Falun Dafa Practitioner Mr. Ma Baosheng Dies as a Result of Torture at the Daqing Forced Labour Camp

Falun Dafa practitioner Mr. Ma Baosheng from Daqing City, Heilongjiang Province went to Beijing to appeal on behalf of Falun Dafa in 2000. He was held at the Zhaozhou County Detention Centre and the Daqing Forced Labour Camp, where he was terribly abused, both physically and mentally. One of the tortures he underwent was "Tying the Rope,"(1) which disabled his arms. The police constantly harassed him at home after he was released. He passed away on January 4, 2005.

Ma Baosheng was 35 years old. He began practising Dafa in 1998 and strictly conducted himself according to Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. He was weak and sickly before, but he felt light-hearted and healthy once he started the practice.

In 1999, Jiang Zemin started the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. In order to speak on behalf of Dafa, Ma Baosheng went to Beijing to appeal in November 2000. Armed police officers beat him in Tiananmen Square and took him to the Zhanqian Police Department. Police officers took Ma Baosheng to the Zhaozhou County Detention Centre, where they held him for one month. During this period, police extorted 5,000 yuan (2) from Ma Baosheng's family. They also confiscated Ma Baosheng's motorcycle, and the perpetrators ransacked his home.

In December 2000, Ma Baosheng again went to Beijing to appeal. He was severely beaten once more in Tiananmen Square and taken to the Chaoyang District Detention Centre, where he was further beaten, thrown into a very cold room, forbidden to sleep and cuffed with his hands behind his back. He was sent back to the Zhaozhou County Detention Centre, where he held a hunger strike to protest the persecution. Guard Wang Zhong cuffed his hands and feet to a bed, pried open his mouth and poured a large amount of salt into his mouth, followed by cold water.

In early 2001, Ma Baosheng was unjustly sentenced to one year of forced labour and sent to the Daqing Forced Labour Camp. He persisted in his belief in Truthfulness-Compassion- Forbearance and was thrown into a cold room and hung up with his hands tied up. As a result of the torture, he lost all feeling in his arms, but gradually recovered after three months.

After Ma Baosheng's release and return home, the local police often harassed him at his home, which caused him great distress. He contracted severe tuberculosis. He could not freely do the Falun Dafa exercises as he wanted. He passed away on January 4, 2005.

Ms. Yu Yaru Passed away on October 7, 2004

Practitioner Ms. Yu Yaru was 76 years old and also lived in Heilongjiang Province. She used to suffer from numerous illnesses, including heart disease. She was told that no doctor could cure her. Nevertheless, she was cured through practising Falun Dafa, and her life was prolonged. After July 22, 1999, perpetrators from the police department, the Street Committee and other government agencies often harassed and threatened her at her home, which prevented her from doing the Falun Gong exercises. She passed away on October 7, 2004.

Mr. Chen Changfa Died as a Result of Persecution in 2001

Practitioner Mr. Chen Changfa was in his 60s and lived in Heilongjiang Province. He was abducted by police and was held in the Zhaozhou County Detention Centre for over one month. He and his wife were later sent to a brainwashing class held by the Zhaozhou County Culture and Education Division and the Judicial and Legislative Bureau. His son and daughter-in-law were abducted and sent to a forced labour camp. Chen Changfa gave up his Falun Dafa practice under tremendous pressure. He suffered a stroke and passed away in 2001.

People responsible for the persecution:

Yongle Police Station in Zhaozhou County: 86-459-8640077, Police officer: Xu Zhigang

Zhaozhou County Detention Centre: 86-459-8522861, Guard: Wang Zhong

Phone numbers of perpetrators at the Daqing Forced Labour Camp

Ying Chengli: labour camp head, 86-459-4326808 (Office), 86-459-6369698 (Home), 86-13329390528 (mobile)

(1) The police tie up the practitioner with a thin rope, circle the rope around his neck, and tie his hands behind his back. Then the police use all the force they can muster to tighten the rope. The rope becomes tighter and tighter around the body of the practitioner, and makes it more and more difficult for him to breathe. The pain is so intense that the practitioner sometimes loses control of his bladder. There have been instances when the rope was tightened enough to break a practitioner's arm.

(2) "Yuan" is the Chinese currency; 500 yuan is equal to the average monthly income of an urban worker in China.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2005/3/12/97171.html