(Clearwisdom.net) Falun Dafa practitioner Mr. Cao Jiwei is from Zhaogezhuang Township, Laishui County, Hebei Province. He began practicing Falun Gong in 1996. Since July 1999, when the Jiang Zemin regime started the persecution of Falun Gong, he has been repeatedly arrested and subjected to persecution. On the fourth day of the 2007 Chinese New Year, police detained and physically abused him. The resulting injuries are not yet healed. His wife Meng Qinglian is being illegally detained. The following is a brief history of the persecution that this couple has endured.
In July 1999, Cao Jiwei and his wife were taken to Zhaogezhuang Township for forced brainwashing and “reform.” The police also fined each of them 100 “yuan.” In March 2000, Cao and his wife went to the Laishui County government and to Zhaogezhuang Township to appeal on behalf of Falun Gong. Thugs dispatched by the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) Laishui County Party Committee chained Cao Jiwei’s wife Meng Qinglian to a post in the county’s CCP headquarters. Another woman practitioner, who was six months pregnant, was also chained. The police tortured Mr. Cao Jiwei with electric shocks, and the harsh torture severely injured his legs.
On April 7, 2000 the couple was sent to the Laishui County Communist Party School for further persecution. In order to try to force them to give up Falun Gong, the Party Committee staff and police tortured them severely. At one point, deputy party head Sun Guijie whipped Ms. Meng Qinglian’s face with a shoe. One day in the middle of the night the police hit them with a wooden stick and forced them to kneel on bricks. Then the thugs laid a stick across their legs, and several policemen stepped on the stick. The couple could not endure the torture any longer and signed a statement against their will. They still had to pay a 6,600 yuan fine. They were placed deeply in debt before they were allowed to go home.
On April 23, 2002, the Zhaogezhuang Township police again arrested Ms. Meng Qinglian. They handcuffed her behind her back and put her under a big poplar tree to humiliate her in public. They even burned her with a cigarette butt. Mr. Cao Jiwei came to the township government to ask for his wife’s release. Instead of releasing his wife, the police detained him too, and they beat him with wooden sticks. He was covered with purple bruises and could not even walk afterwards.
In addition to the physical torture, the police from Zhaogezhuang often harassed their family, causing the family members to live in constant fear. The injured Mr. Cao Jiwei and his wife decided to leave home and went into exile. His 70-year-old mother and kindergarten-age daughter were left at home to care for each other.
On August 29, 2005, Mr. Cao Jiwei came home to visit his mother and daughter after a long absence. In less than five minutes, the police arrived and arrested Cao Jiwei. They also searched his house and turned it upside down. Things were thrown all over the floor. They took Cao Jiwei to the Laishui County Detention Center for further persecution. After a period of time, a healthy Cao Jiwei became extremely feeble. Despite his weak condition Wang Fucai from the 610 Office and Dai Chunjie from the police department still decided to send him to the Baoding Forced Labor Camp. Shortly after that, the labor camp returned him to the Laishui County Detention Center because he was too weak to do any hard labor. Wang Fucai and Dai Chunjie still refused to release him and kept him in detention. Cao Jiwei was finally released from the labor camp on December 1, 2005.
On the fourth day of 2007 Chinese New Year, Mr. Cao Jiwei was stopped by officer Wang Jinshi from the Loucun Township Police Station in Laishui County while on the road. Wang robbed him of 5,800 yuan in cash, a computer and a printer, valued at more than 10,000 yuan. The police then brutally beat Cao Jiwei, shocked him with an electric baton, looped a rope around his neck, and slapped him in the face. Wang Jinshi removed Cao’s shoes and threw them away. He also stomped on Cao's hands, causing multiple cuts. His hands were bloodied and he had a black eye. Afterwards, Wang Jinshi took him to the Laishui County Detention Center.
On the ninth day of the 2007 Chinese New Year, having learned of her son’s detention, Cao Jiwei’s mother came to the detention center asking to see her son. The police refused and said, “We are not in a position to make a decision. You have to ask people at the Loucun Township Police Station.” Cao’s mother refused to leave and insisted on seeing her son, but the police still tried to push her out and said, “If you don’t leave, we will take your son to a open space and electrically shock him until he kneels in front of us and begs forgiveness.” Cao’s mother was still undeterred and refused to comply. Then the police threw her out. They grabbed her by the arms and took her to Highway 112 in Laishui County. By then it was 9 o' clock in the evening. Cao’s wife and sister later went to the Loucun Police Station but also could not secure his release.
On the eleventh day of the 2007 Chinese New Year, Cao Jiwei’s mother, wife and niece went to 610 Office head Wang Fucai's house to demand Cao’s immediately release. When they arrived, Wang’s family refused to answer the door. Instead, Wang’s wife and son shouted profanities through the door. They even threatened, “If you don’t leave right away, we will call the 610 Office and have you arrested.” They had to leave, but before they reached the end of the alley, Wang Fucai, Dai Chunjie and a group of police arrived. They beat the three women and refused to stop, even after they had fallen to the ground. They even forced stones and cigarette butts into their mouths. The police later took them to the Laishui Detention Center.
On the fifteenth Day of the 2007 Chinese New Year, the badly injured Mr. Cao Jiwei was finally released. Currently Cao’s wife Ms. Meng Qinglian is still being detained.
