The Crimes of Party Secretary Liu Zhonghui of Shouguang City, Shandong Province

On the night of April 2nd, 2008, the Shouguang Television Station broadcast a programme about Shouguang City Party Secretary Liu Zhonghui emphasizing the persecution of Falun Gong in the city council. Shortly after Liu took office in March 2007, he swore in a meeting to "vigorously combat Falun Gong." Since then, he has frequently implemented drastic measures to persecute Falun Gong.

In November 2007, Liu personally held a meeting to deploy the persecution. He openly declared,"struggle with Falun Gong to the very end" and "vigorously fight against Falun Gong for three years." He also said that he would dismiss any personnel that wouldn't cooperate. Subsequently, the Shouguang Daily newspaper published a transcript of his speech. At his instigation, a reign of terror against Falun Gong practitioners in the city began.

According to incomplete statistics, within just over a year after Liu became the Party Secretary of Shouguang City in 2007, over 100 practitioners have been arrested, beaten, fined, and their homes ransacked. Sixteen practitioners were sent to forced labour camps. Many families were torn apart. This extent of cruelty in persecuting Falun Gong practitioners is very rare, and it has been the cruellest in Shouguang City for several years. The methods of torture that the police use include: shocking practitioners' sensitive body parts with electric batons; hitting them on their hands, legs, and back with rubber batons and wooden sticks; burning their fingers and arms with lighters; kicking and stomping on their faces with leather shoes, etc. Inhumane ways are being used to extort confessions from practitioners by torture. Some practitioners were unable to get up from their beds after the torture. Others have been beaten so severely that detention centres were unwilling to accept them.

The reason for arresting practitioners is to make money. Arrested practitioners are released in exchange for money only. Some practitioners were sent to forced labour camps after they were swindled by the police. When practitioners were arrested, the police would ask their families for money in order to release them. They asked for $3,000 to $4,000. Practitioners who were wealthier would have to pay about $8,000. If their families couldn't pay the fee, they would be sent to labour camps. Almost all practitioners who were arrested had at least $3,000 extorted from them. In order to rescue these practitioners, some families asked relatives and friends to borrow money. Some then went bankrupt and their wives and children ran away. Some practitioners' spouses' auto accident compensations were plundered. As a village cadre once said, "At present, the police are worse than bandits. Bandits only rob people, but the police rob them and their families."

Following are the most recent cases of persecution in Shouguang City:

1. On January 2nd, 2008, the Shouguang City police arrested Ms. Zhang Guizhi and three other practitioners. During the afternoon, several police hit her on the back, causing a large black bruise. She was sent to the detention centre, but they refused to take her. When she was taken to the hospital for treatment, the police forced her to lie and say that her injury was caused by an accident, in case their bad deeds would be exposed.

2. On March 7th, 2008, during the National People's Congress sessions, the Party Committee of Shouguang City held practitioners in strict custody. Twenty-eight practitioners were arrested by Loucheng Street Committee members of Shouguang. They were locked in the former Liulu District Party Committee Compound. Party Committee members of Hou Town captured and detained over 10 practitioners. They also arrested practitioners who worked in the urban area.

3. In late March 2008, practitioners Guo Xiuhua, Mou Zhongwen, Han Xinzhen, Song Zulan, Li Xiuhua, Zhang, Zedong, Han Xinxiao, Yang Mingyi, Bi Ruilan, Li Fayao, Lin Wenying, Wang Shixiao, Hu Aiyun, etc. were arrested by the Shouguang City police. They are still in the Shouguang City Detention Centre.

4. According to the 610 Office¹, 16 practitioners went into hiding and couldn't be found.

These heinous cases of persecution occurred after Liu took office. He personally instructed personnel to implement persecution measures and held them responsible if anything went wrong.

Note

1. "The 610 office" is an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2008/4/12/176317.html