Two Practitioners Die as a Result of Persecution

Mr. Ma Xicheng from Yilan County, Heilongjiang Province Persecuted to Death

Changlinzi Forced Labour Camp in Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province is one of the most notorious forced labour camps in China. Many practitioners have been tortured, disabled and or even killed in there. One year of detention in the forced labour camp left practitioner Ma Xicheng emaciated and disease-ridden. On December 14th, 2008, Ma Xicheng passed away.

Ma Xicheng, 58, lived at Chaoyang Village, Yilan County, Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province. Before practising Falun Gong, Ma Xicheng suffered from severe tracheitis and phlebitis. He began practising Falun Gong in 1998, and his diseases were soon healed.

When the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began persecuting Falun Gong in July 1999, Ma Xicheng went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong. He was arrested and sentenced to one year of forced labour. In October 2001, Ma Xicheng and his wife were both arrested while they were distributing Falun Gong leaflets exposing the persecution. In December 2001, Ma Xicheng and his wife were both sentenced to two years of forced labour. Mr. Ma was sent to Changlinzi Forced Labour Camp, while his wife was sent to Wanjia Forced Labour Camp. Ma's 80-year-old mother-in-law with three grandchildren are left alone at home and lead a very difficult life.

On July 4th, 2006, policeman Lin Zhong from Dongcheng Police Station in Yilan County arrested the couple while they were distributing Falun Gong leaflets exposing the persecution at Yilan County. The police later released his wife after the family, including the 80-year-old mother-in-law, went to protest the police's actions. While Ma Xicheng was detained at the Second Detention Centre of Yilan County, the guards brutally force-fed him. Later the police sent Ma Xicheng to the Changlinzi Forced Labour Camp for two years. At that point, Ma Xicheng was already very weak from torture and abuse suffered at the detention centre.

On February 20th, 2007, the family went to Changlinzi Forced Labour Camp to visit Ma Xicheng, and policeman Yang Jinshan asked the family to fill out a form denigrating Falun Gong. The family refused to do it, and their visit request was denied.

In February 2008, Ma Xicheng became very fragile due to the persecution in the labour camp and was diagnosed with tubercular pleurisy. Under strong condemnation from his family and overseas practitioners, the labour camp released Ma Xicheng on March 1st. Ma Xicheng was emaciated, had lost his hearing, and was unable to take care of himself. He could eat only very small portions of food. On December 14th, 2008, Ma Xicheng passed away.

Ms. Wei Guirong from Weifang City, Shandong Province Persecuted to Death

Over the years of persecution, Ms. Wei Guirong suffered tremendously both mentally and physically. In the winter of 2006, she was diagnosed with cervical cancer, later developing into bone cancer. On March 22nd, 2008, she passed away at the age of 54.

Ms. Wei Guirong was a volunteer assistant at Hanting District of Weifang City, Shandong Province. She did accounting work at the Third Fabric Machinery Factory. After she began to practise Falun Gong in March 1996, she became completely healthy. She followed the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in her daily life and earned a very good reputation among her co-workers.

At around 8 a.m on July 20th, 1999, under the direction of the 610 Office¹ of the Politics and Law Committee of Hanting District, the Public Security Bureau assisted all the workplaces to secretly arrest the volunteer assistants in Hanting District. Ms. Wei Guirong and other practitioners were secretly detained in a remote town for 11 days. Chinese Communist Party personnel tried to force them to write guarantee letters to stop practising Falun Gong, ransacked their homes, confiscated all their materials related to Falun Gong and fined them very heavily. Moreover, the practitioners had to pay for "lodging and food" at the detention centre.

Starting in July 1999, Ms. Wei Guirong suffered from multiple rounds of persecution. Her home was ransacked many times. Her workplace placed her under detention, and she was detained at Hanting Detention Centre on two separate occasions. Once she was sent to the Detention House of Hanting and suffered from the Death Bed² torture and forced-feeding. The guards also kneed her in her private areas.

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.

2. "Death Bed" torture: A practitioner is tied to a bed with his hands handcuffed above his head to the bed rails, and his legs tied with thin nylon ropes. The rope is then tightly wrapped around the practitioner's body and the bed, from his legs to his chest. The rope is wrapped so tightly that the practitioner has difficulty breathing and eventually loses consciousness.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2009/5/7/200293.html