Mr. Kang Yuncheng, 56, from Mudanjiang City Dies After Years of Torture and Abuse

Name: Kang Yuncheng
Gender: Male
Age: 56
Address: Mudanjiang City, Heilongjiang Province
Occupation: Real estate company manager
Date of Death: November 16th, 2010
Date of Most Recent Arrest: October 2003
Most Recent Place of Detention: Mudanjiang Prison
City: Mudanjiang
Province: Heilongjiang
Persecution Suffered: Detention, imprisonment, brainwashing, beatings, forced labour, sleep deprivation, solitary confinement

Since 1999, Mr. Kang Yuncheng had been repeatedly arrested, imprisoned, and tortured by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) authorities. In 2007, he was released from Mudanjiang Prison on medical parole. On November 16th, he died at the age of 56.

Mr. Kang was a manager at the Real Estate Corporation in Mudanjiang City, Heilongjiang Province. He started practising Falun Gong in 1995, and was the assistant of a Falun Gong practice site.

1. Mr. Kang Continuously Monitored and Harassed Following the April 25th, 1999 Appeal

On April 11th, 1999, an article slandering Falun Gong was published in the "Youth Expo" magazine of the Tianjin Institute of Education. Practitioners in Tianjin went to the institute to explain and clarify the facts about Falun Gong. On April 23rd and 24th, the Public Security Bureau of Tianjin mobilised the riot police, resulting in serious injuries and the arrests of 45 practitioners. When other practitioners went to the Tianjin Municipal Government to request the release of the detainees, they were told that since the Public Security Bureau was involved in the incident, the practitioners could not be released without authorisation from Beijing. They told practitioners, "If you want to solve this problem, then go to Beijing."

In order to secure the release of those detained, and to request a stable and peaceful cultivation environment, the practitioners went to Beijing to appeal to the government. On April 25th, former Premier Zhu Rongji and other officials met with the practitioners. After representatives from both sides reached a mutual agreement, everyone left Beijing that night. The entire process was quiet, peaceful, and orderly. Before leaving, practitioners picked up the garbage, scraps, and cigarette butts that police had left on the ground and threw them into the garbage cans.

However, after the "April 25th Incident," Mr. Kang and other practitioners were repeatedly harassed by personnel from the Public Security Bureau. Practitioners couldn't even return to their homes. All of the practice sites in Mudanjiang City were monitored by police pretending to be practitioners. Before the persecution officially began in July 1999, an investigative report conducted on Falun Gong practitioners by the Mudanjiang city government determined that there was no evidence that practitioners were engaged in any kind of political affairs.

2. Mr. Kang Sentenced to Prison and Dies After Numerous Instances of Torture and Abuse

On the morning of July 20th, 1999, Mr. Kang, Sun Lizhu, and about 30 other practitioners were arrested by the police. Most of them were released the same day. Yu Zonghai and five other practitioners were detained by the authorities. After Mr. Kang was released, he went back to work.

At the end of October 2003, Mr. Kang was arrested again by police from the Mudanjiang City 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong). His employer tried to bail him out, but to no avail. He was sentenced to prison and detained in the fifth section of Mudanjiang Prison. In 2004, Mr. Kang, Wu Yuerong, Zhang Tao, Liu Jun, Wang Xinjun, Jin Jianfeng, Sun Dengchao, Lu Zhenjiang, Hou Runzhong, Yao Guocai, Gao Yunxiang, Pang Shixing, Zhang Dewen, and Liu Deyuan were arrested and sent to Mudanjiang Prison, where they were persecuted severely. In order to force them to renounce their faith, prison guards sent them to the "Special Training Team." They also threatened them that if they didn't sign a guarantee statement to renounce practising Falun Gong, they would never leave.

Falun Gong practitioners detained in the "Special Training Team" were subjected to extremely inhumane treatment. Everyone was crammed together into one bed, in a tiny area. They were not allowed to wash their faces or go to the toilet. Drinking water was strictly limited. Every word was listened to, and punching and beating practitioners was accepted as normal behaviour by other inmates. Because of the unhealthy environment, practitioners developed lice on their bodies. They started work at dawn (making chopsticks and toothpicks) and finished late at night. They would be punished when they didn't meet their work quotas. Guards would instruct other prisoners to hit the practitioners with wooden boards, sometimes so severely that the boards broke into pieces. Practitioners were not allowed to go to the toilet at night. If they didn't report to the other prisoners when they had to go out, they would be beaten. They didn't have enough food to eat.

In August 2004, police started forcibly "transforming" [forcibly renounce Falun Gong] practitioners. They ordered criminals to take turns to speak to them and deprived them of sleep for six consecutive days. When practitioners tried to protest by going on hunger strikes, the guards would violently suppress them. When practitioners shouted "Falun Gong is good!" they ordered prisoners to punch them in the mouth. They forced them into confinement cells or brainwashing centres, where they would be met with more persecution. Practitioners were not allowed to see or call their families.

Those who were involved in the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners included Ding Xuezhong, chief of police; Zhuang Qiuxin, prison instructor; Yu, the section chief; Si Haitao, Jiang Jun, and Zhang Dazhi.

On January 18th, 2006, Mr. Kang was sent to a confinement cell. He had just returned from the prison hospital, where he had been taken due to hypertension, resulting from severe torture. His family went to the hospital to demand his release on medical grounds, but the prison refused.

By January 13th, 2007, Mr. Kang was in critical condition. He was sent to a local hospital, where he underwent two surgeries. After the second one, the doctor said he didn't have long to live. His family again protested to the prison, demanding his release. In April, he was finally allowed to go home on medical parole.

In November 2010, Mr. Kang passed away.

Related article:

http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2007/5/21/85916.html

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2010/12/3/233222.html