The Persecution of Li Tongzhi in Hantan City, Hebei Province

Mr. Li Tongzhi, a Falun Gong practitioner in Hantan City, Hebei Province started to practise Falun Gong in 1997. Since then, he has been using the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance to guide his behaviour. Within a year of practising, he experienced the benefit of Falun Gong; the duodenal ulcer and insomnia that he had suffered for many years disappeared. What concerned his family and friends the most was his habit of gambling. It seemed no one could persuade him to quit. The family was nearly ruined because of his addiction to gambling with the game, Mahjong. The teachings of Falun Gong changed him greatly. He gave up gambling right away. Now, whenever he sees Mahjong, he has a headache and feels nauseous. Li Tongzhi was grateful that Falun Gong had saved his family.

When the persecution of Falun Gong started in July 1999, Mr. Li went to Beijing to appeal to the central government and speak up for Falun Gong, using his personal experiences as examples of the goodness of Falun Gong. As soon as he arrived in Beijing, he was sent back to his local area. He could have been released on bail by his work unit; however, the leaders at his workplace fired him in order to protect themselves. Since then, Li Tongzhi was listed at the Guangmingqiao Office and the Guangmingqiao Police Station as an important person to keep an eye on.

From July 1999 to July 2008, for nine years, the local police searched Li Tongzhi's home and harassed his family countless times. He was detained five times and sent to a labour camp twice. The first arrest was on October 1st, 2000, after he went to Beijing to appeal to the government. He returned home after two days. Less than half an hour after he arrived home, Chen Mou, a policeman from the Guangmingqiao Police Station, came to his home and questioned him about where he had been, what he had done and also asked to check his train ticket. Li Tongzhi refused to answer any of these questions. After that the police started to watch him outside his home. On October 8th, 2000, a friend came to Li Tongzhi's home to have a chat with him. When the conversation turned to Falun Gong, Li Tongzhi took out a leaflet exposing the persecution of Falun Gong to show his friend. Suddenly, Chen Mou and some others from the police station dashed into his home. Among them, one policeman quickly grabbed the literature and took Li Tongzhi and his friend to the Guangming Police Station. His friend was released in 24 hours because his family asked for help from an influential person. Li Tongzhi was sent to the No. 1 Detention Centre on October 9th, 2000. He was released two months later after being extorted out of 2,000 yuan¹.

The second arrest took place when the police ordered Li Tongzhi to go to the local brainwashing centre, telling him that he would be released as soon as he wrote the "Four Statements²". Li Tongzhi refused. Officer Chen Mou from the Guangmingqiao Police Station and another seven to eight people forcefully took Mr. Li to the No. 1 Detention Centre. After he had been on a protest hunger strike for 43 days, his brother posted bail for his release. Mr. Li's weight was reduced to just over 40 kilograms from his previous 65 kilograms. His brother had to carry him out of the detention centre.

The third arrest took place one night in mid-October, around 3:00 a.m. Police officer Chen and four or five others (some were in plainclothes) rushed into his home and started an illegal search. They confiscated a Falun Gong book and took Li Tongzhi to the police station and then transferred him to the No. 2 Detention Centre. He was released after more than a month after being extorted out of 2,000 yuan.

The fourth arrest was in 2004, when Li Tongzhi was working at a restaurant in the city. On the morning of March 13th, while he was at a fellow practitioner's home, the police took Mr. Li to the Congxi Police Station in Congtai District under the guise of checking on household occupants. They confiscated a Falun Gong book, money, toiletries and his house key. At noon on March 13th, they entered Mr. Li's home with his key and started a search. They turned his home upside down. A policeman chased his 13-year-old son around the house in order to slap his face. On April 20th, Li Tongzhi was sentenced to two years of forced labour.

The fifth arrest, in July 2008, was related to the Olympic Games. On July 14th around 9:00 a.m., Political Instructor Wang Shugui, police officer Shen Lin and another policeman came to search his home for Falun Gong-related materials. His family members tried in vain to stop them. The police found DVDs exposing the persecution of Falun Gong. Li Tongzhi tried to explain the facts of Falun Gong to them, but they forcefully took him to the Guangmingqiao Police Station. The same afternoon, they sent him to the No. 1 Detention Centre. A week later, he was sentenced to one year and three months of forced labour. Li Tongzhi is still detained in the labour camp.

Note

1. "Yuan" is the Chinese currency; 500 yuan is equal to the average monthly income of an urban worker in China.

2. "Four Statements": Practitioners are coerced under brainwashing and torture to write the "four statements" as proof that they have given up their belief. Created by the 610 Office, they consist of "a letter of repentance," "a guarantee" to never again practise Falun Gong, a "Dissociation Statement" to declare a dissociation with Falun Gong and promise not go to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong, and a list of names and addresses of all family members, friends and acquaintances who are practitioners.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2008/11/13/189642.html