Prison Term to End Soon for Architectural Design Expert, Chengdu 610 Office Authorities Attempt to Interfere with His Release

Name: Jiang Zonglin
Gender: Male
Age: 64
Address: Chengdu City, Sichuan Province
Occupation: Director at Sichuan Chengdu Mingyuan Institute of Architectural Design
Date of Most Recent Arrest: August 2nd, 2007
Most Recent Place of Detention: Deyang Prison
City: Deyang
Province: Sichuan
Persecution Suffered: Sleep deprivation, forced labour, brainwashing, torture, fired from workplace, interrogation, detention

If someone wants to know what the “610 Office” is, what the Chengdu Jinniu District 610 Office and the Deyang Prison authorities have done recently have proved once again that the “610 Office” is an illegal Chinese Communist Party (CCP) organization that rides above the law and was set up specifically to persecute Falun Gong.

Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Jiang Zonglin is the former director of Sichuan Chengdu Mingyuan Institute of Architectural Design. His five-year prison term will end on October 15th, when he supposedly will be released and will be free to go home. However, the authorities of the Jinniu District 610 Office in Chengdu stated that they were “still considering” whether or not to release him. Deyang Prison, where Mr. Jiang has been held for the last five years, also said that a local 610 Office official must pick Mr. Jiang up from the prison when his term ends and that they will hand him over only to a local 610 Office agent.

Because many Falun Gong practitioners in Chengdu have been taken to brainwashing centres right after their prison terms ended, Mr. Jiang's family have been vocal in demanding that the Jinniu District and Fuqin Street Residential Committee 610 Office not continue persecuting him and let him reunite with his family and friends. Mr. Jiang has already suffered so much and his current condition is worrisome.

When Mr. Jiang's family went to the Jinniu District 610 Office to verify his release, the 610 Office agents told them that they were “still considering it.” This astonished and worried his family. Mr. Jiang's term will end—what do the officials still need to consider?

Mr. Jiang, 64, was arrested in 2007 and sentenced to five years in prison in 2008. In prison, he has been in critical condition and hospitalized. He is currently very weak. Even the Jinniu District 610 Office admitted that Mr. Jiang is currently in serious condition and is having symptoms of high blood pressure and cataracts.

A brief history of the persecution of Mr. Jiang

Before Mr. Jiang began to practise Falun Gong, he suffered from many chronic diseases such as a chronic kidney disease and migraines. He depended on medication all year round and suffered tremendously from his poor health. After starting to practise Falun Gong in 1997, he experienced for himself the wonder of good health.

Not long after Mr. Jiang began to practise Falun Gong, he was appointed to be the director at the Mingyuan Institute of Architectural Design, which was facing a serious financial crisis and on the edge of bankruptcy at the time. Mr. Jiang strictly followed the standards of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. He handled his work with dedication and honesty and would only accept the lowest level of bonuses throughout his term. Under his leadership, the institute quickly turned around and started to make a profit; business flourished. As an honest man with excellent professional abilities, Mr. Jiang earned the trust and admiration of his co-workers and business partners.

After the CCP launched the persecution of Falun Gong in 1999 and started to mentally, physically, and financially persecute practitioners, Mr. Jiang was fired from his position as director. He was also repeatedly arrested, detained, forced to do hard labour, and brutally persecuted.

On August 2nd, 2007, police officers from the Jinniu District Domestic Security Division broke into Mr. Jiang's home and arrested him. In 2008, he was tried. A lawyer from Beijing faultlessly defended Mr. Jiang and entered a plea of not guilty. There was evidence to show that Mr. Jiang was subjected to brutal torture after he was arrested. For example, an interrogation record showed that the session lasted for more than 60 hours, which means that Mr. Jiang was not allowed to sleep for at least three days.

After he was transferred to Deyang Prison, his family overcame many obstacles and travelled a long distance to try to visit him at least three times but were not allowed to see him. For a long time, his family was not allowed visit him. In 2010, he was in a critical condition and was hospitalized as a result of torture. His family petitioned for a medical parole for him but was turned down.

Now that Mr. Jiang's prison term is going to end soon, his family and friends hope that his case will be noticed and urge the Jinniu District and Fuqin Street Residential Committee 610 Office to stop persecuting Mr. Jiang, release him unconditionally, and let him return home safely.

Other Chengdu Falun Gong practitioners transferred to brainwashing centres at the end of their prison terms

After her three-year prison term at Sichuan Jianyang City Women's Prison ended in May 2006, Ms. Yang Jingxia, a professor at Sichuan University Architecture and Environmental Protection Department and an internationally well known environmental expert, was taken to Xinjing Brainwashing Centre by the local 610 Office.

On October 11th, 2006, Ms. Liu Hui, an excellent teacher of the Chinese language at the former Jinniu District Jinqin Street Elementary School, was taken to Xinjing Brainwashing Centre by the Jinniu District 610 Office for three years after her four-year-long prison term ended at Chuanxi Women's Prison. Ms. Liu protested by going on a hunger strike and was not released from the brainwashing centre until she was near death.

In April 2008, Ms. Fan Ying from Shuanliu was sent to Xinjing Brainwashing Centre by the Shuanliu 610 Office after her four-year prison term ended.

When her three-year prison term ended on November 13th, 2010, Ms. Huang Xiangling from the Xindu District was taken from Jianyang City Yangmahe Women's Prison by Zhou Jiang and other officers from the Xindu District 610 Office to Xinjing Brainwashing Centre.

On May 1st, 2011, Ms. Yin Sirong, who worked at the Chengdu City Metallurgical Plant, was held for an addition of nine days after her one-year-and-nine-month term in Chongqing Xishanping Forced Labour Camp ended. Later she was tricked by the Chenghua District 610 Office officials and sent to Xinjing Brainwashing Centre. Not until Ms. Wang Mingrong died in Xinjing Brainwashing Centre as a result of torture was Ms. Yin released by centre authorities fearing a disturbance.

Other practitioners who were sent to the brainwashing centre when their prison terms ended were: Luo Huishun, Fan Haidong, Xie Zhiyuan, Deng Qixiang, Du Peiyang, Xie Hongmin, Deng Weijian, Zheng Bin, Zhang Yixiang, Chen Xiangzhi, Li Ming, Qing Mingzhen, Ding Zhongbin, Zheng Bin, and Lin Xiaoquan.

Parties responsible for the persecution of Mr. Jiang Zonglin:

Long Xingyu, secretary of Chengdu Jinniu District Political and Legislative Affairs Committee: +86-28-86266390 (Office), +86-13808060117 (Mobile)
Wu Shiquan, secretary of Chengdu Jinniu District Political and Legislative Affairs Committee: +86-28-87705983 (Office), +86-28-87510717 (Home), +86-13980538333 ((Mobile)
Li Yong, deputy director of Chengdu City Jinniu District 610 Office: +86-28-87705681 (Office), +86-28-87526973 (Home), +86-13668292609 (Mobile)
Zhang Hongtao, deputy director of Chengdu City Jinniu District 610 Office: +86-28-87705680 (Office), +86-28-87529913 (Home), +86-13980782322 (Mobile)
Liu Yuanhang, warden of Deyang Prison, +86-838-3820115 (Office), +86-838-3820224 (Office)
Liu Zhizhong, party secretary of Fuqin Street Residential Committee: +86-28-87642827 (Office), +86-28-87544131 (Home), +86-13908032722 (Mobile)
Ma Li, deputy Party secretary of Fuqin Street Residential Committee: +86-28-87650969 (Office), +86-28-87665536 (Home), +86-13808211183 (Mobile)