An American citizen, Ms. Kong Bin, Arrested in Cheng-du City

January 20, 2000

On the afternoon of January 18, an American citizen, Ms. Kong Bin, was arrested by Chinese police when she was exchanging experiences in Chengdu City with some local practitioners including Liu Bang-chen. All practitioners on the spot were arrested. The details were unknown yet.

Ms. Kong was a lawyer in the United States. Last year, she was deported from China for going to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong. She learned from media that the persecutions against Falun Gong in her hometown Si-chuan Province were very severe. Despite the risk of being jailed or being deported again, she returned to her hometown in Si-chuan Province to encourage the local practitioners as well as her family members and relatives in her hometown. She revealed many slanderous lies cooked up by the Chinese communist regime. Her brave deeds have greatly encouraged the fellow practitioners in her hometown.

More Persecutions against Falun Gong practitioners in Chengdu City: detention of family members, homes ransacked, 18-19 hours of hard labor, tortures, humiliations, and fines.

January 20, 2000

Three practitioners from Long-quan-yi District of Chengdu City, among them Cheng Zhan, who had gone to Beijing to appeal, were arrested and their homes were ransacked. Because their workplaces refused to pay the350,000 Yuan of penalty to the police department, they are now serving criminal detention (i.e., detention while waiting for possible sentences). Recently, some other practitioners from Chengdu City including Li Xiao-jun are also serving criminal detention.

The local police also detained a dozen of the family members and relatives of these three practitioners who also practiced Falun Gong. After their homes were ransacked, they were all taken to the police station for 3 days of detention. The police officers constantly asked them whether they would continue to practice Falun Gong, and they all answered "yes". Then, they were all given 15 days of detention. They were released later after their workplaces or family members paid several thousand Yuan (amounts to several months of salary of an average employee in China). All of those released male practitioners had their heads shaved by the police. Many of them had bruises due to police tortures. They were forced to do hard labor for 18 to 19 hours every day while in police custody. They also had to suffer the beatings by both the detained criminals and the police officers. They could not have enough food. Now they are under intense surveillance by the security sections of their workplaces as well as the police station.

Now it has become the most important political task of the local authorities to prevent practitioners from going to Beijing to appeal.

News from Da-lian City: Slanders Printed on Train Tickets

January 20, 2000

Recently, about 100 practitioners from Da-lian City have been arrested for going to Beijing to appeal.

Now, vicious slanders against Falun Dafa are printed on the back of the train tickets in Da-lian train station. In general, people do not pay attention to that. However, practitioners often peel them off the tickets. Therefore, it has become a way for the police to tell who are Falun Gong practitioners and then arrest them.