Wang Lian
(Clearwisdom.net) My name is Wang Lian, and I was born on April 10, 1974 in Wuhan City, Hubei Province. After graduating in 1996 with my Bachelors degree in Computer Science at Wuhan University, I went to Hong Kong University for graduate study. In 2000, under the tutelage of my supervisor, I began my PhD thesis, which I completed in June 2004. From September 2004 to January 2007, I worked as an assistant professor at the Macau University of Science and Technology. My work consisted of lecturing to undergraduate and postgraduate Information Technology students and supervising two students who are studying for their PhD.
The CCP Watched Me for Several Years
In September 1998, I started to practice Falun Gong in Hong Kong. Later in the same year, a friend and I established a Falun Gong group practice site at Hong Kong University and I went there regularly for morning exercise until September 2002, when I moved. From the time of July, 1999 when the CCP officially banned Falun Gong and started to persecute its practitioners, I always upheld my beliefs and actively participated in events to clarify the truth about Falun Gong in China. These included SOS urgent walks to rescue persecuted practitioners in China, passing out flyers on the street, and calls to China to clarify the truth.
In September 2001, the Epoch Times newspaper in Hong Kong was established and I took on the role of one of the editors, and as one of the two computer engineers. Due to my teaching at the University in Macau, in September 2004 I quit my work as editor, but I still worked as a computer systems technical adviser until Feb. 5, 2007. During this time I participated in the massive rally opposing "Article 23," and rallies that urged people to quit the CCP, passing out the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, supporting lawyer Gao, etc..
My student visa expired towards the end of 2002 but at the time it seemed that I would need at least another year before completing my studies. Therefore I applied to the Hong Kong and China PRC immigration department for an extension of my student visa. I quickly received a reply from the Hong Kong immigration department which accepted my visa extension application but in the meantime I received no reply from the central China PRC immigration department.
Later my mother asked a friend in Beijing to check out my application. This friend met with the official in charge of student visas, who said, "I can extend everyone's visa but Wang Lian's because he practices Falun Gong!" I had no choice but to leave Hong Kong in 2002 and return to Wuhan. Back in August 2000, When I enter Shenzhen City from Luohu Customs, I was detained one day due to carrying a Falun Dafa book.
As my wife is a Hong Kong permanent resident, I was entitled to apply for a 3-month visa allowed for "visiting relatives" and I could apply for such a visa from my local immigration office in Wuhan City rather than go through the central immigration office in Beijing. By repeatedly renewing my family-visit visa, I was finally able to complete my PhD.
According to the relevant law, after five years of marriage to a Hong Kong resident, I could become a Hong Kong permanent resident. Since I had married in July 2002 I would be entitled to get my Hong Kong permanent residence in July 2007. Ten months before this happened, disaster struck.
Arrested at the Gongbei Customs
On Sept. 12, 2006, on a request by my university I went to Zhuhai City, Guangdong Province to discuss a possible joint project with another university. As I was passing through customs at Gongbei District, I was detained in a small room and two hours later ten people walked in; some were dressed in police uniforms while others were in casual dress. After confirming my identity, they blindfolded me, took away my watch, belt (for pants) and mobile phone and took me by force to a van parked outside. I didn't know how long we traveled in the van, but finally I was brought into a room. All the windows in the room were sealed with nails and the curtains were drawn. There was a camera inside the room. Three men were waiting behind an interrogation desk. A small stool was placed in front of the desk. It was apparently for me to sit on during the interrogation.
The three told me that they were from the Public Security Bureau in Zhuhai. I asked them why I was kidnapped here and they replied, "You should know your own problems." I told them I didn't know and after a little while they said, "It is because you practice Falun Gong and, more to the point, because you work for The Epoch Times in Hong Kong."
Following this I was kept under detention in this room. That is to say, everything I did, including eating, sleeping, going to the toilet and showering was done under the surveillance of at least two men. I asked them, "How long am I going to be under detention?" They said, "It could be a day or it could be six months. After six months, you could be here for another six months. It will take as long as required until we think it is appropriate to release you. Don't you forget that we are a very special government organization. We have the authority to do this."
Then I said, "To practice Falun Gong is my personal freedom. Through its teachings of Truthfulness, Benevolence and Forbearance my health has greatly improved, and I have become a very peaceful person. My friends feel they can trust me and think of me as a good person. What is wrong with practicing Falun Gong? As to my work and association with Hong Kong Epoch Times, it was done under the authority and protection of the laws of the special administrative region of Hong Kong. Since I never did any work for The Epoch Times in mainland China, then what am I guilty of? Also I went back and visited my parents in mainland China in July of this year, so why did you wait to kidnap me now?"
In reply to this, they took out a thick folder of letter-size paper and said "We have been investigating you for several years now. Here is your case file. We are a very special government organization. We have the authority to arrest you any time we want. We didn't arrest you earlier because it was not time yet. But we know very well each time you entered China and what you did in China on every trip.
"Practicing Falun Gong is not a matter of freedom of religion or personal belief. You have been deceived. It is the Chinese government's responsibility to tell you what you should believe in and what you should not believe in. You are a citizen of the People's Republic of China, so you must obey the Chinese government."
"You could practice Falun Gong before the Chinese government started to suppress it. Now that the Chinese government has banned Falun Gong, you must obey the government. You must withdraw from Falun Gong at once. If you had withdrawn from Falun Gong earlier, we would not have arrested you.
"As for your work at the Epoch Times Hong Kong branch, you may think it does not violate the Hong Kong laws, but Hong Kong is part of Chinese territory. You must not attack the Chinese Communist Party. The Epoch Times Hong Kong branch is now an enemy organization. We will eradicate this organization sooner or later."
Passing Out the Nine Commentaries Can Lead to a Prison Term
They said, "Passing out the Nine Commentaries is enough to sentence you to prison. On top of that, you provide technical support for the Epoch Times in Hong Kong and enable it to operate normally, which leads to the Nine Commentaries being largely spread. Your crime is very serious. You are also helping establish an Epoch Times website in Hong Kong. You do not have any idea how many people have read the Nine Commentaries through this website. What do you think we should do about you? Execution, or spend the rest of your life in prison?"
I was a little scared. They saw that. They kept repeating that my "crimes" were sky high; even the death penalty was not enough for me. At the same time, they never ceased to remind me, "You are so young, you've earned a Ph.D., teach in a university, and you have a twenty thousand yuan monthly salary. You worked hard to get here. Think about your parents, and think about your wife and son. If you truly were executed or sentenced to life-long prison, how can they survive? What about your own future"?
Under their constant threatening, I was scared. My old parents, wife, two year-old son, and my job...these were all calling in my mind. They did not allow me to rest for even a second, and they kept forcing me to tell then the details of how I started cultivating Falun Gong, and what I had done for the Epoch Times in Hong Kong.
When I answered their questions, I found that they already knew everything about me; how frightening! I didn't know what to say. They knew everything, so why did they bother to ask me? I later realized that they were using those questions to weaken my mind psychologically, and they tried to force me to collapse. I had a class to teach the next morning, so they allowed me to e-mail my University and lie, saying that my ID had issues, so I had to stay in Zhuhai City to have it fixed.
I did not know what time it was and they said, "That is all for today. You can eat something; think over your problems." I had no appetite, and I wasn't able to fall asleep even though I was exhausted.
The next morning, they continued with the questions from the previous day. They kept repeatedly asking me what had I done for the Epoch Times in Hong Kong in detail along with reminding me about how huge my "crime" was saying, "You must tell everything; don't think of anything else."
At around the afternoon of the second day, they did not interrogate me, but instead two women and a man came,and they chatted about family affairs with me in a very friendly manner. Then, one woman said that having faith was alright, but believing in gods is too stupid. The second woman constantly slandered Falun Gong and said Falun Gong practitioners are all ignorant and wild; they would do anything for personal gain. The man bluntly said there was no god in this world, and man must face reality. Making more money is the only right thing to do. They tried to brainwash me for several hours, and then they left.
Those State Security agents came again and repeated their questions about the detail work I did for the Epoch Times n Hong Kong until they were tired. They let me call my wife at around 9:30 p.m., and I lied, saying that I had to do some business in Zhuhai City, in case she was worried about me not coming back home.
Threatening to Kill or Imprison Me Forever
On the third morning of my detention inside a tiny room somewhere in Zhuhai City, the three "brainwashing experts" spent several hours trying to convince me to denounce Falun Gong. Then the three men from the Public Security Bureau in Zhuhai asked what I did for The Epoch Times in Hong Kong. This went on into the afternoon. By the end of the day, two new officials walked in. They looked like they were of a higher ranking than the ones who questioned me earlier.
They looked quite upset. "You should know what crimes you've committed! The Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party attacked the great Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It made the leaders of China look bad. Now every day someone is reading articles on the website of the Hong Kong Epoch Times, where you work. Every day, someone is reading The Epoch Times on the street. The influence is very bad. What do you think should be done? Even execution and dozens of years in prison are [punishments that are] too light [for you]!" They kept repeating this, and I didn't have anything to say in response. I felt that all hope was gone and I was only waiting for death.
Then they changed their tone. "After all, you've gone to school for that many years. How could you believe in Falun Gong? How could you believe that gods exist? What era are we in now? Let me tell you: there are no gods. If there were, why don't you ask them to protect you? However, our government is very kind and forgiving. As long as you're willing to repent, we can think about how to make up for the loss you caused. Let's do this: first, you sign this letter of repentance."
State Security Agents Forced Me to Become a Spy
After several days in detention, I had been tortured mentally and worn out physically. Under their pressure, I could not bear it any longer and signed the letter of repentance against my will. The letter said that I was willing to give up practicing Falun Gong. After I signed, they asked me to add, "I will come anytime when called, and do whatever I am asked to do." This last line made it clear to me that their true purpose for kidnapping me was to turn me into their spy.
After I signed the repentance letter, the two officials smiled, which was rare. They asked the guards to bring me some tea and let me rest, then they left. In about half an hour, they returned, their faces flushed and their breath smelling of alcohol. They said to me with a smile, "We were happy, so we had a few drinks to celebrate." They asked the guards to stop monitoring me. They blindfolded me again and tried to calm me, "Don't worry. Let's go out and get something to eat."
By then, it was already early morning on September 15, 2006. When we ate at the restaurant, their delight was obvious. One of the guards told me, "Did you know? There are so many people practicing Falun Gong in Hong Kong, but our boss looked everywhere and picked you. You're truly impressive!" His boss, who was one of the two high-level officials who spoke with me before, said, "Yes. You started practicing Falun Gong in 1998, which was very early. You are also a Ph.D. and a technical staff member of the Hong Kong Epoch Times. All of the Falun Gong practitioners in Hong Kong trust you. Your helping us would be the best fit. We can meet frequently in the future. You should stop reading Falun Gong books, or else you might believe in Falun Gong again. But you can still do the exercises. If you don't do the exercises for a long time and can't cross your legs when meditating, others will become suspicious.
"Also, you should still read the Minghui/Clearwisdom website; otherwise you will be behind in the movement of Falun Gong, and others will be suspicious, too. You can take a rest after the meal. "We'll send you over tomorrow afternoon. Saturday afternoon you should go to The Epoch Times office in Hong Kong. Next Wednesday, you can come back here to Zhuhai. We will tell you where to meet. Xiao Cao (Little Cao), who will be your only contact. Remember, don't tell anyone about this, including your wife and parents. If you do well, you can receive permanent residency in Hong Kong sooner. If not...You are a smart one. You should know. Also, when you go to Macau, register with the school right away."
Remorse, and Determination to Keep My Faith
As prescribed, I returned to Macau on the afternoon of September 15. The first thing I did after arriving in Macau was tell the school that my problem with Customs was solved. Then I took a ferry to Hong Kong. On the ferry, I cried. It was Falun Gong that taught me to live according to the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance and to be considerate of others. It changed me from short-tempered to patient. It gave my whole family good health. Yet I had given it up. What hurt me even more was that I had become a spy. I would soon betray the good people who worked with me. I felt that I could not take it anymore. I needed to let someone know. I could not really depart from my faith in Falun Gong.
When the ferry arrived in Hong Kong, I told another practitioner, Auntie Sun, about everything. She said I should try to go abroad as soon as possible. That evening, I also told my wife.
On Sept.16, I went to The Epoch Times office as usual. However, I didn't want to speak with anyone. I felt very guilty. Even a smile or a small gesture from another person would make me panic. On Sept. 18, Xiao Cao emailed me and asked me to meet him at the Jidazhongtian Hotel in Zhuhai. He left his full name, Cao Yunfeng. On September 20, I met him at the lobby of the hotel. He took me to a room in the hotel, where one of the high-level officials and one of his subordinates who had interrogated me were. After we sat down and chit-chatted a little, the high-level official said, "You don't have to feel guilty. Working for us is working for the Party and for the nation. It is most glorious and honorable. If you do well, it shouldn't take more than a few months for you to get permanent residency in Hong Kong."
I told him, "I'm really nervous. When I went to The Epoch Times office in Hong Kong, I felt as though I was a thief and felt very uncomfortable." The high-level official said, "Don't worry about it. They won't do anything to you. Just take your time. Remember you are serving the Party and the country. You should feel proud."
I said, I need to do it slowly." He said, "No hurry, rest easy, we will ensure your personal safety. We arrest several dozens of thousands of criminals in Shenzhen City every year. We can make anyone disappear without a trace!"
The Main Task is Destroy The Epoch Times
Next the high-level official told me my top order. "You must undermine The Epoch Times Hong Kong branch from within. Think and plan carefully before you take any action." He told me to spend more time chatting with Epoch Times personnel and steal their logins and passwords when I repair or maintain their computers. He also asked me to steal some documents from the Epoch Times servers.
At the end of September, they were assigned to arrest Falun Gong practitioners in Shenzhen City, so they did not meet with me. One day in the beginning of October, they came to Macao to meet with me. They gave me two USB portable hard drives, each with 2GB of storage, and asked me to copy documents from The Epoch Times' servers on the USB hard drives. They were excited, and told me they arrested more than ten Falun Dafa practitioners in Shenzhen in the end of September 2006.
In the beginning of October, I went to the Epoch Times Hong Kong branch and copied the master copy of three weeks' of editions in PDF format of the Hong Kong edition of The Epoch Times onto the USB portable hard drives. Before I handed these files to the Public Security Bureau (PSB) agents, I deleted all the editors' names and personal information from these files. I also deleted some of the PDF files, which I didn't want them to see, such as advertisements.
When my Hong Kong visa expired, I had no choice but to apply for a visitor's visa for Hong Kong. Therefore, I did not enter Hong Kong for a month. When I met with the PSB agents, including the high-level official, I told them, "You don't have to go through the trouble of coming here. You (the leader) may send an agent down here or you may give your orders via emails. Is it really necessary for us to meet so often?"
The high-level person replied, "You know what? When you were living in Hong Kong, we investigated you from Shenzhen. When you moved to Macao, we went to Zhuhai to investigate you. It is not easy to find someone of your caliber. This is the reason why I insist on meeting you each time. Each time we drove for two hours from Shenzhen to Zhuhai just to meet you because we want to keep helping you and making sure you no longer turn back to Falun Gong. You have been practicing Falun Gong for such a long time. If we don't meet with you often, it is hard to say, but you might start practicing Falun Gong again."
At the end of October, I informed the school of my decision to quit my job. The dean was puzzled about my decision and repeatedly tried to change my mind. Finally, he gave up and told me regretfully, "It is not easy to find someone of your caliber!" In November, I gave the agents the computer distribution map of The Epoch Times Hong Kong office and information about which practitioner uses which computer, but the information I gave them was not completely accurate.
Attempt to Destroy the Epoch Times Computer Maintenance
On Dec. 20, I provided them with the PDF files of two already published editions of The Epoch Times. This meeting was different from the previous ones. In the past, they were not anxious, but this time they looked very anxious. The leader asked, "What do you think is the fastest way to destroy the Epoch Times Hong Kong branch?" I replied, "I have no idea." He said, "You and another practitioner are in charge of maintaining the Epoch Times computers. You are already one of us. Do you think you could make the other guy leave them? If the Epoch Times computers are broken, how are they going to publish The Epoch Times while you are in Macao and the other person refuses to help? They can't blame the Chinese Communist Party for sabotaging their publication! Ha! Ha! Ha!"
I replied, "I dare not approach him. He won't do it." The leader said, "Don't worry about it. We will make contact with him though his friends. He is a problem. We have investigated him already. He has only entered China once in the past few years and he returned to Hong Kong on the same day. What about this? When you return to Hong Kong, socialize with him more. Buy him dinners and chat with him more. Try to find out who his family members are, where they live, and what their phone numbers are. The more information you can find out about his family, the better."
After the meeting, I returned to Wuhan and told my parents everything. They both advised me to escape to the western world. On Jan. 1, 2007, I returned to Hong Kong and applied for a visitor's visa for Canada and Australia. On January 8, I got a visitor's visa to Canada. I looked at the visa and ran on the streets in jubilation. Finally I would be able to run away from all of these troubles.
On Jan. 12, Cao Yunfeng asked me to go to Zhuhai via email, but I didn't reply. On Jan. 21, I finished my job in Macao. On Jan. 25, I obtained a visitor's visa to Australia. I immediately went to the travel agent and ordered a plane ticket to leave Hong Kong right away. However, the agent told me that there was no ticket available until Feb. 12. There might be some tickets at the end of February or I would have to wait for a canceled reservation. Finally, I got a ticket on Feb. 6 to Melbourne. My wife asked me to stay in Hong Kong for a few days to spend more time with her and to get the ticket for a later date for half the price instead.
But I couldn't wait any longer. Since the day I had obtained the visa for Australia, I feared that they might do something to me. Every day I tied my passport stored in a small plastic bag to my abdomen because I knew I would be dead if the agents should steal my passport.
When the plane finally took off and left Hong Kong, I didn't know if I should feel happy or worried as I stroked the passport hidden inside my clothes. I am happy to know that I no longer have to work for the CCP or sell out others or myself. I am worried about my elderly parents who are living in China. Are they going to fall into the hands of these thugs? I am also worried about my wife and my son.
February 10, 2007