Israel: Falun Dafa Practitioners Volunteer in a Shelter during Missile Attacks

(Minghui.org) You may know that large areas of Israel were recently under missile attack. The missiles were launched by Hamas groups in Gaza. Even Tel Aviv was bombed. Large parts of the south were threatened, and big cities like Beer Sheba and Ashkelon were bombed. Kindergartens and schools were closed, and people stayed in shelters whenever the alarms were heard. There was widespread fear and stress in the civilian community during this period of time.

Local Falun Gong practitioners spent time with residents of Kiryat-Gat, which is halfway between Tel Aviv and Beer Sheba. The residents had to stay in a shelter on a community campus.

Teaching the powerful Falun Gong exercises

Demonstrating the fifth exercise – meditation

On November 21, 2012, before the ceasefire was announced, practitioners helped the children and parents in the shelter do the exercises. They then made beautiful lotus flowers from colorful paper with them. One woman who attended showed how to make a paper jar for the flowers. First the adults helped the children, but then they found it to be fun for themselves. Some people who participated were interested in joining the weekly Falun Dafa practice site, which is located on the same campus.

Making paper lotus flowers

Paper lotus flowers

All Falun Dafa activities throughout the world are free of charge, including the practice sites. Falun Dafa books are also freely available on the Internet, and everyone can come to learn the wonderful movements and cultivate his or her mind according to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.

CATEGORY: Community Events

Lecturer at Beijing University of Technology Arrested for Seventh Time

November 28, 2012 | By a Minghui correspondent in Beijing

Name: Zhuang Yanhong (庄偃红)
Gender: Female
Age: 53
Occupation: University Professor
Date of Most Recent Arrest: October 18, 2012
Detention City: Beijing
Persecution Suffered: Sleep deprivation, forced labor, brainwashing, illegal sentencing, beatings, imprisonment, solitary confinement, torture, force-feedings, physical restraint, interrogation, detention, denial of restroom use

(Minghui.org) Ms. Zhuang Yanhong, a lecturer at Beijing University of Technology’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences, was arrested by the Beijing police on October 18, 2012. Prior to this arrest, she had been illegally arrested six times for practicing Falun Gong.

Ms. Zhuang graduated from Beijing University and went to graduate school at People’s University. She is a professor of Philosophy at Beijing University of Technology’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences. She works diligently and excels at her work. Her peers and colleagues often praise her. She has a calm disposition and a warm and sincere personality. She used to suffer from various diseases, but regained her health after practicing Falun Gong. However, she now suffers persecution because of her belief.

In 2001, the Beijing police were going to take her to a brainwashing center. To avoid the persecution, Ms. Zhuang wrote a letter to her supervisor at work and left home. On December 27, 2001, a homeless Ms. Zhuang was arrested by Changping District police and detained at Changping District Detention Center, where she was beaten multiple times. She then went on a hunger strike to protest the ill treatment. As a result, the guards dragged her on the ground; held down by leaning on her limbs and abdomen; hit her face and head; and forced a tube down her nose causing multiple punctures and extensive bleeding.

In January 2002, Ms. Zhuang was transferred to an “education” center. She was surrounded by many officials who cursed at, threatened, and humiliated her. She was also tortured and deprived of sleep for more than 20 days. She was allowed to sleep for only two hours at dawn at that time.

She was once locked in solitary confinement for six months. She was subjected to interrogation with beatings and other inhuman treatment until she was on the verge of death. On July 9, 2002, she was released on bail awaiting trial in a year. However, she was still monitored by the authorities.

On September 12, 2007, she was arrested again and sentenced to two years of forced labor. There, she was deprived of sleep and not allowed to wash herself or change clothes. She was also forced to attend brainwashing sessions. All of her written communication with her family was intercepted by the authorities.

We appeal for help to rescue Ms. Zhuang. Those who participate in the Chinese Communist Party’s persecution of Falun Gong practitioners must stop their evil deeds and listen to their conscience. Good is rewarded with good and evil is met with evil.

Chinese version available

CATEGORY: Accounts of Persecution

Li Zhiqin’s Family Threatened after Filing Complaint Over His Wrongful Death in Police Custody

November 28, 2012 | By a Minghui correspondent in Hebei Province

(Minghui.org) Mr. Li Zhiqin was from Ningjin County in the Xingtai District of Hebei Province. He used to be illness but regained his health after he started to practice Falun Gong in 2004. Despite brutal persecution by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Mr. Li steadfastly cultivated Falun Gong. In April 2006, he was forced to leave home to avoid being illegally arrested. Around 11:00 p.m. on September 12, 2007, police officers under the direction of Shen Jianzhong from the Ningjin County 610 Office broke into his apartment and arrested him. Mr. Li died that night in police custody.

Over the past five years, Mr. Li’s family has continued to demand an explanation as to cause of his death. Not only did the police refuse to compensate them adequately, but they also threatened the entire family that they would be arrested should they appeal for justice. In July 2012, with no other avenues left to them, the family submitted a letter of complaint to the Ningjin County government.

In the afternoon on August 17, officers from Ningjin County and the township police station appeared at the home of Mr. Li’s family with a camcorder. Neighbors saw plainclothes police outside their house. No one was home at the time. Villagers were told that those people were “sent from above” to “investigate,” because the family having written a letter of appeal. Villagers saw strangers wandering around outside their home the following two days. When Mr. Li’s son went to the local police station he was told that those people were there because they “wanted to check out the issue of his wife’s residence.”

On August 27, the police tried to visit Mr. Li’s home again. The village officials told the police that his children did not practice Falun Gong and asked them not to bother them. Although the officers did not go to Mr. Li’s home, they said that they had been monitoring the cellphones of three family members, who would be sent to prison as soon as there was “any activity.”

Background

Mr. Li Zhiqin was from Xiaozao Village, Ningjin County. His parents were in their 70s. He had one son and two daughters. He and his wife made a living by selling textiles at the local market. His health had deteriorated as a result stress and hard work. He was weak and had difficulty walking. Due to the stress of daily living and his poor health, his temper became worse and worse. Thus, the entire family was in distress. In 2004, he started to practice Falun Gong. He quickly became healthy again. Following the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, his temper changed and he was in a good mood every day. He was respectful to his parents and kind to his children. The entire family lived in harmony.

After Mr. Li Zhiqin started practicing Falun Gong, he was very fair and did not take advantage of people when doing business with them. He helped anyone in need. When the roads around the village needed repair, he fixed them without anyone asking him to. Because of his service, Mr. Li was publicly praised over the loudspeakers in the village. One time he found an expensive cellphone on the street; he waited on the sidewalk until a young man came back looking for it. Mr. Li followed the requirements of Falun Gong and was recognized as a person of good virtue. On April 22, 2006, when police officers from the State Security unit of the Ningjin County police department attempted to arrest him, villagers spoke up and tried to stop them. Some of them asked the police, “What law did Li Zhiqin break? Do you have any evidence?” The police did not have an answer to that, so, with the help of fellow villagers, Li Zhiqin was not arrested.

Mr. Li left home to avoid being arrested and found a temporary job in Zhao County, Zhijiazhuang. On the evening of September 12, 2007, under the direction of the Ningjin County 610 Office, State Security officer Shen Jianzhong and Zhao County police officers broke into Mr. Li’s apartment. They pushed him down, and over a dozen officers hit and kicked him. Then they handcuffed him and took him into custody. Mr. Li died within three hours of his arrest. The police told his family that he died of sudden cardiac arrest. After the family was allowed to view his body only briefly, he was quietly taken to Xingtai Crematorium and cremated.

Mr. Li’s family noticed that his legs were covered with bruises, but the police did not allow them to see his upper body. They gave the family 10,000 yuan and ordered them not to appeal. At the time of the cremation, Zhao Huimin from the Ningjin Procuratorate Office was present. He told the family, “We will give you a satisfactory answer [regarding his death.]” The family has waited several years without receiving any further response, not even a death certificate.

Mr. Li Zhiqin’s ashes have not yet been buried. For the past few years, the family has been everywhere trying to get an answer concerning his death, but in vain. Is it normal for “people from above” to investigate such a situation? Why use a lie to cover up a wrongful death or illegally monitor people? Mr. Li was illegally arrested and beaten to death for believing in Falun Gong and being a good person. His family is being threatened because they have filed a complaint. Where can these people get justice?

Ningjin County Police Department: +86-319-5885950
Wang Zhiyong, director: +86-319-5880556 (office), +86-319-2291696 (home), +86-13383190001 (cell)

Ningjin County Bureau for Letters and Calls: +86-319-5884359
Wang Keshi, director: +86-319-5887980 (office), +86-319-5868156 (home), +86-15832935999 (cell)

Ningjin Political and Judiciary Committee Office: +86-319-5886320
Zhao Qinhua, director: +86-319-5886321 (office),+86-319-5805682 (home), +86-13011958388 (cell)

Ningjin Procuratorate Office: +86-319-5804626
Xu Shifeng, director: +86-319-5800668 (office), +86-15930066888 (cell), +86-13932959126 (cell)

Ningjin Court: +86-319-5890088
Du Yunlai, director: +86-319-5890039 (office), +86-13223260666 (cell)

Chinese version available

CATEGORY: Accounts of Persecution