Twenty-six Additional Deaths of Falun Gong Practitioners Under Persecution in China were Confirmed in May 2006 (Photos)

Twenty-six additional persecution-caused deaths of Falun Gong practitioners in Mainland China were confirmed in May 2006. Fourteen of those were female practitioners. Thirteen of the 26 practitioners were over 55 years old. Nine of the 26 deaths occurred between January 2006 and May 2006. Two deaths occurred in May 2006. Minghui/Clearwisdom website statistics have confirmed at least 62 deaths of Falun Gong practitioners in Mainland China between January 2006 and May 2006. Since Jiang Zemin's group and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began persecuting Falun Gong on July 20th, 1999, civil channels have verified the deaths of 2,904 Falun Gong practitioners.

During almost seven years of persecution, the CCP has on one hand fabricated lies about their so-called "life-giving spring breeze and rain" campaign to cover up the persecution facts; on the other hand, it has carried on an information blockade and has covertly conducted a ruthless persecution against innocent Falun Gong practitioners.

Information about persecution deaths of Falun Gong practitioners in this article was supplied by persons inside Mainland China - Falun Gong practitioners and people with a sense of justice. They have risked their lives to investigate and verify this information. They have broken through the CCP's information blockade and transferred information overseas. Yet this news is only the tip of iceberg of the ruthless persecution.

Since the second half of 2000, we suspect that CCP agents have harvested organs from thousands of living Falun Gong practitioners at labour camps, prisons, concentration camps and hospitals. Then they had the bodies cremated 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 numbers or names of practitioners who had their organs harvested. But justice has a long arm. When the actual facts are known in the near future, all doubts will be cleared up.

The 26 deaths that were verified in May are distributed across nine provinces. Six practitioners were from Hebei Province, four were from Shandong Province, three practitioners each were in Jilin Province and Hubei Province, two practitioners each were from Heilongjiang Province, Liaoning Province, Sichuan Province and Shanxi Province. One practitioner each was from Hunan Province and Henan Province. The youngest of the 26 Falun Dafa practitioners tortured to death was Mr. Song Changguang, who was employed at the Jilin University Posts and Telecommunications Institute. He was detained at the Fourth Division of the Chaoyanggou Labour Camp in Changchun City, and beaten in a so-called "Assault Fortified Battle" (intensive transformation). Aside from beatings, he suffered from other tortures, including being shocked with a 350,000-volt electric baton. A once 6-feet tall, strong man was tortured to the point of becoming a skeleton. The skin on his entire lower body completely festered. He died on Nov. 12th, 2002 at only 29 years old.

Tang Zhiqiang recovered from hemiplegia (partial paralysis) by practising Falun Gong but died at the hands of the CCP police

Mr. Tang Zhiqiang was 40 years old. He suffered from hemiplegia. Prior to practising Falun Gong he could not take care of himself. Soon after he began practising Falun Gong on September 20th, 1996, all of his illnesses disappeared and he became healthy. People who knew him said that he changed into a different person. Many other people started practising Falun Gong after observing the changes in him.

After the CCP began persecuting Falun Gong on July 20th, 1999, his place of employment, the factory security people, often monitored Tang Zhiqiang's residence. They took his Dafa books away whenever they found them. Some bad people saw him several times as he copied Dafa articles from memory and took him to the security section. Tang Zhiqiang explained the true situation of Falun Dafa wherever he went. Given the fact that Falun Gong practitioners were denied normal channels of protest and appeal, The persecutors from the factory security section detained him several times, since he was identified as a main persecution target in the factory.

The police arrested Tang Zhiqiang on March 29th, 2004 when he was making leaflets exposing the persecution. The police officers took turns beating, kicking and insulting him throughout the entire night. They sent Tang Zhiqiang to a detention centre and held him there for more than five months. While going through a procedure for medical parole the police station officers struck him in the back at an acupressure point. He immediately lost the ability to take care of himself, could not even open or close a door. He was physically and mentally devastated.

After Mr. Tang's release on medical parole, lawless CCP officials still monitored his residence. They also ransacked his home, threatened and harassed him, which caused his condition to quickly deteriorate. Tang Zhiqiang passed away on December 9th, 2005.

Falun Dafa practitioner Cao Baoyu from Hebei Province died as a result of seven years of persecution

Cao Baoyu

Fifty-six-year old Mr. Cao Baoyu was employed at the Langfang City Pipelines Bureau's Property Management Division. All his diseases were cured after he began to practise Falun Dafa in 1993. Prior to the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong, on July 17th, 1999 Mr. Cao got a phone call. It was from director Zhang of Wuqing County Police Department's Internal Security Section in Tianjin City, who called Cao to this office. Cao was questioned about the Falun Gong practice sites. The bus Mr. Cao rode on his way home was stopped. He was arrested and taken to the Xiazhuzhuang Police Station in Wuqing County. After the CCP began its systematic arresting of Falun Dafa practitioners nationwide, Cao Baoyu was transferred to the Tianjin City Detention Centre where he was secretly detained. His name was changed to "Li Yu."

Cao Baoyu's injuries as a result of torture

The Tainjin City Police Department agents sentenced Cao Baoyu to a four-year prison term without due cause. They charged him with the "crime of illegal assembly of people and disturbing the social order." He suffered inhuman torture at the Tianjin City Prison. He was forced to sit on a "small stool" that is three fingers wide, four fingers high, which could fit into a palm. His health was severely damaged. An abscess 15x5 cm in size (6x2 in) went from his neck toward his back. Tianjin Prison officials ordered the Langfang 610 Office persecutors to arrest Cao, charging him with "not being reformed¹." They took him to a brainwashing class where they continued to persecute him. Cao was taken to a hospital under his family's demands. The exam showed "poisoned by formic acid" (caused by stings and bites from many insects), also called "cutting head boils." The size of the boil was about 10 cm (4 in). The infection had reached the bone, which had been laid bare. The doctors told the family there was no cure, even if they would spend tens of thousands of yuan². Given this diagnosis, the Langfang "610 Office³" agents had to release Cao.

After returning home, Cao Baoyu practised the Falun Gong exercises. He was close to being fully recovered when he was arrested and locked up again during the 2006 Chinese New Year for telling people, who had been misled by the government propaganda, the facts about Falun Dafa and exposing the persecution to some government officers. They beat him and broke the blood vessels in his nose. Even after a week his nose was still bleeding when he blew his nose. Two of his upper teeth had come loose and he suffered hearing loss from the beatings. He couldn't chew his food, even after ten days. Cao Baoyu went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution and was released on February 13th, 2006. On the morning of February 18th when Cao was still extremely weak, the persecutors came to his home. They were from Langfang City Police Department, Guangyang District Police Department, State Security Division. The officials had sent the State Security Division chief and five other people, including the Beiwang Police Station chief to Cao's home. They jumped over the wall, broke into Cao's house and arrested him. They took him to a "brainwashing class" and refused to tell Cao's family members where they had taken him. Staff from the Langfang Procuratorate and Langfang Police Department arrested Cao Baoyu formally shortly after with the charge of "disturbing the social order."

When Cao Baoyu ended up in critical condition, Langfang City Hospital officials and Chinese Medicine Hospital officials issued a critical notice to the family. Langfang City Detention Centre officials prepared notification of his impending release. However, Guangyang District "610 Office" agents refused to release the notification to the family and they transferred Cao to Guangyang District People's Hospital for further persecution. They concealed the truth, and hindered and threatened family members who tried to visit. Cao Baoyu was force-fed daily and suffered from a stomach hemorrhage. He also suffered from bowel and bladder incontinence. The family members asked director Liu from the Guangyang District Government Office who would be accountable for the problems caused by force-feeding. Liu answered that they did everything according to the doctors' orders. In turn, the doctors said they took their orders from the "610 Office." All tried to shirk the responsibility.

Cao Baoyu died on 12am, April 27th, 2006 at the Guangyang District People's Hospital (Beidajie Hospital) as a result of the persecution.

Ms. Tan Pingyun was tortured to death by agents at the Second Women's Forced Labour Camp in Shandong Province,. Police threaten family members and try to shirk their responsibility

Tan Pingyun and her daughter Yu Feng

Ms. Tan Pingyun was 56 years old, from Weifang City, Shandong Province. At around 11:40 a.m. on May 18th, 2006, Ms. Tan's family received a phone call from the labour camp, informing them that she was dying and telling them to go to the Military 148 Hospital to see her for the last time.

Ms. Tan's family arrived at the hospital at 2:30 in the afternoon. By that time her body was cold and her breathing and heartbeat could barely be detected. There were no apparent injuries on her body. When asked about the cause of her condition, the labour camp officials did not give a direct answer. Instead, they claimed that she drank some toilet bowl cleaner when asked to clean the toilet at 7 o'clock that morning. The police said they had sent her to a hospital after finding out what happened. The hospital treated her symptoms as high blood pressure. After the treatment failed, they transferred her to the 148 Hospital.

Detention centres and labour camps usually do not store toilet bowl cleaner because it is a prohibited item. Toilets are customarily cleaned with laundry detergent. As a further point of information, Ms. Tan Pingyun who was supposed to have drunk toilet bowl cleaner, still had rosy lips and an intact tongue and teeth. According to experts, anyone who drinks toilet bowl cleaner would have burns on his or her mouth and tongue.

During the official conversation, the police learned that Ms. Tan's second brother Tan Weiming did not practise Falun Gong. They only spoke with him and forbade other family members to be present. The police intimidated the family by telling them that they knew Ms. Tan's elder sister, Ms. Tan Aiyun, had participated in many Falun Gong activities. They knew that she had gone online to download Falun Gong materials and that "the family was in trouble." The truth is that Ms. Tan Aiyun is in her 70s. She was once persecuted in a labour camp for three years, is extremely weak from the persecution. She does not know how to use a computer, let alone go online to download materials.

When asked what requests the family had, under police intimidation, Mr. Tan Weiming said their only request was to get Ms. Tan's body back home. The police were very afraid of the request. They emphasised that the family would absolutely be forbidden to take Ms. Tan's body home, and that her body had to be cremated in the labour camp area.

During the night of May 19th, Zhong from the local Kuiwen District "610 Office," Liang Bin from the Kuiwen District Police Department, and Guan from Ms. Tan's place of work were asked to go to the labour camp. They, along with personnel from the Provincial Justice Department, from the Provincial Labour Camp Bureau and the labour camp itself, tried to persuade Mr. Tan Weiming to drop the family's request to have the body sent home. They said they would consider any other requests. They also offered Mr. Tan Weiming money. He had no other choice but agree to accept a compensation of 3,000 yuan and then have the body cremated in the labour camp area.

During the ruthless persecution, the CCP "610 Office" police ransack practitioners' homes and extort money from them at will

Under the direct orders from the CCP and Jiang Zemin's personal orders, the "610 Office" police would subject Falun Gong practitioners to mental devastation and physical torture without scruples. That includes ransacking their homes and capriciously issuing fines. Practitioners listed among the May deaths were typically subjected to financial extortion from the authorities.

* Ms. Guo Xianghong, 56 years old, was a resident of Nanqijiazhuang Village, Sizhilan Town, Ningjin County, Hebei Province. On December 23rd, 1999, she went to Beijing to appeal and was taken back to her village by Guo Jianzhong, the head of the local "610 Office." The heads of the political and security section Liu Liying and Wang Gangjun were also involved. They detained her in a local detention centre for one month. The police handcuffed her hands behind her back and tortured her for two to three days. Later on, they extorted 5,000 yuan from her "for bail" and released her to await interrogation. Between 1999 and 2004, agents from the "610 Office" and from the Sizhilan Town Police Station often went to search her home to harass and threaten her. One day in 2000 the police went to her home to arrest her but could not find her. They arrested her husband, a non-practitioner, and took him to the Sizhilan Township No. 3 Factory, severely beat him, and then extorted 1,100 yuan from him before releasing him. Due to several arrests by the "610 Office" and the local police, as well as continuing threats and harassment by the local police station, Guo Xianghong suffered physical and mental devastation, brought on by several arrests from the persecutors. She died on December 9th, 2004.

*Ms. Du Shurong, 69, lived in Datong City, Shanxi Province and began Falun Dafa practice in 1995. Since then all her illnesses disappeared. When the persecution began in 1999, Ms. Du travelled to Beijing three times to appeal for justice for Falun Gong. As a result, she was detained for over 100 days.

One day in January 2001, the police broke into Du Shurong's home at 1:00 a.m. and arrested her and her husband. Du Shurong was sentenced to one year of forced labour and her husband was sentenced to two years in prison. Later, her family paid huge sums of money to get them out. Subsequently, the police constantly harassed and monitored them. They were forced to move seven times to avoid further persecution, which deprived this persecuted couple of a normal life. Du Shurong suffered from enormous mental stress, leading to a gradual deterioration of her physical condition. She passed away on December 8th, 2005.

* Mr. Zhang Anpu, 38, was an electrician and lived in Tongcheng County, Xianning City, Hubei Province. Three plainclothes policemen arrested him at the New Post Office street side on April 6th, 2006, located in Beimen of Tongcheng County. He was then incarcerated in the Tongcheng First Detention Centre where he was cruelly abused. The guards beat Mr. Zhang Anpu, making his whole body swell, and he appeared to have heart disease. The CCP officials extorted four thousand yuan from his family, and then released him at 11:00 a.m. on April 29th, 2006. The right side of his lower back had a red mark that covered a large area, and there was swollen tissue on the back of his neck. His injuries were very serious. Mr. Zhang Anpu died the next day, at 10:00 a.m. on April 30th, 2006.

* Ms. Liu Yulan, 53 years old, was a resident of the Guta District, Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province. She started to practise Falun Dafa in April 1999, and lived by the standards of Truth-Compassion-Forbearance. Because of this, her mind and physical condition changed greatly. Her severe diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease disappeared. She appealed for Dafa. On May 5th, 2001 she posted a "Falun Dafa is Good" banner and was seen and reported. She was then arrested by agents from the "610 Office" and sent to the Jingye Police Station where she was unconstitutionally detained. They released her the next day, after extorting more than 1,000 yuan from her. Afterwards, CCP members monitored her. Layers of high pressure under the persecution traumatised her mind. Her old illnesses relapsed. She passed away on March 17th, 2006.

* Ms. Sun Nianrong was 65 years old. She lived in Unit No. 2, Apt 403, Bldg 21, the Yanxi Community, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province. After the CCP government started to persecute Falun Gong, she went to Beijing to appeal to higher authorities to petition to stop the persecution. On September 30th, 1999, policeman Gao Dongxi and others, without showing any ID cards, arrested Ms. Sun and more than ten other practitioners and took them to the local police station. The police handcuffed Ms. Sun and the other practitioners onto the staircase between the first and second floors of the local police station for three days and nights. In November 1999, agents from the Jianda Police Station and residential committee members from the Yanxi Community, Changan District went to Ms. Sun's employers to force them to stop paying her wages.

On May 12th, 2001 officers from the Taoyuan Police Station arrested Ms. Sun. The chief handcuffed her to a metal window for two days. Officials from the No. 4 Armed Police Division from the local Changan local police station then took her to Xinle County Detention Centre where she was imprisoned for 20 days.

On August 10th, 2001, policemen Zhang Zhong and Zhang Jianmin from the No. 4 Criminal Police Division coerced Ms. Sun into going to the No. 1 Hospital and the No. 132 Hospital in Hebei Province, respectively, where staff would "examine" her body. After being fined 5,000 yuan, they sentenced her to a year of forced labour and took her to the No. 5 Division in the Shijiazhuang Forced Labour Camp.

Ms. Sun suffered tremendously in that division. Following her release, the officials frequently monitored and harassed her. The Changfeng Police Station extorted 3,000 yuan of her salary through her company in March 2003.

Ms. Sun's home was later ransacked and she was taken to a brainwashing centre, to be persecuted again. The police sent her home after she had gone on a hunger strike for six days and nights. She suffered extremely, both mentally and physically, and passed away on April 7th, 2006.

Note

1. "Reform or Transform" Implementation of brainwashing and torture in order to force a practitioner to renounce Falun Gong. (Variations: "reform", "transform", "reformed", "reforming", "transformed", "transforming", and "transformation")

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

3. "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.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.ca/mh/artihttp://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2006/6/6/129715.html

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