(Clearwisdom.net) The detentions of Falun Gong practitioners in China today mainly fall into three categories:

  • Illegal prison sentences which are decried by the state propaganda machine as the “achievement of law and order.” Nothing, in fact, could be further from the truth.

  • Forced labor camp incarcerations handed out without the need to follow any process of law. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) euphemistically labels its labor camp system as “re-education through labor.” These words are in fact code for forced labor, brainwashing and in many cases, torture.

  • Confinement in brainwashing centers specifically established to “transform” Falun Gong practitioners. The brainwashing centers bear various deceptive names that keep the public from knowing what really goes on inside. For example, they may be publicly referred to as “Transformation Study Class” or “Legal Education Center” but are in fact places where innocent citizens are subjected to all manners of cruel torture and mental torment.

The 610 Office is in charge of the implementation of the above-mentioned three types of illegal detention and persecution. Its goal is to defeat Falun Gong.

Falun Gong practitioners, regardless of whether they are held in prisons, forced labor camps or brainwashing facilities, are all subjected to attempts to “transform” them; to force them to renounce their belief in Falun Gong. The 610 Office sets “transformation” quotas and ties them to bonuses and promotions for those tasked with accomplishing the work. Driven by the desire for personal gain, they employ all kinds of inhuman methods to abuse and mistreat Falun Gong practitioners, even to this day.

With “Transformation” as the Goal, Three Practitioners Die Within Two Weeks

Take Jiamusi Prison in Heilongjiang Province as an example. Not long ago, Jiamusi Prison set up a “Strict Management Team” for the purpose of reaching an 85% transformation rate among Falun Gong practitioners. Since February 21, selected practitioners have been handed over to the “Strict Management Team.” Every practitioner is watched by several prisoners, and is under constant pressure every day to write statements renouncing Falun Gong. Mr. Qin Yueming was transferred to the “Strict Management Team” on February 21, and died six days later. Mr. Yu Yungang died on March 5, and Mr. Liu Chuanjiang died on March 8. Within as little as two weeks, three practitioners died in this “Strict Management Team.”

Practitioners Who Resist “Transformation” Are Arrested Again Immediately After Release

The majority of Falun Gong practitioners who have been illegally detained have remained steadfast in their faith in the face of barbaric persecution, refusing to give in to the regime's demands and coercion, and staying true to their faith in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, the principles of Falun Gong. Many practitioners were not released when their years-long incarcerations came to an end. Instead, 610 Office agents transferred them to brainwashing and other detention facilities in order to continue persecuting them.

Examples

  • Practitioner Mr. Liu Shuisheng from Wuhan City, Hubei Province has been imprisoned for eight years at the Fanjiatai Prison in Shayang City, Hubei Province. His term ended on March 10, 2011. However, one day ahead of his release, on March 9, Jianghan District 610 Office agent Qu Shen and others secretly transported him from the prison to the Erdaopeng Brainwashing Center. When Mr. Liu's wife, practitioner Ms. Hu Mingxiu was ready to go to the Fanjiatai Prison to bring him back home around 2:00 p.m. on March 9, she was stopped by plainclothes officers from the Tangjiadun Police Station, and placed under house arrest. A police car was parked in front her home, monitoring her all day long.

  • Practitioner Mr. Ren Dongsheng's five-year prison term at the Gangbei Prison in Tianjin expired on March 7, 2011. His elderly mother and his son arrived at the prison early that morning to bring him home. But the prison officials had already transferred Mr. Ren to another place of detention prior to his release date. Mr. Ren's mother and son traveled between the Gangbei Prison, the Chengguan Police Station in Jinghai County and the Banqiao Forced Labor Camp to look for him, but no one would tell them where Mr. Ren had been transferred.

  • Practitioner Mr. Xue Zhongyi finished his term at the Jinshi Prison in Hunan Province on March 7, 2011. With assistance from the prison, Baolun Town authorities seized him directly from the prison. His whereabouts remain unknown. Mr. Xue's wife and their seven-year-old son traveled from Yueyang City to the Jinshi Prison to bring him home on March 7, but Song Jianping and another officer surnamed Li from the Education Section of the Jinshi Prison handed Mr. Xue over to four strangers who came from Baolun Town, Guangyuan City, Sichuan Province. The four unidentified persons claimed that they were from the Armed Force Department, Political and Judiciary Comittee, town government and police station of the Baolun Town.

  • On February 1, 2011, practitioner Mr. Wang Hongfa from Guangzhou City was detained for fifteen days without explanation by the Haizhu District 610 Office and the Jiangnan Central Street Police Station. On February 15, when the detention period ended, the authorities still kept him detained. Mr. Wang Hongfa was then directly sent to the brainwashing center located in the Tangang Forced Labor Camp in Caitou, Guangzhou City.

  • On that day, Mr. Wang’s wife Deng Yi went with their 10-year-old daughter in the rain to the detention center at 8:00 a.m. to bring her husband home. At 8:50 a.m., policeman Chen Jianhua of the Jiangnanzhong Street police station, in addition to Liu Guoqiang, Xu Xianmei and Lin Chuangzhou (personnel in charge of the Falun Gong issue from the Wanshou residence committee on Jiangnanzhong street) barged into the detention center and took Mr. Wang away.

  • Practitioner Ms. Lu Shengyun is a villager from Kongque Village, Xinxing Town, Shuangliu County, Sichuan Province. She has been subjected to arrests, home ransacking, forced labor and imprisonment at the hands of officers from State Security Division, 610 Office and police station. Her latest seven-year prison term expired on November 16, 2010. On that day, the authorities directly took her to a brainwashing center set up by the provincial 610 Office, without informing her family.

  • Practitioner Ms. Wang Cunying from Dalian City, Liaoning Province had been at Masanjia Forced Labor Camp for over two years. She was supposed to have been released on November 14, 2009. Because of resisting abuse at the labor camp, she was held five more days and released on November 19, 2009. However, when her pregnant daughter and son-in-law traveled nearly 500 kilometers to Shenyang City to pick her up, they noticed that the police officers from the Gongjie Police Station and the Xinggong Administration Committee 610 Office in Dalian were present as well. Without going through any legal procedures, they attempted to send Ms. Wang to a brainwashing center for further persecution.

  • Practitioner Ms. Huang Naiwei from Shanghai was illegally sent to forced labor camps three times. The last time, she was supposed to be released on September 16, 2010. However, the 610 Office of Luwan District refused to free her and instead transferred her to a brainwashing center under the excuse that the 2010 World Expo was being held.

  • Practitioner Mr. Yin Libin's three-year term at the Panjin Prison in Liaoning Province expired on August 14, 2010. While he was imprisoned, the lives of his family members were also affected. His mother passed away, and his 70-year-old father was sick. His daughter was only three years old then. His wife had to take care of their daughter alone. They have been waiting for him for three years. August 14, 2010, the date of his release eventually came. When his wife and relatives arrived at the Panjin Prison early that day to pick him up, what awaited them was Dalian City 610 Office agents along with officers from the Xinggong Street Police Station and the Neighborhood Committee who forcibly took Mr. Yin to the Fushun Brainwashing Center without going through any legal procedures.

  • Practitioner Ms. Chen Shulan from Changping, Beijing was illegally sentenced to seven and a half years in prison and detained in the Beijing Women's Prison. She was released on March 16, 2010, after serving her full term. That same day, however, she was arrested again and taken to the Chaofengan Brainwashing Center in Changping District where she was subjected to 70 days of brainwashing before finally being released in late May 2010. Ms. Chen's family members, her parents, two brothers and one sister have died due to the persecution. Her husband succumbed to the pressure of the persecution and divorced her after she was sent to prison.

  • At 7 a.m. on September 11, 2009, the mother of practitioner Mr. Yang Xuegui waited at the front gate of the Lanzhou City Prison, expecting to take her son home since his term had expired. She had been traveling back and forth between her home and the prison for eight years. This time, however, she waited for her son for the whole day, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. But she didn't see her son. The administrative staff of the prison didn't show up either. When she asked the prison staff, they replied that her son had been taken away by the administrative staff from Chengguan District, Lanzhou City early in the morning that day. They refused to disclose any details.

    The following day was a Saturday. So when Monday morning office hours began, Mr. Yang's mother went in a hurry to the Prison Administrative Bureau in Lanzhou City and the 610 Office in Lanzhou City respectively to find out the whereabouts of her son. Finally, she learned that her son had been transferred to the notorious Gongjiawan Brainwashing Center in Lanzhou City. After several attempts, she finally saw her son, who was being illegally detained at Gongjiawan Brainwashing Center by the 610 Office in Chengguan District. Yang Xuegui was emaciated. He told his mother that he had been taken away from the Lanzhou City Prison at 12 a.m. on September 11 and was transferred to the Gongjiawan Brainwashing Center.

Conclusion

The cases listed above are but a mere sampling. Such tragedies have been taking place in large numbers in mainland China.

Falun Gong practitioners have remained steadfast in their belief and made countless efforts to raise people's awareness about the persecution. For this, the authorities concoct false charges against them and subject them to illegal imprisonment in jails, forced labor camps and brainwashing centers.

Practitioners are merely exercising their rights to freedom of belief and freedom of expression. Their efforts to publicly clarify the facts about the persecution uphold the public's right to know what is really going on in their country. Falun Gong practitioners are completely innocent of any crimes. To the contrary, it is the persecution that they endure at the hands of the CCP that tramples the law.

Illegally detained for refusing to renounce their faith, practitioners endure all manner of cruel abuse and torture. Their parents, wives and children are suffering grief and anxiety. Their loved ones long to be reunited with them, but when their sentences are up, the families come to take them home only to be told that the 610 Office has once again snatched them away. This shows that how dehumanizing the CCP is. The CCP truly is a wicked regime that is against humanity.

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Category: Perspectives