29 Oct 2010

New York--An elementary school teacher was killed in detention in early October in Shandong province, approximately one month after she was abducted into custody on September 2 for practicing Falun Gong. Over the past eleven years, she and other family members, including her teenage daughter, have been repeatedly detained, tortured, and harassed.

Ms. Hu Lianhua (胡连华) worked as an elementary school teacher in Hebei Province. On August 28th, 2008, Ms. Hu was discovered handing out information about the persecution, and was sent to a detention facility where she was reportedly tortured. Authorities ransacked her home, confiscated electronics, Falun Gong books, and took her son and daughter into detention. Ms. Hu was released only after the torture had rendered her weak and in ill-health.

Upon her release, Ms. Hu continued practicing Falun Gong, and began to recover from the effects of abuse in custody. Then, on September 2, 2010, Ms. Hu was abducted in Shandong Province, along with about ten other Falun Gong practitioners, and taken to Qinyun county's police department. Her home in Hebei province was also ransacked again, and authorities there took her husband into custody as well.

One month later, on October 4th, the family was notified that Hu Lianhua had died in custody. Additional details into her death are being investigated.

Ms. Hu began practicing Falun Gong in 1997, along with her husband and daughter. The family found in Falun Gong a more positive outlook on life and improved health, including relief from Hepatitis C.

After the Communist Party launched its suppression of Falun Gong in July 1999, Ms. Hu felt compelled to speak out. In 2000 she traveled to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong, but lost her job and pension once she returned home. Over the following ten years, Ms. Hu was abducted and imprisoned four times for her belief in Falun Gong.

Additional details:

Hu Lianhua's address: Hanjiangjun Village, Xiaoying Township, Yanshan County of Hebei Province (河北省盐山县小营乡韩将军村)

Name of elementary school where she taught: Hanjiangjun Elementary School in Xiaoying Township, Yanshan County, Hebei Province (河北省盐山县小营乡韩将军村小学教师)

First-hand account by Hu Lianhua published online in 2004 about the torment she and her family had been subjected to since 1999: (full story)

Background

Founded in 1999, the Falun Dafa Information Center is a New York-based organization that documents the rights violations of adherents of Falun Gong (or "Falun Dafa") taking place in the People's Republic of China. In July of 1999 China's autocratic Communist Party launched an unlawful campaign of arrests, violence, and propaganda with the intent of "eradicating" the apolitical practice; it is believed certain leaders feared the influence of the practice' 100 million adherents. The campaign has since grown in violence and scope, with millions having been detained or sent to forced labor camps. The Center has verified details of over 3,000 deaths and over 63,000 cases of torture in custody (reports / sources). Falun Gong is a traditional-style Buddhist "qigong" practice, with roots in the Chinese heritage of cultivating the mind/body for health and spiritual growth.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT THE FALUN DAFA INFORMATION CENTER

Contacts: Gail Rachlin (+1 917-757-9780), Levi Browde (+1 845-418-4870), Erping Zhang (+1 646-533-6147), or Joel Chipkar (+1 416-731-6000)

Fax: 646-792-3916 Email: [email protected], Website: http://faluninfo.net/