Facts about the Persecution of Guo Yunqin and His Family in Jilin City

Mr. Guo Yunqin is a Falun Gong practitioner in Jilin City, Jilin Province. Mr. and Mrs. Guo and their son have suffered from a myriad of tribulations in the past eight years since the persecution of Falun Gong began in July 1999. Mr. Guo Yunqin and his wife, Du Hongfang, were repeatedly detained and sent to a forced labour camp where they suffered from many types of cruel torture. While they were detained, their 12-year-old son, Guo Fengqing, was left without anyone to take care of him. He lived like a vagabond and was no longer allowed to attend school. Facing constant bullying and humiliation in the community, the boy has been severely traumatised. On July 10th, 2007, Mr. Guo Yunqin was again sentenced to 14 years in prison. His family of three was torn apart again.

After Five Arrests, Mr. Guo Yunqin Now Faces 14 Years in Prison

Mr. Guo went to Beijing in October 1999 to exercise his constitutional right to appeal for Falun Gong for the second time, but he was arrested on October 10th by the police from Beijing Public Security Bureau's (PSB) Sanjianfang Police Station and the police from Jilin City PSB. He was unlawfully detained in Jilin City PSB's Beijing office that night and was body-searched. The next day he was sent back to Jilin City with a group of more than 30 practitioners, all of whom were being sent back to Jilin City for peacefully appealing for Falun Gong. Once they arrived at the Jilin Train Station, the practitioners faced over 100 armed policemen, who made them wear handcuffs and videotaped them against their will. At the time, Mr. Guo decided that, as a law-abiding Falun Gong practitioner, there was nothing wrong with exercising his constitutional right to appeal for Falun Gong. So he put his hands together and faced the camera in a dignified manner. Two of them tried hard to pull Mr. Guo's hands down, but he refused to cooperate, and they failed to pull his hands down. Jilin City TV Network and Jiangcheng Daily Newspaper cooperated with Jilin City's PSB and ran falsified stories on the practitioners' lawful and peaceful attempts to appeal for Falun Gong. Mr. Guo Yunqin was then detained for 15 days in Yanjiang Police Station in the Changyi District, Jilin City.

After he was released, Mr. Guo again set out for Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong. However, the police set up checkpoints on all the roads to Beijing to prevent anyone from appealing for Falun Gong. Mr. Guo had no choice but to return to Jilin City. As soon as he entered his home, the policemen waiting for him arrested him again and detained him in Jilin City's No. 3 Detention Centre. In mid-December 1999, Jilin City's PSB took him into custody yet again and put him in Jilin City's No.1 Detention Centre. Four months later, in March 2000, he was released without any charges having been filed against him.

On September 26th, 2000, Mr. Guo Yunqin went to Beijing for the fourth time to peacefully appeal for Falun Gong. At around 8:00 a.m. on October 1st, he unfurled a banner about five metres in width that said, "Falun Gong Is Good" on Tiananmen Square. Several dozen police officers ran toward him, surrounded him, and started beating him ferociously. A dozen officers punched and kicked him. One policeman produced a long iron bar and hit Mr. Guo on the head dozens of times. Blood splashed all over Mr. Guo's head and clothes. His shirt and trousers were soaked in blood. Mr. Guo passed out right away. While he was unconscious, he was carried to Beijing's Qianmen Police Station. To avoid facing charges, several police officers threw the unconscious Guo out at night while no one was watching and fled the scene.

On October 28th, 2000, the police from Wenmiao Police Station in the Changyi District of Jilin City arrested Mr. Guo when he was distributing leaflets exposing the persecution in public. Du Xingze, head of the Political and Security Division of Changyi District's PSB, ordered his men to interrogate Guo by means of cruel torture. The police handcuffed his left hand to a radiator. Next, several officers held him up by the ankles and swung him from side to side for as long as 20 minutes. Guo passed out due to the severe pain. To this day, Mr. Guo has difficulty contracting and extending the index finger of his left hand. In addition, the police smeared mustard in his eyes and nose. After putting him through many types of torture, the police took him to a detention centre in the middle of the night. Fourteen days later, the custody became criminal detention. After being imprisoned in Jilin City's No.3 Detention Centre, Mr. Guo was sentenced to one year in Jilin City Forced Labour Camp, where he faced forced brainwashing and many physical abuses. Because he persevered in practising Falun Gong, he was transferred to Liaoyuan City Forced Labour Camp on March 27th, 2000, where he continued to face forced brainwashing and many types of torture. He was released on October 26th, 2001.

After Mr. Guo was released, Zhang Shoubin and many other policemen from Hadawan Police Station in the Changyi District made repeated attempts to arrest him but were not successful, so they went to Mrs. Guo's older brother and younger sister's homes to harass them. Next the police began to follow and harass Guo's 12-year-old son. As a result, the boy was unable to attend school or return home. He stopped attending school and fled from home, going into hiding.

Since July 20th, 1999, the Political and Security Committee in the Changyi District and Hadawan Police Station have extorted over 5,000 yuan¹ from Mr. and Mrs. Guo.

On March 15th, 2007, the police from the State Security Team of the Changyi Branch of Jilin City, led by Du Xingze, arrested Mr. and Mrs. Guo and their son, Guo Fengqing, again and imprisoned them in Jingquan Office in Yueshan Road, Jilin City. There Guo Yunqin suffered from the police's brutal beatings and other cruel tortures and nearly passed out several times. The police repeatedly interrogated Mr. Guo with torture and, as a result, he could no longer walk. On July 10th, 2007, Changyi District Court in the Changyi District unlawfully sentenced Guo Yunqin to 14 years in prison.

After Being Arrested Six Times, Mrs. Guo Fled from Home to Avoid Further Persecution

Mr. Guo Yunqin's wife, Du Hongfang, born in 1962, was an employee at Yejin Builder Service Company in Jilin City. She started practising Falun Gong in April 1999. On July 22nd, 1999, Mrs. Guo went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong for the first time. She faced the police's interrogation all the way to Beijing. On October 10th, 1999, Mrs. Guo went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong for the second time, but ended up being unlawfully detained for 15 days.

As soon as Mrs. Guo returned to Jilin City, she left for Beijing again. Due to the tight security and police checkpoints on all the roads to Beijing, she was unable to enter Beijing and had no choice but to return to Jilin City. As soon as she entered her home, the police officers that had been waiting for her arrested her and took her to a brainwashing centre in Jilin City.

In January 2000, Mrs. Guo was unlawfully detained for nearly a month.

In February 2000, Mrs. Guo went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong for the third time, but she ended up being arrested at Fushun Train Station and sent back to Jilin City, where she was detained by the police. In March 2000, Mrs. Guo was sentenced to one year in Heizuizi Women's Forced Labour Camp in Changchun, where she faced forced brainwashing and many types of torture. Because she persevered in practising Falun Gong, her prison term was extended by 10 months.

In May 2002, the police from Jilin PSB's Changyi Branch arrested Mrs. Guo and subjected her to their brutal beatings and tortures. She was unlawfully sentenced to two years in Heizuizi Women's Forced Labour Camp.

On March 15th, 2007, the police from the State Security Team of the Changyi Branch of Jilin City, led by Du Xingze, arrested Mr. and Mrs. Guo and their son, Guo Fengqing again. Mr. Guo was unlawfully sentenced to 14 years in prison. Mrs. Guo and her son were unlawfully detained in Jilin City Detention Centre. Mrs. Guo went on a hunger strike as a non-violent way to protest the persecution, but she was subjected to another torture--forced feeding. A camp guard told her, "If you continue the hunger strike, we will kill you in a few days." Mrs. Guo replied, "I believe you are capable of killing, but the entire world will know in three days that I was murdered." Her 12-year-old son, Guo Fengqing, too, faced psychological and physical tortures. Later they were both released.

After they were released, the police didn't stop harassing them. They hunted them down and even harassed Mrs. Guo's relatives in their homes. Not long ago, the PSB in Changyi District issued an arrest warrant to Mrs. Guo's family, which said that Mrs. Guo must show up at the PSB for an interrogation. Mrs. Guo and her son had no choice but to flee from their hometown to avoid further persecution.

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://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2007/9/5/162137.html