(Clearwisdom.net) Since July 20, 1999, most of the people held in forced labor camps have been Falun Gong practitioners. For example, several thousand female practitioners were held in the Jilin Province Women's Forced Labor Camp in 2002. There are still a significant number of practitioners held there now. Practitioners are forced to do hard labor for over 15 hours every day. Many practitioners are older women, often from rural areas. The reason for their arrest is very simple. Local authorities and police went to their homes to ask why they practiced Falun Gong. They replied, "Falun Gong keeps us healthy and helps us understand why we should be a better person." As a result, they were sentenced to one to three years in a forced labor camp.

Case One

A 56-year-old woman from the rural area of Songyuan City, Jilin Province, had bronchitis and stage seven-tuberculosis. Her family did not have money for her treatment. Her two daughters, one at the university and one at junior high school, quit school and got jobs to save money for their mother's treatment. Then someone introduced Falun Gong to her and a miracle happened. She recovered. Since July 20, 1999, the police arrested her three times. Once, she was cooking for her husband and relatives. The police mobilized over a dozen police officers and two police vehicles. They ransacked her house but could not find anything. They even looked through the layers of ashes in the stove. The police dragged her to the police car and took her to the Songyuan City Police Department. There she was tied to an iron chair and a police officer punched her until she lost consciousness. Then they poured cold water on her and smeared mustard paste on her face. She was forced to sit on the Tiger Bench for two days and nights before she was sent to a forced labor camp for three years.

Case Two

Many couples were sent to forced labor camps for 1 to 3 years. Sometimes the entire family was held in a labor camp. Ms. Jin Min, a Falun Gong practitioner from Tonghua City, Jilin Province, had 6 female members of her family sent to a forced labor camp for 1 to 3 years because they were accused of "disturbing the social order." A couple was arrested and their two-year-old was left at home alone. Some couples over 60 were sent to forced labor camps for 1 to 3 years. A child asked a police officer, "Why did you take my father away?" The police officer slapped the table and shouted, "Let me tell you, this is what will happen as long as your parents practice Falun Gong. We don't catch murderers who are walking the streets. That's because they paid us to do this." Now when the Chinese Central TV (CCTV) news program comes on, the child tells his mother not to watch it. The child says it is filled with lies.

Case Three

At the Jilin Province Women's Forced Labor Camp and at jails in Changchun City and Jilin City, there are many Falun Gong practitioners who hold Masters degrees and Ph.D. degrees. Some have two bachelor degrees. They are all very well educated and were once considered the elite at their workplaces. They were sent to forced labor camps and sentenced to imprisonment because their pursuit of truth was unshakeable.

Case Four

An associate bureau chief from the Taxation Bureau of Liuhe County was held at the Chaoyanggou Forced Labor Camp, Changchun City. He was well-known for his integrity in an area known for its corrupt officials. The reason for his imprisonment was that he practices Falun Gong. On visiting days, many people came from Liuhe County to see him. He was sentenced to three years in the forced labor camp.

Case Five

Ms. Xiao Yanmei started practicing Falun Gong in August 1998. Since July 20, 1999, she had been arrested several times. The local police harassed her often. She left home to avoid further persecution. The No. 1 section of Changchun City Police Department, however, still found and arrested her. This department of the city's police used all sorts of methods to torture her. They tied her arms and hung her by them. Then they rotated her body around 360 degrees and broke both of her arms. Because of lack of circulation in her hands, her pinkie fingers have withered away and have no feeling. Two police officers even urinated into a bucket of soiled water in front of Ms. Xiao. They then picked up a mop, dipped it into the urine/soiled water mix and shoved the mop into her mouth. As they were doing this, they screamed, "Listen. Do you know what police officers are? We are really villains."

On December 27, CCTV accused Falun Dafa practitioner Mr. Liao Yuanhua of faking the injuries resulting from over 30 kinds of torture he suffered in jail. Mr. Liao was sentenced to four years in prison for practicing Falun Gong. Falun Gong practitioners are still dying these days from the torture inflicted on them.

This cannot continue. We cannot let people be fooled by lies. We appeal to kindhearted

people, please work with Falun Gong practitioners to stop the persecution.