53 Falun Gong Practitioners in Qiqihar City, Heilongjiang Province, Confirmed Dead as a Result of Persecution

Qiqihar in Heilongjiang Province is one of the places where the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has persecuted practitioners the most. According to incomplete statistics, as of November 20th, 2010, 53 deaths resulting from torture had been confirmed. The oldest victim was 78-year-old retired bank employee Huang Jingkun, and the youngest was 23-year-old Wang Weihua.

Photos of the deceased

Photos of the deceased (from left to right): Xu Hongmei, Shen Zili, Liu Jingming, Pan Hongdong, Lu Yuping, Zhang Guiqin, Chen Weijun, Yin Shuyun, Zhang Yunzhi, Zhao Yazhen, Fu Zhiyu, Liang Jinyu, Huang Jingkun, Xu Linshan, and Ma Wensheng.

In addition to the above practitioners, we have obtained the names of the following other victims:
Jiao Zhwnsheng, Sun Hongwen, Wang Weihua, Gao Deyong, Wang Baoxian, Liu Xiaoling, Li Xuelian, Hao Zhimei, Gan Xiuyun, Li Hong, Miao Xiaolu, Li Guiqin, Gao Hua, Tan Xiuna, Ke Fenglan, Gao Xinglian, Cao Liangyi, Yue Huimin, Qiu Wenbin, Lin Limei, Qiu Wenbin, Cheng Yulan, Zhang Yanfang, Guo Xiuzhen, Huang Yujing, Yu Shulan, Song Meiying, Wang Yuheng, Li Peisheng, Li Hongjie, Yu Zhongzhu, Cai Yong, Wang Zuohua, and Yue Yufang.

Highlighted below are a few cases to demonstrate the practitioners’ plights prior to their deaths.

Ms. Xu Hongmei and Ms. Shen Zili Died on the Same Day as a Result of Torture

(For details, see http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2007/3/3/83189.html)

At about 4:00 p.m. on January 13th, 2007, officers led by Qingyunjie Police Station officer Yi Zhanhui broke into a home and arrested Ms. Xu Hongmei, Ms. Shen Zili, and Ms. Hou Yaqian. They had previously decided to leave their homes to avoid being arrested and persecuted. Yi Zhanhui dragged Ms. Xu down the stairs from the fourth floor to the ground floor. When she shouted, "Falun Gong is good!" the police kicked and punched her.

At the station, the police used torture to try to get the practitioners to confess. Ms. Xu Hongmei was tied to a bed with her legs and arms stretched far apart. The officers also hung her upside down four times and upright once. Finally she lost consciousness. Yi Zhanhui poured cold water on her to awaken her, so they could continue the torture. She was then locked up in a metal cage. Ms. Shen Zili was tied to a chair. The police grabbed her hair and slammed her head against a wall until she lost consciousness. They continued to beat her when she came to, and used other torture methods. No matter what methods the police used attempting to obtain a confession and information that would lead to the arrest of more practitioners, Ms. Shen Zili and Ms. Xu Hongmei would not give in. The women were on the verge of death on January 18th, 2007 when the police transferred them to the Qiqihar Detention Centre.

Qingyunjie Police Station officials arrested Ms. Shen Zili, Ms. Xu Hongmei, and Ms. Hou Yaqie without following legal procedures. Their families were anxiously looking for them, but when they inquired as to their whereabouts at the station, the police asked, "Who told you they were detained here?" Ms. Shen Zili and Ms. Xu Hongmei's families begged for help at the Qiqihar City 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong), the Qingyunjie Police Station, and Longsha District Police Department to have the women released. Qingyunjie Police Station head Gong Yanhui used every excuse to avoid meeting with the families and deliberately made things as difficult as possible.

Ms. Xiu Hongmei and Ms. Shen Zili were sent to the No. 2 Hospital on the afternoon of February 27th, 2007, both on the verge of death, and both still handcuffed and shackled. As a direct result of torture by officers Yi Kanhui and Zhou Huanyu, both women suffered serious internal injuries. They were unconscious, coughing and spitting blood, and had muscle spasms, oedema, and damage and/or failure of five internal organs. Their blood pressure had dropped significantly. They vomited everything fed to them and were emaciated.

After medical personnel injected them with drugs, both of them looked lifeless. They could not breathe and lost consciousness. Ms. Xu's 9-year old daughter, Tantian, cried because her mother didn't recognise her.
Ms. Xu died at 4:30 p.m. and Ms. Shen at 8:50 p.m. February 27th, 2007, less than two weeks after they were captured. Ms. Xu Hongmei was only 37, and Ms. Shen Zili was 49.

Tiantian was arrested at the same time as her father and mother. She was under house arrest, living through the horror of being forcibly deprived of her parents' loving care. She grew up in an environment of discrimination, her mother now dead and father still in Tailai Prison. Tiantian has had to stay with her ageing grandmother and does not understand why her father and mother were detained for being good people. She does not understand why the police murdered her mother.

Mr. Pan Hongdong Died as a Result of Torture in Tailai Prison, Qiqihar

(For details see http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2005/6/3/61473.html)

Practitioner Mr. Pan Hongdong, 37, lived in Qiqihar. She was tortured to death in Tailai Prison at 8:18 a.m. on May 15th, 2005. His body was covered with scars and wounds, there were bloodstains near his mouth, ears, and nose, and a round scar on his chest. There were also obvious bloodstains on his legs and back.

Xingongdi Police Station agents arrested him on September 4th, 2001. Officers from the Tiefeng Criminal Police Team brutally tortured him in different ways, including shocking his genitals with an electric baton. He was tortured beyond recognition. He went on a three-day hunger strike and was later sent to the Second Detention Centre in Qiqihar. In late 2002, he was sentenced to ten years in prison. After the 2003 Chinese New Year he was sent to Tailai Prison.

While in prison, Mr. Pan was forced to work in a rice paddy every day and was frequently tortured. One of his ears was injured as a result of the gross mistreatment. In an attempt to make him write a guarantee statement, team leader Cao Minjiang ordered criminal inmates to torture him. They first hung him up with four separate ropes attached to his arms and legs, his body facing down. Blocks were then placed under his breastbone. They also put a metal ironing board out in the sun, then put him on the board to blister his skin. Cold water was then poured on him, which caused even more pain.

The prison forbid family visits starting November 2004. Mr. Pan was brutalised so badly that even some of the criminal inmates couldn’t stand to watch. When some of them tried to pass him a cushion to sit on, the guards berated them. On the day of his death, his screams were heard for a long time until one person yelled, “He’s just been beaten to death!” Then - silence.

Case 3. Mr. Liu Jingming from Qiqihar Chinese Medicine Hospital in Heilongjiang Province Died under Suspicious Circumstances in Tailai Prison

(For details see http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2007/4/14/84551.html)

Mr. Liu Jingming from Qiqihar City, born on July 23rd, 1968, worked at Qiqihar City Chinese Medicine Hospital and was considered an "outstanding" purchasing agent. He began practising Falun Gong in 1995 and conducted himself according to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. He thought of others first before doing or saying anything. He was incorruptible and unselfish in his job. He treated people kindly and was considered a good person, recognised by everyone in the hospital.

Mr. Liu was sent to Tailin Prison on February 8th, 2007. It took guards only 46 days to torture 39-year-old Mr. Liu to death. At 7:00 p.m. on March 24th, 2007, guard Ji Hengtai of the Training Unit at Tailai Prison phoned Mr. Liu's home. He claimed that Mr. Liu died after "jumping out of a window" at 1:40 a.m. on March 24th. Regime agents have often used this very same excuse when other practitioners died under suspicious circumstances.

Mr. Liu and three other practitioners were brutally beaten when they stood up to refute the lies during a meeting slandering Falun Gong just two days prior to his death.

At 11:00 a.m. on March 25th, 2007, some of Mr. Liu's family members went to Tailai Prison. Guard Ji Hengtai claimed that the guards at the prison "cared" for practitioners. When the family asked about the cause of Mr. Liu's death, Ji Hengtai said, "We carry out forced 'reformation' [forcibly renounce Falun Gong] of practitioners. He was very stubborn. He would not recite prison rules."

Concluding Remarks

These tragic cases are shocking and saddening. Falun Gong teaches people to abide by high moral standards and consider others first. Following Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance, Falun Gong practitioners are all well regarded at home, in the community, and at work. Who would ever complain about the sheer number of such good people? Why can the CCP not tolerate them?

Background Information on Falun Gong

Falun Gong is an ancient cultivation system deeply rooted in traditional Chinese culture. Ever since Mr. Li Hongzhi introduced the Great Law to the public in May 1992, it has spread to more than 100 countries and regions (including Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau), and has received more than 3,000 proclamations from different governments. The books of Falun Gong have been translated into more than 30 languages and are now available in many places around the world. The principles inherent in Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance transcend racial, ethical, and national boundaries, and won high praise from numerous individuals.

However, this Great Law is being viciously attacked in China. Out of envy and personal interests, Jiang Zemin, [former leader of China and instigator of the persecution] has openly persecuted Falun Gong since July 20th, 1999. A secret system--the 610 Office was established under his directive back on June 10th, 1999. Uncounted 610 Office agencies sprang up in all levels of government around the country, their sole purpose to carry out Jiang’s policy of “defaming practitioners, ruining them financially and destroying them physically.” Innumerable practitioners have been sent to forced labour camps and prisons, and their families destroyed.

July 22nd, 1999 in Qiqihar

French/Jewish sage Nostradamus stated the following in his book of prophecy, Centuries, hundreds of years ago:
“In the year 1999, seventh month,
From the sky will come a great King of Terror,
In order to bring back to life the great king of Angolmois,
Before and after Mars reigns in the name of bringing people happiness.”

(From century X, quatrain 72 in Nostradamus’s writings)

The persecution of Falun Gong that began in July 1999 was just as Nostradamus described. The whole country was blanketed in horror. Qiqihar was no exception.

At around 4:00 p.m. on July 22nd, 1999, the Qiqihar TV station began non-stop broadcasting of “important news” from CCTV. The bloody scenes shown on TV could not have been further from the truth, and the fabrications against the founder of Falun Gong were unbelievably groundless and deceptive. The atmosphere was extremely suppressing and suffocating, as if another Cultural Revolution had just begun.

On that particular day, many practitioners in Qiqihar voluntarily went to city hall to peacefully appeal for Falun Gong. The Chinese Constitution states that citizens have freedom of belief. CCTV was slandering Falun Gong. Many practitioners sat in front of city hall, and many more watched from across the street. Police and government employees were stationed everywhere, and Domestic Security Division agents busily videotaped practitioners.

Two big buses pulled up, and more than two dozen armed police officers with helmets and rifles poured out to surround the practitioners. A loudspeaker inside the city hall courtyard issued demands that the practitioners leave immediately or face the consequences. No one was deterred, so the police led practitioners to the buses. It was the height of summer, and the fully armed police officers were soaked in sweat. Some practitioners offered their seats to the police while others wiped the sweat off of them. There was no hostility at all in the police officers' eyes. It was apparent they were touched by practitioners’ gentleness.

Between noon and evening, several busloads of practitioners were taken to a suburban school and separated by their home regions. In each of the classrooms, practitioners explained the facts to the police. One practitioner demonstrated the five exercises after an officer asked, “What exactly is your practice?”

Seeing the gentle, slow movements the police all said, “There is nothing wrong with the exercises. You’re not using any force.” The police asked each practitioner to fill out a form telling where he or she worked and giving a home address and telephone number. After gathering information on all the practitioners, the police transferred them to their respective local police departments.

All those who went to appeal on July 22nd, 1999, were deemed primary targets to be persecuted. Qiqihar authorities assigned people to follow these practitioners and tap their telephones every day. They also pressured the practitioners’ workplaces and street committees to urge them to give up their cultivation.

Truth will never yield to power and violence, however. Falun Gong practitioners are not blinded by lies, nor are they deterred by torture. During the past ten years, practitioners in Qiqihar have peacefully fought against the persecution.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2011/3/11/237445.html