Two Brothers Sentenced to Forced Labour--Their Elderly Parents Call for Help

Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Qiao Baoming was employed by the Bank of China, at the Binzhou City Branch in Shandong Province. He is 42 years old. On the morning of August 27th, 2008, he was arrested at work by agents from the Binzhou City 610 Office¹, including the office head Ding Guorui (86-543-3300790 home), Zhang Zizheng (86-543-2115168 home), and Cao Letang. His home was searched and he was sentenced to two years of forced labour. Practitioner Qiao Baoyang (Qiao Baoming's brother) was arrested in May 2008 and also sentenced to forced labour. Both are now in the Shandong Province No. 2 Forced Labour Camp. Their 76-year-old father is sick at home.

Their 72-year-old mother, Dong Peilan, has been everywhere seeking help for the release of her sons. The following is her appeal:

I am 72 years old. I am a retired doctor from Binzhou City Hospital in Shandong Province. I had many different kinds of illnesses and went through all kinds of treatments. Eleven years ago, my husband had a myocardial infarction and a stroke. In September 2005, he was struck by a massive cerebral haemorrhage. Despite treatment, several of his organs became dysfunctional, and the doctors at the hospital advised us to go home. After I started saying "Falun Gong is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good," my health began to improve, and gradually I was able to take care of myself. After that, I started practising Falun Gong and all the illnesses disappeared. After seeing how we both improved, our two sons began to practise.

On March 1st, 2007, my eldest son, Qiao Baoming, was arrested by thugs from the 610 Office. After being held for a month at the detention centre, he was bailed out and waited a year for the trial. During that entire year, 610 Office agents never stopped harassing him, especially during the Olympics. It was impossible for us to live in peace. During those days, my husband had a high fever and was hospitalized. Baoming went to work during the day under close surveillance, and after work, he went to see his father with the thugs from the 610 Office following him all the way to the hospital. They supervised our daily activities over the surveillance system installed at the hospital.

On August 27th, 2008, they arrested Baoming again and locked him up in the detention centre. The same day, they searched Baoming's home, and at about 6:30 that night, they searched my residence and took some of my personal belongings, which they are still holding.

Before that, Baoyang was sentenced to forced labour because he told his students the truth about the persecution of Falun Gong at Binzhou No. 4 High School where he teaches. On March 1st, 2008, Baoyang was arrested at home and kept in the detention centre for 30 days. Shang Wenhao, Ding Guorui, and Cao Letang were among those who arrested Baoyang. At about 8:00 a.m. on May 6th, 2008, Baoyang was arrested at school and sentenced to forced labour once again.

During the month he was in the detention centre, Baoming was interrogated by the guards, who used force to try to obtain a "confession." He was sentenced to two years of forced labour.

In the labour camp, Baoming refused to capitulate and was therefore confined in a "small cell" to be further tortured. He cannot call home, and family members are prohibited from visiting him. We do not know how badly he has been tortured.

My sons' elementary school children need to be cared for, and their 76-year-old father is seriously sick and bedridden. However, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) authorities still frequently harass us and have tapped our phone. We live in fear every single day.

Both of our sons are imprisoned in the Shandong Province No. 2 Forced Labour Camp. Baoming is in Team 7 and Baoyang in Team 8. We are still not allowed to visit them.

I hereby call for kind hearted people to help us.

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.ca/mh/articles/2008/12/28/192435.html