Name: Cao Dong (曹东)
Gender: Male
Age: Unknown
Address: Unknown
Occupation: Formerly employed at a travel company in Beijing
Date of Most Recent Arrest: May 21, 2006
Most Recent Place of Detention: Tianshui Prison (天水监狱)
City: Tianshui
Province: Gansu
Persecution Suffered: Imprisonment, illegal sentencing, torture, detention, sleep deprivation, beatings, solitary confinement, denial of family visits

(Clearwisdom.net) Mr. Cao Dong, a Falun Gong practitioner from Beijing, whose sentence was illegally extended by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is set for release on September 28, 2011. However, Tianshui Prison in Gansu Province has boldly stated that if Mr. Cao is unwilling to be “transformed”—to give up practicing Falun Dafa—he will be transferred to the local brainwashing center when he leaves prison. We hope that the international community will pay attention to Mr. Cao's situation, as his release date is fast approaching.

On May 21, 2006, Mr. Cao met with Mr. Edward McMillan-Scott, Vice-President of the European Parliament, who was visiting China to investigate the allegations that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was extracting organs from Falun Gong practitioners while they were still alive. In order to help rescue his wife, who was incarcerated at the time and being persecuted, Mr. Cao informed Mr. Scott of the persecution and torture that he, his wife, and other Falun Gong practitioners in his area had been subjected to. Two hours after the meeting, Mr. Cao was arrested by officers from the Public Security Bureau in Beijing.

Wedding picture of Cao Dong and his wife, Yang Xiaojing

The CCP wanted to be exonerated for illegally recording Mr. Cao Dong's meeting with Mr. Edward McMillan-Scott as well as for extorting a “confession” from him using torture. They were seeking to avoid the attention of the international community by secretly holding Cao Dong's court hearing at the Xifeng District Court in Qingyang City, Gansu Province. The verdict completely confused truth and falsehood. They concealed the truth of Mr. Cao's arrest and the purpose of Mr. McMillan-Scott's visit to China. They didn't mention Mr. Cao's meeting with Mr. McMillan-Scott. Instead they used the pretext of the eight articles that he had published on the Minghui website, the Chinese version of Clearwisdom, exposing the persecution of practitioners in Qingyang, and providing materials regarding the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, including court verdicts, to sentence him to five years.

According to the CCP's own statute, it stated on May 21, 2011, that Cao Dong was to be released unconditionally; yet he is still in Tianshui Prison. According to their false reasoning, the period of time that Mr. Cao was detained in Beijing, from May 21 to September 27, 2006, didn't count as time served – only the time he spent in Gansu Province.

While Cao Dong was imprisoned for more than five years, his wife, Yang Xiaojing, became homeless and destitute after the second time she was persecuted in the Women's Forced Labor Camp in Beijing. She went from place to place trying to solicit help and appeal for Cao Dong. The CCP authorities threatened Ms. Yang and under the ongoing pressure and difficulties, she became depressed and terminally ill. On October 1, 2009 she died in northwest China, away from her hometown. Her elderly parents were in a constant state of anxiety regarding the wellbeing of their daughter and were often harassed and followed because of their son-in-law's case. They fell into deep mourning over the loss of their daughter and had difficulty pulling themselves together again. After their daughter died, they continued to work hard to secure the safety of their son-in-law and get him out of prison. Their health continually deteriorated. Recently Ms. Yang's father became acutely ill and was hospitalized.

Ms. Yang Xiaojing's grief-stricken father after she died

Mr. Cao Dong's own parents have suffered greatly as a result of his two sentences. His father worried himself sick and developed serious heart disease and a cerebral blockage. It is now difficult for him to walk. His mother's health is also poor. She often needs medication to treat her illnesses. She takes care of her seriously ill husband and is raising Cao Dong's young daughter. The entire family is suffering greatly.

Related article:

Cao Dong's Wife Tells the Story of His Detention in Tianshui City Prison, Gansu Province
http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2008/5/5/97050.html

The Continuing Persecution of Beijing Practitioner Mr. Cao Dong
http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2009/2/7/104607.html

Ms. Yang Xiaojing Seriously Ill, Husband Cao Dong Still in Prison (Photo)
http://www.clearwisdom.net/html/articles/2009/9/9/110683.html

After Enduring Ten Years of Brutal Persecution, Ms. Yang Xiaojing Dies While Husband Still in Prison (Photos)
http://www.clearwisdom.net/html/articles/2009/10/8/111400.html

Mr. Cao Dong Persecuted in Tianshui Prison, Gansu Province
http://clearwisdom.net/html/articles/2011/5/26/125544.html

Mr. Cao Dong's Term Illegally Extended in Gansu Tianshui Prison
http://clearwisdom.net/html/articles/2011/6/21/126163.html