FDI: Eight More Wrongful Deaths of Falun Gong Practitioners in Police Custody

NEW YORK, July 2, 2002 (Falun Dafa Information Centre) - The number of deaths of Falun Gong practitioners in police custody from torture and abuse has doubled in the last year, according to statistics gathered and verified by the Falun Dafa Information Centre. Correlated to Jiang's order to "kill [Falun Gong practitioners] without pardon," the escalation of the three-year persecution of Falun Gong in China has brought the total of verified deaths to an alarming 429. Well-connected sources in China put that number much higher, even in the thousands.

Mrs. Geng Cuifang was from Lanzhou City; her husband Su Lanzhou practiced Falun Gong together, but one day her husband was kidnapped at about 6:00am on June 13th by policemen who had been lying in wait outside his house for the entire night, according to sources. In many areas, under orders from Jiang's regime, police are given quotas for arrests of Falun Gong practitioners in their region.

Later that day, several police officers from the Lanzhou Railroad Public Security Bureau arrived at Mrs. Geng's home to search it. Many victims, when taken by police for practicing Falun Gong, suffer long torture and eventual death at the hands of police in labour camps throughout China. Mrs. Geng would not let the officers enter, and when they began to force their way through the door, she had no choice but to attempt to flee from her window, and suffered a fall.

The police, instead of attempting to assist the badly injured Mrs. Geng, instead took the house keys from her body and ransacked her home, stealing books, jewellery, and money. They left Mrs. Geng's body outside in the sun until 4:00pm of that same day. After Mrs. Geng passed away from her injuries, the police hurriedly cremated her in a process that lasted less than seven minutes, but still forced her family to pay 6,000 Yuan (the average monthly salary for an urban worker is about 500 Yuan) for the "cremation fee."

On March 11th, 2002, police from Xiaochi Town in Hebei Province, where Mr. Gui Xunhua lived, approached the Falun Gong practitioner and his wife and attempted to force him into their car. He peacefully resisted, so they resorted to force, beating him and his wife in broad daylight and in front of many witnesses. Eventually, they managed to bring him to the Jiujiang Public Security Bureau in Jiangxi Province for interrogation and detention. The police there beat and tortured him until his death on June 1st, 2002.

Zhang Xiuling practiced Falun Gong in Handan City, Hebei Province. After the persecution of Falun Gong began in China, she travelled to Beijing multiple times to peacefully appeal for an end to the oppression. But she was often detained and tortured as a result. The abuses she received were so severe that in the end they caused psychological damage. She eventually died from the torture in July of 2001.

Mr. Rui Xiaolin lived in Anqing City of Anhui Province, and was a successful man with higher education and a job as an engineer for the Anqing City Waterpower Bureau. He also travelled to Beijing on many occasions to appeal for an end to the ban on Falun Gong. According to sources in China, the third time Mr. Rui was illegally detained in the Nanhu Labour Camp.

On the same day of his arrest, Rui Xiaolin began a hunger strike to protest his wrongful arrest. The labour camp staff used brutal methods in an attempt to force-feed Rui Xiaolin, and as a result of this and other tortures, the 39-year old engineer died on June 7th, 2002.

Many cases of death due to improperly administered forced-feeding have been documented. Forced-feeding in several cases has even been used as a means of torture. Administered by untrained prison wardens or even other prisoners, high-concentration saline solution, urine, or even more deadly substances are used to fill victims' stomachs in an effort to get them to renounce their beliefs.

Another Falun Gong practitioner from Hebei Province, Mrs. Song Cuiling, was a retired worker from the Zhangjiakou City Coal Engineering Factory. In the same manner as her fellow practitioners described above, Mrs. Song travelled to Beijing six times to appeal for Falun Gong. On one of those occasions she was detained for a month and fined 10,000 Yuan (500 Yuan is the average monthly salary for an urban worker).

On May 4th, 2002, police arrested Mrs. Song in Beijing and beat her with electric batons to the point that she became incontinent. She was taken outdoors everyday from 6:00am to be exposed to high winds and scorching heat. She went on a hunger strike to protest her detention and mistreatment, but became too weak and went into a coma on the ninth day of her hunger strike. The director of the detention centre where she was held even claimed that she was feigning the coma and attempted to force-feed her with a large tube.

Mrs. Song's health continued to deteriorate, however, and on May 20th, she stopped breathing. The detention centre doctor called it a "fake death" and ignored her. Later that day Mrs. Song was taken to a ward where she died about 1:30pm, according to sources.

Ms. Li Guojun was a Falun Gong practitioner from Weifang City in Shandong Province, an area known for its cases of extreme brutality in the persecution of Falun Gong in China. She disappeared on April 16th, 2002. Her husband, Mr. Li, was later contacted by his township secretary, who told Li that Li Guojun was in a "610 Office" brainwashing class.

The "610 Office" is a nationwide agency specifically created to persecute and eliminate Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems. Mr. Li was told that he would need to pay 2,000 Yuan to obtain her release (the average monthly salary for an urban worker is 500 Yuan).

Mr. Li did as he was told, but instead of being able to see his wife, was told that she had "committed suicide," and that her body was going to be cremated. Li Guojun's family, upon seeing her body, noticed that it was covered with cuts and bruises. During Mrs. Li's hurried funeral ceremony, mourners were ordered "not to cry" and were followed by three police vans. Mrs. Li leaves behind a 12-year old son.

Despite her 57 years of age, Ms. Wu Dabi was a very healthy woman, having cured her chronic bronchitis and arthritis through practicing Falun Gong. The police from Suining City did not understand this, however, and on May 23rd came to her home to take her to a detention centre. After tricking her into letting them in, they told Wu Dabi that she had to go with them to a forced labour camp. Despite the protests from Mrs. Wu, her family and neighbours, the police insisted on taking her, and forced her to jump through her window. Her family immediately took her to a local hospital.

On the morning of May 24th, after talking with the Suining City policeman for an extended period of time, the doctor taking care of Wu Dabi claimed that her condition was "normal." By 2:30pm she was taken to an operating room, however, and at 5:00pm Wu's family was told that she was dying. The doctor refused to explain why she was dying, and only allowed her family to see Mrs. Wu in the morgue at 7:00pm after she had passed away.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a practice of meditation and exercises with teachings based on the universal principle of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance." It is a practice that was taught in private for thousands of years before being made public in 1992 by Mr. Li Hongzhi. Falun Gong has roots in traditional Chinese culture, but it is distinct and separate from other practices such as the religions of Buddhism and Taoism. Since its introduction in 1992, it quickly spread by word of mouth throughout China, and is now practiced in over 50 countries.

With government estimates of as many as 100 million practicing Falun Gong, China's President Jiang outlawed the peaceful practice in July 1999, fearful of anything touching the hearts and minds of more citizens than the Party. Unable to crush the spirit of millions who had experienced improved health and positive life changes from Falun Gong, Jiang's regime has intensified its propaganda campaign to turn public opinion against the practice while quietly imprisoning, torturing and even murdering those who practice it.

The Falun Dafa Information Centre has verified details of over 429 deaths since the persecution of Falun Gong in China began in 1999. Government officials inside China, however, report that the actual death toll is well over 1,600. Over 100,000 have been detained, with more than 20,000 being sentenced to forced labour camps without trial.