Mr. Cao Guitang from Hebei Province Arrested Five Times for Practising Falun Gong

Name: Cao Guitang
Gender: male
Age: 77
Address: Linlibao Village, Cheng'an County, Handan City, Hebei Province
Occupation: Retired from a chemical plant in Cheng'an County
Date of Most Recent Arrest: July 16th, 2012
Most Recent Place of Detention: Cheng'an Town Police Station
City: Handan
Province: Hebei
Persecution Suffered: forced labour, brainwashing, beatings, torture, extortion, home ransacked, interrogation, detention

Mr. Cao Guitang and his wife are from Linlibao Village, Cheng'an County, Handan City, Hebei Province. They are in their late 70s and once suffered many illnesses. After they became Falun Gong practitioners, they became healthy without seeing a doctor.

They could have enjoyed their retirement, were it not for the 13 years of persecution of Falun Gong in China. Their home was ransacked and their belongings confiscated. Chinese officials threatened, arrested and held them in forced labour camps. Just a month ago, they were arrested again because they were distributing DVDs of the Shen Yun Performing Arts show [a world-class traditional Chinese cultural show]. This was Mr. Cao's fifth arrest.

Becoming Healthy from Practising Falun Gong

Mr. Cao once had intractable psoriasis and hypertension. He'd been seeing doctors for a dozen years and no one could help him. His wife is 78 years old and used to be very ill. Sometimes, she went into shock, and it took half an hour to revive her. She was bedridden for 15 years before she came across Falun Gong.

In 1998, the couple began to practise Falun Gong. They regained their health and became energetic. They no longer needed any medicine. They were able to work on their farm and enjoyed being healthy. Their families and friends witnessed their miraculous recovery after practicing Falun Gong and many also became practitioners.

First Arrest and Imprisonment

Jiang Zemin Jiang Zemin, [former leader of China and instigator of the persecution] and his regime launched the suppression of Falun Gong on July 20th, 1999. Mr. Cao went to Beijing in November 1999 to appeal for the right to practise Falun Gong. Li Quanguo, Shi Ying from the Cheng'an County Public Security Bureau and Yang Shihua from the Political Security Division specifically went to Beijing to bring him back. Yang confiscated 380 yuan, accosted and handcuffed him. Six young policemen interrogated him. One of them kicked Mr. Cao's face and another spit in his face.

The police handed Mr. Cao a two-year sentence and took him to Handan Forced Labour Camp. Mr. Cao was put under strict management for two months. Falun Gong practitioners were forced to do hard labour for twelve hours a day. The were fed unsanitary food, taken to brainwashing classes, and monitored around the clock. Some practitioners were tied to trees and exposed to the scorching sun for hours. Mr. Cao was tortured and became very ill after nine months and was released on medical parole. When Mr. Cao was lured to the Cheng'zn County Public Security Bureau for completing the required documentation, he was put under house arrest. The police extorted 1,000 yuan (US$167) from Mr. Cao's son before he was released.

Second Arrest and Ransacking of Home

One day at 10 p.m., Mr. Cao's wife was home alone when a group of police officers from the Political Security Division broke into and ransacked their home. They found one Falun Gong article, a tape recorder, and an exercise music tape. They took Mr. Cao's wife to the public security bureau and demanded she provide the source of the article, which she refused. The police extorted 1,200 yuan (US$200) from her family before she was released at 4 a.m.

Police officers from the political security division came to Mr. Cao's house twice, but were unable to locate him. One month later, Yang and several policemen jumped over the wall and broke into the house late at night. They arrested Mr. Cao and held him in the Cheng'an County Detention Centre for two months. Yang extorted 3,000 yuan (US$500) from his family before releasing him.

Third Arrest and 68 Practitioners Arrested at the Same Time

On August 31st, 2002, Mr. Cao attended a meeting with 68 practitioners in Dingzhuang Village, Beixiangyi Township, Cheng'an County. Chief Li and police from the Cheng'an County Public Security Bureau arrested all 68 practitioners. Wang Xudong, director at the bureau hit Mr. Cao's back with a belt and abused him. Mr. Cao was detained in Cheng'an County Detention Centre for two months. The police extorted 2,500 yuan (US$410) from his family before they released him.

Fourth Arrest During Beijing Olympics

On July 30th, 2008, just before the Beijing Olympics, Yang Hongbin and a group of police officers from the Xincheng District Police Station and Domestic Security Brigade broke into Mr. Cao's house at 6:30 a.m. while everyone was still asleep. They ransacked the house, took three copies of the Falun Gong book, Zhuan Falun, Falun Gong fliers, and two tape recorders. They tried unsuccessfully to steal 2,000 yuan. Mr. Cao was held for 2 weeks in the Cheng'an County Detention Centre. The police extorted 5,000 yuan (US$830) before releasing him.

Fifth Arrest and Extortion

At 10 a.m. on July 16th, 2012, the couple went to Beiyukou Village to distribute DVDs of the Shen Yun Performing Arts [a world-class traditional Chinese cultural show] show to the residents. Six police officers arrested Mr. Cao and took him to the Cheng'an Town Police Station. The police confiscated their bags and DVDs.

A Chinese Communist Party (CCP) secretary of Beiyukou Village, with the surname of Chen, reported Mr. Cao and his wife and called police. Mr. Cao was arrested and police went to his home and ransacked it. At 3 p.m. a police officer said that orders from officials had come down demanding that all practitioners undergo a physical examination. Mr. Cao was taken to the county hospital and tested for blood, CT, and x-ray. The police later extorted 2,000 yuan from his son and released Mr. Cao at 5 p.m.

During his arrests, Mr. Cao's face was slapped repeatedly, which resulted in deafness. His employer cut seven months of his salary when he was held at the Handan Forced Labour Camp. The police extorted from his family a total of 15,000 yuan (US$2,500) in cash and refused to give a receipt. His family also spent a lot of money buying meals and giving presents to have them released.

Actively Participating in the Persecution Brings Retribution

Li Quanguo, former deputy chief of Cheng'an County Public Security Bureau, was responsible for arresting and torturing practitioners. Li died in his office from a sudden heart attack in February 2002.

Li Zhide, was former chief of the Cheng'an County Public Security Bureau, and formerly of Fengfeng Mine Area in Handan City. When he was in office, the persecution of Falun Gong in Handan was the most intensive. Li followed closely the directives of the CCP, especially when it came to arresting practitioners. He beat them, imprisoned them and took them to detention centres and forced labour camps. He is now hospitalized for oesophageal cancer.

Shi Ying, a retired public security officer actively participated in persecuting practitioners who went to Beijing to appeal for the right to practise Falun Gong. He beat practitioners and extorted money. One time after he arrested practitioners that returned from Beijing, he suddenly died.

Information of those who participated in the persecution of Mr. Cao:

Cheng'an County postal code: 056700, area code: +86-310
Cheng'an County Public Security Bureau: 0310-7211592
Cheng'an Town Police Station: 0310-7263806

Wang Xujun, former Director of Cheng'an Town Police Station and collaborator with the Cheng'an County Public Security Brigade in the persecution of practitioners: 15831027777, 18931013006 (H)

Household registration division: 030-7280917 ext 5576 (Office, general line)

Yang Shihua, formerly head of political security division, is now retired and lives on Chengxi Street, Cheng'an County.