FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 11, 2002

Thousands Rally in over 30 Cities around the World as
Falun Gong
holds Worldwide 3-Day Vigil

Twenty Reports of Killings in the Past Twenty-Two Days

Falun Gong Practitioners Expose Criminals' Names
and Phone Numbers to the Public; Call for Support

NEW YORK, January 11, 2002 (Falun Dafa Information Center) - Thousands of Falun Gong practitioners and supporters are gathering today in front of Chinese Embassies and Consulates around the world to launch a 3-day vigil to condemn the recent rampage of arrests, torture, and killings of Falun Gong practitioners in China, and to expose the criminals involved.

Press conferences and the 3-Day Worldwide Vigil are being held in over 30 cities around the world, including New York, Boston, Washington DC, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Toronto, Ottawa, London, Paris, Geneva, Stockholm, Taipei, Tokyo, and Hong Kong.

These activities were instigated by reports of 20 deaths in the last 22 days of Falun Gong practitioners who died due to torture and mistreatment while in police custody in China.

Four Deaths Reported Yesterday

The deaths of four more Falun Gong practitioners in police custody were reported yesterday. Among the deaths was Mr. Wang Tiesong, 32, an employee of Jilin Province Forestry Bureau, who was tortured to death by police earlier last month. According to reliable sources inside China, police brought Wang's body to the hospital after he had died and kept his lifeless corpse on emergency respiratory equipment for 11 days. This was an apparent attempt by local police to avoid responsibility for his death by claiming emergency efforts had been undertaken to save Wang. By the time Wang's body was put on the respiratory equipment, however, the pupil of one of the eyes was already dilated and the other eye had rolled back into the head.

Two days ago, reports surfaced of the death of Mr. He Xingzong of Hubei Province who was assaulted and then strangled to death on the streets of his hometown while posting flyers that revealed human rights abuses against Falun Gong practitioners. In response to a phone call from one reporter, an official at the local police department claimed, "he died from posting flyers" and then hung up.

The Eyes of the World are Watching

Falun Dafa Information Center spokesperson Adam Montanaro discussed the purpose of the global appeal activities: "Through these events we seek to expose the recent atrocities and inform those who follow Chinese President Jiang Zemin to assist in carrying out this persecution of Falun Gong practitioners that their evil deeds are not going unnoticed…the eyes of the world are watching." Mr. Montanaro continued, "Great efforts have been made to document the names of those responsible for the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, including their personal information and details about the crimes committed. We will distribute this information to the public and invite people to call the perpetrators and let them know what we think of their crimes. We will also publish this information on our websites."

Mr. Montanaro pointed out that a young woman was recently released from a Chinese forced labor camp after phone calls from concerned individuals overseas were made to call for justice.

Legal Retribution is Underway

Legal action against those believed to be responsible for or aiding in the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China has begun in both the United States and Canada. In New York, a United States District Court handed down a judgment against the Head of Public Security for Hubei Province, Mr. Zhao Zhifei, for his role in instigating and carrying out the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. Included in the charges against Zhao were "wrongful death, torture and crimes against humanity."

On January 7, 2001 in Montreal, Quebec Superior Court Judge Reynald Fréchette became the second Canadian Judge to issue a Court Order against Les Presses Chinoises Chinese-language newspaper to cease the publication of materials deemed slanderous to Falun Gong. The paper had reprinted Chinese state propaganda used by the Chinese Embassy in Canada to defame Falun Gong. Judge Fréchette commented that the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China was a factor in the decision and that the right of Falun Gong practitioners' reputation exceeded any claims of "freedom of the press".

"These court decisions demonstrate that what is happening to Falun Gong practitioners in China is illegal and unjust," Mr. Montanaro commented about the legal actions. "When this persecution caves in on itself, which it inevitably will, those who've aided in these crimes against humanity will certainly have to pay their dues...we're asking those people to think for themselves about which side of this issue they want to be on when the full truth about this grave injustice comes to light."

For More Information, Please contact the Falun Dafa Information Center Contacts:
Gail Rachlin: tel: 917-501-4441
Adam Montanaro: tel: 917-405-4507
Erping Zhang: tel: 646-533-6147
Feng Yuan: tel: 646-523-5676

Email: faluninfoctr@nycmail.com,
Website: http://www.faluninfo.net/

 

Reports of Four Falun Gong Practitioners Dead from Police Abuse Surface in a Single Day

Alarming Surge in Killing by Police Throughout China – Wanton Torture, Fabricated Cover-ups Prevalent

NEW YORK, January 11, 2002 (Falun Dafa Information Center) – The Falun Dafa Information Center has received reports of four more Falun Gong practitioners dead from abuse and torture in custody by police. These cases mark twenty reports of killings in the past twenty-two days, and indicate an alarming surge in the violence being carried out against Falun Gong practitioners. Details follow.

Ms. Tai Yurong, 36, Died in “brainwashing class”, relatives forbidden from viewing body

Mr. Zhang Zhenfu, 60, Taken from his home and killed by forced-feeding

Mr. Wang Tiesong, 32, Tortured to death in a labor camp, framed as “suicide” by local police

Ms. Zhan Jinyan, twenties, Dead after six days of detention, police paid relatives to keep quiet

* WORLDWIDE APPEAL: Falun Gong practitioners are holding a worldwide three-day appeal in front of Chinese Consulates and Embassies in thirty cities. Read full story

Ms. Tai Yurong, 36, Died in forced “brainwashing class”, relatives forbidden from viewing body

Ms. Tai Yurong, a 36-year-old practitioner of Falun Gong, died due to torture and abuse while detained in a “brainwashing class” in Wangdu City, according to sources inside China.

On December 12, 2001, Mu Pingjun, the Vice Committee Chair of the Communist Party in Jiacun Town, accompanied by 10 other people, took Ms. Tai away from her home and sent her to the “brainwashing class” (a prolonged re-education session in which captives are coerced, typically through physical and psychological torture, into renouncing their beliefs) in Wangdu County. Nineteen Falun Gong practitioners from other villages in Jiacun Town were also arrested.

Tai Yurong and other practitioners began a hunger strike to protest the illegal arrest. During that period, they were force-fed several times, as instructed by Shang Hongzhi, the Chief of the “610 Office”, a government body charged with “annihilating Falun Gong”, and given free reign to operate above the law. They were bound on the bed in order to be administered liquid transfusions, and forbidden to relieve themselves.

Tai died on December 19, the seventh day of the hunger strike.

Tai’s body now is in the Chinese Medicine Hospital in Wangdu County. The “610 Office” and police are keeping tight control over the information flow, according to sources close to the event. Relatives and other people from the same village are not allowed to visit Tai. Following an urgent request, the relatives were allowed to see only Tai’s face. They were immediately restrained as they tried to view Tai’s body.

One reporter tried to follow up with the Wangdu County officials on this case, but was disconnected after making inquiries. Later the person in charge could not be reached, as “everyone is in a long meeting.” Upon calling back again, the reporter overheard, “It’s the reporter on the phone, what should we do?” The phone line was then disconnected again.

Ms. Tai lived in Nanjia Village, Jiacun Town, Wangdu County, Baoding City, Hebei Province.

Mr. Zhang Zhenfu, 60, Taken from his home and killed by forced-feeding

Mr. Zhang Zhenfu, approximately 60 years old, has died from forced feeding by police following an illegal arrest for practicing Falun Gong.

On January 2, 2002, Mr. Zhang Zhenfu was taken from his home during the day by police from the Shengli Police Station, in Hegang City, Heilongjian Province, sources inside China say. That night, police also hid near his home and arrested his son, Zhang Tingfan, also a Falun Gong practitioner.
Zhang Zhenfu began a hunger strike to protest the illegal arrests. On January 4th, he died from a brutal forced-feeding. Forced-feeding is a procedure carried out by untrained police and even other inmates in detention centers, according to China experts, and is often employed as a means of torture. The procedure involves inserting a tube through the mouth or nose, down the throat and into the stomach, and then filling the stomach with highly saturated salt water. Many have died during this procedure as a result of damage to the trachea, lungs, or suffocation.

However, police claimed that they sent Zhang’s body to a hospital for a rescue attempt. Under strong pressure from the Police Bureau, Zhang’s relatives did not dare to appeal on this issue. With the son still being held, Zhang’s relatives were forced to keep quiet.

According to inside sources, Zhang’s arrest was part of a city-wide joint effort, lasting 100 days, in which many police stations conducted illegal stakeouts, kidnapping, and search and seizure operations.

Around the New Year period, more that 20 Falun Gong practitioners were illegally arrested. They are held in either the No. 2 Detention Center or the Administrative Detention Center of the Hegang City Public Security Bureau. Sources say that these centers are so full that the detainees are forced to sleep on the floor.

Mr. Wang Tiesong, 32, Tortured to death in a labor camp, framed as “suicide” by local police

Mr. Wang Tiesong, a 32-year-old forestry worker from Jilin Province, China, was tortured to death on December 4th, 2001 in the Yanbian Labor Camp for refusing to renounce his practice of Falun Gong.

Sources in China related that Mr. Wang was employed by the Boiler Installation Company under the Baihe Forestry Bureau in Jilin Province, and had practiced Falun Gong since 1996, until his illegal detention in Yanji Labor Camp in October 2000.

According to sources close the event, immediately following Mr. Wang’s death, the Yanbian government officials, the Public Security Bureau, and the labor camp worked together to frame his death as a suicide, announcing the cause of death as a three-day hunger strike. The officials, fearing that Mr. Wang’s relatives might expose the crime, arranged for a staged emergency procedure at a hospital.

At the time Mr. Wang’s body arrived at the hospital, respiration had already stopped long before, according to eyewitnesses. However, the police demanded that his body be placed on artificial life support and forced to breath. This forced breathing continued for 11 days until December 15th. Eyewitnesses in the hospital observed that Mr. Wang’s body should have been sent to the mortuary since he had gone without breathing for so long, but the police demanded that the record read “emergency procedures failed to revive the patient.” At this time Mr. Wang’s eyes were open, one pupil was dilated, the other eye was deeply sunken in its socket, his ribs had been broken in several places, and there were wounds covering his body.

Following his death, one of Wang Tiesong’s relatives challenged the officials’ claim that the death was a “suicide,” but was met with a threat that “if you dare to say that again, we will arrest you, too.”

The labor camp confirmed the death of Mr. Wang, but would not relate any details, saying only that “Police bureau and city leaders participated in this issue.” Workers at the Yanbian Hospital also confirmed Wang’s death, but cited “choking on food” as the cause of death. There was no explanation for this discrepancy.

Prior to his death, Mr. Wang had made three requests to the officials, sources say: Restore the innocence of Falun Gong, uphold human rights, and uphold the right to practice Falun Gong.

Ms. Zhan Jinyan, twenties, Dead after six days of detention, police paid relatives to keep quiet

Ms. Zhan Jinyan, a Falun Gong practitioner from Hebei Province in China, has died after abuse by police in detention.

Ms. Zhan Jinyan, who was in her twenties and reportedly quite healthy before her illegal detention, was from Yinzhuang Village, Jiangcheng Town, Baoding City, Hebei Province. She went to Beijing on the evening of November 26, 2001 to appeal for her right to practice Falun Gong, and was illegally detained by the Public Security Sub-Bureau of Yanqing County, Beijing City.

On November 29, the officials of the Jiangcheng Township informed her relatives that they should visit her during a “rescue” attempt at the Yanqing County Hospital, according to sources close the event. These sources report that Zhan was already at the edge of death at that moment. She died three days later.

The Public Security Sub-Bureau of Yanqing County evidently attempted to settle the issue secretly by compensating Zhan’s relatives 3,000 RMB, and by covering the expenses of the “rescue” attempt and her subsequent cremation. However, since the Beijing Public Security Bureau learned about this and did not agree with the solution, Zhan’s body is still in the hospital.

When a reporter called the police to check on the details, the police replied, "I don't have time to answer your questions," and "Wrong number!" and then hung up upon hearing that the reporter was asking about Zhan's case.

Zhan is survived by her two-year-old child.

 

TOP of page


Resources:

Internet Email to Fax addresses
for 37th Parliament Members of the House of Commons

A full listing of Ontario MPPs with contact information is available
on the Government of Ontario website at www.ontla.on.ca/Members/mailing_addresses/index.htm

Falun Canada

SOS! - Stop Killing

Friends of Falun Gong

DAWN Ontario Media Kit online

TOP of page

DAWN Ontario
DisAbled Women's Network Ontario
975 McKeown Ave.
Unit 5A, Suite 162
North Bay, ON   P1B 9P2
CANADA

Tel: 705-494-9078
TTY: 705-476-3296

Email: dawn@thot.net
URL: http://dawn.thot.net

Discussion List: Women with Disabilities
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DAWN-Ontario

To subscribe to Discussion List, email:
DAWN-Ontario-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Website designed & maintained courtesy of Barbara Anello