April 2009

U.S. Family Members Under Persecution

Introduction

2009 marks the 10th anniversary of the persecution of Falun Gong in China. Over the past 10 years, Global Mission to Rescue Persecuted Falun Gong Practitioners (GMR) has documented 90,698 persecution cases, including 5,565 cases of Falun Gong practitioners persecuted to death (with 3,264 cases confirmed by Falun Dafa Information Center).

The crackdown on Falun Gong in the People’s Republic of China has led to the unjust imprisonment of thousands of innocent practitioners, has subjected them to severe forms of mental and physical abuse, and has caused their families and loved ones countless hours of emotional agony. In the wake of this savagery, many American families have lost their loved ones or still have their family members persecuted in China today.

Here, we compile brief reports of 16 family members of U.S. residents, who are currently tortured in Chinese prisons and labor camps for their belief in Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance. These cases demonstrate that this brutal persecution against Falun Gong is not contained within the borders of China. In light of the past record of brutal atrocities committed against Falun Gong practitioners in these prisons and labor camps, these U.S. families live each day fearing for the well-being of their loved ones.

GMR, an international non-profit human rights organization established in November 2002 by constituent groups from sixteen countries, is assisting Falun Gong practitioners across the world to rescue their family members who are being illegally held in Chinese prisons, detention centers and forced labor camps. These 16 Falun Gong practitioners represent only a small cross-section of those who have been affected by this persecution. As many as 100 million innocent Falun Gong practitioners and their families have suffered. In rescuing these 16 Falun Gong practitioners, we are also sending a message to the Chinese government that the world community does not tolerate the ruthless arrest, torture, rape, imprisonment and murder of Falun Gong practitioners. We are thus helping to uphold justice and to protect human rights more broadly and to prevent this evil persecution from growing.

The persecution by the Chinese government against peaceful Falun Gong practitioners has been horrific and unconscionable. Yet, the strong voice of condemnation from the international community against these atrocities has helped to reduce the persecution faced by Falun Gong practitioners in China. It has also resulted in the successful release to the United States and other Western countries of Ms. Xuefei Zhou, Mr. Teng Chen, Mr. Ming Zhao, Ms. Cuiying Zhang, Mr. Kunlun Zhang, Ms. Ying Zhu, Mr. Shenli Lin and Ms. Yuzhi Wang…

Rescuing these 16 Falun Gong practitioners would be a significant step in regaining the freedom of all Falun Gong practitioners in China and the end to the brutal persecution inflicted upon these innocent people. Past efforts have shown that our voice can truly make a difference.

Your voice counts.

全球营救受迫害法轮功学员委员会
Global Mission to Rescue Persecuted Falun Gong Practitioners
5 Henshaw Terrace, West Roxbury, MA 02132, U.S.A
(ph), (fax), info@globalrescue.net, ww.globalrescue.net

1) Name: Wang, Zhiwen ( 王志文) Gender: Male Detained in: July, 1999

U.S. Relative’s Name: Wang Xiaodan Relative’s State of Residence: Washington, DC Relationship to the Persecuted: daughter

Job: rural Engineer

Case Summary: In the dawn hours of July 20, 1999,

according to eyewitness accounts from neighbors, Zhiwen was kidnapped from his bed by police and taken away in waiting police vans. Practicing Falun Gong in China had literally become a crime overnight, and he was one of the thousands of practitioners throughout the country targeted for immediate arrest.

After Zhiwen’s disappearance, day after day the entire family tried everything they could think of to find out where he was being held, but to no avail. Finally, on December 27, 1999, an international CNN newscast aired the show trial of four Beijing Falun Dafa Association volunteers, and Zhiwen was among them. The men were obviously bruised from being beaten as they stood in judgment for practicing Falun Gong and following truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance.

Zhiwen was given a sentence of 16 years in prison, and sent to Tianjin. Later he was moved to Qianjin Prison, a notorious labor camp in the northeast of China, where he remains today.

2) Name: Zhang Xingwu ( 张兴武) Gender: Male Detained in: July, 2008

U.S. Relative’s Name: Zhang Shuangying
Relative’s State of Residence: NY
Relationship to the Persecuted: daughter

Job: professor of the Institute of Education in Jinan City

Case Summary: In July 2008 before the Beijing Olympics, Jinan “610” office sent more than 20 policemen to arrest Mr. Zhang Xingwu. In 8 months’ detention, no one was allowed to visit him. Three more practitioners were arrested during the process, including Mr. Zhang’s relative Ms. Liu Lijie. Mr. Zhang’s case was returned by the prosecutor’s office to the Security Bureau twice due to a lack of evidence. However, the Security Bureau still wants to issue a sentence to Mr. Zhang Xingwu. His family hired an attorney to defend him. Initially the attorney was allowed to visit him, but the visit requests were denied after the first visit. On March 31, 2009, Mr. Zhang’s case went on trial without allowing relatives and lawyers present in the court room. Many security guards and policemen surrounded the court house. Mr. Zhang defended himself of his innocence and pointed out that the process of detention and court trial were illegal. He was, however, sentenced to seven years in prison. This is the third time Mr. Zhang being arrested and detained. In late 1999, Mr. Zhang was subjected to criminal detention because of his practice. Upon release from the detention center, he was sent home under surveillance for a long period of time. On January 1, 2001, he was detained in Beijing and was later sentenced to three years in forced labor camp, where he was made to do heavy labor for over ten hours a day.

3) Name: Jia Yahui ( 贾亚辉) Gender: Female Detained in: April, 2008

U.S. Relative’s Name: Zhang Zhishuo Relative’s State of Residence: NY Relationship to the Persecuted: daughter

Job: reporter for the Shenyang Evening News, Shenyang City

Case Summary: In April 2008, Ms. Jia was arrested by agents from the national security department when she attended her cousin’s wedding ceremony. She was sentenced to one year forced labor in the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp in Shenyang City, Liaoning Province. Her hair was all cut off by the guards. Because she did not give up her belief in Falun Dafa, she was shocked repeatedly by the labor camp police with an electric baton. Police used a black cloth to cover her eyes, and jolted her armpits and other sensitive areas with electric batons.

4) Name: Hu Zhiming ( 胡志明) Gender: Male Detained in: September, 2005

U.S. Relative’s Name: Hu Zhihua
Relative’s State of Residence: NY
Relationship to the Persecuted: brother

Job: Major of military training research center, Beijing Air Force

Case Summary: In September, 2000, Mr. Hu Zhiming was arrested for the first time. He was in prison for four years before he was released with a poor health condition. In September 2005, Mr. Hu Zhiming was arrested again and was sentenced to 4 years in prison. He is currently detained at Nanshan Prison of Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province. In 2008, the news came out saying Mr. Hu Zhiming was detained at the Animal Hospital of Jinzhou Prison and he was injected with unknown drugs that have caused him to lose consciousness. Mr. Hu Zhiming has lost the ability to walk and his situation is very grave.

5) Name: Zhang Yuhui ( 张玉辉) Gender: Male Detained in: October, 2000

U.S. Relative’s Name: Huang Hongjian
Relative’s State of Residence: NY

Relationship to the Persecuted: wife

Job: editor of a newspaper

Case Summary: In July 1999, the persecution of Falun Gong started in China. Mr. Zhang Yuhui used his pen name, He Shilao, to publish a series of articles on the Internet to let people know what Falun Gong is, as a result, he was arrested and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

In March 2001, he was taken to a police department from a detention center to go through seven days and seven nights’ torture. The police demanded to know who was backing his truth clarification efforts. He was tortured on the Tiger Bench, hung up and beaten, among other forms of brutality. After he was taken back to the detention center he was forced to maintain the “flying an airplane” position [the limbs are spread open; with hands and feet fixed to a cross-shaped piece of wood]. The guards said he was “stirring up trouble” and sent him to the Sihui Prison in December 2002. He was barbarically tortured at the Strictly Controlled Group and later at the Special Division.

6) Name: Luo Fang ( 罗芳) U.S. Relative’s Name: Shen Quan Gender: Female Relative’s Living State: NJ Detained in: February, 2002 Relationship to the Persecuted: father-in-law

Case Summary: On February 1, 2002, Luo Fang and her husband Shen Lizhi were arrested on Bus No. 75 by police officers from Yingmenkou Police Station, Chengdu City. The police claimed that at the time of their arrest the two persons had in their possession materials relating to the persecution of Falun Gong. They were detained at the Chengdu Detention Centre. Shen Lizhi was tortured after his arrest and died on the afternoon of March 3, 2002 at Qingyang District People’s Hospital. The police notified his parents one year later, on March 3, 2003. Luo Fang was eight months pregnant at the time of her arrest, and an official of the “610 Office” forced her to have an abortion. On May 8, 2002, she was released but was arrested again on December 5, 2002. She was tortured and sentenced to 12 years in prison. Since August 2003, she has been held at the Chuanxi Prison. It was reported that Ms. Luo was forcibly injected with nerve-damaging drugs, which paralyzed her legs. Ms. Luo’s case is documented as case # 234 of the report of Economic and Social Council of United Nations, E/CN.4/2005/62/Add.1, 30 March 2005. Mr. Shen Lizhi’s case is documented as case # 80 of the report of Economic and Social Council of United Nations E/CN.4/2005/7/Add.1, 17 March 2005.

7) Name: Zhu Lijin ( 朱丽津) Gender: Female Detained in: February, 2009

Relative’s State of Residence: NY

U.S. Relative’s Name: Wang Yu
Relationship to the Persecuted: daughter

Case Summary: On February 1, 2009, Ms. Zhu Lijin was arrested when she was distributing Falun Gong truth-clarifying materials. The police detained her for 15 days and then sent her to the labor camp. Ms. Zhu was sentenced to 15 month detention in the labor camp. The family members were not able to visit her; the entire trial process did not have any written documents.

Name: Cao Junping ( 曹俊萍) Gender: Female Detained in: July, 2008

U.S. Relative’s Name: Pang Jin
Relative’s State of Residence: MO
Relationship to the Persecuted: daughter

Case Summary: On July 29th, 2008, the police arrested Ms. Cao Junping at her friend’s home. She was detained at Qingzhou detention center, Weifang city, Shandong province. The detention center denied all visit requests from her family. According to the attorney who was involved in Ms. Cao Junping’s case, the police tortured Ms. Cao by keeping her awake for five consecutive days without any sleep. In the past, Ms. Cao has appealed for Falun Gong several times when the state-controlled media slandered Falun Gong in 1999. As a result, she was beaten, tortured and harassed by the police on many occasions.

9) Name: Cao Junfeng ( 曹俊峰) Gender: Female Detained in: July, 2008

U.S. Relative’s Name: Pang Jin
Relative’s State of Residence: MO
Relationship to the Persecuted: niece

Case Summary: On July 9, 2008, Ms. Cao Junfeng was arrested in a city-wide mass arrest of practitioners by the Weifang City Police Department and the Weifang City Domestic Security Section. On August 10, 2008, Ms. Cao Junfeng was sentenced to a year of forced labor and sent to the Wangcun Forced Labor Camp. Ms. Cao Junfeng’s health deteriorated in the labor camp. In less than a month, her symptoms became so severe that no one dared to be near her and the camp refused to keep her. With no regard to the severity of her health condition, the Weifang Domestic Security Section took Ms. Cao from the camp to the Changle Detention Center in Weifang City.

10) Name: He Hai’ou ( 何海鸥) Gender: Male Detained in: October, 2000

U.S. Relative’s Name: He Haiying Relative’s State of Residence: NJ Relationship to the Persecuted: brother

Job: doctor of the Employee Hospital of Chongqing Iron & Steel (Group) Co. LTD.

Case Summary: In October 2000, Mr. He Hai’ou was sentenced to ten years of imprisonment because he clarified the truth of Falun Dafa to people. He and his family members have not received the verdict. His family members went to Chongqing Intermediate Court to ask for the verdict but were refused an answer. During the past nine years Mr. He has suffered from all kinds of excruciating tortures. His faith in Falun Dafa has never wavered a bit. In order to resist the illegal imprisonment Mr. He Hai’ou has staged a ten-day hunger strike. The force-feeding has put his life in peril and he was sent to a hospital for a transfusion. Mr. He Hai’ou is being held at the No. 2 Prison in the Danzishi District, South Bank, Chongqing.

11) Name: Ma Jinhua ( 马金花) Gender: Female Detained in: September, 2008

U.S. Relative’s Name: Wang Maqiong
Relative’s State of Residence: CA
Relationship to the Persecuted: daughter

Case Summary: On September 4, 2008, seven people from the local security bureau ransacked Ms. Ma Jinhua’s home and forcibly took her away. Ms. Ma was detained at Anhui Woman’s Labor Camp and forced to perform hard labor 12 hours each day. Her back got hurt and no medical treatment was applied. She was not allowed to call her daughter living in the United States and her family member in China had to pay for the food cost to the labor camp.

12) Name: Zeng Qing ( 曾青) Gender: Female Detained in: February, 2006

U.S. Relative’s Name: Zeng Min
Relative’s State of Residence: TX
Relationship to the Persecuted: sister

Case Summary: On February 21, 2006, Ms. Zeng Qing was arrested and detained at Doumen District Detention Center. Later she was secretly sentenced to 3 years in prison. Her sister, Ms. Zeng Min, told the public in the United States that her sister has been arrested multiple times in the past eight years in China because she was exposing the evil persecution to the public. Ms. Zeng Qing has been tortured by braining washing, forced labor and sexual assault. She was under close monitoring even when she was home for a few months.

13) Name: Wang Chunyan ( 王春燕) Gender: Female Detained in: August, 2007

U.S. Relative’s Name: Yu Ping
Relative’s State of Residence: CA
Relationship to the Persecuted: daughter

Job: assistant general manager of Kanglai International Transportation, Dalian City

Case Summary: In 2001, Ms. Wang Chunyan was arrested and was sent to Shenyang Dabei Woman’s Prison for 3 years in prison. On August 14, 2007, Ms. Wang was arrested again and was sentenced for 5 years in prison because the local Chinese authority found her doing Falun Gong activities. Ms. Wang is currently detained at Dabei Woman’s prison in Liaoning Province.

14) Name: Cui Xin ( 崔鑫) Gender: Female Detained in: December, 2006

U.S. Relative’s Name: Jiang Hong
Relative’s State of Residence: HI
Relationship to the Persecuted: niece

Case Summary: On December 22, 2006, the state security agents and policemen from Hulan District Police arrested Ms. Cui Xin from Hulan District, Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province. Ms. Cui was sentenced to 7 years in prison. The Harbin City Police Department and 610 Office directly ordered the arrest of Ms. Cui Xin. Police officers took away her printer and several hundred copies of truth-clarification materials, which were used as so-called “evidence” to sentence her to prison. Ms. Cui was detained in the backyard of Harbin City Police Hospital, and no one was allowed to visit her. The processing of her case, including his court trial, was conducted secretly.

15) Name: Huang Xiong ( 黃雄) Gender: Male Detained in: April 2003

U.S. Relative’s Name: Huang Wanqing
Relative’s State of Residence: NY
Relationship to the Persecuted: brother

Job: computer engineer

Case Summary: April 19, 2003 was the last time when Mr. Huang Wanqing spoke with his younger brother Mr. Huang Xiong on the phone. During the conversation, Mr. Huang Xiong told his brother the police found his living place and could arrest him. Since then, Mr. Huang Xiong’s whereabouts have been unknown.

16) Name: Liu Lijie ( 刘丽杰) Gender: Female Detained in: March 2009

U.S. Relative’s Name: Zhang Shuangying
Relative’s State of Residence: NY
Relationship to the Persecuted: niece

Case Summary: Ms. Liu Lijie is Mr. Zhang Xingwu’s
sister-in-law. She was arrested outside the court room on March 31, 2009 when Mr.
Zhang’s case was brought to trial. On April 15, Ms. Liu Lijie was sent to Shandong
No. 1 Female Labor Camp (Jiang Shuiquan Labor Camp).