(Clearwisdom.net) The most severe persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners in Taiyuan City since July 20, 1999 took place on October 1, 2002. The police launched a campaign that caused grievous damage to Falun Gong practitioners. The number of practitioners arrested and sentenced in that incident was a record in Taiyuan's history, and the scope of the arrests was also the widest. It reached many neighboring cities, counties and districts--more than 100 people were arrested. At least five practitioners were confirmed dead as a result of the persecution. We will now expose some details of this event and its aftermath.
On October 1, 2002, under the code name 101 Case Group, 30 officers from the Wanbolin District Police Department in Taiyuan launched an assault on a truth-clarifying materials center operated by Falun Gong practitioners. This center is relatively large and had many contacts. The action led to the arrest of more than 100 practitioners. Police used a divide-and-conquer tactic to separate these people into different regions and went after them one by one. Their strategy sent 23 people to the Yuci Women's Jail and to the Qixian County Men's Jail. Other practitioners were held in the detention centers until their families could pay huge amounts of money to buy their freedom.
Even as late as 2005, people were still being sent to jail as result of this action.
Police even opened fire during this violent assault to shoot peaceful practitioners. Bullets hit practitioner Cui Zhongjiang and Meng Fengwei's legs. Their cars and other property were confiscated. The practitioners received jail sentences ranging from 4 to 11 years. Some practitioners recently graduated from high school, and some were as old as 68. The arrested practitioners were handcuffed, shackled and then electrically shocked before interrogation. Practitioner Kang Suqing from Taiyuan was shocked by electric batons all over her body and face. Her face was badly disfigured after the torture. Many practitioners were sentenced in court, without even being fully conscious.
In Taiyuan Detention Center, a woman practitioner named Qiu Lihua from Shijiazhuang City in Hebei Province was treated inhumanely. Her hands and feet were chained to a bed the entire time. The police cut a hole in the center of the bed so that she could use this as a "toilet." On the day of the court proceedings, someone carried her in on a stretcher.
All the practitioners suffered hard-to-imagine tortures.
The practitioners detained at the Qixian County Jail faced a first test as soon as they got there. Everyone was first locked in a "strict control" cell. The intention was to exhaust their energy as much as possible. For 24 hours a day, for many days, they were forced to sit straight on a small bench. Every move and every word were monitored. They were often hit by slaps to the face, and were further abused by kicks and punches. The longest bench sitting punishment lasted eight months. After that they faced the second test: brainwashing and forced reform through torture. Two people were assigned to stay at arms' length of each practitioner all the time. The practitioners were forbidden to talk and were deprived of sleep. Their meals were very small and bathroom breaks were restricted to a minimum. They were forced to face a wall so close that their feet, stomach and nose must touch the wall. Any violation of these "rules" would be met with beatings. Some practitioners could not endure the harsh treatment and fell unconscious. Some practitioners chose to go on hunger strikes to protest the inhumane treatment. To retaliate, the prison police and their designated criminal inmates force-fed practitioners. Practitioner Ding Lihong (male) died during a force-feeding.
According to incomplete statistics, as a result of this October 1, 2002 arrest, at least five practitioners were tortured to death. The following is a brief account of one practitioner's death.
Mr. Kang Zhiguo was 55. He was from Changzi County, Changzhi City, Shanxi Province. He was a miner at the Guandi Mine under the Shanxi Coal Group. After July 20, 1999, he was repeatedly arrested and put in a forced labor camp for his determination in safeguarding Dafa. In October 2002, he was arrested and illegally sentenced to four years in prison. In the beginning of 2004, when the guards intensified the persecution in the Jinzhong Prison, Mr. Kang and fellow practitioners joined their efforts to resist. These practitioners also paid a heavy price. Kang Zhiguo was badly injured by a felon inmate named Duan Shuai when the criminal was assigned to enforce the facing-the-wall standing torture. Mr. Kang was partially paralyzed (half of his body had no feeling) after the beating. Later the police stopped the beating for fear that he might die. He recovered slowly many days later.
On June 15, 2004, China's Ministry of Justice issued a "100 Day Task to Reform Falun Gong Practitioners." Team political head Zhao viewed this as an opportunity to promote his career and intensified the physical torture in his territory: Division 4 of the Jinzhong Prison's Third Ward. Under Zhao's direction, felon Hou Senbiao repeatedly kicked Kang Zhiguo in the chest. Then he took Kang Zhiguo to an empty room and hit him all over the body with a stick. Many people in the building could hear Kang's painful cries. Guard Li Weiping, upon hearing the beating, not only failed to stop the violence, he even felt disturbed by the noise and shouted, "Stop yelling! What's the big deal?!"
In mid-May 2005, the prison began another campaign of terror. This time, Kang Zhiguo's health suddenly worsened. The prison did not inform his family. They denied other practitioners' visits, and they did not send him to the hospital. On May 21, 2005, it was reported that Kang Zhiguo passed away. He is survived by his wife and young children.
Shanxi Province Police Department. 92 Wuyi Road, Taiyuan City, 030001
Inquiry Number: 86-351-4044778, General office: 86-351-2027749, Operator: 86-351-8309444
Taiyuan City Police Department: 1 Houjiaxiang Lane, Taiyuan City, 030001
Operator: 86-351-2023011; Security Office hotline: 86-351-4612116; Mayor's Office: 86-351-2023126
Wanbolin Police Department: 107 Xi Kuang Street, Taiyuan City, 030024
610 Office: 86-351-6067855; Political Office: 86-351-6066291; Command Center: 86-351-6066341; Computing Center: 86-351-6067811; General Office: 86-351-6064083.
Detention Center: 86-351-6075974
