went on a hunger strike for a year and a half to protest this treatment. As a result, his weight fell to about 39 kilograms (about 86 pounds). He was taken to a hospital on several occasions for emergency treatment. His case was submitted to the United Nations and received international attention. He was released in the sixth year of his incarceration. He finally married his fiancee, Li Shanshan, who had waited for him to be released and who had appealed on his behalf for seven years. However, within a year of their marriage, unjust charges were brought against him once more, and Mr. Zhou was taken back to Gangbei Prison. He has been on a hunger strike since his arrest in March.

His Family Appeals

Mr. Zhou's family appealed to the Tangshan Domestic Security Division and Tianjin Gangbei Prison for his release, but both agencies have refused to accept responsibility and been secretive about his case. His wife, Li Shanshan, wrote a mournful self-account in the open letter “A Young Couple's Miserable Experience: Waiting Seven Years, Nine Years of Unjust Imprisonment” and sent it to the relevant government organizations. His elderly mother painted words of protest on her clothes and stood at the gate to Gangbei Prison because she was not allowed to visit her son.

The entire family was finally driven beyond their limit of forbearance and took direct action to obtain the release of Mr. Zhou and end his unjust imprisonment and torture. His mother sent out two letters. One was entitled “An Elderly Mother's Accusation.” This letter accused Gangbei Prison of the crimes of torture and denying visitation. Prison Administrative Bureau officials simply ignored it. The family then decided to hire an attorney. Two Beijing attorneys first went to Gangbei Prison to meet with Mr. Zhou, a legal right, but prison officials turned them away. The attorneys subsequently filed an accusation with the Tianjin Intermediate Procuratorate, suing Gangbei Prison warden Li Guoyu and prison district chief Zhang Shilin (two main perpetrators at Gangbei) for crimes of torture and maltreatment. For the past 12 years that the CCP has persecuted Falun Dafa practitioners, the government has ignored and allowed innumerable instances of torture in prisons and forced labor camps, and always refused to take responsibility, claiming, “no evidence.” Actually, regulations exist for citizens to sue officials, which require the officials to present evidence proving that they haven't committed the crimes they are accused of, instead of demanding that the citizen present evidence before the case can be established.

Suspect Li Guoyu, one of the two perpetrators in Gangbei Prison

Responding to the accusation submitted by the attorney, the Tianjin Procuratorate made the unreasonable demand that evidence was required. The attorney invoked the law and also indicated that some evidence would be provided. He stated that the supervision department was responsible for establishing a case and conducting an investigation. The Procuratorate officials couldn't refute this and had to accept the suit.

Over One Thousand Fellow Villagers Join the Effort to Release Mr. Zhou

Meanwhile in Mr. Zhou's hometown, many fellow villagers were distraught after reading the account “A Young Couple's Miserable Experience: Waiting Seven Years, Nine Years of Unjust Imprisonment” and moved by the couple's belief in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. At the family's suggestion, many villagers signed a petition, expressing their desire for the release of a good, upright citizen and supporting the punishment of the criminal police: 1,495 people from several villages and small towns signed their names.

Over half of the villagers from Li Shanshan's hometown of Tangshan also signed. People praised Falun Gong in general.Some said, “Falun Gong is so good! Good people are being persecuted, everybody will sign!” A woman read the “Miserable Experience” account and took the article to her workplace, where all the factory workers signed the petition. An 80-year-old woman heard the story and asked her grandchildren and entire family to sign. A public servant from another village said, “I will sign the petition to release Falun Gong practitioners; they are good people, and I could also accumulate virtue.” The head of a village said, “I admire Falun Gong practitioners. They are considerate of others. These government officials today do everything to harm people.”

Citizens' Support Exerts Pressure on CCP Judicial and Public Security Organizations

In mid-September, Mr. Zhou Xiangyang's family began the appeal process with the petition signed by nearly 1,500 citizens. They went to the Politics and Law Department and Appeal Office in Changli County, Qinhuangdao, and Tianjin and submitted the joint petition. These agencies refused to accept the appeal.

Due to the large number of people who signed the petition supporting the release of a Falun Gong practitioner, the news was reported by the Epoch Times, New Tang Dynasty Television, and multiple websites, radio, and television stations outside of China, and the impact was tremendous. Under pressure from Mr. Zhou's family, the attorney's accusation, the petition signed by nearly 1,500 citizens, along with the report that practitioner Li Xiwang was persecuted to death, the Tianjin Intermediate Procuratorate was forced to investigate Gangbei Prison (which has since changed its name to Binhai Prison). Some officials disclosed that Zhou Xiangyang's case had become a “very serious” matter to related organization leaders, and that Mr. Zhou had also become a “sensitive character.” Gangbei Prison is currently under investigation.

Prison Administrative Bureau Officials Make Unexpected Claim “No Such Appeal”

The CCP places minimum effort on this type of investigation generated by citizens. It is secretive about the investigation process, does not practice the principle of government transparency, or “Exercise power for the people, exercise power according to the law.” Therefore, details concerning the investigation are unknown.

Recently, after the Tianjin Intermediate Procuratorate and Tianjin Politics and Law Committee refused to take responsibility for their actions, Mr. Zhou's family inquired about the status of their appeal at the Prison Administrative Bureau and received an unexpected answer: “There is no such appeal.” They did not say that they would investigate the evidence provided by the attorney, including nearly 20 Falun Gong practitioners and Mr. Zhou Xiangyang's accounts of torture at Gangbei Prison.

At present, the attorney's accusation is still in process.