Labour Camps Routinely Release
Practitioners on the Brink of Death to Avoid Responsibility; Most Die Days after
Release
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(AFDI) – Between November 2003 and January 2004, reliable sources in China
reported details on 64 Falun Gong practitioners who died from severe torture
suffered in Chinese detention centers and labor camps.
Deaths
from torture and abuse were reported in 17 provinces throughout China, from
Heilongjiang to Guangxi; from Sichuan to Beijing.
Torture
techniques reported include severe beatings, electric shocks, force-feeding
torture, and injections of nerve-damaging drugs. Among the reported deceased
was a 70-year-old woman and a 33-year-old man.
According
to witnesses and those familiar with the cases, all but one of the deaths was
the result of severe beatings or torture. In one case, a woman from Yitong County,
Jilin Province reportedly “fell” from a tall building while in police custody.
Released,
Only to Die at Home
In
23 of the cases, the victims died of their injuries shortly after being released
from custody. Falun Gong practitioners thought to be near death are often released
by Chinese authorities hoping to avoid responsibility for the deaths. In many
cases, the victims die within days or even hours of their release.
According
to knowledgeable sources in China, each forced labor camp operates with a “death
quota:” That is, the number of Falun Gong practitioners that are allowed to
die in the forced labor camp as camp authorities take them through the violent
“transformation” process to force them to renounce Falun Gong. Additionally,
each forced labor camp is rewarded for making a Falun Gong practitioner renounce
his or her belief in Falun Gong. Consequently, labor camp officials often aim
to avoid forfeiting one of their death quota numbers for a dying Falun Gong
practitioner without first obtaining their bonus reward from making him or her
renounce Falun Gong.
These
sources say a practitioner can only be considered to have fully renounced Falun
Gong when he or she has written multiple statements denouncing the practice
as well as assisted in persecuting fellow Falun Gong practitioners.
Northeast
China Remains Deadliest
China’s
northeastern provinces remain the deadliest overall. Of the 884 total number
of verified deaths (reports
/ sources),
Heilongjiang Province accounts for 15% with neighboring Liaoning and Jilin Provinces
each accounting for approximately 11% of the total.
Shandong
Province, situated southeast of Beijing, also accounts for approximately 11%
of all deaths.
The
name list of those whose deaths were reported in the last three months are:
Xie Wenping, Gao Shiping, Li Shuli, Wang Ruxing, Meng Xiao, Zhao Guo’an, Li
Aiping, Tang Meijun, Li Xuelian, Wang Defeng, Yan Hai, Ma Lizhi, Guo Jifang,
Zhao Yanxia, Shen Lizhi, Bai Hong, Gu Chunaying, Chen Guijun, Liao Minghui,
Yu Guizhen, Song Ruiyi, Ye Wenying, Liu Chengjun, Li Xiaoyuan, Wu Yuan, Wang
Congbu, Yu Chunhai, Yang Shulan, Deng Huiqun, Song Youchun, Yuan Xiangfan, Zuo
Guoqing, Wu Simin, He Guozhong, Zhang Congmin, Li Xindi, Li Liang, Pan Siyuan,
Li Li, Xuan Deqiong, Zhang Dabi, Xiao Peifeng, Li Deshan, Chen Changfa, Li Chouren,
Ma Guilin, Lu Guifang, Li Jun, Guo Sulan, Wang Jiguo, Song Yonghua, Xuan Honggui,
Zhang Xiaodong, Tian Junrong, Sun Yanqin, Li Yutong, Li Ruqing, Lu Bingshen,
Zhou Liangzhu, Lu Xiufang, Lu Xingguo, Zheng Libo, Zhou Caixia.
