What Caused the Death of Mr. Wang Dayuan, a 36 year old College Teacher?

Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Wang Dayuan, 36, was a lecturer at the Harbin Institute of Technology and Computer Science.

At the end of October 2002, police searched his home and arrested him. Under police detention, he refused to give up his belief. As a result, he was kept under indefinite detention. In the summer of 2003, Wang Dayuan, a well liked young man, was illegally sentenced to eight years in prison.

Wang Dayuan and other Dafa practitioners were first sent for "concentration training." From the first day of this brainwashing technique in Harbin Prison, the prison police made every one sit still on a foldable stool, the whole day long, till midnight for several days. Every day the police would extend the time longer than the day before. No one was allowed to leave the sitting position. The police would punch and kick anyone who tried to move. The police forced them to write "repentance letters" [statement that promises to break with Falun Gong, guarantees not to practise again and express regret about practising Falun Gong in the past]. Some practitioners experienced muscle degeneration at their hips due to forced extended sitting. Later, a dozen camp police savagely beat Wang Dayuan and several fellow practitioners before being sent to small cells for solitary confinement.

The police chained their hands and feet together with handcuffs and shackles and chained them to the ground. They could neither stand up nor lie down. In addition, the police assigned two persons to monitor them around the clock. Their job was to keep the practitioners awake by beating them. The practitioners were not allowed any food. This way the police continued to force them to write "repentance letters."

In China, the large scale "reformation" of Falun Gong practitioners is mostly achieved through brutality in prisons and forced labour camps. This is the truth behind the so-called "warm and humane" persuasion Jiang's group talks about. We can see that the purpose of this concentration camp was to persecute Falun Gong practitioners and force them to give up their belief; however, the persecution did not end when the session was over.

On Friday April 2, 2004, in order to force Wang Dayuan to write an "expose and refute statement." (Similar to what was required in the Cultural Revolution, the statement must twist the facts and claim all the benefits of Falun Gong are harmful. The bottom line is to force practitioners to tell lies to defame Falun Gong) Several policemen took turns beating Wang Dayuan. They also forced him to remain standing at one location for a whole day without lunch.

On Saturday, April 3, Wang Dayuan could not stand the tortures any longer and agreed to write a statement. The physical torture stopped, but his heart was broken. A person's heart and soul was violated; his spirit was being murdered. He was suffering from more painful mental torture. We will never know what went through his mind. But on Sunday April 4, 2004, Wang Dayuan tore up his statement that he wrote against his own conscience. He decided that he would uphold his principles and dignity. Consequently, he defended the most basic human rights, the right to practise his belief, with his own life.

The police originally were thrilled with their "success" (they could have reported this to their boss and got some reward; some could have got a promotion). When they saw their success vanish, they became so furious that they redoubled their brutality to torture him. When Wang Dayuan could no longer stay standing, the police forced him to crawl on the floor. Then they threw him into a storage room. On Monday April 5, 2004, Wang Dayuan was struggling to stay alive. The police ignored his situation and still forced him to do hard labour. Around lunch time Wang Dayuan was dead after another round of beating. As such, a young man was killed by Jiang's followers from this persecution in Harbin's First Prison. To dodge the responsibility, the prison police tried to cover up the truth. However, they failed.

Questions and analysis

A young, healthy and vibrant man was killed by law enforcement officers' brutal torture. Life is most precious; it should be protected and cherished. The law must protect every citizen's life. The law allows no abuse of detainees. Physical torture is absolutely forbidden. Why did police in Harbin's First Prison violate the law despite the fact they are supposed to uphold the law? Up till now, the killers are still at large. Why?

From Wang Dayuan's death we can see, the sole purpose for the brutal tortures was to force him to write a "Reformation Statement" or "Expose and Refute Statement;" they wanted to force him to change. But how can they justify all the cruel tortures for forced reformation? How can one justify killing people in order to change them? The old saying tells us that human life is the most important thing between heaven and earth. Is forced "reformation" more important than life and above the law?

So, what is exactly "reformation?" Who gave the order? Why do they force people to "reform"? Is this legal? "Reformation" is a method used by Jiang Zemin's followers to eradicate Falun Gong. Jiang's regime tries to force all Falun Gong practitioners in China to renounce their belief in Truth, Compassion and Tolerance. The enforcers told the practitioners to stop cultivation practice forever. It was no secret that Jiang issued the order. Of course the practitioners who benefitted from Falun Gong and experienced Dafa's beauty would never give up; that is why they were forced to "reform."

One after another, Falun Gong practitioners were abducted, detained and sentenced to jail terms. In addition to the special brainwashing classes, detention centres and forced labour camps, prisons became special bases for the evildoers to "reform" practitioners. Police in some areas even invented new torture tools, such as "dead man's bed" and even used a "straight jacket." According to a rough estimate, over forty kinds of torture tools are being used on Falun Gong practitioners. The level of cruelty goes way beyond human imagination. The most shameful part of the whole thing is that they force "Reformed" practitioners to fabricate lies, to defame Falun Gong and Teacher Li. Furthermore, they force these people to provide personal testimony (written statements or video/audio recordings) to the general public. In these testimonies, benefit becomes harm. This kind of deception is most damaging. In the meantime, Jiang's group tries to do everything to whitewash their evil acts. Without shame, they portray the murderous demons as angels; demonic persecution becomes "helping and saving" people. If anyone dares to disagree, they will make his life very miserable without mercy.

It is now clear that in the past few years when some so-called former Falun Gong practitioners appeared in the news badmouthing Falun Gong, many of them were forced to act under extreme pressure. People with any conscience are outraged by such ridiculous and shameless shows, but these are facts. Wang Dayuan died because of this policy, didn't he?

As of July 8, 2004, more than 1,000 practitioners like Wang Dayuan are confirmed to have died, most from torture. Probably many more deaths never had a chance to be reported under a water-tight information blockade. Many practitioners were physically injured, disabled or mentally traumatized. More disturbingly, the tragedy is still going on now. In China today, more than one hundred thousand (impossible to have an accurate number) practitioners are incarcerated at prisons, forced labour camps, detention centres and brainwashing classes. Like Wang Dayuan, they are suffering from all kinds of barbaric tortures. There is no personal safety for them.

Article 36 of the Chinese Constitution says, "Citizens of People's Republic of China have the freedom of religion and beliefs." Under this article, believing in Falun Dafa, practicing Falun Gong and living one's life following "Truth, Compassion and Tolerance" are every citizen's basic rights and should be protected by law. Forcing practitioners to give up their beliefs is completely unconstitutional! Article 5 of the Constitution states, "all laws, executive and local regulations must not contradict the Constitution." "No organization or individual has the privilege to rule above the Constitution and the Law." "All violations of the laws should be investigated and prosecuted."

Jiang Zemin persecuted and is still persecuting Falun Gong and is forcing Falun Dafa practitioners to give up their beliefs. His crimes must be stopped immediately! He should be brought to justice according to the law.

In the past five years, the persecution brought great suffering to Falun Gong practitioners. It also exhausted their resources and brought disasters to the Chinese people. The damage is extremely severe. We must stop these crimes. All good people of conscience: let us join our best efforts to end this persecution. We must know that people's kindness and upright thoughts are most important.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2004/7/25/80242.html