My name is Pu Yu and I am a 22-year-old Falun Gong practitioner living in the No.2 City Apartment at Xi Guan Miao Pu of the Weicheng district, Weifang City. This February fellow practitioner, Chen Zixiu, was beaten to death. The few key eyewitnesses to her death, were subsequently arrested, and taken to an undisclosed location, causing concern for their personal safety. I am writing to testify that these events were true, and to document the abuses suffered by the Falun Gong Practitioners who were forced to attend the so called "Education Class," sponsored by the Chenquan Street Government Office. Those officials indeed committed abuses including illegal detention and beatings. By documenting the unfair treatment I received, I hope to bring these actions to the attention of the appropriate authorities, so an end can be put to these abuses, as well as, bring the killers and corrupted officials to justice. Due to my efforts, the local police immediately arrested me and kept me in jail for 30 days. Another practitioner, Sun Weixing was sentenced to detention at a labor camp without any charge or legal procedure. My teacher and parents taught me to be an honest person, from childhood. Yet in the current society, if one can be criminally charged simply for speaking the truth, then who will dare speak out? I returned home after being released from the detention center, people from the Chenquan Street Government office told me, "Pu Yu, do not ever talk nonsense again. Someone was already beaten to death, but so what? Who cared? The 'Education Class' conducted by the Chenquan Street Office was successful (in re-educating Falun Gong practitioners.) They were commended and praised by the city government in conferences big and small. Political Commissioner Kao (who ordered recruited thugs to beat people) and Director Chang (who beat people personally) were decorated as "model progress workers" and highly regarded. Deng Ping (who was directly responsible for beating Chen Zixiu to death) was promoted to be a Communist Party Member in waiting, ready to be formally accepted into the Party in the near future." I was shocked when I heard this. Did this signify the arrival of a totally distorted, crooked, and upside down society? Later I heard that District Director Wang, who was responsible for establishing seven detention centers that administered harsh physical punishment, and where they beat Chen Zixiu to death, and did a "good job transforming" Falun Gong practitioners, was given a promotion. He was formally promoted from Assistant County official to a Full County official. Where were those government officials who "swore to serve the people?" Murderers, who beat people to death, did not receive punishment but instead got decorated as model officials! This does not conform to our constitution, to the law of this universe, nor any moral standard. I could hardly believe that these events really took place. However, the above facts did happen, and the killers became even more brutal and repressive after avoiding legal justice. Later on, with the support of senior government officials, they established an illegal "Education Class." Repulsively, their class is located at the same facility where they beat Chen Zixiu to death -- #1 building in Zhuangzhong Garden. Even though the murder of Chen Zixiu took place recently, they did not feel the least bit of guilt or remorse, and instead became more atrocious. No wonder local people said that these killers had no human decency. Yet, after enduring severe oppression, we did not receive any protection from the law. On the contrary, the persecution continued. Towards the end of April, after getting out of school, some fellow practitioners and I went to have lunch at another practitioner's home. Just as we were about to start eating, the public security people showed up and arrested us. We were brought to the local police station under the trumped up charge of "illegally and unlawfully gathering." (Ironically, when they eat together it is considered a dinner meeting, yet when we eat together it is judged as having an "illegal gathering.") We were interrogated for the entire afternoon then finally released, since they could not get anything useful out of us. They deceptively called their illegal forced entry, searching, arresting and detention, "conducting official business." On the weekend of May 13, Ying Xia, another practitioner, two children, and myself decided to go to the park to fly kites. The public security people deliberately arrested us before we even left for our outing. They charged us with carrying Falun Gong books and immediately detained us. We were unlawfully arrested although we did not violate any law or go against the constitution. With no legal recourse available, we considered holding a hunger strike, to protest our innocence. Our Teacher taught us how to be decent and good human beings, to endure and not take revenge when we are slandered or mistreated. We do not fight back like everyday people. We felt that a hunger strike was our only means to safeguard our basic human rights. As practitioners we simply want to be the best people we can be. Are we violating the law simply by carrying a book that teaches us how to become better people? There were many practitioners who were beaten and detained without justification and denied their due process of law. Each day there were many practitioners who unlawfully received various forms of severe treatment. Even worse, medical personnel at the Changle Mental Hospital forcefully injected certain imported drugs meant for mental patients into practitioners, paying no respect for human life. They turned many healthy and decent people into drugged and mentally disturbed patients bordering on mental breakdown and death. The only way one could be released is if that person signed an affidavit not to practice Falun Gong ever again. A practitioner named Su Gang was tortured to death in this way, much to the disbelief of his family and friends. A hospital is a place to cure and heal people. For those health care professionals who blatantly ignore their own professional code of conduct, should they not be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law? Corrupt government officials and public security personnel carried out the inhumane treatments described above. They totally ignored their responsibility to the well being of our country and covered up the terrible crimes they had committed. As a citizen of the People's Republic of China, it is my duty to report such offenses to the proper authorities, in order to put a stop to their criminal acts and allow them to pay for their crimes. With this in mind, Ying Xia, another practitioner, and I began our journey to appeal to the government in Beijing. We did not have any money, so we decided to walk the entire way. Even though we had to walk a long distance, enduring hot weather and hardships, we thought we should inform others about Falun Dafa, because it is such a virtuous and noble cultivation practice, We introduced Falun Dafa along the way. We found out that many citizens already had some knowledge about Falun Gong. Most of them told us, "Falun Gong teaches people how to be better and healthier people, yet the government prohibited such practices. They beat and arrest you if you practice. Who would dare to practice?" Such comments and feedback further strengthened our determination to appeal. After about two weeks of sleeping and eating outdoors, we finally reached Beijing. When we arrived at the State Department Appeals Office, it was closed. Since the next day was Saturday, it would not be open either. We decided to find the address of Premier Zhu. We had been deeply touched after listening to his "Three Speeches." He is such a populist official; we were certain he would care about our suffering. We had high hopes when we found his residence. Just to make sure we did not knock on the wrong door, I asked a young man, standing outside the doorway, if we were at the correct address. Unexpectedly, he acted as though he was frightened and started pulling Ying Xia and I away from the doorway. He dragged us towards the other side of the street. I thought he was a bad guy so I started knocking on other doors, hoping the people inside the houses would come out and help us. Two men came out of the house and started dragging us towards the police guard post across the street. We said, "What are you doing? We are not bad people. We are Falun Gong practitioners and we want to see Premier Zhu. Does he know what you are doing to us?" They replied that no Falun Gong practitioners were allowed to see the Premier. They even wanted to find out where we were from. We said in that case we did not care that much to see the Premier; we could just leave. They refused our plea and told us that our appeal is illegal and must be handled by the local public security people. We felt what they were doing to us was illegal. We insisted that they release us, yet they acted like criminals and swiftly put us into the waiting police car. I was convinced Premier Zhu was not aware of their actions. We were detained with some other prisoners in the East City Detention Center in Beijing. We protested our innocence with a hunger strike and demanded to be released since we were not criminals and felt we should not be detained there. On the seventh day, we suffered greatly. The authorities deceived us into believing that if we would tell them our names, we would receive food and water to replenish our health, as well as be given tickets to go home. We believed them and took some water. We could not eat any food because we could not swallow. On the tenth day, public security officers from our home district came and took us to their office in Beijing. They even told us that the government would press charges against us and give us prison sentences. We both thought, neither practicing Falun Dafa nor appealing is wrong. Nobody intervened when we were beaten; yet they wanted to press charges and sentence us! Is this not trying to force us to death? We decided to continue our hunger strike without even drinking water. By the time we were taken back to Weifang we were almost passed out. They were scared that we might die right there, so they finally released us. After I got home, I found out that upon leaving Weifang, the officials from the Chenquan Street Office and police station disturbed my home on a daily basis. They said that my appeal trip to Beijing violated "certain" restraint orders and required us to pay a ten thousand yuan fine. If we did not pay the fine they would seize our personal property. They harassed us daily and my mother was tormented so much that she could not go to work nor get a decent rest. She has to take medication and her condition deteriorated rapidly. They offered no sympathy and even increased their harassment. This reminded me of the days of the "Great Cultural Revolution" and the infamous "extermination of nine relatives." (Note: In ancient China if one offended some officials, not only could that person be killed, but also all of his relatives would be killed. During the "Great Cultural Revolution," it was a common policy to extend punishment to a person's relatives. Today, the Government has brought back this archaic policy and is applying it to Falun Gong practitioners and their relatives.) In their eyes, they only see money, and totally forgot their duty as public servants, seriously damaging our country's image without restraint! On one side people were beaten, arrested and had their assets seized at will. The other side continually endured without fighting back or even uttering any resentment. Who is benevolent? Who is evil? Who is righteous? Who is villainous? Even though the public media in the form of radio stations and newspapers repeatedly falsify their reports, people will pass judgment based upon their own conscious. Let the murder of Chen Zixiu, be investigated and those responsible brought to justice to the satisfaction of her family members. We insist that the abuses by those "law enforcement" officials who are abusing their authority to willfully and illegally persecute Falun Gong practitioners be swiftly brought to an end.

Chinese version available

Category: Accounts of Persecution