Twenty-three Deaths of Dafa Practitioners Under Persecution in China Confirmed in April 2006 (Photos)

In April 2006, 23 cases of Dafa practitioners in Mainland China dying from the persecution were confirmed. Among them are 11 female practitioners, 48% of the total; nine of the 23 practitioners, 39% of the total who died, were over 55 years old. The youngest was Ms. Du Juan, a 29-year-old doctor from Chongqing City who died on April 14th, 2006. Sixteen of the 23 deaths occurred between January 2006 and April 2006. Five practitioners died in April 2006. Minghui/Clearwisdom website statistics have confirmed at least 53 deaths of Falun Gong practitioners in Mainland China between January 2006 and April 2006.

Since Jiang Zemin's group and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began persecuting Falun Gong on July 20th, 1999, the deaths of 2,876 Falun Gong practitioners have been verified through civil channels, yet this is only the tip of the iceberg of deaths resulting from persecution. Recently, it has been exposed that agents from the CCP have harvested organs from living Falun Gong practitioners at labour camps, prisons, concentration camps and hospitals, and then cremated the bodies to destroy the evidence. Due to the information blockade and the CCP's cover-up, we have so far been unable to verify or confirm the number or names of practitioners who had their organs harvested.

During nearly seven years of persecution, staff members at detention centres, labour camps, prisons, 610 Office¹ locations, hospitals and other locations of persecution have carried out mental and physical torture against Falun Gong practitioners. It happened under the Jiang Zemin group's policy of "beating to death is counted as suicide" and a series of other genocidal policies.

The persecutors administered torture to force the practitioners to give up their belief and also to fulfil "reform quotas" [for specific numbers of Falun Gong practitioners who renounced their belief]. They have used more than forty types of torture including electric shock, burning, brutal force-feeding, rape and gang rape of female practitioners, injection and forced intake of nerve-damaging drugs, which resulted in the death and permanent disability of many Falun Gong practitioners. Moreover, these locations where Falun Gong practitioners are held are also places where agents of the CCP harvest organs from living practitioners. These locations serve as live organ banks. Guards working at these places often threaten Falun Gong practitioners by saying things such as, "If you don't 'reform,' you'll be sent to labour camps in the northwest and will never return." Some guards openly instructed inmates who beat the practitioners, "Don't hit the lower back. The kidneys are useful!" We can tell despite the information blockade that many Falun Gong practitioners have disappeared after arrest and detention.

The 23 cases that were verified in April are distributed across ten provinces and cities. Five practitioners each were in Heilongjiang Province and Liaoning Province, four practitioners were in Jilin Province, two practitioners each were in Hebei Province and Chongqing City, and one practitioner each from Gansu Province, Hubei Province, Anhui Province, Beijing and Jiangsu Province. Some of these practitioners were tortured to death in police custody. Some were tortured to the brink of death and then released, after which they were continuously harassed and persecuted by local CCP officials who ransacked their homes and followed them in the streets. They passed away under tremendous pressure.

Thirty-two year-old Mr. Wang Jianguo tortured to death at the No. 1 Detention Centre in Jilin City

Mr. Wang Jianguo, 32, was a practitioner in Jilin Province. He and his wife Zhao Qiumei of Jilin City were arrested by a group of policemen headed by Tan Xinqiang from the Nanjing Police Station in Chuanying District on March 2nd, 2006. Zhao Qiumei was sentenced to one year of forced labour. Wang Jianguo was tortured at the Nanjing Police station and then held at a detention centre. On April 10th he was tortured to death at the No. 1 Detention Centre of Jilin City.

Death after 40 days: a good person is persecuted. Who knows the grief of the white-haired parents who bid goodbye to their son.

Wang Jianguo used to practise kung fu and was very healthy. He and his wife owned a small food shop. On March 2nd, 2006, officers from the Nanjing Police Station in the Chuanying District ransacked Wang Jianguo's home. They arrested Wang Jianguo and Zhao Qiumei and took property worth more than 30,000 yuan² and 3,200 yuan in cash. The police were very rude when the family questioned them about the missing property and money. After arresting Wang Jianguo, the police tortured him until severe injuries were left on his face and arms. On March 31st, officers from the Nanjing Police Station sent Zhao Qiumei to the No. 1 Detention Centre in Jilin City.

On the morning of April 11th, Wang Jianguo's family received a phone call from the No. 1 Detention Centre in Jilin City saying, "Yesterday, Wang Jianguo was sent to the No. 2 Hospital for emergency treatment. He could not be revived and died from respiratory failure..." It has been learned that Wang Jianguo was savagely force-fed at the detention centre.

According to the physical exam record: T: 0, P: 0/minute R: 0/minute

BP: 0/0mmHg, consciousness: 0, Pupils: Left 4mm right 8 -10mm, Rescue situation: The patient was dead on arrival. Permission was given by the detention chief not to do a CAT scan on the patient's head.

At the autopsy centre the family discovered bumps on the back of Wang Jianguo's head, scars on the left forearm, wounds on the right side of the face covered by a thick scab, and the torso was dark purple. The family confronted Cong Maohua, deputy head of the detention centre, "When did you notify the family? Why didn't you people notify the family immediately when his life was in danger?" Cong Maohua said, "We couldn't find the family." The family asked, "Then how did you find the family when you arrested him? You sent him to the hospital after he had already stopped breathing, and for what?"

Wang Jianguo's family was devastated. They set up a memorial shrine inside their courtyard. Their relatives and friends, neighbours and fellow villagers went to give their condolences. Many of the villagers shed tears for this young man's wrongful death.

Officials from Jilin City and from the "610 Office" threatened Wang Jianguo's family and ordered them to take down the shrine and cremate the body. The family firmly refused and said, "If you don't give us justice, we'll sue you right up the ladder, from local to central courts, and we won't give up until we find justice." Some police officers were also angry and said, "Next time don't come to us for this type of thing. We thought they [the detention centre and the "610 Office"] really wanted to solve the problem! You guys should sue them."

Ms. Su Juzhen in Liaoning Province Suffered a Mental Collapse and Passed Away Due to Drug Poisoning and Torture at a Forced Labour Camp

Ms. Su Juzhen was 49 years old and lived in Qiansuo Town, Suizhong County, Huludao City, Liaoning Province. She suffered from severe heart disease, stomach problems, roundworms in the gallbladder, and frequent swelling of both calves. She started practising Dafa in 1996, and soon all of her illnesses disappeared.

Su Juzhen conducted herself according to Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance at all times and was a well-known good person. She never hesitated to help others. She made a living by operating a beauty parlour and gave free services to poor customers who were unable to pay, and frequently gave them money. She was awarded the distinction of "Outstanding Self-employed Businessperson" several times.

Additionally, Ms. Su often provided financial assistance to poor students. In appreciation of her selfless deeds, the principal of Qiansuo No. 3 High School once personally delivered a silk banner to her. Su Juzhen often visited elderly people in nursing homes, bringing them daily necessities and food. She also donated money to repair the Xihe Bridge. Her family was recognised as one of the "Ten Outstanding Families in Huludao City." Ms. Su credited her practice of Falun Gong for her being able to accomplish so many good deeds. Once, a TV station interviewed her. She told the reporter, "I did these things because I practise Falun Gong."

In 1999, when Su Juzhen was arrested by local police for persisting in her belief in Falun Gong, about forty local families went to the government and begged the officials to release her. They asked the officials, "She fixed the road and does only good things for people! Why don't you release such a great person?"

Su Juzhen did good things wherever she went, even when she was being persecuted by the CCP. During September and October 1999, when Su Juzhen was incarcerated at the Suizhong Detention Centre, the detention centre authorities demanded 200 yuan from an old man from Gejiaxiang, Suizhong County, who was also held at the detention centre. The old man's family did not have the money, so Su Juzhen gave him 200 yuan. Later, the old man's son went to the Suizhong Detention Centre with some fruit to visit Su Juzhen, but the detention centre authorities would not let him meet with her. During her detention, Su Juzhen often gave financial assistance to the inmates.

Su Juzhen appealed on behalf of Falun Gong many times and was savagely persecuted by the CCP. They transferred Su Juzhen from one labour camp to another including the Masanjia Forced Labour Camp, the Zhangshi Forced Labour Camp, Longshan Forced Labour Camp, and Shenxin Forced Labour Camp, among other places. Later, Su Juzhen's family didn't know her whereabouts. They went to many places and finally found out that she was being held at the Shenxin Forced Labour Camp.

During the detention, Su Juzhen suffered all kinds of torture and humiliation and was injected with nerve-damaging drugs, which resulted in a nervous breakdown. In February 2002, authorities from the Shenxin Forced Labour Camp told Su Juzhen's family to pick her up after extorting 1,500 yuan from the family. Several people carried Su Juzhen out of the labour camp. She could not move her limbs, her eyes were blank, and she had no facial expression. She could not eat until the 22nd day after she went home. Her family later found wounds near her vagina and needle marks on her body.

After Su Juzhen went home, officers from the Suizhong Police Station, the Qiansuo Town government and the Qiansuo Police Station constantly harassed her and frequently ransacked her home. They arrested her 19-year-old daughter, who took care of Su Juzhen and provided the only source of income for the family, and sent her to a brainwashing centre.

After several years of persecution, Su Juzhen's physical and mental health steadily declined. She passed away at 8:30 a.m. on April 8th, 2006 at the age of 49.

In the morning of April 9th, when her body was cremated at the Qiansuo Crematory in Suizhong County, it was found that her skull, shinbones and ribs were black and could not be cremated. According to an expert, this is a sign of drug poisoning. Many witnesses have confirmed that Su Juzhen was forcibly injected with nerve-damaging drugs at the Masanjia Forced Labour Camp. These blackened bones confirm this fact. The workers at the crematory, her family and friends, and family members of other deceased saw the bones and compared them to the ash from other bodies. It was clear that these bones were not normal.

Her husband grew weak and experienced a stroke because of his wife suffering from persecution. His younger daughter dropped out of school because of it. Her older daughter, who was attending university, was forced to quit school in order to take care of her father and younger sister when Su Juzhen was held in a labour camp. Su Juzhen's father lost his sight in both eyes from excessive grief. Her mother, in her 80s, suffered a near mental collapse due to the series of heavy blows.

Some Cases of Death from Persecution that were Confirmed in April

Practitioner Ms. Du Juan was a medical doctor at the Shaping Oil Field Employee Hospital in the Yubei District, Chongqing City. Du Juan persisted in practising Falun Gong. She was twice arrested and sent to the Maojiashan Women's Forced Labour Camp in Chongqing City, where she was savagely tortured for four years and six months. Her spleen, lungs and liver ulcerated. She ran a consistent high fever and had difficulty breathing. On March 24th, 2005 she was released on medical parole. After she went home, the local CCP officials and police constantly harassed, followed and otherwise persecuted her. She went into exile to avoid further persecution, and passed away on April 14th, 2006 at the age of 29.

Practitioner Ms. Wu Junying was 54 years old. On January 17th, 2006, six officers from the Daxing District National Security Bureau in Beijing arrested Ms. Wu Junying, a peasant. They held her in the Beijing City Dispatch Division. Later, they sentenced her to two-and-a-half years of forced labour. On March 29th, Wu Junying was sent to the Xinan Forced Labour Camp in Beijing. At around 7:00 p.m. on March 31st, her family was told that Wu Junying had passed away. Her family looked at the body and saw that her hands were purple with needle marks. Right now, the family is talking to labour camp officials. The head of the labour camp and related police officers are avoiding the family.

Practitioner Ms. Cong Guixian from Songyuan City, Jilin Province was sentenced to a ten-year prison term and was detained at Heizuizi Women's Prison in Changchun. They inserted pins under her fingernails, used bamboo pins to nail down her fingers, and tortured her for 48 hours in an effort to extract information about other practitioners' whereabouts. They also tied her up and pulled her in four directions at the same time. This caused her hands and feet to swell and bleed profusely. When Cong Guixian lost consciousness they used fire to burn her feet. When the police were persecuting her they also threatened her, "We will take you to your son's school and show your miserable state to your son." She developed very severe illness symptoms during detention and had to be released on medical parole in 2005. Cong passed away at 3:10 p.m. on March 28th, 2006.

Practitioner Mr. Li Jinzhao was 63 years old and lived in Zhangying Village, Linquan County, Anhui Province. All of his various illnesses disappeared after he started practising Falun Gong in 1995. After Jiang Zemin's group started persecuting Falun Gong in 1999, police officer Qiu San and police chief Sun Kongzhi arrested him many times and held him in custody centres, labour camps and brainwashing centres, where he was tortured physically and mentally. In July 2005, Li Jinzhao was again arrested and held at the Linquan County Detention Centre. He was tortured many times, followed by brainwashing sessions, where he was tortured until his whole body swelled up and he was on the brink of death. He passed away on October 3rd, 2005, several days after he went home from medical parole.

Practitioner Mr. Guo Jitang, 54 years old, lived in Zhengyuan Village, Fenghuang Town, Xinzhou District of Wuhan City in Hubei Province. He started practising Falun Gong in 1998. While he was explaining the true situation of Falun Dafa to the local residents in April 2005, people deceived by the CCP's propaganda reported him, and Mr. Guo was therefore severely beaten by the police. In great agony, Guo Jitang died from his injuries on the night of April 25th, 2005. According to Mr. Guo's family, his body was badly beaten and was covered with bruises and blood. His clothes were torn apart. Ms. Sun Suzhen, 55, lived in the Yingzhou District, Tieling City, Liaoning Province. She was sentenced to five years of imprisonment in 2003 and sent to the Liaoning Provincial Women's Prison. Guard Qian Lei shocked her with electric batons and forced her to squat and to do heavy slave labour. Inmates Wang Min and Zhang Suhua also beat and cursed at her. Sun Suzhen passed away on March 25th, 2005, under long-term physical and mental torture. Sun Suzhen's husband Han Kai chose to live in exile to avoid further persecution, and his current whereabouts are unknown.

Ms. Deng Wenjie, 56, lived in Siping City, Jilin Province. She started practising Falun Gong in 1997. She previously suffered from gynaecological problems and severe stomach problems, but she completely recovered one month after she started practising Falun Gong. In 2001 police arrested her and held her at a labour camp. Deng Wenjie held a hunger strike to protest the persecution, and the guards brutally force-fed her. They broke a major artery with the feeding tube, and she died quickly afterwards.

Note

1. "The 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.

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/2006/5/5/126886.html