Taiwan: Those who Practise Falun Gong Call For Help in Southern Taiwan to Rescue Mainland Family Members Persecuted in China

Ms. Xiang Lijie practices Falun Gong and lives in Liaoyuan City of Jilin Province in China. She married Taiwanese citizen Yang Jinyi in 1995 who then enjoyed a harmonious relationship. Because she practices Falun Gong, Ms. Xiang was illegally sentenced to 3 years in a forced labour camp by the Liaoyuan authorities in February of 2001 putting an abrupt end to this once happy relationship. She was then taken to Heizuizi Forced Labour Camp in Changchun City. The guards repeatedly tried to force Ms. Xiang to denounce Falun Gong. She then staged a hunger strike as a form of peaceful protest against her unlawful detention. Xiang Lijie was illegally detained in the forced labour camp for one and a half years. Recently, the local police deceived her into going to the police station. She was told to go there to process the necessary paperwork in order to gain her freedom back to Taiwan. However, once she arrived she was illegally detained at the station. With help from her family members and people from all circles, Ms. Xiang Lijie has recently been released.

The Liaoyuan Police Bureau has refused Ms. Xiang's request to return to Taiwan to reunite with her husband. Moreover, the security brigade of the police bureau even wanted to detain her for a second time. To help reunite Ms. Xiang Lijie and her husband, Falun Gong practitioners from Southern Taiwan have been raising awareness of their case as well as other factors regarding the persecution of Falun Gong, at the Taiwanese tourist resort "Chiqian Lou." They sincerely hope that Ms. Xiang, as well as all other practitioners who are being illegally detained, can be released as soon as possible.