(Clearwisdom.net) Falun Gong Practitioners in Mengyin County, Shandong Province have been persecuted especially severely. More than 100 practitioners were sent to labor camps or sentenced to imprisonment, with sentences as long as 14 years in prison.

In 2002, Chen Yunbo, Deputy Party Secretary in charge of persecuting Falun Gong, Lei Yancheng, head of the "610 Office," Li Zhiye, Secretary of the Political and Judiciary Committee, and Sun Kehai, head of the detention center, plotted the bloody "Teacher Massacre" in Mengyin County. They illegally kidnapped Jiuzhai Middle School teachers Ms. Zhang Dezhen, a practitioner from Xiezhuang Village, Jiuzhai Town, Mengyin County and Ms. Liu Shufen from Tangzi Village, Qinan Town. They tortured Ms. Zhang and Ms. Liu to the verge of death, then transferred them to Mengyin County Chinese Medical Hospital on December 27-29, 2002 for so-called "treatment." They conspired with Guo Xingbao, chair of the Chinese Medical Hospital, to secretly persecute and murder these two practitioners. They fabricated death reports claiming that the two practitioners died of heart and brain diseases, then reported to the county party committee claiming that the practitioners died of suicide. Guo Xingbao directly participated in forging the death reports.

While the practitioners suffered this illegal persecution, their family members attempted to reason with Li Zhiye, secretary of the Political and Judiciary Committee in Mengyin County. Li told them, "We can treat Falun Gong practitioners however we want!" revealing that the officials in Mengyin County persecuted Falun Gong practitioners in an absolutely lawless way.

On January 8, 2004 (Lunar calendar), a special meeting was held in Mengyin County to illegally suppress Falun Gong. The police illegally searched Falun Gong practitioners' homes and arrested them. The situation was most serious in Taoqu Town and Jiepai Town. More than 50 practitioners were illegally arrested and detained.

In 1999 about 10,000 people were practicing Falun Gong in Mengyin County. Every practitioner who has persisted in Falun Gong's principles of "Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance" has been illegally fined or forced to pay for so-called "bail," with no exceptions. The fine or bail ranged from a few hundred to several thousand Yuan (1). Some were fined repeatedly. If practitioners did not pay the fines, the police illegally searched their homes and confiscated their personal property. Sometimes the police confiscated everything a practitioner owned. They even took the front door, claiming it was needed to collect sufficient money to pay the fine. Some practitioners' wages were illegally withheld, and the practitioners received only their basic living expenses. Sometimes all monies were withheld, for a period of up to four years. In the past four years, the amount of money that has been extorted from Falun Gong practitioners adds up to more than 10 million Yuan. Most of the money was squandered by corrupt officials on luxuries and extravagant living. Much of the money was divided among the corrupt policemen. In order to conceal their crimes, they gave no receipt for the overwhelming majority of fines. Especially for those practitioners who went to Beijing to appeal, nearly every one was illegally searched, cursed, and beaten by police. The money they had with them was usually taken by police without issuing a receipt.

Li Jian, an instructor in the Mengcheng Police Station, suggested publicly during a police meeting, "If you want more money, get it from Falun Gong (practitioners)." Because these corrupt police have illegally embezzled massive amounts of money from practitioners, they are happy to persecute Falun Gong practitioners without mercy.

"610 Offices" ran so-called "transformation study classes," which were actually aggressive brainwashing classes where Falun Gong practitioners were illegally detained. They deprived practitioners of sleep, forced them to watch programs that slandered Falun Gong, and recruited local ruffians to the "610 Offices" to beat practitioners with wooden or rubber clubs. These thugs struck practitioners' faces and heads with the hard soles of their shoes, and recklessly beat and cursed practitioners. One practitioner at a brewery factory was placed into a gunnysack and beaten with wooden rods. At a farm machinery company, they beat Mr. Shi Zenglei with a chair until the legs of the chair were broken and the practitioner fainted. He did not wake up until the next day. In Duozhuang Town, they beat a practitioner in the head with rubber soled shoes. In Jiuzhai Town, they placed a chamber pot over a practitioner's head and pounded on the pot randomly. In Tanbu Town, they held a practitioner to the snow-covered ground to make him freeze. In Mengyin Town, Wang Xin brutally beat practitioners with a wooden club. He forced female practitioners to sit on the ground, spread their legs to the sides and then pushed their legs hard to open them more (like the splits in gymnastics). Then he ordered two persons to stand on their left and right knees and stomp on them.

The ruffians who were recruited to the evil "610 Offices" because they were well-known for beating others include:

Fang Simin from Liancheng Village: He used to work in the Armed Department in Duozhuang Town. He is currently an assistant director at the "610 Office" in Mengyin.

Jiao Yuxiang: He used to be a propaganda officer in Jushan Town. He is currently an assistant director at the "610 Office."

Wang Xin from Jushan Town: He used to work in Mengyin Town. He is currently a hatchet man in the Mengyin "610 Office."

Criminals always fear exposure, and don't dare to reveal their true nature, so the officers in the "610 Office" don't dare to show up in public places. They hide themselves in a courtyard located at a street where the laid-off workers make their livings (selling small items). To prevent the inside facts of the persecution from leaking out, they built very high fences to enclose the small yard. It is gloomy and terrible inside. Much of the persecution that is unknown to the public has taken place here.

Fang Simin, employee of the "610 Office," beat Ms. Qi Chengrong, a practitioner from Duozhuang Village, Mengyin County, until her bones were broken. To destroy the evidence of persecution, Li Zhiye, the former secretary of Political and Judiciary Committee took advantage of his power and stole the X-rays from the county hospital. Mr. Shi Zenglei, another practitioner, was an employee at a farm machinery company in Mengyin County, who was later illegally sentenced to 11 years in prison. Fang Simin brutally beat him to the verge of death. Mr. Shi was unable to stand, and had blood in his urine for more than ten days. In addition, the "610 Office" also ordered or encouraged policemen, ruffians, and criminals to recklessly beat, curse, and torture practitioners at will. An evil ruffian bound Mr. Shi Zenglei's hands with wire, then attached him to his motorcycle. He drove the motorcycle, forcing Mr. Shi to run. When Mr. Shi couldn't keep up with the motorcycle, he was dragged on the ground. Mr. Shi's skin was scraped on the ground and bled profusely. During his illegal detention, Lei Yancheng scalded Mr. Shi Zenglei on his face and many other areas of his body with boiling water.

Ms. Zhang Rongqiu was a practitioner who worked in the county credit union. The "610 Office" personnel used gas to poison Ms. Zhang until she spit blood. Even the detention center refused to admit her because of her condition.

Practitioner Gong Maohai was beaten to the verge of death. Pingyi Detention Center even refused to admit him because of his condition. The "610 Office" in Linqi City forcibly intervened and ordered Pingyi Detention Center to admit him. (Mr. Gong was later illegally sentenced to a 13-year imprisonment). Ms. Teng Derong, a woman over 50-years old, was previously a staff member on the Mengyin Construction Committee. The police tied her to a metal chair and tortured her for four consecutive days. (She was later illegally sentenced to 13-years in prison.) Wu Zengjian was a practitioner from Duozhuang Town, Mengyin County. He was beaten by "610 Office" persecutors until he was black and blue all over. There wasn't one spot on his body without wounds. During the cold weather of late autumn, he was stripped of his clothes, and sent to the Mengyin Detention Center in only his underwear. In the detention center, the prisoners were instigated to beat him. The guards didn't care to stop the prisoners and pretended they didn't see anything. Mr. Wu was later illegally sentenced to 13 years in prison.

The guards forced Ms. Shan Guifu, from Tanfu, to wear foot-shackles weighing over 20 pounds in Mengyin Detention center. They ordered prisoners to pull him, to force him to jog. His ankles were rubbed raw, and bloody. Mr. Teng Defang was a staff member of the Senior Cadre Bureau in Mengyin County. He was beaten almost every day at the detention center until he had blood in his urine. He couldn't get up for three months. For over six months, he couldn't stand up or walk by himself, and had to rely on others for help. (He was later illegally sentenced to 14 years in prison.)

When the practitioners tried to stop Fang Simin from beating them, he said, "We are performing our duty." He is so deluded that he doesn't even know that beating is illegal. This hatchet man was later promoted to be an officer. The "610 Office" is just such a place where these scoundrels gather.

1. The lawless persons employed by the "610 Office" and local police stations secretly imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners in places away from their hometowns. They secretly tried practitioners and forbade attorneys from defending their innocence. More than 100 practitioners in Mengyin were sent to labor camps or sentenced to imprisonment. The longest term of sentence was up to 14 years in prison.
2. The lawless persons in the "610 Office" and local police stations hired or incited people to illegally cross barriers to enter practitioners' homes, to illegally search practitioners' homes for Falun Gong books and truth-clarification materials, and to confiscate their personal property.
3. The lawless persons of the "610 Office" and local police stations compiled a "black list" which listed some practitioners as "un-trusted persons" and ordered the companies where practitioners worked and the Residence Committee in the village where practitioners lived to secretly watch them. They used illegal procedures at will to aggravate the persecution. Ms. Wang Xiangying was an employee in Mengyin Cotton Mill. Ms. Zhao Shengzhen was a resident in Baode Village, Mengyin Town. Ms. Zhang Guifeng was a resident in Jiguanzhuang Village, Jushan Town. The "610 Office" abducted Ms. Wang and Ms. Zhao from their homes, and abducted Ms. Zhang while she was delivering goods from Linqi to Mentou for no just cause, and sent them to Jinan Labor Camp.
4. The lawless persons in the "610 Office" and local police stations organized local policemen and local thugs who didn't understand truth to wait at specified locations to arrest practitioners distributing or posting Falun Gong truth-clarification materials. It was said that a large number of policemen and hired ruffians were transferred to Mengyin to wait at these spots to arrest practitioners during the Spring Festival holiday season. This shows how much the "610 Office" fears the public knowing the truth. On January 8, 2004 (lunar calendar), another special meeting was held in Mengyin to illegally suppress Falun Gong. It initiated a new ferocious wave of illegally searching practitioners' homes and kidnapping practitioners, especially in Taoqu Town and Jiepai Town. To date, fifty practitioners have been illegally abducted and detained. Some of their homes were searched. Money was extorted from some. The police ordered practitioners' family members to bail out the practitioners.

The people who were primarily responsible for the "Teacher Massacre" tragedy are:

Lei Yancheng, head of "610 Office" in Mengyin County, resident of Leijiachengzi Village, Liancheng Town, Mengyin County.

Sun Kehai, head of Mengyin Detention Center, resident of Dazhuang Village, Liancheng Town, Mengyin County. Currently he is Brigade Chief of criminal police in Mengyin County.

Guo Xingbao, Chair of Mentyin County Chinese Medical Hospital.

(1) Yuan: China currency. 500 Yuan is the average monthly income for an urban worker in China.

July 27, 2004