Mr. Mao Danxin, Former Deputy Director of the Kunming Steel Construction Company in Yunnan Province, Arrested Again

Name: Mao Danxin
Gender: Male
Age: In his 40s
Address: Kunming City, Yunnan Province
Occupation: Deputy Director
Date of Most Recent Arrest: November 11th, 2011
Most recent place of detention: Guandu District Detention Centre
City: Kunming
Province: Yunnan
Persecution Suffered: Detention, brutal beating, forced labour reform, home ransacked, extortion, denied visitation, trial

On November 11th, Mr. Mao Danxin, after many years of being homeless and travelling from place to place, was arrested by the police in the Domestic Security Division of the Guandu district 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong) in Kunming City. They confiscated his computer, printer and other personal belongings. Mr. Mao Danxin is now detained in the Guandu District Detention Centre.

Mr. Mao Danxin is the former deputy director of the machinery factory of the Kunming Steel Company. He is a technical expert in the company and also in the local area. Since he started practising Falun Gong, he has followed the guiding principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and has striven to become a good person. He is willing to help others and works very hard, and he is well respected by the factory workers.

Despite his good reputation, he was arrested, had his home ransacked, was detained, suffered forced labour, and was sentenced to prison terms multiple times. He has been forced into homelessness and has had to wander about for many years. His parents passed away under the stress of deep worry about their son. His arrest put his wife and children in a very difficult situation. Below is the persecution Mr. Mao Danxin has experienced over the past decade.

1. Subjected to forced labour in prison for two years just for appealing for Falun Gong

When the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started to persecute Falun Gong in 1999, Mr. Mao Danxin went to Beijing to appeal. He arrived in Beijing at the end of 1999 and stood on the Gold Water Bridge to put out a banner saying “Falun Gong Is for the Improvement of One's Character and Benefits People.” He was brutally beaten, arrested and detained by Beijing City Police. He was arrested by Kunming City Police and sentenced to two years in a forced labour camp on January 17th, 2000. He was detained in the Yunnan Second Forced Labour Camp.

2. Mr. Mao's father passes away

When Mr. Mao was detained in the forced labour camp, Falun Gong practitioners held a hunger strike to demand their legal rights in the forced labour camp in August 2000. They were treated very brutally, and their families were not allowed to visit them. Mr. Mao Danxin's father heard about his son’s situation in the forced labour camp and worried about him every day. Grief and anger caused his health to worsen and he passed away from a stroke on October 17th, 2000.

According to the regulations of the forced labour camp, Mr. Mao Danxin should have been approved to visit his dying father and attend his father's funeral. However, the forced labour camp rejected these basic humanitarian rights because Mr. Mao Danxin persisted in his belief. In addition, after Mr. Mao’s father passed away, Yunnan Daily and other media spread rumours about Mr. Mao Danxin. They blamed him for his father's death and slandered Falun Gong practitioners, saying they did not care about their families. They did this in order to deceive the people and stir up hatred against Falun Gong.

3. Arrested during vacation and sentenced to one and a half years in prison

During his time in the labour camp, Mr. Mao Danxin once “transformed” [forcibly renounce Falun Gong] and gave up Falun Gong under the pressure of brutal persecution and the CCP’s lies.

He was released to his original work unit before his prison term was over in May 2001. Mr. Mao was removed from the position of deputy director. He resumed practising Falun Gong.

On July 2nd, 2005, Mr. Mao Danxin and ten other practitioners from Kunming City, including Wang Lan, Sun Yunji, Zuo Lixin, Zhao Yongmei, Zhao Chenyu, Tian Yunbao, Li Junping and Gao Hong, went on a trip to Tibet. On July 29th, when they arrived in Bomi County in Tibet, Falun Gong practitioners Tian Yunbo, Sun Yunji and Zuo Lixin went to the local petrol station for refuelling. They talked to workers and customers there about Falun Gong and the persecution by the CCP. They were reported by the workers at the petrol station and arrested right away.

Later they were taken to the police department by local Bomi policemen. They took away the car keys. When they were taken back to the gas station from the police department, some Falun Gong materials had been placed in the car as a setup. Immediately, the police took out a video camera and forced Mr. Sun Yunji to admit that these materials belonged to them. Later they searched the car and fabricated evidence for future persecution.

In the meantime, Mr. Mao and a few other practitioners ordered a meal in the restaurant, but Mr. Sun and three other practitioners did not return to the restaurant. Then they went to the police department. The director of the police department asked them: “Do you practise Falun Gong?” When they answered truthfully, “yes,” the director was so mad that he shouted, “I am going to arrest you!” Policemen began to arrest Mr. Mao Danxin and a few other practitioners and seized them by force. Ms. Li Junping, in her fifties, was injured on her arm and was detained in the Bomi County Detention Centre. Later she was taken back by police in Kunming City, Yunnan Province.

In September 2005, the Kunming City Procuratorate (Inspector Zhu Li) prosecuted Mr. Mao Danxin and ten other Falun Gong practitioners on groundless charges. At 9:00 a.m. on February 10th, 2006, Kunming Intermediate Court tried them secretly. Only a few family members came, while most family members were not informed and hence didn’t attend the trial. There were many guards and police in plain clothes. There were also police monitoring the home of Falun Gong practitioner Tian Yunbo that day.

During the so-called trial, without any facts and legal documents, Presiding Judge Hou Feng tried to induce Mr. Mao Danxin and others to admit that this was an organised, planned and premeditated trip. The Falun Gong practitioners nobly declared their innocence and listed a lot facts to deny the unfounded accusations. The defending attorney assigned by the court, under threats from the 610 Office, didn’t uphold justice, but rather helped the persecutors. When Mr. Sun Yunji reported that he was beaten by the police in the detention centre, Presiding Judge Hou Feng said in a very callous way, “This has nothing to do with the case!”

On February 13th, 2006, the Kunming Intermediate Court announced: “Wang Lan was sentenced to four years in prison; Sun Yunji, Zhao Yongmei, and Zhao Chenyu were sentenced to three years in prison; Mao Danxin, Zuo Lixin, Gao Hong, Li Junping and Tian Yunbo were sentenced to one and a half years in prison.

4. Mr. Mao Danxin's mother grief-stricken and passes away

On March 23rd, 2008, while Mr. Mao was telling people about the persecution of Falun Gong, he was arrested by police from the Anning City Domestic Security Division, who were monitoring and following him. After he successfully escaped, his minivan was confiscated by the police. Later the police searched everywhere to arrest Mr. Mao. They posted “wanted” notices through the internet across the country. Mr. Mao Danxin was forced to leave his home and to go from place to place. His mother missed her son and worried about him. She became depressed, fell ill, and passed away in October 2009. His wife and children have been living very difficult lives for years as a result of the persecution.

We call upon people of conscience in China and abroad to lend support and help stop the injustice committed against Falun Gong practitioner Mao Danxin of Yunnan Province. Condemn the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners and come together to stop the persecution!

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2011/11/15/249333.html