Latest News from China - 02/23/2001

[Beijing] The latest order from the 610 office: those practitioners who refuse to give up Falun Gong by February 25^th are to be sent to the labor camps directly On February 19^th, a Beijing policeman told one of his relatives (who happens to be a Falun Gong practitioner) about the latest decree from the local 610 office (an organization formed to suppress Falun Gong). The decree orders the local authorities to forcefully "transform" all Falun Gong practitioners by February 25^th and states that all practitioners who refuse to be "transformed" by that date should be sent to the labor camps directly. Because of this, some local practitioners have been forced to flee from their homes. Police sources also revealed that the authorities have begun to question all the Beijing practitioners. Starting from those who live in the smaller districts and counties, each practitioner has to sign a "transformation agreement" form. Those practitioners who refused to sign the form were sent to attend "classes," and those who refused to be "transformed" after attending the class were sent to the labor camps. A Beijing police told some practitioners that he had to detain them from February 19^th to March 2^nd. That period of time is considered "sensitive" dates, probably because members of the Olympics Committee will be in Beijing to review Beijing's bid to host the 2008 Olympic Games. After March 2^nd, other "sensitive dates" are just around the corner. For example, the annual meeting of the People's Congress will take place soon. Who knows when these practitioners will be released? [Mainland] Practitioners in a certain Chinese city distribute over 4 million copies of Falun Gong material The Dafa practitioners in a certain Chinese city have used a variety of methods to distribute Falun Gong materials, clarifying the truth, as widely as possible. They have distributed more than 4 million flyers in last few months alone. The flyers can be seen everywhere in governmental offices, shopping centers, and residential neighborhoods in the city and the surrounding suburbs. Because of these flyers, many people have changed their opinions on Falun Gong and begun to see through the crimes committed by Jiang Zemin in persecuting Falun Gong practitioners. The following are a few real-life examples:

1. Even though his wife is a practitioner, a retired governmental official had not supported Falun Gong in the past. After reading the materials containing the true facts, his view on Falun Gong changed. He was arrested and spent one month in a local detention center for personally distributing Falun Gong flyers.
2. An official at a certain local company is in charge of "transforming" Falun Gong practitioners. He was moved by the spirit of Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance, and started to distribute Falun Gong material along with the practitioners that he was supposed to "transform."
3. A Falun Gong practitioner goes out to clear the road in front of her apartment building every time after it snows, and her actions touched her neighbors. One neighbor knew that she had Falun Gong material in her possession, and went to see her, "Give me some flyers. I am not afraid of them. I will help you hand them out."
4. Every time when a certain policeman catches practitioners distributing Falun Gong material, he always takes the material from the hands of the practitioners and reads them carefully before fulfilling his duty.
5. A taxi-driver told one of his passengers, "Do you know whether the Tiananmen Self-Immolation Episode is real or not? I have some doubts."
6. A manager at a certain local company made a bet with a reporter, "I bet that the reputation of Falun Gong will be cleared one day. If you do not believe me, why don't we wait and see?"

As people see through the lies, they are gradually beginning to recognize the true nature of Jiang Zemin. [Northern China] The local practitioners use a variety of methods to tell people the truth about Falun Gong One day shortly after the Chinese New Year's Day, the Falun Gong practitioners in a certain county in northern China worked together to clarify the truth about Falun Gong to the local people. Some practitioners distributed Falun Gong flyers in nearby villages. The flyers listed the many holes in the media reports of the Tiananmen Self-Immolation Incident. Some practitioners hung hand-written Falun Gong banners on the trees near the major roads. The courageous action of the Falun Gong practitioners disturbed the local officials a great deal. At this time, this kind of effort to clarify the truth about Falun Gong is gaining more and more momentum. Even though they do not dare to say anything in public, many local residents support Falun Gong in private. In their hearts, they know what is really going on. [Mainland China] There are consequences for good deeds and bad deeds According to some police sources, in the recent days, many policemen who willingly follow the orders of Jiang Zemin in persecuting Falun Gong practitioners have begun to experience physical and mental problems. A policewoman who has beaten many female practitioners began to experience a great deal of pain in her arms. She has visited many hospitals and been examined by many specialists, but nobody could figure out the cause of her pain. She has tried many different types of treatment, including taking shots and oral medication, heat therapy and acupuncture, but nothing seems to work. Other policemen have experienced similar health problems. [Southern China] Some journalists figure out the truth behind the "Tiananmen Self-Immolation Incident" Shortly after the "Tiananmen Self-Immolation Incident" took place, the editors and reporters at a major newspaper in Southern China initially were deceived by the propaganda and spoke out against Falun Gong. But a while later, they began to receive some emails through their internal computer system (linked to the Internet), which described some of the suspicious circumstances behind the "Self-Immolation" incident. After reading the emails, they started to experience some doubts. They used their professional training as journalists to examine the media reports with a critical eye, and finally began to question the actions of the government in suppressing Falun Gong. Some of them even openly said that they wanted to read the Falun Gong books. [Beijing] The Beijing authorities persecute practitioner Li Li Beijing practitioner Li Li was a teacher at a law enforcement institution. She was fired last year by her employer, the Chinese People's Supreme Court, for insisting on practicing Falun Gong. Luo Gan, one of Jiang Zemin's chief followers in persecuting Falun Gong, personally placed her on the "watch list." The police listed her as a "dangerous person" and placed tight surveillance around her. During the past year, she has been arrested and detained several times without cause around the "sensitive" dates. Her phone was monitored, and she was constantly followed when she went out. After she was fired from her job, her employer also took away her living quarters and humiliated her in public. She has spent time in several local detention centers and police stations, and nobody knows where she is right now. The police have issued a warrant for her arrest, and posted a 30,000-Yuan (3 years of an average salary) reward. Should this really being happening during the period of time when supposedly "the human rights situation in China is at its best?" [Harbin City, Helongjiang Province] College students arrested for telling people the truth about Falun Gong Practitioners who are students at the Harbin Industrial University have sent out emails telling people the truth about Falun Gong. In response, the university formed a special task force and arrested many practitioners. [Beijing] Practitioners arrested while at work On February 20^th, a practitioner with the surname of Liu, who is a resident of the Beijing district of Changping, and his wife were both arrested while at work and forced to attend a "transformation" class. There is no one around to care for the couple's child, who is still in elementary school. [Hanchuan City, Hubei Province] A partial list of Hanchuan practitioners who have been sent to the labor camps Ding Jinmei, male, in his 60s, was arrested twice for going to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong. He was forced to pay fines totaling several thousand Yuan and sentenced to three years at the labor camps. His son and daughter are both being detained for going to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong. His son-in-law has been sentenced to one and a half years at the labor camps for distributing Falun Gong truth-clarifying material. Guo Zhengpei, male, in his 40s, was the head of the Xiaohe County Communist Party. He was sentenced to three years at the Shayang Labor Camp for going to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong. Wang Jiangang, male, in his 20s, was sentenced to two years at the labor camps for going to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong on several occasions. Tu Wangping, female, in her 30s, was sentenced to one year at the Shayang Labor Camp for going to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong on several occasions and bringing other practitioners to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong. Wang Taoxiang, female, 60, was sentenced to one year at the labor camps for going to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong on several occasions. Li Lawa, Xu Yiming, and Huang Xiue were sentenced to one and a half years at the labor camps each. Li Lixia and Zhou Jiaomei were sentenced to one year at the labor camps. Li Huazhi, male, in his 50s, was arrested in Beijing for holding an appeal for Falun Gong. He was illegally detained in Beijing for more than a month. While he was being detained in Beijing, the police used a variety of methods to torture him, including hammering nails into his palms. He was then sent back to the city of Hanchuan and received further inhumane treatment. He was originally sentenced to serve time at the Shayang Labor Camp, but his health has deteriorated so much that the labor camp refused to take him. However, the police still refuse to release him, and he is being detained at the local detention center. Huang Xingying, female, in her 30s, went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong on several occasions. The last time that she was there, she was arrested and sent to the Hubei Provincial Office to Beijing. While she was there, a vicious policeman named Li Cuifa beat her so severely that she could not move around at all. She has been sentenced to one and a half years at the labor camps. Liu Wannian, male, in his 60s, went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong on several occasions. The Beijing police brutally beat him, and tortured him with a variety of cruel methods. After he was sent back to Hanchuan, he was sentenced to one and a half years at the labor camps. Policemen responsible for these brutal acts: Wang Xinlong, Liu Jixiang, Li Cuifa, all males in their 30s, working in the Political Security Division of Hanchuan Police Department. [Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province] The police arrest practitioner Yu Mingzhu Several days ago, the police came to the home of practitioner Yu Mingzhu in the middle of the night and turned her home upside down. They searched through every single drawer and container, including her purse, and did not leave until daybreak. A while later, they came back and took away Yu Mingzhu. Nobody knows where she is being held right now. Yu Mingzhu used to be a volunteer assistant at the practice site located in the Guangzhou Land Surveying Bureau. After the government began to suppress Falun Gong, the police have been continuously harassing her. [Anqiu City, Shandong Province] The local police torture Falun Gong practitioners Every day, Cheng Shuping (the head of the Political Security Division of the Anqiu Police Department) and Zhang Yuanting (the deputy head of the Anqiu Police Department Detention Center) force-feed those practitioners who are conducting hunger strikes to protest their illegal detention. They mix together three small spoons of concentrated milk powder, a handful of salt, and a bunch of medicine tablets to produce a green-colored concoction. After the force-feeding, the practitioners experienced a painful tightening of their stomachs, numbness in their hands and feet, and cramps. Some practitioners throw up after they are force-fed, and the vomit is collected and forced down their throats again. Each force-feeding session lasts as long as five hours. Practitioners Du Tiening and Song Yanshan have been force-fed so many times that their noses are filled with blood. Since February 3^rd, the policemen have inserted feeding tubes directly into the stomachs of the two practitioners 24 hours a day, while handcuffing their hands to their backs. The practitioners are being subjected to the most cruel and inhumane torture. To the evil people who are persecuting Falun Gong practitioners, do you not know the ancient laws of "Righteousness will never be suppressed by evil," and "There are consequences for good deeds and bad deeds?" Cheng Shuping (the head of the Political Security Division of the Anqiu Police Department), home phone number: 86-536-4261009. Zhang Yuanting (the deputy head of the Anqiu Police Department Detention Center) home phone: [phone]. [Anqiu City, Shandong Province] The crimes committed by Anqiu elementary teacher Liu Haoquan Liu Haoquan is a teacher at the Zhiban Village Elementary School in the township of Lingwu, Anqiu City. Seeking personal gain and job security, he has set aside his own conscience and actively participated in the persecution of local Falun Gong practitioners. Since December of 2000, he has volunteered to assist the local police department and broken into the homes of many practitioners. He tries to force practitioners to give up Falun Gong and sends those practitioners who refuse to give up Falun Gong to the local prison. Chen Zhenyu, the wife of Liu Hanquan, is a kindergarten teacher in the township of Lingwu. Their home phone number is 86-536-4772015, and his pager number is 86-1921590456.