Compiled by a western Falun Gong practitioner from Australia
Although you may be aware that many adult practitioners of Falun Gong have been
persecuted, tortured and killed under the supervision and instruction of the Jiang
regime, you may not be aware that in China at the moment many of the children
who are practitioners themselves or are related to practitioners are also experiencing
similar persecution.
Numerous examples have shown that Jiang and his followers
have contravened the basic human rights of these children, including their right
to survival, their right to freedom from abuse and malnutrition, their right to
education, their right to freedom from discrimination and their right to participate
fully in family, cultural and social life in their society.
The persecution
of children has also violated the Convention on the Rights of the Child [referred
to as “the Convention” in the remaining of the text] China proudly ratified.
[1]
Falun Gong or Falun Dafa started in China in 1992. Based on the principles
of “Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance” these simple exercises caught on quite
quickly in China, growing to an estimated one hundred million practitioners in
1999. However, due to its popularity and its ability to allow people to think
for themselves the Chinese Communist Party banned the practice in 1999 and started
a vicious persecution of practitioners. This persecution extended to throwing
female practitioners in male prison cells naked, rape, beating with electric batons,
various forms of torture, as well as abducting people to labor camps and brainwashing
centers.
While these abuses of human rights are mostly perpetrated against
adult practitioners, children as young as 8 months have also been thrown into
these labor camps and have been abused. In 2001, a female practitioner, Wang Lixuan,
was arrested with her son Meng Hao who was a little over 6 months old, and they
were taken to the Beijing Tuanhe Forced Labor Camp. At this camp Meng Hao and
his mother both suffered from beatings. Wang Lixuan's family was not notified
of her arrest nor were they told to come and collect Meng Hao. Two months later
her family received word that Lixuan and Meng Hao were dead after allegedly jumping
out of a building, and they were asked to come and collect their bodies. Not trusting
the story, their family then took their bodies to the coroner for an autopsy.
Upon examination it was found that Meng Hao had bruising around both ankles consistent
with the size of handcuffs, blood in his nose and bruising to the head. His mother
had broken knuckles, a broken neck, her skull was sunken and she had a needle
imbedded into her waist. From the coroner's report it was deduced that Meng
Hao had been hung upside down and beaten until he asphyxiated on his own blood.
While
Meng Hao's case is one of the worst of its kind, many children who have practiced
Falun Gong or are the children of practitioners are being arrested along with
their parents or legal guardians. I cite the following examples for your reference;
–
On July 21, 2000, Falun Gong practitioner from Laiwu City, Shandong Province,
Mr. Wang Zideng and his five other family members, including his 2-year-old son
and a niece, were forcibly detained in the local detention center. His son and
niece were not allowed to get dressed after being arrested and were taken to the
station nearly naked.
– The Yanggu County Police Station, Shandong Province
once detained a 6-month-old infant with his grandparents and parents in an ice-cold
detention center, exposed to inhumane conditions.
– At about 9 pm on September
1, 2003, several police officers from Fushun Municipal Bureau of Public Security,
Liaoning Province broke into ethnic Korean Dafa practitioner Luo Jingyu's
home and abducted Ms. Luo and her 3-year-old daughter to the local brainwashing
center.
– A 2-year-old boy from Mengyang Town, Pengzhou City was abducted
with his parents and grandmother in May 2002, and detained in the town government
office building, simply because his family members persisted in practicing Falun
Gong. At first, the baby was locked in a dirty room with his mother for more than
three months. A toilet was put in the room but it was not cleaned regularly. Bugs
and mosquitoes soon became attracted to it. The family was then sent to Pengzhou
Detention Center because they were unable to afford the fines. This 2-year-old
baby was imprisoned for at least 9 months. Because the baby had to eat the poor
quality jail food for a long period of time, he was emaciated and became jaundiced
–
A one year old girl was detained with her parents in the Lixian County of Qinhuangdao.
This child's name is Guo Yuetong, the mother's name is Liu Aihua, and
the father's name is Guo Yuting. Ms. Liu Aihua went with fellow practitioners
to Tiananmen Square to unfold banners supporting Falun Gong. She brought her 28
day old baby along as she was still nursing. Afterwards she was forced to live
away from home for about for a year to evade unlawful arrest and further persecution.
Upon returning home, personnel from the “610 Office” [2] collaborated with the
Lixian County Police Department to arrest her. They then sent her to the county
detention center and detained her for 23 months. Subsequently, they sent her to
a brainwashing center where she was held for more than a year. What is beyond
the understanding of people is that her one-year-old child had also been detained.
Article 28 of the Convention states that,
“States Parties recognize
the right of the child to education and with a view to achieving this right progressively
and on the basis of equal opportunity, they shall, in particular:
- Make primary education compulsory and available free to all;…”
However, many Falun Gong children are finding that they are no longer welcome
at school since Public Security Officers and officers from the “610 Office” in
charge of their cases often visit their primary and secondary schools to place
pressure on their teachers to expel them, thus inhibiting these children from
gaining a formal education as can be observed in the cases below.
– Chen
Si was a 13 year old middle school student. She lived in the residential area
of the Dongfeng Chemistry Factory, Shuangbei, Shapingba District of Chongqing
City. During her summer vacation, she went out to distribute Falun Gong materials
clarifying the truth about Falun Gong and was arrested. Despite her young age
she was still punched and kicked by policemen. Chen Si was then sent to Geleshan
Brainwashing Center
in Shapingba District where she was force-fed for two weeks
in the Geleshan Psychiatric Hospital. When her school term began, the “610 office”
officials refused to allow her to attend school.
?- In December 2000, 16-year-old
Dafa practitioner, Xiao Zhang from Qiangyuan County, Changzhi, Shanxi Province
unfurled a banner imprinted with the words, “Falun Dafa is good” on the Tiananmen
gate tower. In front of other people, the police officers beat him and kicked
him. The 16-year-old Xiao Zhang lost consciousness on the spot. Later, Xiao Zhang
was sent to a hospital for emergency treatment. After that, Xiao Zhang was sent
back to Xiangyuan and sentenced to 1.5 years in jail.
?- On February 18,
2004, student Wang Zhe from the No. 1 Senior High School in Changtu County, Liaoning
Province clarified the truth about Falun Gong to the teachers at the school regarding
the defamation of Falun Dafa practitioners by the director of the political and
education department. He was subsequently expelled from school. On April 6, Wang
Zhe and his mother went to the school requesting that Wang Zhe be re-admitted
in accordance with the law; however, the school headmaster, Sun Yuhui, reported
this to the police department. After the report, the deputy party secretary of
the county and several members of the national security section arrested Wang
Zhe and detained him in a county detention center.
– Ai Dan, a fourteen-year
old girl, was a student in the eighth grade at Heyeping High School in the Suxian
District of Chenzhou City in Hunan Province. She started practicing Falun Dafa
in 1998. One of the classmates who did not know the facts about Falun Gong reported
her to the teacher. Afraid of getting involved, the teacher reported her to the
school authorities. The school's headmaster then reported the issue to the
district “610 Office” and confiscated her copy of Zhuan Falun [main teachings
of Falun Gong]. Officials from the “610 Office” immediately came to the school,
ordered the student out of her class and interrogated her. Ai Dan was forced to
write the “Guarantee Statements,” declaring that she was remorseful for practicing
Falun Gong, guaranteeing not to practice Falun Gong again, and promising not to
go to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong, or to ever again associate with any Falun
Dafa practitioners. However, later Ai Dan recanted this statement declaring that
she had the right to freedom of belief under the constitution. She was then expelled
for making this statement.
– Ms. Zhang Conghui is a 16-year-old student at
Xuanhua First High School in Chicheng County, Hebei Province. On February 24,
Ms. Zhang went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Dafa and was arrested and sent to
jail. She was then taken to a brainwashing center in Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province.
–
Huang Jing, was a second-year junior high school student at Yucai Middle School
in the city of Chengdu, Sichuan Province . She was reported by a classmate for
clarifying the truth about Falun Gong to students in the school. The school's
Political Section tried to force her to give up practicing Falun Gong, but Huang
Jing would not renounce her belief because she firmly believes Falun Gong to be
a practice that teaches people to be good. This past semester, Jing once again
clarified the truth about Falun Gong to her schoolmates, but the school authorities
forced her to terminate her studies.
– Li Xinxin is an eighth-grader in
the Second High School of Shaluhei Township, Yongji County, Jilin City, Jilin
Province. On March 4, 2004, a teacher who was deceived by the propaganda about
Faun Gong reported her to the school board for clarifying the truth of Falun Gong
to her classmates. As a result, Li Xinxin was expelled from school. Then the Director
of the Students' Office, Dong Ming, led the police to where Li Xinxin and
her father Li Bailong had moved after leaving their home to avoid persecution.
The police confiscated all the Falun Dafa books and materials, and detained her
father in the Yongjie County Detention Center.
Article 12 of the Convention
states that,
“States Parties shall assure to the child who is capable
of forming his or her own views the right to express those views freely in all
matters affecting the child, the views of the child being given due weight in
accordance with the age and maturity of the child.”
Nevertheless in
China children who speak out about the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners
or tell the truth as they see it often face quite serious consequences, many being
forced to leave home to avoid arrest. An example of this is Ms. Wang Lin, a 17-year-old
middle school student, who lived in Machang, Suileng County, Heilongjiang Province.
In July 2002, Wang Lin attended a joint entrance exam for a provincial high school.
In the politics section of the exam there was a question defaming Falun Gong.
Wang Lin answered the question truthfully stating: Falun Dafa was good and that
she did not believe it was a bad influence on society. Later, officials from the
Political and Judiciary Committee, police department, and Provincial Education
Committee came to arrest her. Wang was forced to leave home to avoid further persecution.
Unfortunately her parents were falsely arrested and beaten by personnel from the
“610 Office.” In May 2003, Wang Lin was working in Harbin City when she was seized
by police and detained in Suileng. According to witnesses the direct orders of
the chief of the “610 Office” in Suileng County were to detain her until she turns
18 and then sentence her [in China one can be sentenced only when one reaches
18 years old].
As stated in the preamble to the Convention,
“…the
family, as the fundamental group of society and the natural environment for the
growth and well-being of all its members and particularly children, should be
afforded the necessary protection and assistance so that it can fully assume its
responsibilities within the community…”
Article 9 of the Convention
states,
“States Parties shall ensure that a child shall not be separated
from his or her parents against their will, except when competent authorities
subject to judicial review determine, in accordance with applicable law and procedures,
that such separation is necessary for the best interests of the child.”
Yet in China the government has decided that people who try to teach their children
to follow the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance are people
who must be kept away from society, including their children. Many children are
often left with no one to care for them as is illustrated by the experience of
Zou Rongrong.
– Rongrong was born in November 1999, when her father, Zou Songtao,
had gone to the Beijing Appeals Office [A government agency where citizens can
report grievances or cases that have been handled improperly by local officials]
to report his experience of practicing Falun Gong and to explain that it was not
what was being reported by the government agencies. He was detained as soon as
he returned to the city of Qingdao, and was released in December. Zou Songtao
was arrested and released like this several times before eventually being tortured
to death. The time Rongrong spent together with her father was less than six months.
In May 2001 Rongrong's mother was sought by police for handing out Falun
Gong truth-clarification materials and had to move to other parts of the country
to avoid being arrested. At the moment it is reported that she is being held in
a detention center in Qingdao but her family has received no verification of this
report. As a result, Rongrong had to live with her grandparents from the time
she was two and a half. However, Rongrong's grandmother was over sixty years
old and she passed away in August, 2001. This has left Rongrong with only her
grandfather to look after her.
Another example is that of Fadu Chen. Fadu
was born in April 2000, and was only nine months old when her father was detained
by Chinese authorities – she never saw him again. After her father's arrest
her mother Jane Dai, an Australian citizen, managed to bring Fadu back to Australia.
In July 2001, after months of concern for her husband's safety, Jane saw
the name of her husband on an Internet news report. Chen's body had been
found in an abandoned hut in Guangzhou – he had been tortured to death because
he refused to give up his peaceful beliefs. Several members of Fadu's family
are also Falun Gong practitioners. Fadu's aunt was also illegally kidnapped
and detained for two years in a forced labor camp after she had identified Chen's
body. Fadu's grandfather suffered from such shock after finding out about
his son's death, that he became sick and later died. Fadu's uncle was
also forced by police to give up his practice of Falun Gong, and is still being
constantly monitored.
Statistics show that as of May 28, 2004, 968 Falun
Gong adult practitioners are confirmed as having been tortured to death, thousands
are illegally detained and hundreds are jobless and ostracized from society. Yet
not one agency has investigated the abuses, which have occurred to the thousands
of children involved in this crisis. As China is a signatory to the Convention
on the Rights of the Child and has ratified it, it is for the Committee on the
Rights of the Child to investigate these apparent breaches and monitor the ongoing
situation. By monitoring this situation China would then be put on notice by the
international community that violating the rights of children is not an option,
and that tragic stories like Meng Hao's would not occur again. Moreover,
this action would also instigate further awareness in China of building their
own stable future via the protection of all children's rights as argued by
the Secretary General of the United Nations Kofi Annan: “Much of the next millennium
can be seen in how we care for our children today. Tomorrow's world may be
influenced by science and technology, but more than anything it is already taking
shape in the bodies and minds of our children.”
[1] For more about the
“Convention on the Rights of the Child,” see http://www.unicef.org/crc/crc.htm
[2] a bureau specifically created by the Chinese government to persecute Falun
Gong. It has absolute power over each level of administration in the Party, as
well as over the political and judiciary branches.
Posting
date: 5/June/2004
Original article date: 2/June/2004
Category:
Open Forum
