In November 2007, Seven Practitioners Are Verified to Have Died as a Result of Persecution and Torture

In November 2007, it was verified that seven Chinese practitioners died as a result of persecution and torture in November 2007. According to initial statistics from the Minghui/Clearwisdom website, from January to November 2007, at least 101 practitioners died as a result of the persecution. Since July 20th, 1999, the day the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began to persecute Falun Gong, at least 3,109 practitioners have died. Information about these persecution deaths has bypassed the media blockade in China, and has been verified through unofficial channels.

The Persecution Continues, Whereabouts of Many Practitioners Unknown

The former Public Security Minister and the current Party Secretary of the Political and Judicial Committee, Zhou Yongkang, initiated a new round of persecution against Falun Gong. As a result, the Chinese Communist Party arrested more Falun Gong practitioners. The 610 Office¹, the police, and National Security officials refused to tell their families the whereabouts of the arrested practitioners. They even denied the arrests altogether. For example, on May 9th, 2007, there was another large scale arrest after the "305" TV signals were intercepted in 2002. Most of the practitioners were sentenced to forced labour. Practitioner Ms. Wang Yuhuan's family only discovered her whereabouts 15 days after her death. Those responsible still remain at large. The whereabouts of the senior coach of the National Ice Hockey Team, a practitioner named Mr. Gao Weixi, who had contributed a great deal to the development of ice hockey in China, along with several other practitioners, are still unknown. A senior engineer and practitioner, Mr. Jiang Zonglin, from the Chengdu Construction Information, was arrested on August 2nd, 2007, and his whereabouts are still unknown.

There is concern about the situations of these missing practitioners. The World Organisation to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG) published an investigation of the Beijing Garrison Hospital, the Jinzhou Hospital in Liaoning Province, and the Guangxi Nationality Hospital. The investigation clearly indicated that the CCP is still continuing to harvest organs from practitioners while they are still alive.

Twenty-six-year-old Song Changguang Tortured to Death

Of the seven practitioners who died as result of persecution in November 2007, the youngest was Mr. Song Changguang, an outstanding student from the Communication Faculty of the Changchun Post and Telecommunication Institute. Because he openly said that he was a Falun Dafa practitioner, no company dared to employ him. Later, when he went to Beijing to peacefully appeal for Falun Dafa in accordance with the law, he was arrested. He was detained at the Chaoyanggou Forced Labour Camp in Changchun and suffered inhuman torture. A healthy and robust young man who was 1.8 metres tall became a mere skeleton as a result of torture. His joints protruded and he was basically skin and bones. His lower body developed festering sores. Even when he was in such terrible condition, the police still shocked Mr. Song with 35,000-volt electric batons and used other methods of torture on him. Mr. Song Changguang died on November 12th, 2003, at the age of 26.

The Persecution and Death of Mr. Qi Tingsong; His Family's Appeal Has Been Stalled

Mr. Qi Tingsong, 67 years old, was a retired teacher from the Ezhuang Coal Mine, Xinwen Mining Bureau in Shandong Province. He was arrested on October 15th, 2007, while he was distributing leaflets exposing the persecution and telling people the facts about Falun Gong in Gouli Village, Gaozhuang Township, Laiwu City. He was taken to the Laiwu Detention Centre. Mr. Qi died only a little more than three weeks after his arrival at the detention centre.

Yang Leping, Head of the Security Section of the Ezhuang Coal Mine, collaborated with Liu Qing, a policeman from Laiwu, and several officials from the local 610 Office. They sent Mr. Qi to a forced labour camp, where he went on a hunger strike to protest his detention. Chen Fa, the head of the Laiwu Detention Centre, ordered a group of guards to carry out barbaric force-feeding. Mr. Qi's oesophagus bled and festered because of repeated force-feedings. His internal organs were seriously injured as a result of the kicks that were inflicted upon him. He was sent to Laiwu Hospital as he was dying. A medical exam showed that Mr. Qi Tingsong was suffering from severe internal injuries, including organ failure and an upper digestive tract hemorrhage. He was sent to Laiwu City Hospital during the night of November 5th at around 3:10 a.m. The following day, the hospital issued a "Notice of Critical Illness."

In the morning of November 6th, Yang Leping, Head of the Security Section of Ezhuang Coal Mine, and a group of people from the police station, the Procuratorate, and the court met at the Liangpo Police Station. In order to cover-up the true cause of Mr. Qi's death, they decided among themselves to spread the story that Mr. Qi had "committed suicide to escape punishment" and he was further accused of "using an illegal organisation to sabotage implementation of the law." Mr. Qi Tingsong passed away at the Central Hospital of the Xinwen Mining Bureau the morning of November 11th, 2007.

When Mr. Qi was in a coma, he had blood in his stool and also vomited blood due to his serious internal injuries. However, even when Mr. Qi was dying, Liu Qing, a policeman from the Laicheng District Police Sub-department; Chen Fayong, a prison guard of the Laiwu Detention Centre; Yang Leping, the head of the Security Section of Ezhuang Coal Mine, and a person surnamed Xie, who was from the Laiwu Procuratorate, refused to pay Mr. Qi's medical fees and forced the hospital to stop treatment. At the same time, they deceived Mr. Qi's family into signing a document that would confirm that Mr. Qi had been released from detention. This way, Mr. Qi's death would have nothing to do with them.

After Mr. Qi's death, his grieving family went to the relevant departments every day to appeal on their deceased family member's behalf. No one would accept their appeal. The officials from the Laiwu City Procuratorate said that they would only accept or hear the case if they were able to present a conclusion that was provided by the police department. The officials from the Laiwu Police Department said they would not provide any conclusion as to the real cause of death. They told the family that if they were to provide a conclusion, it would be that Mr. Qi "committed suicide to escape punishment" and they told Mr. Qi's family that it was no use for them to appeal. The related officials even threatened Mr. Qi's family through their relatives and neighbours so that they would stop appealing. They said, "Wait until the Olympics are over."

Mr. Qi's wife is not in good health and is very weak. His elder son works at the Ezhuang Coal Mine and his second son is paralysed and confined to bed. In order to stop Mr. Qi's elder son from appealing, the coal mine would not allow him to take any time off and forced him to work every day. If he failed to go to work, he would be fired. (According to a government policy, if a parent, a spouse, or a child dies, direct family members are entitled to 15 days leave for the funeral.)

Ms. Chen Guilian Died Due to Poisoning from Drugs Administered in Baimalong Labour Camp, Hunan Province

Fifty-seven-year-old Ms. Chen Guilian was a retired employee of the Jiangbin Machinery Factory located in Xiangtan City, Hunan Province. On April 26th, 2007, she was arrested while distributing leaflets exposing the persecution at the Jindu Market in Zhuzhou City. She was taken by market security guards to the National Security Division of the Lusong Police Sub-department. A person surnamed Yang, a person surnamed Li, and the driver from the Zhuzhou City Police Department then brutally questioned Ms. Chen.

Ms. Chen was sentenced to one year of forced labour. She was taken by 610 Office agents to Baimalong Labour Camp around May 2007. From the time she arrived, she was force-fed unknown drugs for more than three months. Drug-addicted prisoners forced drugs into her mouth and it is still unknown what drug she was given.

On August 17th, 2007, Ms. Chen's family had her released on bail for medical treatment. After returning home, she said that she had from a stomachache. On September 3rd, 2007, she was admitted to Xiangtan City Central Hospital. Her family spent more than 100,000 yuan² on hospital fees. Doctors said there was too much fluid in her abdomen and that there were toxins in her blood, so they performed an operation to filter her blood. The doctor said that the operation only took two hours. However, her spleen was badly damaged and there was still too much abdominal fluid. Ms. Chen Guilian died at 9:51 p.m. on September 26th, 2007 at the age of 57. Only 150 days passed between the time she was arrested to the day that she died, just 15 days after she returned home.

Some eyewitnesses have revealed that the torture methods used in Baimalong Labour Camp are inhuman, such as injections of nerve-damaging drugs, hanging people by their handcuffs from a window frame, brutal force-feedings, forcing practitioners to stand on the legs of an upside-down wooden stool, etc. Under extreme mental pressure and physical torture, some practitioners have apparently suffered mental breakdown. The current deputy director, Zhao Guibao, as well as Lu Yongquan, the clinic chief, and his wife, who are both doctors, gained promotions for participating in the cruel persecution of many practitioners. They were involved in torturing, forced-feedings, and injecting anaesthetics, and are directly responsible for all the incidents of brutality at the forced labour camp.

Mr. Long Lianzheng Died As a Result of Persecution

Mr. Long Lianzheng, 70, lived in Yantai City, Shandong Province. He was a retired engineer who was employed by the Xingfu Construction Company in the Zhigang District. He used to have heart disease, high blood pressure, bronchitis, and other ailments. He was not active and could not even go downstairs. He also passed out often. After Mr. Long started to practise Falun Gong in March 1996, all of his ailments disappeared. He felt very light and was even able to carry a big bag of flour up to the fifth floor. His neighbours all said that he was a changed person.

Mr. Long continued to practise Falun Gong after the Chinese Communist Party started the persecution on July 20th, 1999. He went to Beijing to appeal but was arrested and detained. Mr. Long was put under strict surveillance many times thereafter. In January 2000, after being detained for one month in Nanjiao Detention Centre, CCP officials attempted to take him to the Laiyang City Mental Hospital for intensified persecution, but their plan was abandoned after his children strongly protested .

On the morning of February 24th, 2001, five or six police officers from Lijiaoqiao Station tried and failed to open Mr. Long's door with a master key, so they rammed his door with a big metal beam. They smashed his metal security gate and his front door. Then they rammed a large hole through his wall and forcibly took Mr. Long to the Wangcun Forced Labour Camp in Zibo City. He was subjected to brainwashing sessions while he was there and was then forced to go through another brainwashing session in Yantai City after coming back from Wangcun Labour Camp.

In June 2001, Mr. Long was sentenced to three years of forced labour and taken to Wangcun Forced Labour Camp again. He was tortured by brutal force-feedings and several of his teeth were knocked out as a result. Various other means of torture were inflicted upon him, including the "Dead Person's Bed³." After six months in the labour camp, Mr. Long was diagnosed with bone cancer, and he was released on bail for medical treatment.

On April 25th, 2002, the police opened the door to Mr. Long's home with a master key and took Mr. Long to another forced brainwashing session in the Sixteenth Xingfu Village in Yantai City.

In April 2007, the CCP officials used tricks and deception to open his door again. They stole printers and other items from his home. Right before the 17th CCP Conference, these officials went into Mr. Long's home twice to harass him.

The repeated break-ins, torture, threats and harassment caused huge damage to Mr. Long's mental and physical health. His old sicknesses recurred, and he died on November 2nd, 2007.

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.

3. "Death Bed" torture: A practitioner is tied to a bed with his hands handcuffed above his head to the bed rails, and his legs tied with thin nylon ropes. The rope is then tightly wrapped around the practitioner's body and the bed, from his legs to his chest. The rope is wrapped so tightly that the practitioner has difficulty breathing and eventually loses consciousness.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2007/12/6/167858.html