Internally Displaced Persons in Guangdong Province

Overview

Since July 20, 1999, Falun Gong practitioners from Guangdong Province have been tortured and persecuted because of their belief. The police have arrested, detained, beaten, and fined them, and sent many of them to mental hospitals. They were also fired from their jobs. Falun Gong practitioners’ normal lives were disrupted, homes ransacked, and even family members threatened. To avoid further torture, some practitioners had to leave their homes and go into hiding. Following are some of them:

1.1       Yang Ziwei And His Wife Forced to Leave Home Because of Practicing Falun Gong

Victims:

1.      Yang Ziwei, male, 26, a former accountant of the Yuelong Company, Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province

2.      Yang Ziwei’s wife, female, resident of Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province

Location of Detention and Torture:

1.      The Tiananmen Square Police Station, Beijing

2.      The Shijingshan Detention Center, Beijing

3.      A police station in Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province

4.      The Baiyun District Rehabilitation Center, Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province

5.      The Baiyun District Police Station, Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province

6.      Guangdong Province Police Station, Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province

Perpetrators:

1.      Police of the Tiananmen Square Police Station, Beijing

2.      Police of the Shijingshan Detention Center, Beijing

3.      Police of a police station in Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province

4.      Guards of the Baiyun District Rehabilitation Center, Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province

5.      Police of the Baiyun District Police Station, Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province

6.      Police of the Guangdong Province Police Station, Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province

A Brief Report of the Incident:

On June 13, 2000, Yang Ziwei went to Beijing to appeal to the government to stop persecuting Falun Gong. Mr. Yang was arrested and beaten up by the police of the Tiananmen Square Police Station. On June 18, 2000, Mr. Yang took part in a group practice of Falun Gong in Guangzhou City. As a result, he was detained for 15 days and fined RMB 5,000 Yuan. From July 17 to July 31, 2000, Mr. Yang was first detained for 48 hours in the local police station and then sent to a brainwashing class. After that, the local police disrupt Mr. Yang’s life in various ways and threaten him, to get him to renounce Falun Gong. They frequently called Mr. Yang’s relatives, friends and colleagues to track where he was and went to his company to check up on him. In November 2000, to prevent his life and work from being disturbed further, Mr. Yang had to quit his job and leave his home.

On January 2, 2001, Mr. Yang and his wife went to Beijing to appeal to the government to stop persecuting Falun Gong again. They were beaten up at the Tiananmen Square. A policeman beat Mr. Yang over the head several times with a baton, which made his face and ears swell up so badly that he could hardly breathe, and his face was covered in blood from several cuts. His wife was beaten on the head as well. Then Mr. Yang was sent to the Shijingshan Detention Center. The police there confiscated his coat, beat him up with a wooden stick many times and dashed his head against the wall. Mr. Yang was detained there for fifteen days and then escorted back to Guangzhou City where he was detained at the Baiyun District Police Station in Guangzhou City for another fifteen days and then sent to a brainwashing class in the Baiyun District Rehabilitation Center. Early the morning of February 26, 2001, Mr. Yang tried to escape but fell down from the fourth floor of a building in the center, fracturing his legs and feet. He still has not recovered from his injuries. After Mr. Yang released, in July 2001, Mr. Yang’s wife was arrested by police from the Guangdong Province Police Department, and tortured and looked like an eighty-year-old woman. Mr. Yang’s wife became very weak and sick and her body was covered with scars. The police from Guandong Province Police Station arrested Mr. Yang at his home while he was taking care his wife’s injuries. After he was released, many policemen tracked him because they wanted to get information about other Falun Gong practitioners from him. To avoid further persecution, Mr. Yang and his wife have been forced to leave their home and wander about.

(Reported in 10/2001)

1.2       Xue Jun And Her Two-Year-Old Child Become Homeless

Victim:

Xue Jun, female, resident of Zhuhai City, Guangdong Province

Location of the Incident:

Zhuhai City, Guangdong Province

Perpetrators:

1.      Police of Sichuan Province

2.      Police of Zhuhai City, Guangdong Province

3.      Police of Tianhe District, Zhuhai City, Guangdong Province

A Brief Report of the Incident:

Xue Jun had moved to Zhuhai City, Guangdong Province, to live with her husband Yang Bangquan, to avoid persecution in her hometown in Sichuan Province. The local police threatened to detain Ms. Xue’s brother if he did not turn her over to them. So on February 11, 2001 at 7:00p.m Ms. Xue’s brother led the police from Sichuan Province to Ms. Xue’s residence in Zhuhai City to arrest her. She had to escape to avoid detention but they ransacked her previous home and took away all her ID and RMB 3,000 Yuan. On June 17, 2000, Mr. Yang was arrested at his home and has been detained at the Guangzhou City No. 1 Detention Center. Ms. Xue is now living on the streets with her little baby. Because she barely escaped from her home, she did not have a chance to take any money and clothes with her. The police of Sichuan Province, Zhuhai City, and Tianhe District are all looking for her.

(Reported on 3/4/2001)

1.3       Ye Hongfang Forced to Leave Home After Tortured in Mental Hospital

Victim:

Ye Hongfang, female, 31, employee of the Electrical Power Industry Bureau, Heyuan City, Guangdong Province

Location of Detention and Torture:

1.      The Electrical Power Industry Bureau, Heyuan City, Guangdong Province

2.      The Bailingtou Detention Center, Heyuan City, Guangdong Province

3.      The Huizhou City Mental Hospital, Huizhou City, Guangdong Province

Perpetrators:

1.      Leaders of the Electrical Power Industry Bureau, Heyuan City, Guangdong Province

2.      Zhang Riqiang, Chief of the Branch of Politics and Security, the Yuancheng District Police Station, Heyuan City, Guangdong Province

3.      Huang Xiaobo, Deputy Chief of the Yuancheng District Police Station, Heyuan City, Guangdong Province

4.      Luo (last name), doctor of the Huizhou City Mental Hospital, Huizhou City, Guangdong Province

5.      Liao Wu, policeman of the Yuancheng District Police Station, Heyuan City, Guangdong Province

6.      Zhang Wenjie, policeman of the Yuancheng District Police Station, Heyuan City, Guangdong Province

A Brief Report of the Incident:

In September 1999, Ye Hongfang went to Beijing to appeal to the government to stop the persecution of Falun Gong. In October Ms. Ye was escorted back to Heyuan City and was held in custody for fifteen days. Then Ms. Ye was detained at the Bailingtou Detention Center. On November 23, 1999, policeman Zhang Riqiang and leaders of the Heyuan Electrical Power Industry Bureau took her from the Bailingtou Detention Center and sent her into the Huizhou City Mental Hospital. Once there, they tied her up, injected her with medications, and forced her to take pills that were meant for mental patients. Ms. Ye was forced to take medicine twice a day in doses of 12-13 pills each. The daily injections and medications made her feel very tired. She lacked strength and felt unclear in her head. Later on, her husband was able to bail her out. During that one-month period, Ms. Ye was injected with 26 bottles of narcotics.

In late January 2000, policemen Huang Xiaobo and Zhang Riqiang, tried to force Ms. Ye to promise not to go to Beijing to appeal again, by warning that they would send her back to the mental hospital. Ms. Ye refused to promise so they pressed her down on the bed and gave her an injection. Shortly after, Ms. Ye became weak all over, muddle-headed, sleepy and itchy all over her body. They then sent Ms. Ye back to the Huizhou City Mental Hospital for the second time. While Ms. Ye was there, Doctor Luo gave her an injection of narcotics and forced her to take medicine twice a day. When Ms. Ye refused to take the medicine, they shocked her with electric batons. Then Ms. Ye had cramps all over her body, her arms and legs felt numb, she had blurred vision, felt very weak, and incurred a disorder with her menstrual periods. By March 10, 2000, Ms. Ye felt like a disabled person and she nearly collapsed mentally. They did not allow her to return home until March 20, 2000. By then, Ms. Ye’s health was ruined and she had become extremely weak. Ms. Ye had difficulty doing the grocery shopping, handling light chores around the house, writing, or even reading. After two months, her health began to recover.

On June 4, 2000, policemen Liao Wu, Zhang Wenjie, and other Heyuan City police sent Ms. Ye to the Bailingtou Detention Center again because she still practices Falun Gong. She was released on August 30, 2000 when her husband paid 3,000 Yuan RMB as fine. On September 25, 2000, policemen Liao Wu, Zhang Riqiang and Zhang Wenjie came to Ms. Ye’s company and sent her back to the Bailingtou Detention Center again. She was incarcerated for fifteen days.

After Ms. Ye released, the police kept a close watch on her. Under pressure and instructions from the police, the leaders of her company and her family members tried to make her renounce Falun Gong. Realizing that the police would find excuses to detain her again at any time, Ms. Ye left her home on October 15, 2000. Now she is homeless.

(Reported on 11/26/2000)

1.4       Yang Lifang Forced to Leave Home Because of Practicing Falun Gong

Victim:

Yang Lifang, female, 52, resident of Guangdong Province

Location of Detention and Torture:

1.      The Qianmen Police Station, Beijing

2.      A police station in Guangdong Province

3.      A detention center in Guangdong Province

Perpetrators:

1.      Police of the Qianmen Police Station, Beijing

2.      Police of a police station in Guangdong Province

3.      Police of a detention center in Guangdong Province

A Brief Report of the Incident:

Since July 20, 1999, the local police and staff of the local Community Committee have questioned Yang Lifang numerous times because she practices Falun Gong. Ms. Yang could not leave her home without being harassed. The police were always coming to her home and following her, watching her and warning her that she would be sent to jail if she continued practicing Falun Gong, or went to Beijing to appeal to the government to stop the persecution of Falun Gong. One afternoon in late January 2000, five policemen including the director of the local police station entered Ms. Yang’s home forcibly and questioned her as to whether she still practiced Falun Gong. They also threatened to take actions against her family members if Ms. Yang continued practicing. On October 1, 2000, Ms. Yang went to Beijing to appeal to the government to stop the persecution of Falun Gong. Ms. Yang was arrested and detained in an iron cage for one day at the Qianmen Police Station in Beijing. Then Ms. Yang was escorted back to Guangdong Province and detained in a detention center for sixteen days. In March 2001, to avoid being threatened and detained again, Ms. Yang left her home and wandered in other cities. Since then, the local police keep threatening to arrest one of her family members if they don’t turn Ms. Yang in.