Falun Gong Human Rights Working Group

Tianjia Village is located in Handian Town of Shuangcheng City, Heilongjiang Province. Since the persecution of Falun Gong started in 1999, practitioners from Tianjia Village have been appealing to the government to end the persecution. Instead of listening to their appeal, the local authorities have been following the order from former Chinese President Jiang Zemin to use any and all means to persecute Falun Gong practitioners. They have arrested and beaten many local practitioners and have extorted thousands of Yuan from the practitioners and their families. The following are a few cases depicting what has happened in this village.

8. Sun Jihua, secretary of the Political and Judiciary Committee in Tianjia village

1. Ms. Li Yumei, 39 years old. On July 20, 1999, Ms. Li, along with another practitioner, went to the provincial government in Harbin City to appeal to the government not to persecute Falun Gong. They were arrested and escorted back to Shuangcheng City. The next day, Wang Yongyan, the branch secretary of the Chinese Communist Party in Tianjia Village, Dai Jianguo, a public security staff officer, and Yang Zhenbao, a government official, ordered Ms. Li to turn in her Falun Gong books. They demanded that she sign a pre-typed, written “Guarantee Statement.”1 In the statement, she had to guarantee that she would not contact any other practitioners and would not appeal to the government about Falun Gong; otherwise she would be fined 3000 to 5000 Yuan,2 her Identification Card would be confiscated, and she would be monitored 24 hours a day. Ms. Li refused their demands so they detained her until midnight and interrogated her.

On November 4, 1999, Ms. Li went to Beijing to appeal to the government to stop the persecution of Falun Gong. Plainclothes policemen arrested her. Yu Zhanjun from the local police station in Handian Town and Yang Zhenbao escorted her from Beijing to the Shuangcheng Detention Center. The local government then tried to extort 10,000 Yuan from Ms. Li’s family to pay for the expenses of the policemen who went to Beijing to bring her back. At that time, Ms. Li’s family was on a very tight budget, so they had to borrow 5,000 Yuan to pay for the extortion.

During Ms. Li’s imprisonment at Shuangcheng Detention Center, Guard Huang kicked her and beat her because she tried to perform the Falun Gong exercises. He handcuffed her, put foot shackles on her, and forced her to stand still for a whole afternoon. Ms. Li was then handcuffed and shackled for five days.

In January 2000, Ms. Li was illegally sentenced to one year of forced labor and was sent to Wanjia Labor Camp. Like the other Falun Gong practitioners there, she had to do forced labor from early in the morning until late at night. She was fed only corn flour cake, and was given thin Chinese cabbage soup with mud in it to drink. The guards confiscated all of the practitioners’ Falun Gong books and did not allow them to do the Falun Gong exercises. Two inmates constantly watched each practitioner to prevent them from practicing the exercises or reciting Falun Gong articles. When Ms. Li was found practicing the exercises, the inmates beat her, scolded her, and placed her in solitary confinement. As a reward, the inmates received a reduction in their term. The practitioners were also forced to attend brainwashing classes and to watch videos slandering Falun Gong.

On December 23, 2000, after Ms. Li’s term expired, she went to Beijing to appeal again. She held up a Falun Gong banner in Tiananmen Square, was immediately arrested and sent to the Daxing Detention Center in Daxing County, Beijing. To protest her illegal detention, Ms. Li started a hunger strike and requested to be released unconditionally. The guards administered forced infusions to her once every other day. Sometimes the guards forcibly dragged Ms. Li out of her cell. If she resisted, they kicked and beat her, handcuffed her and shackled her feet, tied her to a wooden bed, and forcefully gave her infusions. During one such infusion session, Ms. Li went into shock. The detention center ignored her condition and refused to release her. After 35 days, the guards said it was too expensive to infuse her, so instead they force-fed her with a thick rubber hose inserted into her stomach through her nose. They used a big syringe to pump corn flour soup, made by mixing corn flour with boiling water and some salt, into her stomach. Twenty days later, she was finally released unconditionally.

2. Mr. Xu Qinglin, 52 years old. After the persecution started, a few government officers from the village went to Mr. Xu’s house to search and confiscate his Falun Gong books. They threatened Mr. Xu and his family members saying that they would confiscate his ID card and his house certificate if he continued to practice Falun Gong, and that if he appealed to the government, they would confiscate his land and forcibly sell his house. Villagers were instructed to watch Mr. Xu every day. In November 1999, Mr. Xu was forcibly sent to brainwashing sessions, where Dai Jianguo demanded that he step on a photo of Falun Gong’s founder, Mr. Li Hongzhi.

On July 20, 2001, Mr. Xu was arrested when he went to Beijing to appeal to the government to stop the persecution of Falun Gong. On July 25, Yu Zhanjun and Wang Yongyan forcibly took him to the Second Detention Center in Shuangcheng City. They detained him there for more than 50 days. Sun Jihua, a government official, extorted 5,000 Yuan from Mr. Xu’s family. Since they could not afford to pay the fine, Mr. Xu’s second eldest daughter wrote an IOU for it. Zhao Zhishun from the local police station extorted another 900 Yuan, plus “meal expenses” of 380 Yuan. Mr. Xu’s family also had to give Zhang Shiyue 2,000 Yuan as a “gift.”

In November 2001, Wang Yongyan, Sun Jihua, Wang Xiaodong, and Tian Shubiao demanded more money from Mr. Xu’s family. They could not afford to pay it. At around 9 p.m. that evening, four policemen, including Sui Guangcheng, and Yu Zhanjun, from the local police station arrived at Mr. Xu’s home and took him hostage. Mr. Xu’s family tried to stop them. The police accused them of interfering with a public function and fined them 600 Yuan. Mr. Xu’s family had to borrow 5,600 Yuan at a usurious rate, and give the money to Sun Jihua and Wang Guangzhong, the head of the local police station.

3. Ms. Zhang Guifen, 48 years old. On July 20, 1999, when the persecution started, Ms. Zhang went to the provincial government in Harbin City to appeal, hoping to explain the true nature of Falun Gong to them. When she arrived there, however, the police forcibly pushed Ms. Zhang, and some other practitioners who were simply standing on the sidewalk, into a bus, and transported them to a stadium. They were detained until 7 p.m. and then escorted back to their hometown.

The next day, Wang Yongyan, Dai Jianguo, Tian Shuhua, and Guo Xiaodong came to Ms. Zhang’s house to search and confiscate her Falun Gong books. They threatened her family members, asking them to watch her closely to stop her from appealing to the government and to prevent her from practicing Falun Gong or contacting other practitioners . They said that if Ms. Zhang continued to practice, they would confiscate her ID card and her house certificate. If she appealed, they would confiscate her land and forcibly sell her house. Villagers were demanded to watch Ms. Zhang every day. In November 1999, Ms. Zhang had to attend forced brainwashing, where Dai Jianguo demanded that she step on a photo of Li Hongzhi.

In May 2000, Ms. Zhang went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong and was arrested. Three days later, Yu Zhanjun and Sui Guangcheng from the local police station in Handian Town forcibly took her to the Second Detention Center in Shuangcheng City. She was illegally detained there for 26 days. Yu Zhanjun confiscated every penny she had with her, and the village committee fined her 2,000 Yuan. Wang Yongyan, the branch secretary of the CCP said, “If you don’t pay the fine, we’ll take away your house as collateral.” Dai Jianguo even went to her house to demand her house certificate.

On December 27, 2000, Dai Jianguo and a few other officers from the local police station went to Ms. Zhang’s house and demanded that she write a “Guarantee Statement” guaranteeing that she would not go appeal for Falun Gong. Ms. Zhang refused to write the statement. Around 3 p.m. that day, Yu Zhanjun and Sui Guangcheng came to her home and told her to go to the village government building. When she went there, they detained her overnight. She was not released until her family signed the guarantee statement the next day.

One day in January 2001, Wang Jinzhu, the secretary of the Political and Judiciary Committee in the town, led four men to Ms. Zhang’s house and confiscated a photo of Falun Gong’s founder, Li Hongzhi, that she had in her home.

4. Mr. Tian Shuyou, 61 years old. On July 20, 1999, like many other practitioners in his village, Mr. Tian went to Harbin City to appeal to the provincial government to stop the persecution of Falun Gong. He was arrested and forcibly taken back home. The village cadres, including Wang Yongyan, Dai Jianguo and Yang Zhenbao demanded that Mr. Tian turn in his Falun Dafa books. They also demanded that he write a “Guarantee Statement.” When he refused, they confiscated his ID card and required that he get permission before leaving his house.

On one occasion, when Mr. Tian went to visit his son, Dai Jianguo called him and told him, “Come back immediately. Otherwise I’ll take a taxi to get you and bring you back and then you’ll have to pay for all the taxi fares.”

5. Ms. Sun Fenglan, 65 years old. On July 20, 1999, Wang Yongyan, Dai Jianguo, and Yang Zhenbao, demanded that Ms. Sun turn in all of her Falun Gong books. They also demanded that she write a “Guarantee Statement.” When she refused, they confiscated her ID card, and required that she get permission before leaving home. In November 1999, Ms. Sun was forced to attend a brainwashing session.

1 A statement that declares that he is remorseful about practicing Falun Gong, and guarantees not to practice Falun Gong again, not to go to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong, and never again to associate with any Falun Gong practitioners.

2 The average monthly income for an urban worker in China is 500 Yuan.