Thousands Celebrate Falun Gong in East Asia as Jiang Zemin’s Persecution Continues to Kill Practitioners in China
NEW YORK, May 27, 2002 (Falun Dafa Information Center) – The last two weeks were host to both joy and terror in East Asia.
Several countries, including Japan, Taiwan, and Malaysia held festive celebrations for the founding of the Falun Gong spiritual practice, and Indonesia held classes for some 3,000 to learn the Falun Gong exercises and meditation.
In a stark contrast to its neighbors, however, some police officers in China held fast to Jiang Zemin’s objective to eradicate Falun Gong as reports surfaced of eleven more dead in China for advocating the freedom to practice Falun Gong.
China Stands Alone on Persecution of Falun Gong
After studying the teachings of Falun Gong, presbyter of the Indonesian Pesantren Assiddiqiyah in Jakarta, invited the Indonesian Falun Dafa Association to teach Falun Gong. In the opening remarks to the class, the Presbyter stated that the people of Indonesia would be truly happy and save a lot of medical expenses if they learned Falun Gong as they could improve their health and their moral quality as well as quit using drugs and smoking.
Indonesia is not alone. Recently in Taiwan, schoolteachers have been offered credits for learning Falun Gong. During the 97th Taiwan Primary School Principal Training Class held from March 18 to May 10, 2002, by the National Schoolteachers Association of the Ministry of Education, a Falun Gong Association was established among schoolteachers.
In the last two weeks, however, 11 deaths of Falun Gong practitioners have been reported. These people have lost their lives for persisting in the same peaceful teaching that is gaining increasing recognition in countries around the world, including East Asia.
Urgent Situation Persists in China’s Northeast: Three More Dead in Jilin Province
Yu Lixin: 36 year-old female Communist Party Member, cadre of the General Labour Union, Jilin Municipal Committee. Yu attributed Falun Gong with helping her recover from 9 different diseases she had been plagued with before practicing Falun Gong. For refusing to give up Falun Gong, Yu was expelled from the Party, fired from her work unit and sentenced illegally to five years in jail. In the female prison she was bound to a bed for four months. She went on hunger strike for four months. [violent force feedings from police guards are often enforced on hunger striking practitioners in order to keep them alive]. When her condition became near death, she was released. She was arrested again on March 5, 2002 and suffered from more police torture. She died on April 5th after police cut open her blood vessels attempting to issue emergency medicine. Yu Lixin left behind an 8-year-old daughter, 70-year-old mother-in-law and her husband, who is now also detained in Chaoyangguo Labour Camp in Changchun City.
Name Unknown: A practitioner at the Yinmahe Labour Camp in Jiutai City, Jilin Province was tortured to death, according to reliable sources. When contacted, Guo Junming, Chief of the labour camp admitted, “One did die. But I cannot talk about that on the phone.”
Sun Jianhua: male, 34-years-old. He was detained in Shulan train station in mid-March. A weak Sun reported to a friend that he was confronted by police at the station and remained in a stand-off with police for seven days in cold weather during which time he was not able to eat or sleep. Eventually, the police retreated. However, a weak Sun died after recounting this story.
Two Dead under Persecution by Police in Weifang
Name Currently Unknown: female, 26-years-old from Gaomi City. She was detained in the police bureau for five and a half months and tortured to the edge of death. On May 15 she was taken to the No. 2 People’s Hospital in Weifang City while still in handcuffs. A judge who witnessed her state commented, “Why do you still hold her when she is tortured to such an extent?” She died at 11pm on May 17. One hour earlier there had been 8-9 police with her.
Cao Guifang: female, 61-years-old working from Weifang City was hit by a police van. Witnesses say the police vehicle hit the woman while she was on the road, causing blood to spurt out of her mouth. Cao died shortly after arriving at the hospital. It is said that Wang Aizhi, the Deputy Chief of Nanguan Detention Center was the driver. When contacted, police at the Nanguan Police Station admitted that the woman had been hit and killed but refused to comment.
Six Other Deaths reported throughout China
Miao Qisheng: male, 30-years-old, from Shenyang City was tortured to death by the Xianggong police station, Huanggu district, in the afternoon of May 14, 2002.
Wu Longbao: a peasant from Qingling Town, Shuangcheng City, Heilongjiang Province was killed in a local detention center. He had been on hunger strike to protest his illegal detention and was killed during force-feeding.
Du Baolan: 48-years-old, from Jinzhou, Liaoning Province was arrested while visiting a fellow Falun Dafa practitioner. Within several hours of being taken into custody, Du was dead.
Wu Cuiying: female, from Datong City, Shanxi Province. On May 14, 2002 police broke into her home. Wu died while trying to escape with her husband. Wu’s husband survived but she died after a failed rescue attempt at the 5th Hospital in Datong City. An official at the hospital confirmed that Wu had died there and that police had held a meeting in the hospital to discuss her case.
Yu Quishi: female, 64-years-old, from Zhenlai County was detained in December 2001 and went on a hunger strike to protest her illegal detention. She was sent to the hospital after 11 days on hunger strike. She died two days after being sent home.
Bai Aixiang: female, 42-years-old, from Jiaozou City, Henan Province was detained while posting flyers on Wanfang Bridge on April 22, 2002. She jumped from a second story window to escape and injured her ankle and ribs. She died suddenly on April 30. Police are tightly controlling information about her case.
