NEWS -- May. 28, 2003 Falun Dafa Information Center, www.faluninfo.net

NEW YORK (FDI) -- For such simple acts as handing out flyers exposing the persecution of Falun Gong or traveling to Beijing to peacefully appeal, another seven Falun Gong practitioners have been tortured to death.

The circumstances of their deaths were recently uncovered and reported to the Falun Dafa Information Center despite the Chinese government's control of information about Falun Gong-related cases. This same control of media and information was exactly what these seven men and woman risked their lives to break through in order to raise awareness about the plight of Falun Gong practitioners in China.

• Mr. Bai Sanyuan, a 38-year-old farmer in Gansu Province, was tortured to death in a labor camp, leaving his two children without parents
• Mr. Zhong Hongxi, a 48-year-old resident of Liaoning Province, died from beatings after having his house ransacked and his wife kidnapped
• Ms. Li Kun, a 66-year-old resident of Henan Province, was tortured to death for merely handing out flyers about Falun Gong
• Ms. Zou Qingyu, 63, died in a Shenyang Province labor camp after a blood clot due to torture
• Ms. Qin Shuyan, in her 50's, of Heilongjiang Province, died under police surveillance from labor camp torture
• Ms. Sun Yuhua, a 37-year-old Liaoning Province resident, was beaten to death by labor camp police and her case was covered up by police
• Ms. Yuan Shumei, from Inner Mongolia, was tortured to death in the labor camp for not signing a guarantee to stop practicing Falun Gong

Lanzhou City Family Broken up from Persecution; Father Dies in Labor Camp

Bai Sanyuan led a peaceful farmer's life in Jinxia Village in Gansu Province with his wife Wang Gendi and his two children. In 1999, when the persecution against Falun Gong began, Bai's family was broken apart. He was arrested twice and finally sent to the Kangtai Labor Camp Hospital in Lanzhou Province. His wife was also sentenced to 2 years of forced labor. Bai Sanyuan eventually died in 2002 from the torture he received and after 2 months of hunger strikes in the labor camp.

Liaoning Province Man's Business Ruined and Family Torn Apart Before his Death

Zhong Hongxi was a 48-year-old resident of Tiefa City, Liaoning Province, with a wife and children, all of whom are also Falun Gong practitioners. In October 1999, a few months after the persecution of Falun Gong began, Mr. Zhong traveled to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong. He was arrested and sent back to his home province, where he was detained for a month. After being released, he and his family were forced out of their home and had to rent a place on Xincun Street in Fushun City. In order to make a living, he started up a small store. In 2002, his daughter traveled to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong and was arrested. The Xincun Street Police Station demanded 500 Yuan from Mr. Zhong, which he refused to pay. The police then arrested his wife, Li Hua, and one week later arrested Zhong Hongxi himself. In addition, they ransacked his store, taking all the money and closing it up. Zhong Hongxi's 14-year-old son is now forced to live with just his older sister.

Zhong Hongxi was sentenced to 2 years of forced labor education in the Wujiabao Labor Camp in Fushun City. Due to beatings he received from the camp guards, Zhong's inner organs were injured and he became unable to eat, surviving merely on water. 14 months later, he was released because of his medical condition and returned to his home in Duanjiagou. On April 13^th, 2003, 50 days after his release, Zhong Hongxi died from wounds sustained from the torture.

Elderly Woman Nobly Appeals Multiple Times in Beijing before Death by Torture

Ms. Li Kun, 66, worked in the West Suburb Marketing & Supply Corporation in Nanyang City, Henan Province. In December 1999, she traveled to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong. She was arrested and sent to the Nanyang Service Office in Beijing. Her work unit took her back to Nanyang, where she was illegally detained at the Nanyang No.1 Detention center for one month.

In February of 2000, Li Kun again went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong. This time, she was sent to the Shangzhuan Detention Center in Nanyang City, and after being released was still held in her workplace for several months.

During the summer of 2000, Li Kun and her niece were distributing Falun Gong flyers when they were arrested. Li Kun was again illegally detained for several months. In the fall of that year, she was again sent to the Shangzhuan Detention Center by policemen from the Wolong District Security Brigade. After nine months of both physical and psychological torture, Li Kun had a mental breakdown and was released in August 2001. Her family members immediately sent her to the hospital, yet she still died in November of that year.

Guards Delay Emergency Medical Treatment, Practitioner Dies Shortly After

Ms. Zou Qingyu, 63, a resident of the Tiexi District in Shenyang, was held in the city's Dabei Prison. Due to torture she received on April 16, 2003, she began to have massive internal bleeding in her brain. Her guards, however, intentionally put off the measures needed to save her life, and Ms. Zou died the next morning.

Falun Gong Woman Dies Due to Torture in the Notorious Wanjia Labor Camp

Ms. Qin Shuyan, a 50-year-old resident of Wangzhaoxin Village in the Dongli District of Harbin City, was arrested in April 2002 for her practice of Falun Gong. She was sentenced to forced labor education in the Wanjia Labor Camp, which is infamous for its treatment of female Falun Gong practitioners. She was later released because of her medical conditions from the torture received in the labor camp, yet was still under police surveillance. She died three months after her release.

Police Attempt to Paint Practitioner's Body to Cover Up the Cause of Death

On April 4, 2003, Falun Gong practitioners held in Dengta City in Liaoning Province were secretly taken to the Dabei Prison. Among them was Ms. Sun Yuhua, a 37-year-old resident of Anshan City in Liaoning Province. For refusing to give up her practice of Falun Gong, Ms. Sun was tortured in many ways, including force-feeding, sitting for extended periods on the "tiger bench," electric baton shocks, and sleep deprivation. On April 11, merely one week after being detained in the Dabei Prison, and after one particular beating from police guards, Ms. Sun passed away.

Sun Yuhua's family was notified of her death the next day, although they reported her death as "myocardial infection". They were also threatened not to spread the news of her death. The police painted Sun's face and body in an unsuccessful attempt to cover up the marks of their torture.

Practitioner Forbade Medical Treatment for Torture Injuries, Later Dies of Stroke

Ms. Yuan Shumei, from Chifeng City in Inner Mongolia, was arrested for distributing flyers exposing the persecution of Falun Gong, and was sent to the Huhehaote Labor Camp for 3 years of forced labor for refusing to sign a letter guaranteeing to stop practicing and appealing for Falun Gong.

While in the labor camp, Ms. Yuan began a hunger strike to protest her illegal detention and sentence. Although her health deteriorated quickly, the labor camp guards refused her both medical treatment and visits from family, telling her only when she signed the guarantee letter could they be granted to her. Yuan Shumei was determined to practice Falun Gong to the end, and so she continued to refuse to sign the letter. As a result of her lack of medical care, she died in early February 2003.

Zheng Lanfeng, another Falun Gong practitioner from Chifeng City, was tortured to death in the Chifeng Detention Center on March 5, 2003.

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NEWS -- May. 28, 2003

Falun Dafa Information Center, www.faluninfo.net

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Background

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa (about), is a practice of meditation and exercises with teachings based on the universal principle of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance." It is a practice that was taught in private for thousands of years before being made public in 1992 by Mr. Li Hongzhi. Falun Gong has roots in traditional Chinese culture, but it is distinct and separate from other practices such as the religions of Buddhism and Taoism. Since its introduction in 1992, it quickly spread by word of mouth throughout China, and is now practiced in over 50 countries.

With government estimates of as many as 100 million practicing Falun Gong, China's President Jiang Zemin outlawed the peaceful practice in July 1999 (report), fearful of anything touching the hearts and minds of more citizens than the Communist Party. Unable to crush the spirit of millions who had experienced improved health and positive life changes from Falun Gong, Jiang's regime has intensified its propaganda campaign to turn public opinion against the practice while quietly imprisoning, torturing and even murdering those who practice it.

The Falun Dafa Information Center has verified details of 711 deaths (reports / sources) since the persecution of Falun Gong in China began in 1999. Government officials inside China, however, report that the actual death toll is well over 1,600, while expert sources estimate that figure to be much higher. Hundreds of thousands have been detained, with more than 100,000 being sentenced to forced labor camps, typically without trial.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT THE FALUN DAFA INFORMATION CENTER -- Gail Rachlin 917-501-4441, Levi Browde 914-720-0963, Erping Zhang 646-533-6147, or Feng Yuan 917-941-1097. Email: [email protected], Website: http://www.faluninfo.net/