After More Than 900 Days on a Hunger Strike, Mr. Yang Jianpo Is Released in Critical Condition

Mr. Yang Jianpo, a practitioner in Langfang City, Hebei Province, was released by the Jidong (Eastern Hebei) Prison because he was in critical condition resulting from a hunger strike that lasted more than 900 days. He is recovering. On January 16th, 2009, more than ten officers from the Beimenwai Police Station, the Guangyang District Police Department, and the Domestic Security Section, including Gao Chenggang, director of the Domestic Security Section, arrested Mr. Yang at home. When the police arrived at the Yang's, the family refused to open the door. They tried to reason with the police while the police tried to force their way in. The family said, "We have not done anything wrong or broken any laws. Mr. Yang was just released and now you come to arrest him again?" The police left, but afterward, the family was put under 24-hour surveillance .

Mr. Yang Jianpo, 45, used to be regarded as a tyrant in Langfang City because he had learned martial arts, was good at it, and fought frequently. No one, including clerks from the Administration of Industry and Commerce, agents from the Tax Administration, police officers, or thugs, dared to annoy him. He developed many bad habits. He rarely came home and had a discordant relationship with his family. Fortunately, he learned Falun Gong and the true meaning of life. After that, he underwent a complete transformation, discarding all of his bad habits and becoming a tolerant and good person. He does not hit back when hit, does not talk back when scolded. Even the tax man was no longer scared of him, and he pays his taxes on his own initiative. His tremendous turnaround was a popular story in the Langfang area.

During the time when Mr. Yang Jianpo was unprincipled, no one dared to confront him. But after he began following Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance, he began to be persecuted. In September 1999, Mr. Yang was sentenced to forced labour for saying "Falun Gong is good." He was jailed at the Wanzhuang Forced Labour Camp in Langfang City, where he was a slave labourer working extremely long hours. He suffered from abuse and endured the Dead Person's Bed¹. He was later transferred to the notorious Gaoyang Forced Labour Camp for steadfastly holding to his faith. To try to coerce him into giving up his belief, the guards tortured him by shackling him to the ground during the hot summer. He was handcuffed to the ground in an open space for two and a half months without food and water, subjected to sunburn, storms, and insect bites while unable to move. From time to time, the guards would take him to a torture chamber in the middle of the night to further torture him.

On the afternoon of February 20th, 2004, while Mr. Yang was talking with another practitioner at home, officers from the Guangyang District Police Department in Langfang City arrested both of them. The two were sentenced to forced labour.

On February 5th, 2006, Mr. Yang and practitioner Mr. Cao Baoyu were arrested while talking to government officials about the persecution. After they were tortured and in critical condition, the Guangyang District 610 Office² took them to the Guangyang District People's Hospital, but kept abusing them there. On the evening of April 27th, Mr. Cao died as a result of the persecution. Mr. Yang was diagnosed with an electrolyte disorder, heart disease, whole body ischemic muscular atrophy, lung failure, and so on. Despite the fact that the hospital listed Mr. Yang in critical condition, and without any official court proceedings, the Langfang City police department, procuratorate and court sentenced Mr. Yang to six years in prison for "causing trouble." Mr. Yang was imprisoned at the Jidong Prison, Hebei Province.

Mr. Yang Jianpo went a hunger strike to protest the sentence. His family was told that he was in dire condition and could die at any time. On September 29th, 2008, Mr. Yang, who was in grave condition, was released.

Earlier report: http://www.clearharmony.net/articles/200707/40540.html

Note

1. "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.

2. "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/2009/1/22/193946.html