8 Year-Old Identifies Mother’s Body at Morgue after She was Killed for Practicing Falun Gong

Case 1: An 8-Year-Old Identifies his Mother’s Body in Morgue

NEW YORK, June 3, 2002 (Falun Dafa Information Center) – Sources in China have recently confirmed that Ms. Dai Chunhua’s 8 year-old son, in the company of his 70 year-old grandmother, identified his mother’s body at the Siping City morgue in China’s Jilin Province on March 9, 2002. Ms. Dai, 33, had been a nurse in Siping’s Pear County Hospital before she was detained, persecuted, and eventually died from maltreatment by captors because she practiced Falun Gong.

Ms. Dai was first arrested for her peaceful appeals on Jan 1, 2001. She had made a peaceful appeal on Tiananmen Square, asking Jiang’s regime to stop the persecution of Falun Gong. She was captured and returned to her hometown for detention, and then fired from her job for refusing to give up her practice of Falun Gong. Aware that authorities were planning to force her to attend a “re-education class” (a euphemism for brainwashing and physical torture), Ms. Dai had little choice but to leave her home to avoid illegal arrest.

Sources in the area report that after a period of time away, Ms. Dai decided to return to her hometown. She used what little money she had to produce and distribute flyers to clarify the truth about Falun Gong and its persecution to her fellow townsfolk. The County responded to such selfless actions by offering a reward for information on local Falun Gong practitioners. In this poverty-stricken area of China, someone was unable to resist the money and turned Ms. Dai and several others over to the police.

In order to resist pressure from the authorities, Ms. Dai went on a hunger strike and continued to practice Falun Gong in the detention center. Though details are still under investigation, it appears likely she died as many other hunger-striking practitioners have, from the injuries sustained from brutal beatings, torture, and haphazardly-administered forced-feeding procedures.

Case 2: 36 Year-Old Man Tortured to Death in Heilongjiang Province

According to sources in China, Mr. Wu Baowang, a Falun Gong practitioner, died at the hands of his captors in Shuangcheng City Police Station in Qiling County, Heilongjiang Province, on May 16, 2002. To keep his family quiet, sources report that police paid them a small amount of money. While details are under investigation, authorities have so far successfully blocked all other information about this case. Mr. Wu was 36 years old.

Background

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 Zemin outlawed the peaceful practice in July 1999, fearful of anything touching the hearts and minds of more citizens than the Communist 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 Center has verified details of over 417 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 labor camps without trial.