The Persecution of County Government Official Mr. Li Qingben

Name: Li Qingben
Gender: Male
Age: 50
Address: Unknown
Occupation: Government official
Date of Most Recent Arrest: April 7th, 2008
Most recent place of detention: Gansu First Forced Labour Camp
City: Lanzhou City
Province: Gansu
Persecution Suffered: Detention, Home Ransacked, Torture, Interrogation, Beatings

Domestic Security undercover agent Zhou Yi and police officers Li Genwei and Duan Wei from the Chenguan Police Station arrested Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Li Qingben off the street on April 7th, 2008. They detained Mr. Li at the Chenquan Police Station and eventually transferred him to the Gansu First Forced Labour Camp after thirty-six days of detention. He was released on September 29th, 2009. Following are details:

Li Qingben, 50 years old, is a Ning County resident and an official/employee in the government. He began practising Falun Gong in April 1997. His chronic illnesses such as myasthenia gravis and gastritis disappeared after beginning the practice. After seeing the wonderful benefits of Falun Gong, many people at Mr. Li's workplace also started practising.

After Mr. Li was arrested on April 7th, 2008, Domestic Security team leader Hu Ningsheng attempted to extort a confession from him. Mr. Li repeated, "I did not do any thing wrong." Hu later conducted a home search but did not find any "evidence" to use against Li. Hu returned to the police station and handcuffed Mr. Li onto a Tiger bench¹ for nine hours, until the next morning. At 9:00 a.m., Domestic Security officer Li Gewei continued to interrogate Mr. Li, but got nothing again. Hu Ningsheng sent him to a detention room. He ordered guard Zhao Zhenyuan to torture Mr. Li, until he confessed. Guard Zhao then ordered the following criminal detainees to repeatedly beat Mr. Li: He Yingpu (from Shaanxi Province), Shi Longhuei (from Xingzhoang Township, Ning County) and Zhang Zhicai (from Liangping Township, Ning County). They also forced Mr. Li to hold many difficult postures as a form of physical abuse, including "generate power," and "scorpion climbs a wall." When Mr. Li refused to co-operate, criminal He Yingpu kicked him in the chest. Mr. Li felt a shortness of breath and almost lost consciousness. Mr. Li was detained for thirty-six days.

Police Department head Wang Xingping, commissar Zou Tingchen, and Hu Ningsheng proposed to subject Mr. Li to one-and-a-half years of forced labour. Mr. Li was sent to the Gansu First Forced Labour Camp on May 13th, 2008.

A physical exam showed that Mr. Li suffered from several illnesses and was ineligible for admittance. However, the labour camp accepted him anyway and placed him in the Strictly Controlled Team.

While there, guards Han Ximing, Wang Cheng and Wang Yaozhong took turns interrogating Mr. Li. They also ordered criminal inmates Sun Hongtao, Ma Ping, and Wang Yongjun to physically abuse him. They forced Mr. Li to stand for more than a month and ordered him to memorise the camp rules and regulations. They would beat him if he refused their orders.

Mr. Li also encountered verbal abuse during his year and five months of incarceration at the hands of several persecutors: Duan Jiping, Ji Yongyao, Li Wenhui and Shen Peixun. In addition, Han Ximing and Wang Cheng also urged criminal inmates Sun Hongtao, Li Xingzhong, Guo Bin, Ma Ping, and Yang Xianzhong to physically abuse, torture and mentally torment Mr. Li. As a result of continued abuse, his hair turned grey and his gastric disease returned. Mr. Li was finally released on September 29th, 2009.

Li Qingben had sent a letter to regime officials in November 2002, explaining the facts about Falun Gong. This resulted in his arrest at the hands of Liu Deguei and Zhou Huaning from the Ning County Police Department and a two-month detention. Wang Yongzhen was head of the 610 Office(an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong), and Wei Lidao was police department head at the time. While in detention, during a meeting, County Party Secretary Deng Xaiolong dismissed Mr. Li from his position as a section head at the county government. In addition, Wang Yongzhen and Liang Yonghong, County Discipline Committee Secretary, cancelled Mr. Li's section head benefits, and disqualified and demoted him from his current position. His salary was reduced by 500 yuan² per month.

Note

1. "Tiger Bench": Prisoners are forced to sit on a small iron bench that is approximately 20 cm (6 inches) tall with their knees tied together. With their hands tied behind their backs or sometimes placed on their knees, they are forced to sit straight up and look straight ahead without movement for long periods of time.

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.org/mh/articles/2009/11/9/212264.html