61 Falun Gong Practitioners Die in August as a Result of Torture

Minghui correspondent Gu Anru reports: according to statistics on the Minghui website (the Chinese version of the Falun Dafa related website, Clearwisdom), in August 2005, the torture deaths of 61 Falun Gong practitioners in Mainland China have been verified through civil channels.

The number of Falun Gong practitioners confirmed dead as a result of the persecution reached 2,781 on August 31st 2005.

The 61 deaths are distributed over 17 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities. Nine torture deaths took place in Liaoning Province and Heilongjiang Province, eight in Sichuan Province, seven in Shandong Province, five in Jilin Province, five in Hebei Province, two each in Gansu Province, Hubei Province, Guizhou Province, Anhui Province, Beijing, and Chongqing; one death each in Hunan Province, Shanxi Province, Tianjin and Shanghai. Due to the information blockade, the region where one torture death took place requires further investigation.

Among the 61 practitioners, 25 or 41% of the total were women, and 33 or 54% of the total were above 50 years of age. Twenty-eight of the deaths occurred in 2005, including six in August 2005. The youngest victim was 21 years old. His name is Pei Feng and he lived in Shenyang City, Liaoning Province.

The tortures the practitioners were subjected to are shocking and inhumane. Their description reveals the ruthlessness of the persecution.

Thirty-Year-Old Mr. Wu Chunlong Tortured to Death in the Jiamusi Labour Camp

Falun Dafa practitioner Mr. Wu Chunlong from Jiamusi City, Heilongjiang Province was tortured in the Jiamusi City Labour Camp until he was near death. He was completely emaciated and was unable to think clearly. When he was finally sent home on April 30th 2005, he could not speak. His condition gradually improved with the care of his family, but police from the Songlin Station kept monitoring him very closely. They constantly threatened and harassed him. Mr. Wu died on August 20th 2005, although he was only 30 years old.

One week before Wu Chunlong passed away	Wu Chunlong died at 2 a.m. on August 20, 2005
Wu Chunlong passed away	Wu Chunlong's bones are clearly visible when he passed away

Mr. Wu started practising Falun Dafa in 1995. In the spring of1995, Mr. Wu suffered from rheumatoid arthritis; his legs swelled up and he could not walk. He quickly recovered, however, after he started practising Falun Gong.

In July 1999, when the Chiense Communist Party (CCP) started the persecution, Mr. Wu went to Beijing twice to appeal to the government for justice for Falun Gong and told people the wonders of Falun Dafa by relating his personal experiences to them. Twice, the authorities sentenced him to forced labour. He died as a result of the physical torture and mental torment he experienced.

Mr. Wu was first sentenced to three years of forced labour on November 3rd 1999, and was tortured severely in the Jiamusi City Labour Camp during that term. In late November 2001, he was tortured for seven days on the Tiger Bench. See illustration on http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2001/11/24/16156.html.

Other practitioners requested Mr. Wu's release, but when their pleas were rejected, they went on a hunger strike to protest. Practitioners Yao Zhongliang, Xia Zhiliang, Dong Shaohua and Li Jingfeng were locked in the Communication Room. The guards then force-fed them by inserting a tube through their noses into their stomachs. Their hands were cuffed to the sides of the bed, which only allowed them to sit or lie down all day. In addition, their feet were bound. When Mr. Wu's father wanted to meet with him, the authorities extorted a great deal of money from him. Then he was allowed to meet with his son. Finally Mr. Wu was released at the end of 2002. Mr. Wu and his father had to move five times to avoid police harassment.

In October of 2003, Mr. Wu borrowed money to open a hair salon business. His studio opened on November 8th 2003. Only three days later, at noon on November 11th officer An Quanyi from the Yingjun Police Department arrested Mr. Wu and had him sentenced for the second time to three years of forced labour. To be allowed to meet with his son, Mr. Wu Chunlong's father paid almost 20,000 yuan¹ over the course of three years.

At the Jiamusi Forced Labour Camp eight guards brutally tortured Mr. Wu. He went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution and was then force-fed and injected with unknown drugs. He lapsed into a coma a few days later, was incontinent and lost control of his bowels. Seven to eight days into the hunger strike, he lost all feeling from his lower back to his knees. He was unable to move his legs; his chest was cold, his mind was blurry, he was physically emaciated and he was dying.

The guards, however, continued torturing him, even as he was dying. One time the guards dragged him back to the washroom and sprayed him with cold water, so he woke up. Then they dragged him back to his cell. Another time he awoke with a shock in extreme pain; he saw a prisoner was fiercely digging into his left collarbone with his fingers.

Because Mr. Wu would often shout, "Falun Dafa is great," the guards encouraged prisoner Wang Fu to gag him with a towel contaminated with feces. He often did this when Mr. Wu was unconscious, so he would be choked awake by the dirty towel being stuffed into his mouth.

Since the Labour Camp was aware that Mr. Wu was dying, they were concerned about being held responsible for his death. Therefore, on April 30th 2005, prison guards sent him home in a taxi. Before allowing his family to see him, they deceived Mr. Wu's father into signing a statement saying that the family would assume full responsibility for Mr. Wu. They also tried to extort 5,000 Yuan from the family, but Mr. Wu's father had no money to give them. In the end he had to borrow 300 Yuan to give the guards.

When Mr. Wu returned home he looked like a skeleton. He couldn't sit or stand up straight, he couldn't think, he had no facial expression and he could not recognise his own father. His face was very pale; the left side of his face was much larger than the right side and one eye was severely bloodshot, obviously the result of beating. He could not answer any questions from his friends or family. He appeared to be without any memory, thoughts or reactions.

After his fellow practitioners helped him study the Falun Dafa books and did the exercises with him, his health improved greatly. His swollen face returned to normal and he could at times speak a few sentences.

On May 18th 2005, the Jiamusi City Labour Camp sent a guard to the Songlin Police Station, ordering the police to closely monitor Mr. Wu. Early in the morning on May 19th 2005, Yin Xiaodong went to Mr. Wu's home, demanding that he go to the police station every month for interrogation. He said Mr. Wu would be sent back to the Jiamusi City Labour Camp once his health recovered. On May 20th 2005, Yin Xiaodong went to Mr. Wu's home again and requested that he register for a temporary residency certificate with photo identification.

Mr. Wu Chunlong was suffering from memory loss and a nervous breakdown. He had only partially recovered in terms of mental clarity. The police harassment at his home caused him to relive the terror of the labour camp. He lost his appetite and could barely drink some porridge. He had constant diarrhoea, lost more weight, developed a high fever, had rapid and short breathing, was very nervous and could once again not recognise his family.

On July 20th Yin Xiaodong again went to Mr. Wu's home and demanded that his landlord give 10 yuan to the police department. Mr. Wu was so frightened by Yin Xiaodong's presence that he had a complete nervous breakdown.

Mr. Wu Chunlong passed away at around 2 a.m. on August 20th at the age of 30.

Falun Dafa practitioner Mr. Kang Yunling passed away in exile while resisting persecution

Falun Dafa practitioner Mr. Kang Yunling from Liaoyuan City, Jilin Province passed away at age 36 after officials pursued him for one year.

Mr. Kang Yunling lived in Liaoyuan City in Jilin Province. He started practising Falun Dafa in 1993. After the persecution began, the authorities sent him to a forced labour camp and brutally tortured him for continuing to practise Falun Dafa.

On July 5th 2004, when he was carrying Falun Dafa materials someone reported him. After he got off the bus, officers beat him and then held him at the Dongfeng County Detention Centre. They took 1,700 Yuan cash and four bankbooks from him.

He began a hunger strike on July 7th 2004, to protest the persecution, so the police force-fed him. His health was severely harmed and he became extremely weak.

Seeing that his condition was deteriorating, the detention centre authorities did not want to take responsibility, so they released him, but only after 20 days and after extorting 2,000 Yuan from his family. He was extremely weak by then and on the brink of death. After he returned home, the police continued to constantly harass him, so he left home to escape further persecution.

Mr. Kang lived in exile, but the Liaoyuan City National Security Bureau pursued him everywhere. They often harassed his family. During this period his resources were meagre because he had no source of income, but he was frugal and still did much to tell people the truth about Falun Dafa.

In July 2005, Kang Yunling's health took a turn for the worse. His weight dropped to below 80 pounds. He passed away on August 18th 2005.

Note:

(1) "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/2005/9/5/109797.html