(Minghui.org) After serving five years of illegal imprisonment, Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Jiang Zonglin was not released, but instead taken to a brainwashing center where he was subjected to continued persecution. When family members, friends and former colleagues went to the brainwashing center to request his release, his wife and daughter were also arrested and detained.
Family Members Arrested and Detained
Mr. Jiang Zonglin was born in 1948 and lives in the Jinqin neighborhood of the Fuqin Community, Jinniu District, Chengdu. He was sentenced to five years of imprisonment on October 16, 2007. He was previously held and tortured for 75 days at the Chengdu Legal Education Center (a.k.a. Xinjin Brainwashing Center). The 64-year-old Falun Gong practitioner was scheduled for release on October 15, 2012, but Jinniu District 610 Office agents took Mr. Jiang from Deyang Prison to the Xinjin Brainwashing Center. No legal documents were provided to Mr. Jiang or his family, nor were legal procedures followed.
His wife, Ms. Xie Chengxin, and daughter, Ms. Jiang Zhujun, had been assured by the Jinqin Neighborhood Office staff and the Jinniu District 610 Office director that Mr. Jiang would be allowed to return home upon completion of his term, and that the government would arrange his transportation home. However, all of the promises from these officials turned out to be shameful lies.
After Mr. Jiang had been detained at the brainwashing center, his family appealed to the Jinqin Neighborhood Office, citing the fact that his imprisonment was illegal. The office responded with threats and then transferred responsibility for the case to the Fuqin Community Office and Jinniu District 610 Office.
Friends and relatives went to the brainwashing center on December 22, 2012 to demand his release, since he had been held for over two months following the end of his prison term. Brainwashing center directorYin Shunyao abruptly denied their legal and reasonable requests and even threatened Ms. Jiang, claiming that she had been too “active” in rescuing her father, implying that the relevant offices might take action to suppress her activities. Yin told the family and friends that the Jinniu District 610 Office would send a representative to talk to them later that day.
The family received a phone call from Yin requesting them to come to the brainwashing center in order to resolve the issue. At the center, Mr. Jiang's wife and daughter were taken to separate rooms by Yin and Jinniu 610 Office staff, and have been detained since that time!
Both parents and daughter were subsequently illegally detained at the brainwashing center, and their relatives were denied visitation rights. Yin demanded that the relatives obtain so-called “official letters” to allow them visitation, but did not specify the type of letters, where to get them, or why the relatives needed them.
The relatives were told that Mr. Jiang's daughter, Ms. Jiang Zhujun had begun a hunger strike in protest of the illegal detention. People knowledgable about the persecution at the center told the relatives that the center used force-feeding methods and poisoned food to torture Falun Gong practitioners. The relatives now believe that the center's denial of their visitation rights was to conceal evidence of torture to their loved ones.
Brainwashing center staff claimed, “One can't be released without having been transformed.” The 610 Office and the so-called “education center” clearly demonstrated their abuse of power by disregarding state laws to regulate citizens' thoughts and beliefs, and to detain and persecute those refusing to align their thoughts and beliefs with those of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Families' Experience Throughout Their Actions to Appeal
The Jiang and Xie families went to different levels of governmental departments, including the Jinniu District, City of Chengdu, and Sichuan Province, in order to appeal the detention of the three family members. All officials or representatives either passed responsibility to other departments or threatened the relatives. A few staff stated that they would contact the relatives to provide them responses, but no contact was made.
The government compound guard refused the relatives' visitation rights. He finally agreed to inform the 610 Office after persistent pressure from the relatives, but their staff refused to meet them, insulting the families and treating them as if they were in opposition to the government, and enemies of the people. (Note: Classifying people into “enemies” or “allies” categories is a political strategy commonly applied by the CCP to incite people to fight against each other). The families explained the situation to the Appeals Office in the Jinniu District, but the staff didn't (at first), believe that the brainwashing center and its supervising department (the Political and Legal Committee) had the power to detain citizens, since they were not judicial enforcement sectors. However, once the relatives mentioned Falun Gong, the staff member immediately said that he and his department could not provide help in the matter.
The relatives returned to the district government compound, demanding to meet with the 610 Office representatives. After a long stalemate, the head of the security department and the Appeals Office assistant director promised that 610 Office agents would meet with them in the Appeals Office that afternoon to discuss the situation. The officials did not honour their promise, as only staff from the community and neighborhood offices appeared in the Appeals Office, and slandered Mr. Jiang, his wife and daughter, claiming that they had participated in subversive activities. The officials attempted to defame Mr. Jiang, an innocent practitioner focused solely on his architectural discipline, and tried to defend their infamous persecution.
At the city government level, the relatives requested a meeting with the People's Congress of Chengdu and the Appeals Office of Chengdu. Officials either redirected responsibility back to the Jinniu District or didn't reply. The relatives had no choice but to return to the People's Congress and the Appeals Office of the Jinniu District. After persistent requests, two officials from the district government met with the relatives; however, they refused to provide their names, titles or affiliations, and treated the relatives like criminals. Throughout their legal process of appeals and other efforts to rescue their loved ones, the relatives were subjected to harassment and threats from various governmental departments. The relatives learned afterwards that these two officials were actually the Jinniu 610 Office agents who had refused to meet with them earlier.
According to the 610 Office agents, Mr. Jiang, his wife and daughter were detained for several reasons, all of which the relatives found quite absurd. For example, Mr. Jiang's detainment was to “help him return to normal living conditions”. How can illegally detaining a citizen in a brainwashing center help him regain a regular life? Another reason provided was that the 610 Office was following “state laws” to detain Mr. Jiang and other Falun Gong practitioners. If that were the case, why wouldn't they follow legal procedures, show proper identification, and issue legal documents for arrests and detention? On the contrary, the 610 Office and brainwashing center have always conducted their actions secretly. They claimed that the reason for his daughter, Ms. Jiang Zhujun, being detained was “she was not normal and didn't dare to live at home”. She couldn't live at her own home due to the frequent harassment by 610 Office staff and participating departments. Ms. Jiang Zhujun was forced into homelessness due to the persecution of Falun Gong by the 610 Office.
Two representatives from the neighborhood and community offices arrived at the meeting later, and the 610 Office officials gave them orders for dealing with the families: The relatives must request permission from the neighborhood and community offices for visiting governmental departments prior to any attempts to visit the offices – a requirement not found in China's constitution or laws.
At the provincial level, the relatives visited the People's Congress and the Appeals Office of Sichuan. Officials there refused to interfere with the illegal activities conducted at the brainwashing center and the 610 Office. One Sichuan Appeals Office representative admitted, “We are actually afraid of touching the 610 Office's business.”
In summary, the families are deeply concerned about the health and well-being of their loved ones. They have been prohibited from making phone calls to Mr. Jiang, his wife or daughter, and were denied visitation rights. Many Falun Gong practitioners have been detained at the Xinjin Brainwashing Center for five to six years. The Jiang family situation and how long they will be detained remain unknown.
Upon completion of this article, Ms. Xie Chengxin (Mr. Jiang's wife) was released. However, she was threatened and ordered not to contact other Falun Gong practitioners. She appeared to be in a disturbed state of mind and couldn't communicate well.
Please lend your support to stop the persecution against Mr. Jiang Zonglin and Ms. Jiang Zhujun.
Sincerely,
Family members and conscientious citizens
March 11, 2013
Related article:
http://en.minghui.org/html/articles/2013/1/6/136985.html
http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2012/12/20/冤狱后再被劫持-蒋宗林被关新津洗脑班逾两月-266747.html
