Some Authorities in Liaoning Province Use the Means of Not Registering Residency to Persecute Falun Gong Practitioners

The Xiangdong Chemical Factory in Lingyuan City, Liaoning Province was shut down in 2006. The factory leaders decided to relocate their workers. A portion of the workers were relocated to the Bayuquan Development Zone in Yingkou City. Up until March of this year, in groups of 12, there were over 3,000 families whose residencies were registered in the new location. [Note: In China if you relocate to another area, you have to get your residency updated and registered to indicate that you now belong to this new area. Otherwise, not only will you lose the benefits and rights of your original area, you will not get to enjoy the social benefits or privileges of the new area that you have relocated to.] However, a portion of Falun Gong practitioners were unable to get their residency registered. This means that their basic rights and benefits as residents of that area were totally taken away from them. This restricted their personal freedom and disrupted their day-to-day existence.

In China, without valid registered residency, you cannot apply for a residence identity card. Without the registered residency and identity card, you cannot go to school, apply for jobs, buy medical or life insurance, apply for testimonial or certifications, and will even have restrictions when you buy train or air tickets for travel. You will not even be able to have lodging or a bank account. Even when your son or daughter gets married, they cannot get their marriage registered. Some people were so worried when their residency did not get registered that they couldn't even eat or sleep well. This caused them so much anxiety that some even became ill and passed away before their time.

It is unreasonable not to register the residency of these good people, and it is against the law to not register them. We hope that the relevant authorities will correct these actions very soon and stop using this as yet another means to persecute these law-abiding citizens. As authorities that are appointed to uphold the law, please don't break the law.

Falun Gong practitioners are also the citizens of the country. They have always been law abiding and good people that follow Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance to guide them. It is wrong to take away the basic rights and benefits of good people by refusing to register their residency.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2008/8/3/183304.html