Mar 02, 2004

The Xinhua website recently posted a vague news item claiming that, after an open trial, the First Intermediary Court of Chongqing sentenced five defendants to prison terms ranging from five to 14 years. Purportedly, their crime was that lying about the treatment of a Chongqing University graduate student who was raped and murdered in the Shapingba District Detention Center for practicing Falun Gong. They posted the story on a Falun Gong website called Clearwisdom.net.

It is curious that the reporter, Huang Huo, said nothing about the trial itself, and presented none of the arguments that led the judge to believe that the five defendants, Chen Shuming, Yuan Qiuyan, Li Jian, Ying Yan, Lu Zhengqi, lied about a person named, "Wei" and her family. Also, why was the victim's full name omitted? Does the reporter fear that readers will investigate and then doubt the veracity of the report?

Since the beginning of the Chinese government's crackdown on Falun Gong, Xinhua's reporting on issues concerning Falun Gong has become more and more unbelievable. From the vagueness of the article, one can only surmise that there was indeed an incident that took place that involved a Falun Gong practitioner named Wei and that news of this incident did actually find its way through the information blockades set up by the government. It then seems that the authorities resorted to the court system to impose heavy sentences on those involved to cover up the terrible truth.

Out of curiosity, I did a Google search using "Chongqing University," "Shapingba," and "Falun Gong" as keywords. Strangely enough, the first article I found was entitled "Investigation Report on the Vicious Rape and Persecution of Wei Xingyan, a 28-Year-Old Graduate Student, by the Chinese Police (IR 2003-06-06)." This report was much more detailed and altogether more credible than the Xinhua version. It reported that, Wei Xingyan, a third-year graduate student studying towards a Master's degree in high voltage power transmission, was arrested on May 11, 2003. She was suspected of launching balloons, to which were attached Falun Gong banners, in honor of the May 13 World Falun Dafa Day, ont the Chongching University campus. She was sent to the Shapingba District "610 Office" for interrogation. Later, she was sent to the Baihelin Detention Center. During this investigation, trying to conceal their apparent complicity, Chongqing University officials lied and denied that Wei had ever attended their school.

On the evening of May 13, the police in the detention center ordered two female inmates to strip off all of Wei's clothes. She cried out, "You have no right to treat me this way!" Then a uniformed policeman entered, pushed Wei to the ground and raped her in front of the two other inmates. Wei Xingyan sternly warned the policeman, "I have noted your police badge number. You won't get away with this." After the assault, Wei began a hunger strike in protest. The police then conducted force-feedings, injuring her trachea and esophagus, leaving her unable to speak. On May 22, Wei Xingyan, already on the verge of death, was sent to the Southwestern Hospital in Chongqing City. Many plainclothed "610 Office" agents guarded and monitored her day and night so they could question, follow and arrest anyone who tried to visit her.

Clearly, the latter version of events conveys more credibility than that carried by Xinhua, although a reasonable person would probably be shocked by news that a police officer would rape someone in broad daylight. In fact, the low regard for the sanctity of life exhibited by Chinese law enforcement officials can also be seen in the highly publicized case of Sun Zhigang (Sun Zhigang was seized by police who thought he was homeless and beaten to death while in custody.) A Chinese intellectual, Ren Bumeim, wrote a letter to President Hu Jintao urging him to launch an independent third-party investigation of the Wei Xingyan case. The "open trial" conducted by the Chongqing court would supposedly have nothing to do with state secrets and, presumably, documents or even video recordings could thus be posted onto the Internet to show how Chinese courts conduct their business based on "truth and law."

Chinese courts frequently suppress evidence by jailing witnesses, especially in cases concerning Falun Gong. In July 2001, with the assistance of human rights lawyers, Falun Gong practitioner Peng Liang, sued Hubei Deputy Police Chief Zhao Zhifei in New York, after his mother, Li Yingxiu and brother, Peng Min were killed by the Hubei "610 Office." Zhao immediately arrested Peng Liang after he returned home.

After the faked Tiananmen Square "self-immolation incident," Falun Gong practitioners pointed out over a dozen suspicious inconsistencies that indicated Jiang Zemin was content to sacrifice innocent people in order to frame Falun Gong. One of the victims, Liu Siying died shortly after the incident. The Chongqing trial is a continuation of the practice of removing witnesses to cover up the truth.

On the other hand, the Xinhua website report could pique the interest of Chinese Internet users and raise the concern of the international community about the state of law enforcement in China. The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong is likely to archive the Xinhua article and deal with the whole issue in good time. The Chongqing judge and the reporter "Huang Huo" will eventually face justice.

Source: http://english.epochtimes.com/news/4-3-2/20209.html