Mr. Cao Dong Secretly Taken to Gansu Province After Being Arrested Due to His Meeting with European Parliament Vice-President

Falun Dafa practitioner Mr. Cao Dong from Beijing was arrested by State Security Agents on May 21st, 2006 immediately after meeting with Mr. Edward McMillan-Scott, Vice President of the European Parliament. Mr. McMillan-Scott had come to Beijing to investigate the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) persecution of Falun Gong. Mr. Cao Dong testified that Falun Dafa practitioners were being cruelly tortured. By the end of September 2006, CCP officials secretly took Mr. Cao Dong to Gansu Province and detained him in the Gansu Province State Security Division Detention Centre located in Lanzhou City, Gansu Province.

Because the CCP intensified the mistreatment of Cao Dong, Mr. McMillan-Scott wrote to the Chinese EU Ambassador, Guan Chengyuan, and urged him to immediately release Falun Dafa practitioner Mr. Cao Dong as well as human rights lawyer Mr. Gao Zhisheng.

Below, we expose relevant information about Mr. Cao Dong being secretly taken to Gansu. We hope that the international society and kind-hearted people will express their concern for Mr. Cao and for all detained Falun Dafa practitioners, to help stop the persecution.

1. Arrest Warrant Issued after Cao Dong Was Detained for Four Months

On September 30th, 2006, after Mr. Cao Dong was detained for more than four months, Office Chair Wang Qinghua (male) of the Qingyang City State Security Bureau in Gansu Province, led a group of officers to Mr. Cao's parent's home and read the arrest warrant as follows:

"Qinyang City State Security Bureau Arrest Notification

"Qingyang Security Bureau Arrest Notification Code [2006] #01

"According to Prosecuting Law, Article 59, approved by the Qingyang City People's Procuratorate, the Security Bureau arrested Cao Dong, who had broken the law by engaging in [slanderous term omitted] activities at 3 p.m. on September 29th, 2006. Cao Dong is currently detained in the Gansu Province State Security Bureau Detention Centre.

"September 30th, 2006 (Qingyang City State Security Bureau Seal)"

Wang Qinghua told Mr. Cao Dong's parents that their son's case was very serious, and they should not come to the Security Bureau since they would be notified if necessary. The Security Bureau never notified Mr. Cao's wife in Beijing. They did not even make a phone call.

On November 1st, 2006, Wang Qinghua gave some of Mr. Cao Dong's personal belongings to his mother and told her that Mr. Cao Dong's case would be transferred to the Prosecuting Office of the Qingyang City Procuratorate in a couple of days. He said that if the family wanted to hire a lawyer, now was a good time. He personally thought that hiring a lawyer was better, but Mr. Cao Dong already stated his wishes through Wang Qinghua to tell his parents not to hire a lawyer because he wanted to defend himself. Wang Qinghua threatened Mr. Cao Dong's parents, saying that if Mr. Cao Dong said, "Falun Dafa is good," even once, his term would be extended by two and a half years.

2. Unjustly Sentenced, the Case Controlled by Upper Levels

According to an inside source, although Mr. Cao's case was ostensibly handled by the Qingyang City State Security Bureau, it is in fact completely controlled by the Security Bureau in Beijing and is only being handled by Gansu Province on the surface. The reasons are that first of all, Gansu is located in the west, so it is easy to block information from quickly spreading. Secondly, they are trying to force Mr. Cao Dong to write something like a Statement of Disassociation, Letter of Regret, etc. in order to deceive the international community. Since Mr. Cao's case has an international influence, no one can make decisions about it except at the highest level.

During the time period that Mr. Cao Dong's family was seeking a lawyer, they were closely monitored, followed, had their personal safety severely threatened, and were under a great deal of mental pressure. It was very hard to find a lawyer that dared to defend Mr. Cao Dong. The lawyer fee was so high, plus travel costs. Some lawyers required eight thousand to ten thousand yuan¹ to begin with. All of these lawyers were brainwashed by the CCP or threatened, so they were compelled to speak from the CCP's standpoint. In the end, Mr. Cao's family failed to hire a lawyer.

We suggest that overseas Falun Dafa practitioners hold press conferences to appeal to governments and international organisations and call for the rescue of Mr. Cao Dong. Urgently call on the international community to pressure the Chinese government and demand that they immediately return Mr. Cao Dong's freedom, ensure his personal safety, and completely stop any further persecution of Mr. Cao.

Office Chair Wang Qinghua (male) of the Qingyang City State Security Bureau in Gansu Province: 86-934-4182439
Lawyer Dai Qingjie (male), of Chendong Law Firm in Pingliang City, Gansu Province: 86-933-8218195

Note

1. "Yuan" is the Chinese currency; 500 yuan is equal to the average monthly income of an urban worker in China.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2006/11/29/143520.html