Persecution-Related Deaths of Eight Falun Gong Practitioners Verified in November 2006

Sources confirmed in November 2006 that another eight Falun Gong practitioners in Mainland China have died as a result of persecution. Three cases took place in Heilongjiang Province; three in Jilin Province; and one each in Gansu Province and Xinjiang Autonomous Region. Five out of the eight practitioners were women, representing 62% of the total; three were above age 50, 38% of the total.

The eight practitioners died between January and November 2006, and four practitioners died in November 2006. Minghui/Clearwisdom website statistics showed that at least 151 death cases in Mainland China have been verified between January and November 2006. Since the persecution of Falun Gong started in July 1999, the deaths of 2,990 Falun Gong practitioners as a result of persecution have been verified despite the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) strict information blockade.

From these cases it is obvious that the CCP is still frenziedly kidnapping Falun Gong practitioners. Large numbers of Falun Gong practitioners are detained in CCP's detention centres, labour camps, jails, and subject to relentless physical and mental torture. Cases in which Falun Gong practitioners are tortured to death or disability continue to occur.

Several recent death cases

Since August 2006, police in Qiqihar City have again started arresting many practitioners. On September 4th, 2006, Falun Gong practitioner Li Guiqin and her husband Fu Guiming were arrested by police from Zhengyang Police Station; their home was ransacked. Ms. Li and her husband were tortured. Police forced Ms. Li to provide information about other practitioners and she firmly refused. Five days later, on September 9th, Ms. Li died as a result of torture. Ms. Li's husband, Mr. Fu, is currently imprisoned at Qiqihar City Detention Centre.

Ms. Cao Aihua, a Falun Dafa practitioner from Aksu City, Xinjiang Autonomous Region, had one breast removed in the past because she had breast cancer. When she started to practise Falun Gong in the summer of 1998, she had just finished chemotherapy treatments. As the result of chemotherapy treatments, she had lost almost all her hair and she weighed less than 40kg. After only one week of practising Falun Gong, she felt that Dafa had cleansed her body and she started to recover. After the persecution began, she persistently appealed for Dafa and was detained and sent to a labour camp multiple times. Her mother knelt before the police officers. She told them how her daughter regained her health from practising Falun Gong, and begged them not to put her daughter into the forced labour camp. Her husband travelled more than 1000 km every month to visit her. Although her husband is not a practitioner, he knows that Falun Gong gave his wife a second life. In the summer of 2006, Ms. Cao was arrested again. In November she was sent to the Urumqi Women's Forced Labour Camp in Xinjiang. Only several days later she was tortured to death.

Mr. Liu Yongchun, 52, lived in the Sixth Group of Baishu Village, Baishu Township, Wuwei City, Gansu Province. On June 12th, 2003, When Mr. Liu distributed leaflets exposing the persecution and posted Falun Dafa banners, Wuwei City State Security agent Chen Fenggang and others arrested him and brutally beat him. Mr. Liu was sentenced to five years in prison by the Wuwei City Court, and was taken to be detained in the Dashaping Prison in Lanzhou City. Guard He Liqing told prisoners, "You are not to beat other prisoners, only beat Falun Gong practitioners, and beat them to death!" He directed prisoners to beat Mr. Liu cruelly and used electric batons to shock him, which caused several of Mr. Liu's teeth to fall out. In 2004 and 2005, Mr. Liu was transferred to the Wuwei City Third Prison and Jiuquan Prison, respectively. Prison guards tortured practitioners with all sorts of means such as being scalded with boiling water, burned with cigarettes, beaten with a metal stove hook, burned with a red-hot metal stove hook, having a live rabbit put in the pants and having it bite or scratch the private area, being cuffed in a position where the practitioner could not stand up straight or sit down, and having the arms twisted and head slammed against the wall by being pulled by the neck, etc. Falun Dafa practitioners were often beaten until their faces were covered with blood and bruises covered their heads and bodies. If any practitioners refuse to accept the brainwashing, they were deprived of sleep. On November 4th, 2006, the Jiuquan Prison administration called Mr. Liu Yongchun's home and claimed that Mr. Liu Yongchun died of "illness" on November 3rd, 2005. The prison administration forbids his family to see the body below his head or go near the body.

Thirty-six year old Yang Hongquan was tortured to death, leaving behind his elderly mother who had no income

Mr. Yang Hongquan, 36, a Falun Gong practitioner in Jilin Province, started cultivation with his wife at the end of 1998. After starting cultivation, Mr. Yang followed the teaching of "Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance" and tried his best to be a good person. His back and leg pain that he had suffered from for many years were cured. On July 20th, 1999, the Jiang Zemin and CCP regime started its violent persecution of Falun Gong. Mr. Yang wanted to appeal to the government and went to the provincial government to appeal for Dafa. However he was stopped by the public security bureau on his way and taken back to a local (Jilin City) detention centre, where he was detained for fifteen days.

In 2000, Mr. Yang again went to the Tiananmen Square to appeal for Dafa, and was badly battered by the police. His blood soaked his handkerchief. Later he was taken to the Mentougou Detention Centre in Beijing. There he went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution. The police bound him to a chair and tried to force-feed him and Mr. Yang lost consciousness in the cell. Being afraid of shouldering the responsibility, the police released him. After he was released, Mr. Yang was often harassed by the police, who tried to force him to give up his belief in "Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance."

In 2003, Mr. Yang was once again arrested by the Yanji City National Security Team, who badly tortured him. During this time, the police beat him, used a wood plank to scrape his ribs, and dragged him around by his hair. The police also used plastic bags to cover his head and suffocate him. They released him momentarily when they saw him near death before they repeated the suffocation.

In February 2004, Mr. Yang was again arrested, and was detained at the Yanji City Detention Centre for over one month. He not only lost his personal freedom, but also lost his right to use the washroom.

After several more incidents of torture, Mr. Yang's health condition began to deteriorate daily. Under all kinds of physical and mental torture, Mr. Yang developed uraemia. After he learned that his wife had not been released even though she suffered a mental breakdown due to the police's torture. Mr. Yang could not help shedding tears. His health condition deteriorated daily. He died on August 29th, 2006, leaving behind his elderly mother who had no income.

Lin Shixiong was deprived of everything, including his life

Mr. Lin Shixiong, 46, was a manager of the Mitsubishi Repair Division in Yanji City, Jilin Province. He had a happy family and a career many people admired. However, during the seven-year persecution, he almost lost everything he owned.

When the persecution started, Mr. Lin wrote an open letter to the mayor of Yanji. As a result, he was sent to a forced labour camp for one year. After he was released, Mr. Lin continued to publicly speak out for justice about Falun Gong. Unfortunately, in 2002, Mr. Lin was once again arrested and detained in Yanji City Detention Centre for almost two years. The Yanji City National Security Division then sentenced Mr. Lin thirteen years in prison on fabricated charges and delivered him to the Jilin Prison. When he was confined in prison, he was forced to give up the management rights of the factory he had built from scratch, was made to divorce his wife and had to give up custody of his child.

Mr. Lin suffered irreparable mental and physical trauma in the Jilin Prison. His condition deteriorated day by day. When he was found to have severe tuberculosis, Jilin Prison still refused to release him. Mr. Lin's condition deteriorated quickly and he was at death's door, the prison officials had to let him go home with his family's guarantee, so he could be nursed at home.

However, Jilin Prison and Yanji City Political and Judicial Committee still wouldn't let go of Mr. Lin. They often harassed him with the excuse of his incomplete jail term. Because of their frequent harassment, Mr. Lin suffered great mental pressure. He was unable to nurse his health at home in peace. He passed away around November 20th, 2006 at home.

Ms. Shen Jing'e Passes Away After Numerous Tribulations

Ms. Shen Jing'e, 45, was a nurse at the Muling City Hospital in Heilongjiang Province. In the beginning of 1998, her breast cancer had metastasized and spread to the lymph nodes. She had a mastectomy of her right breast and had the lymph nodes removed as well. The doctors concluded that her life expectancy was no more than three months and advised she should not even try any treatment.

Toward the end of the three months, in the Spring of 1998, she began to practise Falun Dafa. She was very determined, because she knew that she did not have much time left. She persisted and survived way past the doctor's prediction. Her health improved day by day. She was becoming healthy again.

Her life was renewed. She wanted to introduce Dafa to more people.

On July 20th, 1999, Jiang Zemin's regime launched the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. Ms. Shen Jing'e was very determined. Despite the persecution, she never stopped attending group study and group exercises. She also kept telling her friends and relatives how wonderful Dafa really was.

One day in February 2000, the police questioned all Falun Gong practitioners in the area whether or not they still practised Falun Gong. Anyone found still practising was arrested. Ms. Shen Jing'e was arrested and incarcerated in a police detention centre. Even under arrest, she and some other fellow practitioners still practised Falun Gong. To punish them, police forced her and three other practitioners to sit on an outdoor concrete surface. They were exposed in the freezing weather for two hours, wearing only thin sweat-shirts. They had been handcuffed and shackled, with shackles weighing 48 kilogrammes. They were chained to a fence. That day it snowed. Policemen Kong Qingzeng and Wang Yongan, detention centre warden Geng Zhongxian and guard Ye stayed inside a hall way to watch them endure the cold weather. Shen Jing'e protested the illegal treatment by starting a hunger strike. After several days of detention, Shen Jing'e became quite skinny and weak. The detention centre police had to let her go. When her mother came to pick her up, they forced her mother to pay some money as a condition of her release.

In April 2000 Shen Jing'e practised group exercises in a stadium. Policemen Kong Qingzeng and Wang Yongan from the Muling City Police Department eventually arrested her and placed her in a detention centre. While in the detention centre she refused to write "statements of compromise." As a result, she was sent to the Shuanghe Forced Labour Camp in Qiqihar City, along with two other practitioners. Before their departure, policeman Kong Qingzeng demanded her family to pay 1,500 yuan¹. When the Shuanghe Forced Labour Camp officials refused to accept the three practitioners, they were sent to the Sidao Forced Labour Camp in Mudanjiang City, where they all started reciting Master's teachings. To silence them, the police taped their mouths, beat them, electrically shocked them and tied their hands and feet to a chair.

Ms. Shen Jing'e's cell was facing a men's cell. When she practised the standing stance exercise the police tried to stop her. But she insisted. The police even pulled her pants down. When she practised the sitting meditation, police poured cold water over her; or, they even dragged her by the collar and poured water on her from her neck on down. The police physically abused and insulted her every day.

After two months of a hunger strike, the labour camp had to release her.

In October 2000, Ms. Shen Jing'e went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong. Police arrested her and sent her to the Bamiantong Detention Centre. After a hunger strike she was released.

On January 18th, 2001, agents from the Bamiantong Police Department attempted to force all Falun Gong practitioners they could find to step on Teacher's portrait. Anyone refusing to do so would be sent to prison. Shen Jing'e refused. Instead, she picked the portrait off the floor and held on to it with her arms. Because of that she was arrested and sent to a detention centre. After another hunger strike the police had to let her go.

After she was suffering under the persecution, her husband's company began to harass him, trying to push him to divorce her. Under great pressure he gave in and filed for divorce. Her happy family was thus broken up.

On May 30th, 2001, the authorities escalated their persecution of Dafa practitioners. The repeated harassment took a heavy toll on her health. She lost much weight and her spirit was low. One day, policeman Kong Qingzeng and others came to her house to make an arrest. She resisted with all her energy and yelled at the top of her lungs. The police had to carry her to the police car. After that horrible experience, Shen Jing'e was detained several more times.

On October 26th, 2001, Ms. Shen Jing'e was arrested when she was preparing truth-clarifying material in Lishugou Village, Xiachenzi Township. The police sentenced her to three and a-half years in prison. On November 27th, 2002, she was sent to the Harbin Women's Prison, along with another practitioner.

She kept her faith in Dafa and refused to compromise in the "intensive training team." As a result they locked her in a solitary cell that had no heat in the winter. They provided her with only two servings of corn soup a day. The police kept her hands locked behind her at all times. She could not move much. She was forbidden to use the toilet and had to relieve herself into her clothing. Later she went into a coma. After repeated pleas from other Falun Gong practitioners, the prison sent her to a hospital.

The police often told criminal inmates to torture her, resulting in her losing control of her bowels and bladder. They tied her hands behind her back and hung her up. They repeatedly force-fed her through a tube and deprived her of sleep.

Once when they had hung her up with rope, she lost consciousness immediately. The police put her in a bed, where she remained for more than a month. She also completely lost her vision during that time. After she recovered, the prison guards put her in a cold and damp public toilet, to torture and humiliate her. She stood there and sang, "Coming from far away, again and again, I came for you,..." Many people, including practitioners and criminal inmates, after hearing her song, were moved to tears.

In May 2005 she returned home. But she was extremely feeble. She also could eat very little. The long-term psychological torture made her profoundly depressed. The government refused to pay her pension and getting sufficient resources for basic life necessities became difficult. She lived in fear. Ms. Shen Jing'e died at age 45, on November 5th, 2006.

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The inhumane persecution launched by the CCP and Jiang Zemin's gang against innocent people believing in "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance" is a challenge to the conscience of mankind.

During the seven years of persecution of Falun Gong, in spite of the tremendous suffering, Falun Gong practitioners always calmly and rationally clarify the facts to the world to call awaken their conscience. More and more people are working to stop the persecution. We hope everyone will see the facts for themselves and do their best to put a stop to these atrocities.

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/2006/12/7/144119.html