Cao Dong and His Wife Yang Xiaojing |
During the search, a man kept interrogating Gao Fengqiang and defaming Dafa. About two hours later, they took Gao Fengqiang with them and left. When they stepped out of the gate of the building, they forced Gao to turn around. In the police van, they held Gao's head down and took away his glasses. They told Gao to close his eyes so that he wouldn't know where they were taking him. After about one hour they arrived at a secret base with military police standing guard. One could hear what sounded like military training in the background.
Gao Fengqiang was taken to a small interrogation room containing three beds and a bathroom. They cuffed Gao's hands to the chair. Eight people were present to interrogate him. Five other people took turns monitoring him around the clock. During the interrogation, they also beat and force-fed him. After five days of interrogation, Gao was sent to Gansu Province, his place of origin. They sent people to monitor him, and extorted 3,000 yuan from his family. Gao has left his home to avoid further harassment.
Cao Dong, 36, graduated from Beijing Foreign Language University with a major in French. He once was a tour guide and currently works as a translator. His wife, Yang Xiaojing, is a computer engineer at Beijing Electricity Institute. For her firm belief in Falun Gong, she was once detained and sent to a labor camp. The couple has been married for years, but they were only able to stay together for a mere several weeks due to the persecution.
On May 21, Cao Dong met with Edward McMillan-Scott, Vice-President of the European Parliament, who was in China to investigate first hand the human rights situation there. Cao Dong disappeared shortly after the meeting. He was arrested by the authorities and his whereabouts remain unknown.