Issued by Clearwisdom Net

In November 2007, eight Chinese practitioners were verified to have died as a result of persecution and torture in November 2007. According to initial statistics from the Minghui/Clearwisdom website, from January to November 2007, at least 101 practitioners died as a result of the persecution. This article elaborates on four of the deaths reported upon in an earlier FDI release.

Ms. Liu Jin and her husband practitioner Zhang were released in late 2004 and early 2005 after years of torment in prison for not giving up Falun Gong practice and for telling people the facts of Falun Gong being persecuted. On November 25, 2007, Ms. Liu Jin was arrested again at home by police from the police. Her home was ransacked and personal belongings were confiscated.

Ms. Wei Mingzhen, a 53-year-old Falun Gong practitioner from Nanpiao District in Huludao City, Liaoning Province, after being held in Xingcheng City Detention Center for over five months, was sentenced to three years in prison on November 8, 2007. When her family went to visit her at the Liaoning Province Women's Prison on November 22, they noticed she was just skin and bones, and had to be supported by two inmates to walk out of her cell.

In November 2007, eight Chinese practitioners were verified to have died as a result of persecution and torture in November 2007. According to initial statistics from the Minghui/Clearwisdom website, from January to November 2007, at least 101 practitioners died as a result of the persecution. Since July 20, 1999, the day the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began to persecute Falun Gong, at least 3,109 practitioners have died. Information about these persecution deaths has bypassed the media blockade in China, and has been verified through unofficial channels. This article elaborates on four of the deaths reported upon in an earlier FDI release. (http://www.faluninfo.net/displayAnArticle.asp?ID=9512)

The Persecution Continues, Whereabouts of Many Practitioners Unknown

The former Public Security Minister and the current CCP Secretary of the Political and Judicial Committee, Zhou Yongkang, initiated a new round of persecution against Falun Gong. As a result, the Chinese Communist Party arrested more Falun Gong practitioners. The 610 Office, the police, and National Security officials refused to tell their families the whereabouts of the arrested practitioners. They even denied the arrests altogether. For example, on May 9, 2007, there was another large scale arrest after the "305" TV signals were intercepted in 2002. Most of the practitioners were sentenced to forced labor. Practitioner Ms. Wang Yuhuan's family only discovered her whereabouts 15 days after her death. Those responsible still remain at large. The whereabouts of the senior coach of the National Ice Hockey Team, a practitioner named Mr. Gao Weixi, who had contributed a great deal to the development of ice hockey in China, along with several other practitioners, are still unknown. A senior engineer and practitioner, Mr. Jiang Zonglin, from the Chengdu Construction Information, was arrested on August 2, 2007, and his whereabouts are still unknown.

There is concern about the situations of these missing practitioners. The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG) published an investigation of the Beijing Garrison Hospital, the Jinzhou Hospital in Liaoning Province, and the Guangxi Nationality Hospital. The investigation clearly indicated that the CCP is still continuing to harvest organs from practitioners while they are still alive.

Twenty-six-year-old Song Changguang Tortured to Death

Of the seven practitioners who died as result of persecution in November 2007, the youngest was Mr. Song Changguang, an outstanding student from the Communication Faculty of the Changchun Post and Telecommunication Institute. Because he openly said that he was a Falun Gong practitioner, no company dared to employ him. Later, when he went to Beijing to peacefully appeal for Falun Gong in accordance with the law, he was arrested. He was "illegally detained" at the Chaoyanggou Forced Labor Camp in Changchun and suffered inhuman torture. A healthy and robust young man who was 1.8 meters tall became a mere skeleton as a result of torture. His joints protruded and he was basically skin and bones. His lower body developed festering sores. Even when he was in such terrible condition, the police still shocked Mr. Song with 35,000-volt electric batons and used other methods of torture on him. Mr. Song Changguang died on November 12, 2003, at the age of 26.

The Persecution and Death of Mr. Qi Tingsong; His Family's Appeal Has Been Stalled

Mr. Qi Tingsong, 67 years old, was a retired teacher from the Ezhuang Coal Mine, Xinwen Mining Bureau in Shandong Province. He was arrested on October 15, 2007, while he was clarifying the truth in Gouli Village, Gaozhuang Township, Laiwu City. He was taken to the Laiwu Detention Center. Mr. Qi died only a little more than three weeks after his arrival at the detention center.

Yang Leping, Head of the Security Section of the Ezhuang Coal Mine, collaborated with Liu Qing, a policeman from Laiwu, and several officials from the local 610 Office. They sent Mr. Qi to a forced labor camp, where he went on a hunger strike to protest his illegal detention. Chen Fa, the head of the Laiwu Detention Center, ordered a group of guards to carry out barbaric force-feeding. Mr. Qi's esophagus bled and festered because of repeated force-feedings. His internal organs were seriously injured as a result of the kicks that were inflicted upon him. He was sent to Laiwu Hospital as he was dying. A medical exam showed that Mr. Qi Tingsong was suffering from severe internal injuries, including organ failure and an upper digestive tract hemorrhage. He was sent to Laiwu City Hospital during the night of November 5 at around 3:10 a.m. The following day, the hospital issued a "Notice of Critical Illness."

In the morning of November 6, Yang Leping, Head of the Security Section of Ezhuang Coal Mine, and a group of people from the police station, the Procuratorate, and the court met at the Liangpo Police Station. In order to cover-up the true cause of Mr. Qi's death, they decided among themselves to spread the story that Mr. Qi had "committed suicide to escape punishment" and he was further accused of "using an illegal organization to sabotage implementation of the law." Mr. Qi Tingsong passed away at the Central Hospital of the Xinwen Mining Bureau the morning of November 11, 2007.

When Mr. Qi was in a coma, he had blood in his stool and also vomited blood due to his serious internal injuries. However, even when Mr. Qi was dying, Liu Qing, a policeman from the Laicheng District Police Sub-department; Chen Fayong, a prison guard of the Laiwu Detention Center; Yang Leping, the head of the Security Section of Ezhuang Coal Mine, and a person surnamed Xie, who was from the Laiwu Procuratorate, refused to pay Mr. Qi's medical fees and forced the hospital to stop treatment. At the same time, they deceived Mr. Qi's family into signing a document that would confirm that Mr. Qi had been released from detention. This way, Mr. Qi's death would have nothing to do with them.

After Mr. Qi's death, his grieving family went to the relevant departments every day to appeal on their deceased family member's behalf. No one would accept their appeal. The officials from the Laiwu City Procuratorate said that they would only accept or hear the case if they were able to present a conclusion that was provided by the police department. The officials from the Laiwu Police Department said they would not provide any conclusion as to the real cause of death. They told the family that if they were to provide a conclusion, it would be that Mr. Qi "committed suicide to escape punishment" and they told Mr. Qi's family that it was no use for them to appeal. The related officials even threatened Mr. Qi's family through their relatives and neighbors so that they would stop appealing. They said, "Wait until the Olympics are over."

Mr. Qi's wife is not in good health and is very weak. His elder son works at the Ezhuang Coal Mine and his second son is paralyzed and confined to bed. In order to stop Mr. Qi's elder son from appealing, the coal mine would not allow him to take any time off and forced him to work every day. If he failed to go to work, he would be fired. (According to a government policy, if a parent, a spouse, or a child dies, direct family members are entitled to 15 days leave for the funeral.)

Ms. Chen Guilian Died Due to Poisoning from Drugs Administered in Baimalong Labor Camp, Hunan Province

Fifty-seven-year-old Ms. Chen Guilian was a retired employee of the Jiangbin Machinery Factory located in Xiangtan City, Hunan Province. On April 26, 2007, she was arrested while distributing truth-clarifying materials at the Jindu Market in Zhuzhou City. She was taken by market security guards to the National Security Division of the Lusong Police Sub-department. A person surnamed Yang, a person surnamed Li, and the driver from the Zhuzhou City Police Department then brutally questioned Ms. Chen.

Ms. Chen was sentenced to one year of forced labor. She was taken by 610 Office agents to Baimalong Labor Camp around May 2007. From the time she arrived, she was force-fed unknown drugs for more than three months. Drug-addicted prisoners forced drugs into her mouth and it is still unknown what drug she was given.

On August 17, 2007, Ms. Chen's family had her released on bail for medical treatment. After returning home, she said that she had from a stomachache. On September 3, 2007, she was admitted to Xiangtan City Central Hospital. Her family spent more than 100,000 yuan on hospital fees. Doctors said there was too much fluid in her abdomen and that there were toxins in her blood, so they performed an operation to filter her blood. The doctor said that the operation only took two hours. However, her spleen was badly damaged and there was still too much abdominal fluid. Ms. Chen Guilian died at 9:51 p.m. on September 26, 2007 at the age of 57. Only 150 days passed between the time she was arrested to the day that she died, just 15 days after she returned home.

Some eyewitnesses have revealed that the torture methods used in Baimalong Labor Camp are inhuman, such as injections of nerve-damaging drugs, hanging people by their handcuffs from a window frame, brutal force-feedings, forcing practitioners to stand on the legs of an upside-down wooden stool, etc. Under extreme mental pressure and physical torture, some practitioners have apparently suffered mental breakdown. The current deputy director, Zhao Guibao, as well as Lu Yongquan, the clinic chief, and his wife, who are both doctors, gained promotions for participating in the cruel persecution of many practitioners. They were involved in torturing, forced-feedings, and injecting anesthetics, and are directly responsible for all the incidents of brutality at the forced labor camp.

Mr. Long Lianzheng Died As a Result of Persecution

Mr. Long Lianzheng, 70, lived in Yantai City, Shandong Province. He was a retired engineer who was employed by the Xingfu Construction Company in the Zhigang District. He used to have heart disease, high blood pressure, bronchitis, and other ailments. He was not active and could not even go downstairs. He also passed out often. After Mr. Long started to practice Falun Gong in March 1996, all of his ailments disappeared. He felt very light and was even able to carry a big bag of flour up to the fifth floor. His neighbors all said that he was a changed person.

Mr. Long continued to practice Falun Gong after the Chinese Communist Party started the persecution on July 20, 1999. He went to Beijing to clarify the truth but was illegally arrested and detained. Mr. Long was put under strict surveillance many times thereafter. In January 2000, after being detained for one month in Nanjiao Detention Center, CCP officials attempted to take him to the Laiyang City Mental Hospital for intensified persecution, but their plan was abandoned after his children strongly protested .

On the morning of February 24, 2001, five or six police officers from Lijiaoqiao Station tried and failed to open Mr. Long's door with a master key, so they rammed his door with a big metal beam. They smashed his metal security gate and his front door. Then they rammed a large hole through his wall and forcibly took Mr. Long to the Wangcun Forced Labor Camp in Zibo City. He was subjected to brainwashing sessions while he was there and was then forced to go through another brainwashing session in Yantai City after coming back from Wangcun Labor Camp.

In June 2001, Mr. Long was sentenced to three years of forced labor and taken to Wangcun Forced Labor Camp again. He was tortured by brutal force-feedings and several of his teeth were knocked out as a result. Various other means of torture were inflicted upon him, including the "Dead Person's Bed." After six months in the labor camp, Mr. Long was diagnosed with bone cancer, and he was released on bail for medical treatment.

On April 25, 2002, the police opened the door to Mr. Long's home with a master key and took Mr. Long to another forced brainwashing session in the Sixteenth Xingfu Village in Yantai City.

In April 2007, the CCP officials used tricks and deception to open his door again. They stole printers and other items from his home. Right before the 17th CCP Conference, these officials went into Mr. Long's home twice to harass him.

The repeated break-ins, torture, threats and harassment caused huge damage to Mr. Long's mental and physical health. His old sicknesses recurred, and he died on November 2, 2007.

Ms. Liu Jin from Fengxian District in Shanghai has been arrested again. Before this, she had served an unjust four-year prison term. On the afternoon of November 25, she was arrested at her home by police officers from Fengxian District Police Department. Her home was also ransacked by policemen from Fengxian National Security Team and Haiwan Police Station. The police arrived in two official cars and confiscated 20,000 yuan, a computer, a printer, identification cards, and the family's bank cards. They even took Ms. Liu's electric motor vehicle. Ms. Liu is now in Fengxian District Detention Center.

Liu Jin and her husband, Mr. Zhang Zhanjie, are in their early 40s. Both of them used to work for Shanghai Normal University. Mr. Zhang received his Master's degree from the university and was hired by the university as a teacher. Ms. Liu used to work in the university library. They both practice Falun Gong and follow its principles of "Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance" in their work and life. They were very nice to people and were two outstanding professionals.

After the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Jiang Zemin started the persecution of Falun Gong on July 20, 1999, Liu Jin and Zhang Zhanjie refused to give up their belief in the principles of "Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance" and began to tell people the facts about Falun Gong. Under orders from the Shanghai 610 Office, policemen from Fengxian District Police Department arrested the couple. Fengxian District Procuratorate and court illegally sentenced Mr. Zhang to four and a half years and Ms. Liu to four years of imprisonment. Mr. Zhang was taken to Shanghai Tilanqiao Prison, where guards put him and death row inmates in the same cell in order to try to force him to give up his belief. Ms. Liu was taken to Shanghai Women's Prison. Since she didn't give up her belief in Falun Gong, they mistreated her in various ways, including putting her in solitary confinement, verbally abusing and humiliating her, threatening her, subjecting her to brainwashing attempts, and force-feeding her. Their daughter, then only 11 years old, lived by herself in Shanghai. Later, the authorities sent her to Mr. Zhang's hometown in Shandong Province.

After years of torment in prison, Ms. Liu and Mr. Zhang were finally released in late 2004 and early 2005. Officials of the Shanghai Normal University were afraid of the 610 Office and did not dare to give the couple their jobs back. Other companies and organizations were also afraid of police harassment and rejected the couple's job applications. Mr. Zhang had to go to Beijing to work. Ms. Liu had to take odd jobs in restaurants and laundries. The couple had to live thousands of miles away from each other, which made it difficult to take care of their daughter. Even when they were living like this, people from Fengxian District 610 Office, policemen from the National Security Team and Fengxin Police Station still did not let them live in peace and continued to harass them. They followed the two when they went out; they even went to their home to monitor and question them.

This year Ms. Liu and Mr. Zhang's daughter is preparing for the college entrance examination, so this is a crucial year for her. Liu Jin talked to some people about Falun Gong, telling them the facts that the CCP had been hiding from them. As a result, she was arrested again and therefre she couldn't take care of her daughter. Mr. Zhang, who was in Beijing trying to earn some tuition money for their daughter, had to resign from his job and return to Shanghai. His elderly parents, who are in poor health, also came to Shanghai to help out. The whole family has suffered a big blow.

Ms. Wei Mingzhen is a 53-year-old practitioner from Nanpiao District, Huludao City, Liaoning Province. After being held in Xingcheng City Detention Center for over five months, she was sentenced to three years in prison on November 8, 2007.

On November 22, when her family went to visit Ms. Wei at the Liaoning Province Women's Prison, they noticed she was just skin and bones, and had to be supported by two inmates to walk out of her cell. There was also a blue and purple mark under her right eye.

Ms. Wei's son wrote a letter describing how his mother was being persecuted in prison and circulated the letter to the local people in their area. On the afternoon of November 30, he received a phone call from the prison, saying his mother's case had been investigated and the conclusion was that her injury was a result of a quarrel she had with other inmates. The prison authorities asked him to come to the prison the next day.

At 9:00 a.m. the next day, Ms. Wei's son arrived at the prison. In the visitation room, Prison Affairs Section Chief Zhang Xiaobing told him that his letter had been reviewed by prison authorities, who paid special attention to his mother's case. Zhang also repeatedly emphasized that the injury on Ms. Wei Mingzhen's leg was a result of an inmate kicking her during a squabble and that the bruise under her right eye occurred because she fell while hanging out her clothes. Zhang said that the inmate who kicked Ms. Wei had been removed from her cell and put under administrative suspension. According to Zhang, the other inmate beat Ms. Wei when Prison Director Ma was on a business trip and the acting director did not have much experience handling inmates. Zhang also said that their prison was a civilized prison and the guards there never beat the inmates.

During his meeting with the young man, Zhang Xiaobing stressed over and over again that Ms. Wei's injury was not severe and that they had had her examined. When Ms. Wei's son asked why others had to support her on November 22 when he visited her, Zhang explained that because Ms. Wei was so weak and slow and the visitation room was a bit far from her cell, they just wanted to help her in order to give her more time to see her son.

In the end, the prison authorities agreed to let Wei Mingzhen's son see her again that day. Zhang said, "If you don't believe what I said, listen to what your mother has to tell you." He swore that they did not tell his mother beforehand that she was going to see her son.

On that day, Wei Mingzhen's son, sister, and uncle were able to see her. Below is her own account of how she was treated.

"On November 8, the day I arrived at the prison, I was ordered to stay with two murderers, one sentenced to life and the other on death row. For two days, the two inmates did not allow me to sleep, nor did they let me use the restroom. They tried to force me to write statements giving up my belief in Falun Gong. They also hit my head until I fell to the ground. They grabbed my hair and hit my eyes, causing a big bruise and a bump under my eyes. They pushed my legs apart and kicked me between my legs. They hit my knees hard and beat my ribs. I don't even remember how many times they beat me. They threatened me not to tell anyone, as otherwise more beatings would follow.

"Because I had so many bruises and wounds all over my body, the prison applied so-called 'steam treatment' on me, intending to reduce the appearance of my bruises. Even now (December 1), my back still hurts when I walk. My knees are weak and sore. My voice is hoarse and I am even a bit confused. My vision is very blurry.

"Earlier on when I was detained at Xingcheng City Detention Center, policeman Cui Yue slapped my face about 15 or 16 times, causing bleeding in my eyes. Now that I am in the prison, they beat me again, adding more injury to my eyes. I still feel scared when I think about the two murderers who beat me."