During the month of July 2000, more than 10 practitioners in Fengyi Town went to Beijing to appeal. Tian Xiangcui and some other practitioners went on July 12th. On July 13th, they were arrested and sent back to Fengyi Town, where they were detained until the 17th. During their detention, they were punished from early morning until late at night. They were forced to stand outside in the baking sun and were not allowed any water. At night, practitioners were only allowed to sleep for a few hours, outside on the ground. The guards also summoned the practitioners one by one, to beat them and verbally abuse them. Sometimes 5 or 6 people would beat one practitioner. Some practitioners were tortured like this half a dozen times. Some practitioners were forced to sit on one chair with their feet stretched out on another chair, while prison guards sat on their legs. After several days, all the practitioners were covered with cuts and bruises. On July 13th, no food was provided; starting from July 14, practitioners were given only half a flour bun for lunch and dinner. On the morning of July 17, the guards give practitioners a little bit of rice. At lunch on July 17, they made an exception provided some vegetables. No chopsticks were provided during all this time, so practitioners had to eat with their hands. Fengyi Town Secretary Cao Chengxu told practitioners' families that they had to pay 12,000 Yuan (The average monthly salary in urban area is 500 Yuan) for each practitioner before they could take the practitioners home. For the families of poor practitioners, paying this amount was out of the question. On the afternoon of July 17th, these practitioners were sent to Zhangjiagou Detention house.

Tian Xiangcui was almost 60 years old and was very healthy before she went to appeal on July 12th. Around 10 AM on the 16th, Cao Chengxu (Secretary), Zhao Jintian (Secretary), and Liu Yanbo began beating her brutally, and then forced her to stand out in the baking sun. Tian Xiangcui finally fainted and fell to the ground. After this torture, she often felt dizzy and sick. She threw up a lot, and she could not eat. After she was sent to detention house on July 17th, she still could not eat, and her health deteriorated day by day. On the afternoon of July 21st, the staff of the detention house became worried and notified Tian's family. Her family took her back and sent her to emergency room of Beihai Hospital. However, Tian Xiangcui was too far-gone: her body was a mass of cuts and bruises, her face was utterly pale, and she could not speak. The doctors could do little to help her: at 8 AM on July 23rd, she left this world. Her family members requested her case history from the hospital, but their request was denied.

Staff members in Zhangjiagou Detention house were afraid to take responsibility for her death. They forced Tian Xiangcui's cellmates (Qu Honglian, Diao Hailian, Mu Fuyun, and Han Guizhen) to testify that they did not torture Tian, and that people from Fengyi Town government tortured her.

We strongly request that the city commission and city government of Longkou investigate and ascertain the facts about this case, and return justice to the dead practitioner. Citizens of Longkou City as well as kind people from all over the world are watching!

Practitioners in China, 01/2001