Ten Years of Persecution Carried Out by the Hunan Province Post Office Administration

Since July 1999, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Hunan Province Post Office has controlled the post office administration and trade union. They have passed down policies persecuting Falun Gong, forcing every work unit to establish either a "leading group to deal with the Falun Gong issue" or a 610 Office¹. The persecution has been unceasing during these ten years.

Ransacking Homes and Detainment

In 2000 at the Hengyang Post Office, CCP Deputy Secretary Zhou Kun assembled employees for a meeting. Zhou said, "This is the third investigation of Falun Gong. If that retired worker was fined 3,000 yuan² last time, this time fine him 5,000 yuan again. Let's destroy them financially, let him have no money for food, and see if he still appeals. Retired people who practise Falun Gong must report to the Office of Retirement Administration and not be allowed to leave Hengyang."

Chenzhou City Post Office Director Qin Jianguo incited trade union personnel to go after Falun Gong practitioners. They printed guarantee statements renouncing Falun Gong and forced everyone to sign these statements whenever they collected pensions, pay cheques, or goods. Those who refused to sign were immediately taken to a brainwashing centre and some were sent to forced labour camps. Furthermore, the trade union personnel cooperated with the 610 Office and forced any staff member practising Falun Gong to write a guarantee statement. Their wages were then withheld and their homes searched. In 2003, Hunan Province Post Office CCP Deputy Secretary Chen Leguo ordered the ransacking of homes of suspected Falun Gong practitioners. This caused Falun Gong practitioner Hu Xurong of the audit examination service to have his home ransacked. Mr. Xurong was detained at Changsha City Detention Centre, Changsha City No. 1 Detention Centre and many other places. He was beaten by eleven prisoners under orders from local CCP officials.

Deceiving the Public to Incite Hatred Against Falun Gong

In 2001, the "Sanxiang Post" published five articles slandering Falun Gong on February 9th, March 3rd, April 7th, July 14tht, and September 29h. On February 23rd, 2001, the Hunan Province Stamp Collecting Association and National University of Defence Technology Engineering Corps Institute organized a stamp exhibition to slander Falun Gong. They deceived 1,300 students and had them sign a big banner reading, "Advocate Science and Resist Cults." On the same day, the Hunan Autonomous Post Office collected signatures to "resist cults" at a staff meeting. The cadres and all staff representatives were threatened and had to sign in support of the suppression of Falun Gong. In 2002 and 2003, the Changsha Postal District Central Bureau organized employees to watch a video that slandered Falun Gong. The local security department cooperated with the local police's initiative called "Spring Thunder," another campaign to persecute Falun Gong practitioners.

Preventing the Spread of Information about Falun Gong and Destroying Letters

In 2004 and 2005, Chen Leguo of the Post Office Administration sent faxes and emails, about security during long holidays, to subordinate units of the Hunan Province Post Office. This was aimed at stopping letters about Falun Gong from being delivered. In 2005 and 2006, in order to investigate Falun Gong materials going through the provincial post office, Chen increased the level of security patrols, television monitoring and Internet traffic monitoring. He focused specifically on monitoring residents accessing the Internet.

The following was announced through two public notices at the province post office dormitory at the Jinyou Area, "On May 15th and 16th, Internet experts have been invited to Jinyou Area, to monitor residents' Internet current capacity", "...current capacity monitoring in Jinyou Area has been completed, new equipment has been installed, prohibiting download of any large-size documents from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m." These two notices were placed in the lift lobby on the ground floor of the Province Post Office on May 15th and June 9, 2006. They were jointly approved by the Hunan Province Post Office Party Committee and Hunan Province Post Office Information Technology Bureau. Chen Leguo also actively cooperated with National Security Bureau agents, and provided equipment at the Hunan Postal District Central Bureau and postal service express delivery company to scan letters for Falun Gong content. Through 2004, he controlled the Hunan Postal Service and destroyed nearly ten thousand Falun Gong letters exposing the persecution of Falun Gong that went through the mail.

Leading up to the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, documents were issued regarding suppressing Falun Gong. In May and June of 2008, the Changsha Postal District Central Bureau prepared two documents about Olympic Games security to slander Falun Gong. The documents were Xiangchang Postal District (2008) No. 27 stated: "Notice about Further Strengthening Security Work for the Olympic Games" and Xiangchang Postal District (2008) No. 35: "Notice about Establishing Postal Service Security Leading Group during the Olympic Games." They were drafted by Xiao Yong, from the production control centre, Zuo Xuewu, from the security department, along with four other people. In June, the Hunan Province Postal Service distributed the "Olympic Games Postal Service Security Handbook" to subordinates. The handbook prohibited Falun Gong books, discs and letters exposing the persecution of Falun Gong from entering postal service channels, and it issued tracking orders for those accepting mail, sorting mail and delivering mail. It made every level sign to accept responsibility, and offenders of these rules prohibiting Falun Gong materials were to be dismissed.

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.

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

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2009/7/8/204050.html