The Facts of the Persecution of Falun Gong -- September 13, 2008

Issued by Clearwisdom Net

Content


  • A Family's Misery Due to Persecution by the Chinese Communist Regime
  • In late May 2008, two months before the Olympics, Mr. Liu Changde was sentenced to three years of forced labor. Previously his wife had been sentenced to three years of forced labor making it difficult for them to raise their family.
  • Mr. Li Guangjun Arrested and Believed Sentenced to Forced Labor in Jilin City, Jilin Province
  • On August 14, 2008, CCP police seized Mr. Li at work. Since then his family has been unable to see him or to be certain of his condition and whereabouts. This is the latest in a series of arrests and persecutions.


    A Family's Misery Due to Persecution by the Chinese Communist Regime

    For the last nine years, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officers have repeatedly arrested Mr. Liu Changde and his family for persevering in their faith in Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance. This family has experienced unceasing persecution including ransackings of their home, beatings, interrogations, and confiscations of property.

    Mr. Liu Changde and his family live in Shanglang Village, Shuanghou Town, Jinan County, Shandong Province. The couple have a son and a daughter. They used to live a happy and peaceful life. Mr. Liu was a driver and earned a good living. In 1997, Mr. Liu's wife started practicing Falun Gong after hearing about it from a relative. Her illnesses were subsequently healed without medicine. When Mr. Liu noticed the changes in his wife, he was surprised, and then he too began reading Falun Dafa books wholeheartedly. He was drawn into the books by the profound spiritual guidance he discovered. As he read, he unintentionally abandoned some of his bad habits. He realized that this was what he had been searching for his whole life. He then committed to himself that he would cultivate to the end. From that point forward, the whole family was full of harmony and happiness.

    Later, simply because they appealed for justice, CCP members began persecuting Mr. Liu. Suddenly, the harmonious family was broken by the persecution launched by the Jiang regime.

    On July 22, 1999,  for going to Beijing and appealing for justice, Mr. Liu was subjected to brainwashing. CCP members Yu Hongping and Gao Hongping, in Shuanghou Town, forced him to write a guarantee statement as a prerequisite to releasing him from the brainwashing camp. In the mean time, Mr. Liu's property, including a television, video player, and Falun Gong books, was confiscated.

    Again in May 2000, Yu Hongping and Gao Hongping in Shuanhou Town forced Mr. Liu to undergo brainwashing and extorted money from him. After that, Mr. Liu was constantly under surveillance by the Shuanhou Town police. The officers even went to Mr. Liu's home to harass and threaten him every holiday and on "sensitive days."

    In late 2000, officers from the Mengyin County 610 Office and Duozhuang Police Station received a report that Mr. Liu was practicing Falun Gong, so they arrested him. The officers searched his home without a warrant. He was released several days later after he had been extorted of 3,000 yuan.

    In January 2001, the whole family went to Beijing to appeal. They were all arrested and detained at a detention center. After being extorted of 8,000 yuan by the police, Mr. Liu's wife and two children were released. Mr. Liu was beaten and detained past the maximum term permitted by law.

    Not long after his return, in 2001, Mr. Liu Changde's wife was arrested for distributing truth clarification fliers in Fei County and was later sentenced to three years of forced labor. Mr. Liu was left to raise his children alone, tend the farm, and care for elderly parents.

    Mr. Liu's wife's arrest caused serious psychological trauma for Mr. Liu's son. He missed her greatly and constantly worried about her. His son finally had a mental collapse due to the harsh conditions that the family was living in, the threats from CCP members, plus the deep concern that he felt for his mother. The family was penniless after having so much money extorted from them. Mr. Liu had no money to take his son to see a doctor. Mr. Liu was heart broken. He ran to a practitioner's home and wept bitterly. With the help of practitioners, he calmed down, borrowed money and was able to take his son to get the medical attention that he needed. He then resumed his truth clarification efforts.

    In 2004, Mr. Liu's wife was released. Mr. Liu worked out of town and his wife worked hard at home. The suffering family began showing signs of recovery, but before long their better fortune ended. The police targeted the family and began sporadically harassing them.

    In late May 2008, two months before the Olympics, the Yinan County 610 Office assembled the county Domestic Security Section, the police Criminal Section, and the Shuanhou Town Police Station. The officers searched Mr. Liu's home and arrested Mr. Liu. They confiscated a computer, a DVD writer, 1,450 yuan, and filled a van with other personal property. Mr. Liu Changde was sentenced to three years of forced labor and was imprisoned at the Shandong Province No. 2 Forced Labor Camp.


    Mr. Li Guangjun Arrested and Believed Sentenced to Forced Labor in Jilin City, Jilin Province

    Mr. Li Guangjun worked at the Polyethylene Plant of Jilin Petrochemical Company. He started to practice Falun Gong in 1996, and he lives according to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Since the onset of the persecution on July 20, 1999, he has been relentlessly persecuted.

    The police from Longtan Districtarrested Mr. Li on April 12, 2005, while he was with other Falun Gong practitioners. He was sentenced to one year of forced labor and taken to Yingmahe Forced Labor Camp, where he had to work overtime and undergo brainwashing and sleep deprivation.

    On February 13, 2006, workshop heads Song Zhanfeng and Yang Yuxing ordered Mr. Li to divorce his wife or he would be dismissed, aiming at forcing him to denounce Falun Gong. They discovered he was still firm in his belief in spite of severe pressure lasting over a month. They had to let him return to work, knowing their demand was unreasonable. But they had also exerted pressure on his parents, and his father consequently beat him.

    On July 15, 2008, the Olympic torch passed through Jilin. Song Zhanfeng and Yang Yuxing forced Mr. Li, who had just finished his night shift, to stay at the plant. Li had to stay there for half a day and then went home, as he thought what they asked was unreasonable. Yang went to Li's home with Li's supervisor, Xiao Jincheng. They broke into his home and took him back to the workshop against his will. Yang said, "You don't need to work, but you must stay here for several days." Song cursed, "If it were my decision, I would shoot all of you (Falun Gong practitioners) to death. The best thing is to arrest you immediately, and I would have no worries." He then blamed Supervisor Xiao Jincheng for letting Mr. Li go home (Xiao was supposed to watch him). Xiao was angry at being blamed and slapped Li twice.

    In early August, Yang called Mr. Li again and ordered him to the plant for another "talk." They had fabricated three criminal charges again him: (1) He didn't tell them his home address. (2) He didn't give them his wife's ID. (3) He disseminated information about "Three withdrawals" (withdrawing from the Chinese Communist Party and its youth organizations).

    At 1:00 p.m. on August 14, 2008, the police from Longtan District seized Mr. Li at work. They then used his key to open the door to his home. Two of them watched him and his wife while the other two ransacked the home. They took all the Falun Gong books and materials, and two cell phones. They then called another four police officers to come make a video recording and took Mr. Li and his wife to Xiushan Police Station.

    That night they took Mr. Li to Jilin Detention Center and held him there for 15 days. A relative attempted to see him but was sent away. On August 20, his family was called to go to the plant. The plant leaders (Song, Yang etc.) told them that he was a good person but complained that he shouldn't have gone home the day they ordered him to stay at the plant. Besides, they thought that phone calls, messages, and mail from abroad had something to do with him. They explained to his family that they had tried to do what they could but could do nothing regarding his detention. They said that they would try to hold his position for him at the plant.

    On August 27, Mr. Li's relatives went to Jiangbei Police Department to talk to the department head, Zhang Lei. They waited the entire morning but didn't see him. The guard merely said that Zhang had gone out for a meeting. They happened to see CCP Committee Secretary Liu Wei from the plant. They explained things about Falun Gong to him, but he refused to listen. The next day Mr. Li's family went to Jiangbei Police Department again. Zhang Lei told them that Mr. Li had been sentenced to one year of forced labor.

    Mr. Li's mother went to Xiushan Police Station and asked what they had done to her son. The officers there said they didn't know. She finally met the official in charge of her son's case. He said he had other things to do and went away, leaving her alone.

    On August 28, 2008, Mr. Li's wife went to Jiangbei Police Department to inquire about her husband's case from Zhang Lei. Zhang said Mr. Li had been sent to the Jilin Forced Labor Camp for one year. She asked why her husband was sentenced to one year, and said there was nothing wrong with practicing Falun Gong. Zhang said, "We might arrest you simply for what you said."

    Zhang intimidated her but told her they would release her because she was a newlywed, "and we don't want both of you to be sent to a labor camp."

    She asked to see her husband. Zhang said that they should go to the labor camp to visit him. Before Mr. Li was sentenced, CCP Committee Secretary Liu Wei at the plant where Mr. Li worked showed up at Jiangbei Police Department. We don't know whether he took part in the persecution.

    When Mr. Li's family went to Jilin Detention Center to visit him, the guard said there was no such person at the detention center. His wife said, "The last time we came we were not allowed to see him. This time you say that he is not here."

    The family called Jiangbei Police Department and Xiushan Police Station, but no one answered the phone. Fourteen days have passed since his arrest. His family has received no further information and doesn't know his situation. They worry about him greatly.