Senseless Violence Against Falun Dafa Practitioners in Hunan Province

Yuping Township, Pingjiang County, Hunan Province is located in a poor area in the mountains. Like other villagers, most of us Falun Dafa practitioners lead a hard life and it is difficult to make ends meet. Many of the practitioners suffered from illness before they started to practise Falun Dafa, but after we learned Dafa our sicknesses disappeared. Although we are farmers and live by selling firewood, we have healthy bodies and do not worry about expensive medical costs anymore. We live a simple life, and have experienced deeply the happiness of good health, and our hearts are light.

But since July 20, 1999, influenced by Jiang Zemin's lies slandering Falun Dafa, the authorities in Yuping Township are severely persecuting Dafa practitioners. They are following the orders of the Jiang regime in order to receive bonuses and promotions.

Below are the names of some of the villains who are carrying out the persecution by means of illegal abductions, extortion, and torture of Dafa practitioners in Yuping Township:

Li Qiugui, Weng Fangping, Chen Qishou, Xia Hai, Yu Wuodong, Peng Gen, Dai Wenming, Tong Jiu, Yang Penghu, Li Xianwen, Liu Dengke, Peng Jianqiang, Yang Ming and Huang Qi. Following Jiang's orders, since July 20, 1999, these people have individually persecuted Falun Gong. They are persecuting kind people who believe in Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance.

1. Extorting Money Through Abductions

The perpetrators often arrest Falun Dafa practitioners as they work at home or tend to their fields. The authorities come and handcuff them, forcing them to go to the Township Police Substation in a police vehicle, or sending them to the "610 Office," or to the detention centre [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]. After arresting Dafa practitioners, they tell their families, "Pay to get them out, otherwise, we will send them to the forced labour camp or to prison!" Oftentimes, about five or six Dafa practitioners are abducted at once, and their families are forced to pay for their release. The authorities never give the reason for these extortions or issue any receipts. Many Falun Dafa practitioners' families have had to suffer a great deal in order to scrape together or borrow the money, and they have travelled very long distances to pay the extortion fees to release their family members.

2. Homes Ransacked and Demolished

Falun Dafa practitioner, Mr. Wu Yinkui is in his 50's. He has been abducted five times in the past four years, and money was extorted from him each time. He was abducted and brought to the Township Government Office in December 1999 because he continued cultivating Falun Dafa. The officials and police beat him and hung him up on a bamboo pole. Mr. Wu was hung up from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. and was unconscious when he was finally released. The township government held a brainwashing class in December 2000, and used the most brutal means to torture Mr. Wu in their attempt to force him to give up his faith in Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance.

One day, Falun Dafa practitioners were reading Falun Dafa articles together. A person named Weng Fangping cruelly beat three Falun Dafa practitioners and choked Mr. Wu Yinkui until he lost consciousness and almost died. They later locked Mr.Wu Yinkui and another female Falun Dafa practitioner, Hu Weirong, together for about three and a half days in a dark room that was less than three square metres, without providing any water or food. They were also not allowed to sleep. It was during the coldest time in winter. These authorities did not treat Dafa practitioners as human beings.

On January 3, 2001, about thirty policemen from the Yuping Township Substation stormed into Mr. Wu's home and tried to force his family to pay a fine of more than 50,000 Yuan to get him out of detention [Note: 50,000 Yuan is a huge sum; the average monthly pay of an urban worker is 500 Yuan]. If they didn't pay, they said, they would ransack and tear down the house, and send Mr. Wu to a forced labour camp. The police realised that Mr. Wu's family did not have any money, so they took 300 kg of rice and the family's sewing machine. Several days later, Dai Wenming, Li Qiugui, Weng Fangping, Chen Man and Director Li brought a gang of more than sixty people to tear down Mr. Wu's home. Mr. Wu's brother, Wu Jikui, also a Dafa practitioner, tried to persuade them to stop and was beaten up by Weng Fangping. Mr. Wu's family was also threatened with violence. This mob took away all the building materials such as doors, windows and lumber. Mr. Wu's wife feared for their safety and went back to her mother's home in the middle of the night with her young son. On the way, the little boy fell into the water reservoir, and the mother cried for help. Fortunately, a kind person came to save her son, and he sent them on safely to her mother's home.

On the morning of March 28, 2001, a gang suddenly stormed into Mr. Wu's house before dawn. They abducted him and took him to Xinkaipu Forced Labour Camp. Mr. Wu was severely tortured until he almost lost his eyesight. His whole body was numb, and both of his legs became deformed. He became incontinent and could not take care of himself. His family was rendered penniless and could not support themselves.

Falun Dafa practitioner Mr. Zou Peisong is 64 years old. He was pitilessly tortured nearly to death after being abducted many times, yet the authorities still would not leave him alone. They wanted to dismantle Mr. Zou's empty house and leave this kind old man exposed to the wind and cold. The people watching them strip the house could no longer keep silent. They said, "If you strip down the house, then just take the whole house down. Otherwise, someone will be killed by the hazards left behind!" After the gang left, these kind people helped Mr. Zou rebuild his house so that his family would be sheltered from the wind and cold.

3. Abduction, Detention, Physical Abuse

Mr. Hu Xuanju is 63 years old. The same gang of officials stormed in Mr. Hu's home in December 1999, abducted him, and took him to the Township Police Substation. They stripped him of his clothing, leaving him with only his underwear on. They poured a barrel of cold water on his body and forced him to stand in the cold winter weather. Mr. Hu was shivering, in extreme pain. Later, they tied his hands around a tree and brutally beat him, trying to force him to curse Falun Dafa and the Teacher. Policeman Xu Wodong saw that he refused to curse, and struck Mr. Hu's forehead hard, shouting, "I will kill you if you refuse to curse! I'll kill you!" Mr. Hu passed out on the spot. He lost his eyesight after regaining consciousness and it took him a long period of time to recover.

Because of such brutal mistreatment, Hu Xuanju went to Beijing to appeal in January 2001 but was abducted and locked up for more than one month. His home was ransacked before he was released. The police also extorted several thousand Yuan from his family. Mr. Hu became deaf as a result the persecution. On the October National Day, 2001, a village woman named Guosao accused Mr. Hu of pretending to be deaf. She provided false proof and insulted Mr. Hu's integrity. The authorities took this opportunity to abduct Mr. Hu again. They took him to the Township government offices and tortured him until he was severely injured.

Ms. Hu Weirong, 38 years old, was born in Danxi. She had been abducted by these same officials sixteen times because of her firm faith in Falun Dafa. During her long term in detention, her uterine cancer entered into a critical, late stage. Her husband had a heart attack. They lead a difficult life. A kind person lent Ms. Hu some money to take her husband to see a doctor, but the officials abducted her on the way to the hospital and took the money away from her. They realised she did not have much money and brutally beat her.

Ms. Hu went to Beijing to appeal in December 1999. The authorities abducted her and took her to the Township Police Substation. Policemen Chen Qishou, Huang Qi, Yang Penghu and Li Xianwen poured cold water on her, and then took turns torturing her. They used many methods to torture her, such as beating, slapping, hitting, kicking, hanging her up, and forcing her to kneel for long periods. On her last arrest, they illegally sent Ms. Hu to the detention centre. Due to such inhuman treatments in there, Ms.Hu could not eat for several days. She was sick in bed with an extremely painful stomachache. The authorities released her only when she was near death. During the sixteen times she has been detained, Ms. Hu has been beaten by Tong Jiu and Dai Wenming. Two of her ribs and a middle finger were fractured. Ms. Hu was later illegally sentenced to a forced labour camp.

Ms. Li Moyi, 50 years old, is a resident of Yuping Township. She had been abducted several times by the Township "610 Office" and by the police. They sent her to a detention centre, and to a forced labour camp, where she was cruelly beaten her in order to force her to give up her faith in Falun Dafa. In December 2001, Chen Qishou, Liu Dengming, Yang Penghu, Peng Jianqiang, Dai Wenming abducted her again. They grabbed her hair, and punched her against a brick wall. They beat her to the ground, and pressed a wooden chair on her chest. When the chair broke apart, they then beat her about the face until her face was unrecognisable. Peng Jianqiang shouted, "What can you do if I kill you," Chen Qishou dragged her to the kitchen, closed the door, and then tried to choke her to death with both of his hands. He said viciously, "I want to choke you to death! We will say you became insane and committed suicide." When Ms. Li Moyi passed out from being choked, they brought a big barrel of cold water and poured it over her body until she regained consciousness. They then continued beating her.

Ms. Zhu Naiying, 50 years old, is a resident of Yuping Township. She was abducted by the same officials in December 2000 because of her firm cultivation in Dafa. Her family leads a hard life. Her son and daughter-in-law work in another region, and have left their 2-year-old son in the care of Ms. Zhu. When they abducted her, she had to carry her grandson with her. Such a little child, to have to suffer at such a young age! When the little boy was hungry, Ms. Zhu Naiying begged for food for her grandson. But Dai Wenming shouted at her, "Do you want to escape?" He beat her, frightening her grandson to tears. The Dai grabbed the child and terrifyingly threw him hard against the floor. He locked her up with her grandson.

These officials truly have no conscience! If they dare to murder a young child, what could they not do? Falun Dafa practitioners reported this incident many times to the County "610 Office," the County Political and Judiciary Committee, and the County Secretary. However, these agencies never helped but instead encouraged them by giving them bonuses. Under such a situation, Zhu Naiying felt she had to go to Beijing to appeal. In reprisal, the gang ransacked her home and emptied it out, and sentenced her to two years in a forced labour camp.

The officials use ropes to tie and torture Falun Dafa practitioners. They hang practitioners up from handcuffs each time they abduct them. They also force practitioners to kneel or stand facing the wall for extended periods of time. They confine practitioners in isolated cells. Sometimes, they lock one male and one female Dafa practitioner together in a dark, smelly cell that measures less than 3 square metres for several days without food, water or toilet facilities. They have stripped Dafa practitioners down to one undergarment, hung a defamatory sign from their neck and forced them to parade down the street in the harsh cold winter. They pour cold water onto Dafa practitioners' bodies, and then aim an electric fan at them. When they have torn down Dafa practitioners' houses, they have tied up and forced the practitioners to kneel nearby and watch the police tear down their houses. Some tried to force Dafa practitioners to curse the Teacher, otherwise, they would brutally beat them until their faces became deformed or they lost consciousness. Many practitioners were tortured until they were covered with wounds, and some became disabled.

The authorities in Yuping Township have severely interfered with and disrupted the lives and work of many Falun Dafa practitioners and their families, causing a shortage of food. Regardless of whether they are men or women, old or young, and regardless of their families' financial circumstances, many practitioners were sent to Baimalong or Xinkaipu Forced Labour Camps. Some of them were sent to Ping Jiang Labour Camp, where they were tortured to disability or to death. The slogan that they use when persecuting Falun Dafa is, "We'll make it hard for you to live, but not easy to die." In fact, they are following the Jiang regime's orders of, "defaming their reputation, bankrupting them financially, and destroying them physically."

The above is just a summary of the crimes committed by the authorities in Yuping Township. More detailed reports will be compiled later.

Crime Statistics:

Number of practitioners detained: 160.
Extorted money estimated at roughly 160,000 Yuan, no receipts.
Two houses destroyed (150 square metres); took away all building materials.
650 kg of grain confiscated.

Additional names and phone numbers of relevant personnel:

Pingjiang County Secretary Xu Xinyang, 86-1387-4009999 (mobile); Vice Secretary Ling Lingsi, 86-1390-740-9529 (mobile).

County Committee Office Chair Luo Zhiyuan, 86-1397-302-9688 (mobile).

County Government Office Chair, Hu Shanyou, 86-1397-400-3888 (mobile); Vice Chair Chen Zhuguang, 86-1397-400-0957 (mobile).

Pingjiang County Commissioner Zhang Muyao, 86-1387-400-6666 (mobile); Vice Commissioner Zing Yongfa, 86-1380-740-6668 (mobile).

Pingjiang County Political and Judiciary Committee Secretary Li Zhihui, 86-1380-740-9376 (mobile); Vice Secretary Li Hui, 86-1380-740-9238 (mobile).

Pingjiang County Police Station Director Li Jianan, 86-1397-400-9799 (mobile); Vice Director Li Zhicheng, 86-1390-740-9663 (mobile).

Yuping Township Secretary Wei Shoji, 86-1360-740-9722 (mobile).

Yuping Township Chief Pan Shiping, 86-1390-740-9129 (mobile), 86-730-6961067 (work).

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2003/11/7/60188.html