Gansu Province Dafa Practitioner Sentenced to Eighteen Years in Prison for Truth-Clarifying TV Broadcast

Mr. Wang Weiping, approximately thirty years old, lived in Gangu County, Gansu Province. Because he insists on living according to the principles of "Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance," and because he clarified the truth to the public, he has been detained on four occasions by the "610 Office."(1)

He was most recently detained after mid-August, 2002, when he was involved in broadcasting truth-clarification programming on TV. The broadcast coincided with broadcasts in Lanzhou and Tianshui. Due to the huge impact of this truth clarification, it was considered a major case by the police, and most practitioners who had participated were arrested.

In September 2002, the Tianshui City Municipal Public Safety Department, the Political Safety Unit, and the "610 Office" broke into Wang Weiping's rented apartment and arrested him. He was given a heavy sentence of 18 years in prison. It was alleged that he was the main coordinator of this TV broadcast event. Tianshui practitioners Mr. Zhao Lan, approximately 40 years old, and Ms. Zhang Jinmei, over 40 years old, were also detained due to the event. There is no available information on their current status or whereabouts.

Wang Weiping has been detained for over a year. He is not allowed to contact anyone outside the prison. His parents and family are not permitted to visit him, nor is he able to receive mail from his family.

(1) "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/2004/2/24/68404.html