(Clearwisdom.net) According to reports sent to Clearwisdom.net, from January through March, 2004, illegal arrests of Falun Gong practitioners have been more frequent across mainland China. Based only on the limited information available, authorities have abducted at least 450 Falun Dafa practitioners over this 3 month period, an average of 40 every week. Those arrested face brutal mental and physical torture. The most severe occurrences have been in Heilongjiang, Shandong, Liaoning, Hebei, and Sichuan Provinces.
Table of Contents:
Part I
Part II
Since the Nationwide mass arrest of Falun Gong practitioners on the night of July 20, 1999, the persecution of Falun Gong that was initiated by Jiang has been completely exposed to the public. This State Terrorism has been spreading throughout the country by means of non-stop abductions. The first step of this cruel persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners usually is abduction, followed by extortion, brainwashing, and being sent to various institutions for incarceration, including mental hospitals, prisons, and labor camps, where they are tortured, often to death.
1. Abductions (Illegal Arrests) Spread Widely Across the Country; the Numbers Being Persecuted is Difficult to Determine
According to information gathered from sources inside the Chinese Government at the end of October 2001, more than one hundred thousand Falun Dafa practitioners were sent to labor camps. This proves how widespread the practice of abducting practitioners is. We do not have precise statistics of the numbers of Falun Dafa practitioners abducted in the past 5 years, but we can see the degree of the cruelty of this persecution through the 450 confirmed cases, and 100 thousand who are on record as being sent to labor camps.
Below are some incidents of abductions in the first 3 months of 2004:
"Over Forty Practitioners Arrested in Shuangcheng City, Three Tortured to Death, http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/4/23/47321.html).
Ms. Gu Xiuxian, 36, was a practitioner from Zhaoshaitun, Kaoshan Village, Lanling Town, Shuangcheng City, Heilongjiang Province. At around 6 or 7 p.m. on February 28, 2004, she was taken from her home by over 10 people, including the chief of the Lanling Town Police Station, Zhao Yinglin, the town government officer, Li Jiaming, and the head of the village, Zhang Zhifa. She was sent to Detention Center No. 2 in Shuangcheng City. Gu Xiuxian repeatedly explained the truth about Falun Gong to the guards and went on a hunger strike to protest being abducted and illegally detained. She was force-fed violently. On the morning of March 4, 2004 Gu Xiuxian died, only five days after being taken away.
The names of the other two practitioners who died are unknown.
Since February 11, 2004, personnel from the "610 Office (1)" and policemen in Shuangcheng City illegally rounded up Falun Dafa practitioners. According to incomplete statistics, by February 28, over forty practitioners had been seized.
Criminals from Guang'an City, Sichuan Province Illegally Detain 130 Falun Dafa Practitioners ( http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/4/17/47152.html )
On February 23, 2004, police in Guang'an City, Sichuan Province, conducted a massive search and arrested practitioners, ransacking their homes illegally. About 130 practitioners have been seized to date. They are being detained at the Yuechi Detention Center and the Huan City Brainwashing Center of Guang'an Region. Many practitioners have been forced to leave home to avoid persecution.
It was said that the cause of this large number of arrests is the approach of the hundredth birthday of the former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping (in August). Jiang and other high-ranking officials are planning on going to Guang'an at that time.
Observers have said that abducting 130 practitioners in such a small place during a single month has proven that the persecution by Jiang and his followers of Falun Dafa is reaching its peak of madness. It has obviously shown how the human rights of Chinese folks are being stepped on during this persecution.
Total of Over 70 Falun Dafa Practitioners Arrested in Mengyin County, Shandong Province ( http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2004/4/6/71756.html
http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2004/2/20/68040.html)
Around the time of the 2004 Spring Festival, the persecution of Falun Gong escalated in Mengyin County, Shandong Province. The Mengyin County authorities took up the evil slogan, "We would rather arrest 3000 mistakenly, then let a single one escape." More than 70 Falun Dafa practitioners were taken away.
On January 29, 2004, the first day of work after the Spring Festival holiday season, the County Party Committee and government had a meeting to plan their next attack on Falun Gong, and passed down County No.1 Document for 2004. They assigned each lower level to specifically survey every Falun Dafa practitioner, report back with a list of names, and closely monitor the activities of Falun Dafa practitioners. They planned to brainwash all Falun Dafa practitioners, arresting all who had escaped, and destroying Falun Dafa material sites.
The County "610 Office" hired unemployed people to closely watch Falun Dafa practitioners and report/arrest practitioners who were involved with truth clarifying materials shipping and posting. These people also damaged or covered-up truth clarifying materials posted on the electric poles. Employees from every level of the County were sent to Falun Dafa practitioners' workplaces or homes to ask if they still practice Falun Gong. These lawless villains ransacked practitioners' homes at will and took practitioners' cash, watches, and other valuables whenever they found any. The most severe cases of abductions happened in Yaoqu, Jiepai, Tanfu, Mengyin 4 Towns. Some practitioners have been detained long term in the local police stations, the County Detention Center, the Township government compound, and the "610 Office" facilities. The "610 Office" pressured employers to find those practitioners who have previously avoided arrest by leaving town.
The most abductions of Falun Dafa practitioners happened in Yaoqu Town. More than 40 practitioners were seized around the Spring Festival. Some of them were taken from their homes and some were taken on the street for no reason. Some police took the practitioner's family members as hostages in attempts to extort more money, if they failed to find the practitioner. Based on the family's financial condition, the police extorted amounts from several hundred yuan (2) to tens of thousands of yuan from Falun Dafa practitioners. Even so, the authorities still demand that practitioners' families pay 1000 yuan before they are released. After the practitioners are abducted they are asked to sign various papers promising not to practice, to betray fellow practitioners by giving names and defaming the Teacher and the practice. If any practitioner refuses to betray Falun Dafa by signing their names, they are stripped down to their underwear and whipped. If practitioners pass out from the pain, they pour cold water over them to wake them up. If they still do not give up, they are sent to the "610 Office" or the County Detention Center for extended detention.
The extortion was particularly bad in Jiepai Town, where 2,000 to 7,000 yuan was taken from practitioners. Some police even took their family firewood away, leaving an empty house. The police then committed an unthinkably evil deed. After extorting money from Falun Dafa practitioners, they then went to 4 neighbors' homes and seized one thousand yuan from each in order to fan the hatred of these neighbors for Falun Dafa practitioners.
The Tanfu Town police went to Falun Dafa practitioners' houses, but could not find anything, so there was no reason to extort money. They were so mad they conducted sudden home searches 2-3 times. They said they would hold brainwashing classes to get money.
Tapping into TV System to Broadcast Falun Gong Truth, Police in Xingtai City and Shahe Town, Hebei Province React Violently, Abducting 9 Falun Dafa Practitioners, (http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2004/2/2/66416.html, http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/2/8/44894.html)
Around the Spring Festival, Falun Dafa practitioners in Xingtai City and Shahe Town, Hebei Province, successfully tapped into the TV system and broadcast Falun Dafa truth clarifying films. Local police arrested all practitioners they could find. Large numbers were also abducted in Xingtai City and the Shahe Town region, including nearby Handan City and Yongnian County.
Falun Dafa practitioners broadcast the films "False Fire," "Global Effort to Bring Jiang to Justice," and "Falun Dafa All Over the World." The broadcast lasted 75 minutes. Many people saw the truth of Falun Dafa and this had very good results. According to reliable sources, those in charge were very scared. The Hebei Provincial Police Station sent a Special Task Group to Xingtai City to investigate the incident.
Because the police could not find anything, they went around arbitrarily arresting practitioners. Many of the practitioners were from Xingtai City, Shahe Town, but they also arrested some from nearby Handan City and Yongnian County, and sent most of them to Xingtai City.
We learned that nine practitioners were arrested. Many practitioners' homes were ransacked and their possessions and books taken away. All of the Falun Dafa practitioners in the city were closely monitored and questioned by police. Some were even forced to sign their names.
The Falun Dafa practitioners who have been illegally abducted are, Ms. Zhang Caixia (from Shahe), Ms. Wang Xinying (from Shahe) and her husband (name unknown), 3 nieces (names unknown), Ms. Yu Xia (from Shahe), Mr. Wang Xiaosheng (from Gequan Coal Mine), and Ms. Qiuyun (last name unknown, from Wanggang Village).
Falun Dafa practitioners have been facing continuous persecution since July, 1999. Due to the information blockade, it is hard to find specific villains names and other information.
Police in Huanggang City, Hubei Province Illegally Arrest Dafa Practitioners (http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/4/17/47135.html)
On the morning of March 11, 2004, about 200 Falun Dafa practitioners from Huanggang City in Hubei Province attended the funeral of Zhang Zhong, a Falun Dafa practitioner who died as a result of the persecution. Each person just held one white flower and calmly walked down the street. They called out from their hearts to the people: "Stop the persecution" and "Falun Dafa is good."
On the afternoon of March 12, many departments, headed by the city's National Security Bureau started illegally arresting Falun Dafa practitioners, seizing approximately seven practitioners in three days.
Three undercover agents from the National Security Bureau, Wu Sanmin, Li Xiangyin, and Yang Ping directed the arrests. In three days, they led a group of police officers to abduct approximately seven Falun Dafa practitioners while they were working. The following are the practitioners known to have been arrested: Zhang Daohe, Wang Feng, Sun Wei, and Mrs. Lu. With the exceptions of Wang Feng (about 30 years old), and Sun Wei (twenty years old), all the others were elderly practitioners. These police officers did not show any identification; they broke in and ransacked the homes of practitioners, went through things at will, and seized all of the practitioners' Falun Dafa books. According to sources, the practitioners were sent to a brainwashing center in Hubei Province.
In order to avoid persecution, some Falun Dafa practitioners had to leave their homes. The police monitored Falun Dafa practitioners' homes day and night in order to arrest any who left the premises.
Recent Abduction of Falun Dafa Practitioners in Huludao City (Photos) http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/4/16/47092.html
According to sources inside a police department, reported on April 5, 2004, within the next few days there will be a five-day period of nation-wide arrests of Falun Gong practitioners. From the end of March to early April, it became known throughout Huludao City that about ten Falun Dafa practitioners suddenly disappeared.
On the night of March 31, 2004, Falun Dafa practitioners Wang Zhuo, Fan Dezhen, Mu Qin and others who had left their homes to avoid the persecution had their temporary residences ransacked by the police. The police confiscated desktop computers, video cameras, cell phones and hard drives. The whole house was left in a shambles (see the photos). Four practitioners were forcibly taken away. It is not known where they were detained. The place they were abducted from is Block 17 (fourth floor) of the No. 5 Compound for Navy Forces in Xinhua Street in the Lianshan District.
On March 31, Falun Dafa practitioner Zhang Shiwen and his wife, residents of the Xin District, suddenly disappeared. It is suspected that they were abducted.
On the morning of April 1, 2004, police officer Ma Qingbao forcibly took Falun Dafa practitioner Tian Dayong, a resident of the Xin District, away from his workplace, the Huludao City Electric Power Equipment Factory. He is now detained in Huludao City's Detention Center.
At midnight on April 1, 2004, some police officers in the Xin District knocked down the door and barged into the residence of Falun Dafa practitioner Yang Hong and her daughter. They were arrested and their property was confiscated.
Arrest Quotas Given to Police Precincts Throughout the Wuhan City Region (http://search.minghui.org/mh/articles/2004/3/29/71121.html)
After they received orders from the upper levels of the Xinzhou District Party Committee, the government, and the "610 Office" started another round of brutal persecution. They assigned arrest quotas to police in each Town and Township.
On March 10, 2004, local police from each Town and Township stormed into Falun Dafa practitioners' homes, abducted them, and sent them to the Liuji Brainwashing Center. Falun Dafa practitioner Ms. Wang Youmei was abducted by Yangluo Substation police from her workplace (Yangluo Grain Trade Company in Xinzhou District); Falun Dafa practitioner Mr. You Xiaotang was arrested by Kongfu Substation police from his work place as well (Baiyanggao Elementary School in Kongfu); Falun Dafa practitioner Ms. Ding Yuliang was taken away by police from Sandian Substation; Falun Dafa practitioner Ms. Du Yaorang was abducted by Cangfu Town police; Falun Dafa practitioner Mr. Lei Youcai was arrested by police from Shuangliu Substation. Another Falun Dafa practitioner (name unknown) was tricked into going to the Liuji Brainwashing class.
They told the public that the brainwashing center treats practitioners very well. They stated that employees and practitioners eat together, live together, study together, work and play together. In reality, they do not let practitioners who firmly hold to their beliefs sleep. They force them to stand or kneel with hands cuffed for extended periods. They are often locked in a compartment for solitary confinement for a long time. They are very cruel. The mental tortures visited on the practitioners are very severe. They try to damage practitioner's spirits in order to reach their goal of "transforming" them (forcing a practitioner to renounce and defame the practice of Falun Gong).
The Xinzhou District "610 Office" in Wuhan City, Hubei Province arrested Falun Dafa practitioners many times. Most practitioners were arrested. Mr. Guo Chunsheng was beaten to death during his arrest. The killers are still out of the reach of legal punishment (see http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/12/6/42911.html).
During the persecution of Falun Gong enacted by Jiang and his regime, there have been all sorts of systems set up to give incentives to those involved and to keep statistics on what is being done. They have created a "Responsibility System," and "Merit Award Point System," to encourage further persecution. They created such systems as "Numbers of Names-signed," "Number of those who Viewed the Slandering Movies or Exhibits," "Number of those who have been Brainwashed/transformed," "Number Arrested" and even "Number of Deaths" to keep track of how many were affected by these things.
2. Abductions Show the Evil Nature of The Persecution
Right and Wrong Reversed: Sixteen Practitioners Arrested after Shoveling Snow from the Streets and Salvaging a Police Vehicle, (http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/3/13/45989.html)
In the beginning of February 2004, most of the public roads were covered by heavy snow in many villages of Qingshan County, Yushu City, Jilin Province, and travel by vehicle was treacherous. Falun Gong practitioners in Nianyu Village, Qingshan County overcame the cold weather and shoveled the snow from the public roads. The longest road they cleaned up was around three miles. The traffic was brought back to normal.
Pedestrians and drivers gave their regards to Falun Gong practitioners when they passed by. Falun Gong practitioners put up a sign "Falun Dafa is good!" in the snow and told people, "The reason we do this is because we practice Falun Gong."
On February 20th, the fourth day of snow shoveling, many people participated in removing the snow, including an old lady in her eighties and some young children. At that time, a vehicle from Qingshan Police Station was trapped in the snow and could not move. Falun Gong practitioners helped to dig out and salvage the vehicle. One hour later, three vehicles from the Yushu City 110 Police, which was 40 miles away, and the Qingshan Police Station, arrived. Many policemen came and they arrested at least 16 Falun Gong practitioners, including Ms. Liu who was over eighty years old. They were forced into the police vehicles and put in the Yushu City Detention Center. Afterwards, their homes were searched. Because they were Falun Gong practitioners and did good deeds in public, their homes were searched and they were arrested. The Falun Gong practitioners who were unlawfully arrested for their good deeds are: Zhang Liyou, Zhang Junyan, Zhou Qiling, Liu Yujun, Liu Decheng and his wife, Wang Deyun, Yang Deyun, Wang Yuhua, Chen Wenbin and his wife, Chen Xiuyun, Wang Zhonghua, Guan Xiang, Bo Haiqin, Qi Jun's wife
The same night, the No. 6 Division of the Changchun City Police Department surrounded the biggest bath house in Yushu City to arrest a sinister, underground gang of gamblers, and the head gang members were taken to Changchun City. Immediately afterwards, the Chief of Yushu City Police Department, Fan Hongguang, went to Changchun to plead for the gamblers' acquittal.
People from Yushu City talked about these two incidents that happened on the
same day. Local residents all said, "People are arrested for their good
deeds while policeman plead for mercy for gangsters. What kind of law is
this?"
Another similar case happened in Tonghe County, Heilongjiang Province (http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2004/4/9/71977.html)
On February 21, 2004, Falun Dafa practitioners, Ms. Qi Xiangjuan, Mr. Pan Qiang, Ms. Jin Shulan, etc volunteered to clean off the icy snow covered public road on the east side of Xinmin Village.
There was melting snow covering a long section of about 500 meters which made the road conditions very bad, caused accidents, and blocked traffic from moving.
Although many vehicles and pedestrians passed by, no one did anything about the snow. Around 10 Falun Dafa practitioners worked on the road for 3 days cleaning out a long section of the messy snow and making the way smooth for traffic. On the morning of February 23, 2004, they were still working on the road when traffic police spotted them. The traffic police reported to the Tonghe County police. Because of this report State Security Official, Jiang Jiandong, brought all the police from County 2 police Substation and abducted these 10 Falun Dafa practitioners. They were taken to the County Detention Center where the guards cursed them. The County "610 Office" took 7 of them to a brainwashing class, and extorted 2-4 thousand yuan from each practitioner. Practitioners were forced to write the "Guarantee Statement (3)," and quit practicing.
Falun Dafa practitioner Ms. Jin Shulan was beaten and cursed at by Jiang Jiandong in the County Detention Center. Jiang also ordered 4 male prisoners to beat her until her body had purple blue bruises all over. Then they put the heaviest handcuffs and ankle shackles on Ms. Jin Shulan and said to her, "If you confess, we will sentence you to 3 years. If you refuse to confess, we still will sentence you to 3 years."
Agents of State Security Agency are Abducting Chinese Residents and Non-Residents Alike
During Jiang's persecution of Falun Gong, not only Falun Dafa practitioners in China have been abducted, but also foreign Falun Dafa practitioners who went to China to visit, to do business, or while touring.
On January 31, 2003, the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, CNN, and other major news outlets, all reported the incident in which Chinese police arrested an American citizen who was also a Falun Dafa practitioner, Mr. Charles Li. As soon as Mr. Li arrived at Baiyun Airport in Guangzhou, China, he was arrested by police, and escorted to detention in Yangzhou City, Jiangsu Province (more than 500 km away from Guangzhou). On March 21, 2003, after being detained more than 50 days in a single cell, the Chinese media said he was sentenced to 3 years in prison because he "planned" to clarify the truth to people through the TV system. He was jailed in Nanjing Prison.
We learned that Charles Li is being mentally and physically tortured during his detention. He was beaten up, handcuffed for long periods of time, forced to shave off his hair, forced to go through brainwashing sessions, isolated, not allowed to contact his family, brutally force-fed, forced to do hard labor and finally his elderly parents were forced to beg him to give up his cultivation.
After he was abducted, 83 American Congresspersons wrote to the Chinese Ambassador in America, Yang Jiechi, on February 21, 2003. There was an urgent call to the Chinese government to release illegally detained American citizen Charles Li. Falun Dafa practitioners tried to submit an appeal letter and petition with 10 thousand signatures to the Chinese Embassy on March 7, 2003, but it was rejected. The American government accepted the petition.
The illegal abduction in China of both Chinese citizens and foreign citizens has been widely condemned by international human rights organizations, non-governmental organizations, and people concerned with justice. An American congress member said, "This incident is a result of the Chinese Government systematically persecuting Falun Gong practitioners." The Falun Dafa practitioners' efforts to rescue him are continuing in America and around the world, but currently, the Chinese government has had him in detention for 15 months.
Taiwanese Citizen is Detained for 96 Hours in China's Jiangxi Province - Authorities Try to Recruit Her as a Spy, (http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/4/28/47477.html)
On January 29, 2004, Taiwan resident Ms. Li Xinju went to her original hometown in Jiangxi Province to celebrate her mother's birthday. As soon as she stepped off the airplane, she was seized by Nanchang City State Security Agents and detained for 96 hours. Nanchang National Security Bureau police tried to force her to become a special agent for them to collect information on Falun Gong activities in Taiwan and other countries, and on the Taiwan elections as well.
Many cases around the world have been exposed on the Clearwisdom website of practitioners who went back to China and were subjected to abduction, detention and threats. The persecutors include the National Security Bureau in Beijing, Tianjin, Nanjing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Nanchang.
There are many more foreign Falun Dafa practitioners who have been abducted in China, including Ms. Li Juan and Ms. Xin Qin from the US, Mr. Liu Yi from Hilton, New Zealand, Mr. Lin Xiaokai from Taiwan, Mr. Zhang Junan from Germany, Mr. Fan Ziyu from Canada, Ms. Zhu Ying from Montreal, Ms. Cai Yingzi from Japan, and Ms. Wang Zhengtian from Hong Kong.
(To be Continued)
(1) "610 Office," with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems.
(2) Yuan: the Chinese currency; the average monthly pay of an urban worker is 500 yuan.
(3) A statement to declare that he or she is remorseful for practicing Falun Gong and guarantees not to practice Falun Gong again, not to go to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong, and never again associate with any Falun Dafa practitioners.