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Mr. Li Yequan Has Been on a Hunger Strike for Fifty-six Days and Is Near Death (Photos)
(Clearwisdom.net) Mr. Li Yequan, a 38-year-old practitioner from Daqing
City, Heilongjiang Province, has had his wages suspended for the last six years
because of his belief in Falun Gong. He had been illegally arrested
numerous times and forced to move from one place to another to avoid
persecution. Mr. Li is now being brutally abused at the Daqing Detention Center.
He has been on a hunger strike for 56 days to protest the illegal treatment.
Every day, for 24 hours, he is handcuffed, shackled, and force-fed. A guard
named Wang Yingzhou, along with inmates, forced a liter of hard liquor down his
throat and spit on him. They also poured cold water on Li Yequan. Due to being
force-fed three times a day, Mr. Li's esophagus has been badly injured. He shows
symptoms of pneumonia and mental disorientation and his body temperature has
dropped. He is extremely weak, with his white cell count as high as 20,000. Mr.
Li has slipped into a coma many times and is now dying. On November 16, 2005, Li Yequan's family went to visit him and also to talk
to the authorities at the detention center. The associate director of the
center, Wang Yongxiang, made excuses and refused to see them. One of Mr. Li's
family members presented Wang an open letter addressed to the labor camp. On
November 17, Mr. Li's father, who had suffered a stroke, his brother, and
sisters traveled a long distance to see Li Yequan. In Wang Yongxiang's office,
all of his family members were asked if they practiced Falun Gong. Mr. Li's wife
asked, for verification, if Mr. Li had been force-fed hard liquor and spit on.
The actions were denied. When his wife said she would ask Mr. Yi himself, the
prison authorities got very angry and yelled, "From now on, you are not
allowed to see him any more!" Mr. Li's father asked, "Li Yequan is a good man. What law did he break?
Why did you arrest him so many times?" They replied, "The government
does not allow him to practice Falun Gong." "So which law did he
break?" They said, "That's the business of the Public Security Bureau.
Why don't you go ask them?" Mr. Li's family went to the No. 1 Brigade, where his wife was refused entry.
His brother confirmed from talking to Mr. Li that liquor was indeed forced down
his throat and that he was spat upon. The head of the brigade, Lai Zhonghui,
Wang Yingzhou, and other inmates stormed over and dragged Mr. Li's brother out
of the room. His brother was forced to stay outside in freezing temperature for
over two hours, which exacerbated his stomach problem. When Mr. Li's father demanded his son's release, they passed the buck to the
Public Security Bureau. Disappointed, Mr. Li's family had to leave. Mr. Li Yequan worked for the Daqing City Bullet Factory. He started
practicing Falun Gong in July 1996 and followed the teachings of Truthfulness,
Compassion, Forbearance in his daily life and was recognized as a good worker.
His research project was so outstanding that he was going to be promoted from
associate head of the workshop to the factory head responsible for technology.
Since the persecution of Falun Gong first started in July 1999, the local police
station and the staff in his company tried to coerce him to write a
guarantee statement. He refused and remained true to his beliefs.
The party secretary, Yao Dexi, worried that he might go to Beijing to appeal for
justice for Falun Giong, so they arrested him and took him to the Chuangye
Police Station, where he was detained for two months before being sent back to
his company. On July 14, 2000, Mr. Li went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong but he was
escorted back to the Honggang Detention Center, where he was detained for one
month and then another 15 days. After he was sent back to his company, Mr. Li
was placed under house arrest. On September 25, Party Secretary Yao Dexi
extorted 3,600 yuan from him before they released him. In addition,
they took his two-month wages, one month's bonus for May, and other allowances
totaling 100 yuan. They also took the 329 yuan in cash that he had on him. After
they extorted the funds from Mr. Li, they told him that he could resume work
after the National Day holidays. Unfortunately, as soon as Mr Li returned to
work, he was sent to Bei'an, Daqing's 610 Office brainwashing
center, for one month. From the brainwashing center, the local 610 Office sent
Mr Li to one year in the Daqing Forced Labor Camp for removing slogans
slandering Falun Gong from the wall. He was released on October 28, 2001. After returning to work, Mr. Li was demoted to the janitorial staff. He had
his pay cut by 300 yuan. From an administrative position he was relegated to a
support position. Li Yechuan had barely worked for a year before he was again
sent to the brainwashing center at the Hong Weixing Center between June and
July, 2003 simply because they found a piece of paper in his pocket with
information on a website operated outside of China. That same night, Mr. Li was
sent to the Chuangye Police Station. The police station was going to send him to
the forced labor camp. Handcuffed and brutally beaten, Mr. Li was sent to
Honggang Detention Center three days later. As a result of the beatings and the
long-term hunger strike, Mr. Li became quite weak. Only then did the detention
center release him. However, he was still subject to harassment. Li Yequan was
forced to leave home to avoid further persecution. On December 13, 2004, in the Yinlang neighborhood, Mr. Li and other three
practitioners were arrested by officers from the Ranghu Road Police Substation.
Mr. Li shouted, "Falun Dafa is good," even as he was being gagged and
blindfolded by the police and dragged into a vehicle. He continued to shout,
"Falun Dafa is good" on the way to the station, and clarified
the truth to the public. Mr. Li also shouted, "Falun Dafa is good" day and night at the
detention center. They punished him by making him sit on an iron
chair and he was tortured in order to try to make him reveal information
about Falun Gong activities and other practitioners. At some point, they sent
him to the company's hospital for emergency treatment and later to a hospital at
the No. 4 Refinery of Daqing Oilfield. Later on, Mr. Li was forced to become
homeless. At 5 a.m. on September 23, 2005, Li Yequan was again illegally arrested by
police from Daqing City. On the night of September 27, the Daqing Public
Security Bureau, 610 Office, Judiciary Bureau, and Daqing Forced Labor Camp had
a meeting and sent Mr. Li to the Daqing Forced Labor Camp. When Mr. Li's white
blood cell count was found to be as high as 20,000, the labor camp refused to
admit him. However, Daqing Public Security Bureau Chief Cao called them to say
that Ruan Dianlong, the associate party secretary for the municipal government
and the legal and political commission, had approved the admission, so they had
to admit Mr. Li. As a result, Li Yechuan was sentenced to forced labor for two
years without any legal procedures. He is being held in the No. 1 Brigade at
Daqing Forced Labor Camp. Mr. Li has been on hunger strike to protest the persecution, and demands to
be released. Ordered by Director of the No.1 Brigade Lai Zhonghui and policeman
Wang Yingzhou, several inmates shackled Mr. Li's hands and ankles. He is
force-fed three times a day, sometimes for more than four hours. Mr. Li's
esophagus has sustained severe injuries and he has slipped into coma many times.
The guards or inmates even put the portrait of Master Li on the chair and force
him to sit on it and put the book, Zhuan Falun on the seat.
Wang Yingzhou, who calls himself a policeman reincarnated from a devil in hell,
along with several inmates, forced more than a liter of hard liquor down Mr.
Li's throat. They even spat into his throat. Mr. Li has has had his wages suspended since July 2003. His wife is
struggling to support their seven-year-old son with her meager income from her
cleaning job. Their life is very miserable. Their son often stares at his
father's picture and weeps in private so his mother does not see him crying. We urgently appeal to all kind-hearted people: Please help Mr. Li Yequan and
stop the persecution of Falun Gong. Attachment: Open letter to Daqing Detention Center from Mr. Li's Extended
Family Dear Officials of Daqing Detention Center, We are Mr. Li Yequan's relatives. Mr. Li, a Falun Gong practitioner, has been
jailed at your center. We would like to bring Mr. Li's urgent situation to your
attention. When he started practicing Falun Gong, he became a very healthy person. He
followed the teachings of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in all aspects of
his life. Everybody thinks he is a nice person. He continued the practice, even
after the persecution started in 1999, and clarified the truth to people.
Because of this, for the past few years, his wages have been suspended and he
was forced to leave home. Without him, his wife and son are struggling under
great difficulties. Mr. Li Yequan went on a hunger strike to protest the detention. He has not
eaten or drunk for over 50 days. He was force-fed hard liquor and had cold water
poured on him. His esophagus has sustained severe injuries and he displays
symptoms of pneumonia and mental disorientation. Because of this abuse, he is
now dying. The persecution of Falun Gong in the past few years is
unconstitutional. The constitution stipulates, "Citizens have the freedom
of belief. No organization or individual has the right to interfere with
citizens' faith or lack of faith." According to the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights, people have the right to think, follow their conscience, and
have religious freedom. What Mr. Li has endured at the forced labor camp will
suffice to convict the perpetrators. In fact, you are all quite aware of Falun Gong practitioners' good
characters. Since they are not bad people, why are you forcing them to
"transform"? What kind of people do you want them to
"transform" into? The following are our requests based on the urgency of the situation: 1. Stop force-feeding Mr. Li. After so many days of force-feeding, his
esophagus has been severely injured. 2. Release him immediately. Mr. Li has been on hunger strike for 54 days,
which is over the limit from a medical point of view. He could die at any time.
It is more important that he stays alive. 3. During his detention, the authorities at the detention center have been
responsible for his life and personal safety. As he is in your custody, you have
to ensure that he is not tortured and abused. As his relatives, we will hold
those responsible accountable. 4. If Mr. Li dies as a result of your failure to abide by the requests above,
please let us know who is responsible. Let us assure you that we will take legal
action against those responsible. Relevant Contact Information (Note: for home or office phone numbers, dial country code + area code before
all numbers. For cell phone numbers, dial country code before the numbers.
Country code: 86, area code: 459). Daqing City Public Security Bureau Daqing Forced Labor Camp Daqing City Detention Center Daqing City Security Bureau Daqing City Political and Legal Commission November 20, 2005 |