Cases of Practitioners Arrested in Hubei Province under the Pretence of the Beijing Olympics

The Olympic Charter states that the Olympic spirit requires "mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play." However, the Olympic Games in Beijing has been a time of hardship for the vast number of Falun Gong practitioners in China. The Chinese Communist Party has not only excluded practitioners from participating in the Olympics, it has escalated the suppression of practitioners in the months leading up to the Games, all in the name of using the Olympics to glorify itself. Zhou Yongkang, a member of the standing committee of the Politburo, Secretary of the Central Political and Judiciary Committee, and director of the Central Office for the Comprehensive Administration of Public Security, issued orders for a "strike-hard campaign" against Falun Gong practitioners earlier this year. In numerous cities, the authorities have offered monetary rewards to people to turn in practitioners. According to a report on the Chinese edition of Clearwisdom.net on July 27th, 2008, between the end of 2007 and June 30th, 2008, there were over 8,037 cases of unlawful arrests of practitioners across the country. Incidents of practitioners being tortured to death or seriously injured have been taking place consistently as a result of the coordinated government campaign.

More cases have been reported by Clearwisdom.net since July 2008. Based on the information that made it across China's information blockade, 26 practitioners were taken into custody in Wuhan City, Hubei Province. Among them, 2 were from Qiaokou District, 8 from Wuchang District, 5 from Hanyang District, 1 from Dongxihu District, 4 from Jiang'an District, 1 from an unspecified district, and one whose name is not known. Most of these practitioners were unlawfully arrested on around July 20th. On July 19th, 11 practitioners were taken into custody. Details are as follows:

1. On the morning of July 3rd, Mr. Xiong Wenyi was taken from his home to the Erdaopeng Brainwashing Centre in Jianghan District.
2. On July 5th, Ms. Li Junxia from Jiang'an District was taken to the Wuhan City No. 1 Detention Centre in Dongxihu District. Later she was transferred to the Yangyuan Brainwashing Centre in Wuchang District.
3. On July 7th, Ms. Zhang Cuiyun was taken to the Erdaopeng Brainwashing Centre by officers from the Changqing Police Station.
4. Ms. Tang Dongru from Fuxing Village in Jianghan District was taken into custody.
5. At around 10:00 p.m. on July 14th, Ms. Gao Bizhen in Wuchang District was taken to the Yangyuan Brainwashing Centre.
6. In the early morning hours of July 16th, Ms. Yang Jiamin was taken into police custody at her home.
7. At around midnight on July 15th, Ms. Qin Hanmei, in her forties, who lives near the Sanyanqiao area in Hankou District, was taken into custody.
8. At around 3:00 p.m. on July 18th, Ms. Hu Lifeng was taken from her home by officers from the Beihu Police Station, officials of the neighbourhood administration office, and persons in charge of the residential community. Her home was unlawfully searched.
9. At around 10:00 a.m. on July 19th, Ms. Cai Changzhen, in her seventies, who suffered blindness due to police abuse, and Ms. Liang Shaolan were taken away by six unidentified people at Ms. Cai's home in Qiaokou District.
10. At around 9:00 p.m. on July 19th, Mr. Zeng Jianxin was taken to the Wuchang Brainwashing Centre by officers from the Baisha Police Station.
11. At 6:30 p.m. on July 19th, Ms. Feng Lianhua, 53, was taken into custody by a dozen people led by officers from the Ziyang Street Police Station.
12. At 3:00 p.m. on July 19th, Ms. Du Yufen was taken by nine police officers to the Chenjiaji Brainwashing Centre while she was in her store on Hanzheng Street.
13. On the afternoon of July 19th, Wang Xiong (gender unknown), Ms. Chen Manqin, Ms. Guo Guilan, and Ms. Guo Lingli were taken into custody at Wang's home by officers from the Dunkou Police Station. Ms. Guo Guilan is being held at the Chenjiaji Brainwashing Centre, while the other three practitioners are at the Taojialing Brainwashing Centre.
14. At around July 20th, Ms. Guo Jiamei in Jiang'an District was taken to the Chenjiaji Brainwashing Centre. Her home was unlawfully searched.
15. On the evening of July 19th, Mr. Jin Heping, in his fifties, was taken from his home in Fangzhi Village, Wuchang District, to the Yangyuan Brainwashing Centre by a group of people from the Yuqiao Police Station and the local residential committee.
16. At around 9:00 p.m. on July 19, Mr. Du Shanyou, in his sixties, was taken to the Yangyuan Brainwashing Centre by the police.
17. On the morning of July 20th, a practitioner whose name is unknown was arrested at Zhongshan Park by a group of police officers led by Hu Shaobin (male), head of the 610 Office¹ of the Jiang'an District Party Committee.
18. At around 10:00 p.m. on July 20th, Ms. Tan Bilian in the Hanyang area was taken to the Hanyang No. 1 Detention Centre.
19. On July 20th, Ms. Chen Min, 54, was taken to the Yangyuan Brainwashing Centre by officers from the Xujiapeng Police Station. She was at her home in the No. 4 Residential Community of the Vehicle Factory in Wuchang District.
20. On July 24th, Ms. Chu Lanying, in her seventies, was taken into custody in Wuchang District by officers from the Yuqiao Police Station.
21. On the morning of July 25th, Ms. He Yan, 35, a music teacher at the Dongxihu District No. 4 Middle School, was taken to a brainwashing centre.

Ms. Xue Liangyan has been unlawfully sentenced to three years in prison, and Mr. Peng Weisheng has suffered injuries from brutal beatings at the Hewan Forced Labour Camp. Four practitioners who have received harsh sentencing are being held at the Fanjiatai Prison in the Shayang area. Mr. Xu Jianjun, around 50 years old, was sentenced to 13 years in prison. Mr. Yu Ganghai, 63, was sentenced to 9 years. Xie Fengji, almost 70 years old, was sentenced to 8 years. Mr. Liu Shuisheng, in his fifties, was sentenced to 8 years. Their families have been denied visitation unless they can bring papers from local police stations certifying that they are not practising Falun Gong themselves. There is no receipt for the cash covering the living expenses that the families must submit to the prison guards. Any valuable items they mailed in have been taken by the guards for their own use.

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.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2008/8/7/183552.html