Open Letter from Practitioners' Relatives to the United Nations Human Rights Council Condemns Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Atrocities Against Falun Gong

To the United Nations Human Rights Council:

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) submitted a report on human rights in China to the United Nations. The CCP is trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the international community, just as it has done in the past. It is behaving dishonourably in its use of organizations under its control, including so-called "independent" human rights organizations that cannot operate without its consent. These organizations exist to dupe the intended audience and keep the CCP in power.

We, relatives of Falun Gong practitioners in China, who suffer severely under the inhuman persecution meted out by the CCP, wish to testify about the true human rights situation in China. We are pre-eminently qualified to fairly judge the state of affairs with regard to the CCP's human rights. We have witnessed the Party's brutality, witnessed the Party's tyranny, and are privy to the Party's lies and shameless behaviour.

It is internationally known that the CCP spares no effort in its persecution of Falun Gong. In has been ten years since the onset of the persecution, which began under the direction of the former head of China, Jiang Zemin, the driving force behind the policy of persecution of Falun Gong. His jealousy and fear of Falun Gong's rising popularity is well known and this spiritual practice became a thorn in his side. This filled him with paranoia. He saw Falun Gong as a threat to his power.

He banned Falun Gong and started an out-of-control suppression and the brutal persecution of 100 million practitioners, people who live by the principle Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. The persecution has turned into the genocide of a group of innocent people.

The CCP ordered the entire Chinese government apparatus, under Jiang Zemin's control, to "Destroy Falun Gong practitioners physically, destroy their reputations, and destroy them financially and socially."

Tens of millions of practitioners in China have suffered varying degrees of torture and harassment. We need to ask, "What has gone on during the nearly ten years of brutal persecution? How many practitioners have been killed and disabled? How many have been sent to forced labour camps or brainwashing centres? How many have been detained in prisons or detention centres? How many have been dismissed from their jobs and became destitute?" And the worst, "How many have had their organs removed for profit, while they were still alive?"

CCP officials did not care if they were 70 to 80 years old or young children. As long as they had some connection to Falun Gong, they became objects of the persecution.

Tens of thousands of happy families were destroyed by the CCP. The elderly and children were left to fend for themselves and lost their financial security. Police and government official harassment is common. Knowing all the above, we live in constant terror and fear daily. Our innocent family members suffer persecution, unjust arrest, merciless beatings, torture, and, as mentioned earlier, lose their lives and organs, only because they believe in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and wish to be good people.

These practitioners only want to let people whose minds have been poisoned and who have been deceived by the CCP's lies understand the truth about Falun Gong and its unprecedented persecution in China. These practitioners save their income, make leaflets exposing the persecution of Falun Gong, and distribute them. For that they are persecuted. Even more shameful, they are even persecuted because they talk to each other or eat a meal together. Meetings, even of just two practitioners, are forbidden by CCP officials. They are not allowed to peacefully appeal, a right guaranteed by the Chinese constitution.

Give all the above, we, the family members, because of the CCP's tyranny, can only stand by with tears in our eyes and are forbidden from holding out a helping hand.

In recent years, because practitioners inside and outside of China have been clarifying the truth, many are becoming aware of the truth and the world is becoming aware of the shameful persecution hidden behind walls.

In China, attorneys like Gao Zhisheng, who has spoken up for Falun Gong, are coming forward, and goodhearted senior officials, such as Han Guangsheng, Jia Jia, and Wang Zhaojun appeal for Falun Gong. Internationally, more and more international organizations, government entities, and public figures are condemning the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong, and have called on the CCP to improve human rights many times.

The CCP pays no attention to any of these efforts and continues to seek to mislead international society with lies. It shamelessly continues the inhuman persecution of Falun Gong in China. It is even less scrupulous in its brutal suppression of kind people like attorney Gao Zhisheng.

The CCP's human rights situation has not improved. In fact, the CCP has accelerated its persecution of practitioners. The CCP even took advantage of the Olympic Games and recklessly continues to arrest and detain innocent practitioners nationwide. Death and disablement are unending.

According to the Clearwisdom website, starting in 2008--and we are just talking about Beijing--before, during, and after the Olympic Games, the CCP accelerated its brutal persecution of practitioners. Persecution methods include searching for practitioners, monitoring, harassing, fabricating false statements, arrests, ransacking homes, forced labour, imprisonment, detention, torture, and death are a partial list of the suffering practitioners and their families are having to endure.

1. False Arrests

According to Clearwisdom statistics, in 2008 the CCP used the excuse of "Welcoming the Olympic Games" to charge Beijing official and police with arresting several hundred practitioners. The known cases are only a tip of the iceberg, as many were not made public, given how the CCP suppresses such information. For example, Clearwisdom published in October 2008: "Police of Baizhifang Street, Xuanwu District, Beijing Arrested 17 Practitioners during the Olympics." These are only a small portion of all those arrested.

Mr. Fan Yiming, winner of the Silver Award in the Chinese Figure Painting Competition hosted by the New Tang Dynasty Television, is a famous oil painter and Beijing practitioner. He was followed home by officers from Andingmen Police Station in the Dongcheng District, Beijing, on the night of July 8th, 2008. He was arrested, his home was ransacked, and he was sentenced to two years of forced labour. Mr. Fan is being held at the Beijing Forced Labour Camp Dispatch Division and forced to do hard labour. His arrest was only reported on October 22nd, 2008, several months later.

Another famous oil painter and Beijing practitioner, Wang Mingyue, and photographer Jin Xiaohui were arrested about the same time as Mr. Fan Yiming. They were imprisoned in Tuanhe Forced Labour Camp. However, the news of their arrests and imprisonment have not been made public outside of China until this letter.

On April 20th, 2008, practitioners Mr. Niu Jinping and his wife, Ms. Zhang Lianying, returned home from the market with their four-year-old daughter. Police from the Domestic Security Division of the Chaoyang District of Beijing arrested and beat then in front of their small daughter. Police handcuffed Mr. Niu Jinping and threw him on the sofa. The little girl was frightened and cried loudly. She is still having nightmares. The formerly happy little girl is now in a daze and stays with her 80-year-old grandmother.

Ms. Zhao Huaichun, 58 years old, a practitioner from Jingouhe, Haidian, Beijing, was followed by five to six plain clothes officers who claimed to be from the Yongding Road Police Station. They broke into her home and ransacked every room. Ms. Zhao's husband, a non-practitioner, asked them, "What are you doing? Isn't this ransacking a home?" A police officer roared, "We're police! This is not ransacking. This is searching. No one is allowed to move!" Ms. Zhao Huaichun was arrested and sentenced to three and a half years at Haidian Detention Centre, Qinghe, Beijing. She was not provided food or water and her heart diseases reoccurred. She is critically ill. The detention centre refused to release her. Ms. Zhao's husband is 65 years old, has many illnesses, and a mentally ill daughter. There is no one to take care of them.

On July 26th, 2008, police from Qianqiao County again arrested Ms. Zhang Fengchun, 52 years old, a practitioner from Qianqiaozi Village, Huairou, Beijing, when she was working on the farm. When she was bailed out for medical treatment, the police used the excuse of Olympics security to detain her at the Huairou Detention Centre. The left side of her body is paralysed from the torture and she is mentally traumatized.

At around 5 p.m. on July 29th, 2008, three practitioners, Ms. Zhai Shutian (61 years old), Ms. Han Ming (62 years old), and Ms. Zhou Liyan (55 years old) were visiting Ms. Zhang, who lives at Room 401, No. 5 building, north Hujialou Street, Chaoyang District. Over ten people from the Domestic Security Division of Chaoyang Sub-bureau, Hujialou Street Police Station, and Hujialou Street Neighborhood Committee suddenly rushed in, loudly chastised them, and ransacked the home. Police broke the door into the room of Ms. Zhang's son, a non-practitioner, ransacked it, and found nothing. Nevertheless, these four elderly ladies were arrested and charged with "illegal gathering."

On the morning of September 16th, 2008, practitioner Ms. Liu Ping of Qinglongqiao, Haidian District, Beijing, distributed material about the persecution of Falun Gong. Police arrested her and confiscated all the materials. Before that, they went to her elder sister's home to find her. They said, "We already monitored her with a camera during the Olympics." Ms. Liu Ping is being held at Qinghe Detention Centre in Beijing. Her 80-year-old mother is alone at home. This elderly lady said to passers-by, "I want my daughter, Ms. Liu Ping. She is doing the best thing in the world, but was arrested by police. I am over 80 and all alone now. Only this daughter takes care of me. Since the police arrested her, nobody cares for me. The police also put a dog outside of my home and it barks everyday. I can't eat or sleep. I want my daughter. Return my daughter!"

On the morning of December 4th, 2008, grade three student Zhang Ziwei at Zhongguan Village High School in the Haidian District was reading Falun Gong material that she found on her seat during a class break. The teacher, Long Hongyin, discovered it. She grabbed the material and reported it to Principal Xing Xiaoping. Xing Xiaoping immediately "reported" this to Zhongguan Village Police Station. In the afternoon, over ten officers from the Haidian Sub-bureau and Zhongguan Village Police Station went to Ms. Zhang Ziwei's home in Zhongguan Village and arrested practitioner Liu Yujian, who was visiting. They ransacked the home, confiscated two computers, two printers, an MP3 player, a mobile phone, Falun Gong books, and other personal belongings. They even broke the glass door and mirror in the bathroom. Zhang Ziwei and her mother, Ms. Cong Dawei, were then taken to the Zhongguan Village Police Station.

2. Tortured to Death: In 2008, Six Practitioners from Beijing Killed by the CCP

The CCP is also responsible for the tragic death of Mr. Yu Zhou, a famous folk singer and also a harmonica and percussion musician in the folk band "Xiao Juan and Residents from the Valley." He was a Beijing practitioner loved by many people. Mr. Yu graduated from the French Department at Beijing University and was fluent in several languages. He helped translate "Zhuan Falun," the main book of Falun Gong, into French. His wife ,Ms. Xu Na, is an oil painter. They lived by the principle Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Their kindness and tolerance brought people warmth and happiness.

At around 10 p.m. on January 26th, 2008, Mr. Yu returned home with his wife after a performance. Police blocked their vehicle at Yangzhuang Road, Beiyuan, Tongzhou District, and claimed "Olympic search." When the police realized that they were practitioners, they took them to the Tongzhou District Detention Centre. At 9 a.m. on January 27th, four people from Beiyuan Police Station, Tongzhou Sub-bureau, Xiangshan Police Station, and Haidian Sub-bureau ransacked the home of Ms. Xu Na's parents and found nothing. Then they searched the home of Ms. Xu Na's younger sister, but found no computer. They then took several sheets of white copy from her desk. On February 6th, 2008, Chinese New Year eve, 42-year-old Mr. Yu Zhou died as a result of torture. His family was notified about a medical problem. They quickly went to the Qinghe Emergency Center. When they arrived, Mr. Yu was already dead and his body was covered with a white sheet. A breathing machine mask was still on his face, but his legs were ice cold. He died only 11 days after the arrest. Ms. Xu Na was denied permission to attend her husband's funeral.

After the death of Mr. Yu Zhou, the CCP continued to persecute Ms. Xu Na. She is still detained in the Chongwen District Detention Centre. At 9:00 a.m. on November 25th, 2008, the Chongwen District Court in Beijing sentenced Ms. Xu to three years in prison. The whole process took only a few minutes because they only went through the motions. Ms. Xu requested an appeal to a higher court. In addition, during the 2008 Olympics season, the Haidian District 610 Office¹, the local police, and community administrators often harassed Ms. Xu's parents, threatened them, and forbade them from speaking with foreign journalists. Several days before Chongwen District Court tried Ms. Xu Na, they notified Mr. Yu Zhou's family that they would cremate Mr. Yu's body. They demanded that Ms. Xu agree in writing that Mr. Yu's family would be responsible for Mr. Yu's body.

After Mr. Yu Zhou's death, two more practitioners from Beijing were murdered in May 2008. They were Ms. Lang Fengxian and Ms. Kang. Ms. Lang, over 60 years old, from the Chaoyang District, Beijing, was repeatedly harassed and detained by CCP officials. She was arrested three times from January to May 2008. Ms. Lang died from torture in mid-June 2008.

Ms. Kang, 72 years old, lived in the Xili Area, Yuzhong, Beijing. Officers from Huayuan Road Police Station arrested her when she was distributing flyers on May 20th, 2008. Her home was ransacked. Ms. Kang was tortured in the police station, which resulted in high blood pressure and a cerebral haemorrhage. She died on May 29th. Ms. Kang had practised Falun Gong for 15 years and was very healthy.

Beijing practitioner Ms. Chen Lianfeng, 64, was a former employee of the Second Institute of the Aviation Department. After the persecution of Falun Gong started in 1999, the officials at her workplace took her to a brainwashing centre several times. Her family was under great stress. At the beginning of June 2008, Ms. Chen showed severe symptoms of illness and was not able to eat for several days. A week before she passed away, officials from her workplace went to her home to "educate" her and warned her to not cause trouble during the Olympics. This caused her even greater stress and she became weaker. After being persecuted for nine years, Ms. Chen passed away on June 20th, 2008.

Mr. Wang Chongjun lived in Longzhuashu Village, Xiaohongmen Township, Chaoyang District, Beijing. She was arrested by 610 Office personnel on April 14th, 2008, and tortured at Tuanhe Forced Labour Camp in Beijing. She passed away on August 23rd, 2008, at the age of 65.

The above is only a small sampling of what has gone on. CCP officials and authorities have committed atrocious crimes against the Chinese people, such as the brutal persecution of Falun Gong spanning the past ten years. As family members and relatives of Falun Gong practitioners that have been persecuted, we call on every United Nations Human Rights Council member to heed our testimony. Please, do not again be deceived by the CCP lies. Please do not be confused by its false messages. The CCP is evil and will kill without batting an eye. Its killer instinct does not change.

Speaking of the present, the Chinese people are under the CCP's one-party rule, and China is like a big jail. People inside China are denied freedom and human rights. Those who stand up to the CCP are persecuted.

As it has been publicized worldwide, Beijing practitioner Mr. Cao Dong, who met Mr. Edward McMillan-Scott, European Parliament Vice-President, in Beijing on May 21st, 2006, and informed him of the brutal persecution suffered by Falun Gong practitioners in China, was immediately arrested by CCP special agents, taken to Gansu, sentenced to a five-year prison term on Chinese New Years Eve 2007, and is now being held in Tianshui Prison, Gansu Province.

We hope the United Nations Human Rights Council will carry out a comprehensive review of China's human rights situation under the CCP rule and see through its trick of colluding with other human rights abusing governments. They cover for each other and are using organizations under their control, including the so-called "independent human rights associations" that cannot operate without CCP consent.

Please listen to the voices of those that are being persecuted. We are asking that you make your best effort to achieve human rights and freedom for all Chinese people, including those who are suffering long-term persecution at the hands of the CCP.

The Chinese people will thank you, and God will bless you!

From relatives of persecuted Falun Gong practitioners in China

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/2009/2/11/195199.html