[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 140 (Tuesday, October 7, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1992]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   CHINA'S TORTURE OF THE FALUN GONG

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                           HON. FRANK R. WOLF

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, October 7, 2003

  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, you may recall, I have been endeavoring to 
bring to our colleagues' attention the egregious abuses of human rights 
by the Chinese government toward its own citizens. Today I will provide 
information regarding the perpetual and unjustifiable harassment, 
torture and death of Falun Gong practitioners at the hands of the 
Chinese government. Many of the victims are old men simply trying to 
pursue their religious beliefs peaceably. They hope only for what we in 
America take for granted--the right to follow one's conscience. Instead 
they are brutalized by the state. I offer these accounts and hope that 
our colleagues will come to the same conclusion that I did--that we 
must act to help the persecuted people of China.

   ``In Their Own Words'' Statements on the Torture of the Falun Gong

       Imagine the leader of the world's apparently most-promising 
     emerging market suddenly banning the faith of one out of 
     every twelve of his/her own citizens, subjecting them to 
     arbitrary detention, forced-labor, brainwashing sessions, 
     physical torture and death, and using a shocking amount of 
     foreign investment capital to do it. Imagine no more. This is 
     the reality.
       According to the testimonies of thousands of victims, the 
     Chinese government implemented the persecution through a 
     three-prong directive to all levels of government:
       Destroy Falun Gong practitioners physically through 
     systematic, state-sanctioned forced-labor, torture and 
     killings.
       Destroy Falun Gong practitioners' reputations through a 
     worldwide media campaign to demonize Falun Gong and falsely 
     depict its practitioners as dangerous ``cult'' members and a 
     menace to society.
       Destroy Falun Gong practitioners financially, which, in a 
     Communist nation where the government can exercise 
     significant control over employment and housing, allowed the 
     government to deny Falun Gong practitioners basic necessities 
     for living, such as salaries/pensions, employment, education, 
     housing, etc. in addition to suffering widespread extortion, 
     confiscation of property and state-enforced fines when 
     detained by police.
       Almost 800 deaths from torture have been verified. 
     Thousands more people have been forcefully incarcerated in 
     mental hospitals where many are tortured. More than 100,000 
     have been sent to forced labor camps, typically without 
     trial.
       In January 2003, after more than 3 years of torture and 
     abuse, 65 year-old Mr. Quanfu Zhang was beaten to death in a 
     Chinese forced-labor camp. His 38-year-old son, Qifa Zhang, 
     died 16 days later from sustained torture in the same labor 
     camp.
       In January of 2003, a U.S. citizen was detained and later 
     imprisoned where he has been beaten and repeatedly subjected 
     to brainwashing sessions in an attempt to force him to 
     renounce his beliefs. His fiance leads a grassroots call for 
     his release in the U.S.
       Sixty-seven year-old Li Jianhou from Nanchong City, Sichuan 
     Province was tortured to death in Deyang Prison, Sichuan 
     Province on March 27, 2003. His wife is being held at a local 
     detention center.
       On July 18, 2003, After three years of torture and abuse, a 
     university teacher from Jilin Province with a master's degree 
     in philosophy was detained on several occasions for his 
     practice of Falun Gong. He died in a Chinese Labor Camp.
       In August 2003, Ms. Zhengshu Cui, an ethnic Korean and a 
     graduate of the Baicheng Finance and Trade Training School 
     who lived in northeastern China, died on August 12, 2003, 
     from extended torture and abuse sustained while imprisoned 
     for her beliefs in a forced-labor camp.
       In August 2003, after being abducted multiple times and 
     tortured by local police for his practice of Falun Gong, a 
     56-year-old farmer from Heilongjiang Province was subjected 
     to forced-feeding with boiling water. Emaciated and unable to 
     stand on his own, he died in a Chinese prison.

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