(Falun Dafa Information Center) HOUSTON, JULY 27, 2001 - A press conference is to be held by supporters of Mr. Tan Yongjie, a Falun Gong practitioner who made a dramatic escape from Mainland China to Houston after being severely burned by Chinese police. The press conference will take place in Room S732 of Park Plaza Hospital, where he is being treated for dozens of severe burns on his legs. He has lost all his earthly possessions and needs help from kind-hearted Houstonions.

Mr. Tan Yongjie first started to practice Falun Gong in June of 1998. On the night of April 26, 2001, Mr. Tan was arrested for distributing Falun Gong flyers that urged the Chinese government to stop the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China. He was sent to a labor camp without trial the very next day. During the next month or so, because he refused to give up his belief in Falun Gong, he was repeatedly beaten and tortured by the police. The last of these sessions took place on June 2. Three policemen tied him to a post to beat him. One policeman heated an iron rod until it had turned red, and pressed the rod against his legs in more than a dozen places. He was in such agony that he lost control of his bowel functions. The policemen then dumped him at a fruit farm. From there, he managed to escape to Hong Kong, where on June 10, he hid inside one of the crates in a cargo ship.

After 14 days, he landed in Long Beach, California on June 24. A passer-by was on his way to Florida, took pity on him, and took him along. He was dropped off in Houston and picked by the Houston police, who sent him to the Star of Hope Shelter.

On July 13, the numerous burns on his legs became open wounds, and he was sent to the Park Plaza Hospital. Even now, his wounds are still horrible to look at. He is due to be discharged soon.

China's government has engaged in the brutal suppression of millions of people who practice Falun Gong, a traditional Chinese qigong practice similar in form to Tai-chi. With the principle of Truth-Compassion-Forbearance, Falun Gong is practiced peacefully worldwide, yet China's regime still violently suppresses this freedom of belief and expression.

To date, at least 250 Falun Gong people have died while in police custody, with over 50 new deaths reported in the last month alone. More than 500 practitioners have been given long prison terms. More than 600 practitioners have been sent to mental hospitals. More than 10,000 practitioners have been sent to the labor camps without trial, and more than 50,000 practitioners have been detained and jailed. Countless Falun Gong practitioners have been tortured and beaten by the police.

Mr. Tan is only one of them. As tragic as his story sounds, he is actually one of the lucky ones, in comparison to the millions of Falun Gong practitioners who are still suffering in China. Our immediate concern at this point is for Mr. Tan. He is homeless and severely injured. We ask kind-hearted people and charitable organizations to lend a helping hand!

The press conference will consist of interviews from Mr. Tan Yongjie himself (with interpreters to assist him), medical staff at the Park Plaza Hospital, and local supporters.

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