Refugee Review Tribunal AUSTRALIA RRT RESEARCH RESPONSE Research Response Number: CHN31183 Country: China Date: 9 January 2007 Keywords: China – CHN31183 – Zhaoqing, Guangdong – Falun Gong – Detention Centres – 610 Office This response was prepared by the Country Research Section of the Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT) after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the RRT within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Questions 1. Question deleted 2. Can you provide information on Falun Gong activities in Zhaoqing for the period 1995-2005? 3. Can you provide information on Duanzhou Detention Centre, Tielu Detention Centre and Zhaoqing Detention Centre? 4. Can you provide information on the activities of 610 office? 5. Any other relevant information would be most appreciated. RESPONSE 1. Question deleted. 2. Can you provide information on Falun Gong activities in Zhaoqing for the period 1995-2005? Very little information is available on the period before the Falun Gong was banned in 1999 and no information was found on their activities in Zhaoqing in the sources consulted previous to that date. Falun Gong sources provided information showing Falun Gong activity within Zhaoqing from 1999-2005. Several reports were found on the Falun Dafa Clearwisdom website on the detention of Falun Gong practitioners by the authorities within that time. Below is selection of reports from Falun Gong sources reporting incidents in Zhaoqing between 1999-2005: July 1999 Deng Shaosong was detained in July 1999, and his home was ransacked. All electronic appliances were confiscated. In September 1999, he was detained again. After his release, he was then forced to transfer to Zhaoqing for work, under the supervision of a special guard. He went to Beijing to appeal in October 1999 and was arrested and sent back. When the police took him away by force, he fell and injured his head, causing a concussion, and fainted. Instead of rescuing him immediately, the police arrested the practitioners who came to rescue Deng Shaosong. Because of his straitened financial circumstances, he had to leave the hospital while he had not yet recovered from the injury. But against all humane compassion, the police took him away again for 15 days of detention. The guards silently agreed to the cruel beatings against him by the common prisoners and forced him to do hard labor (‘A Serial Report Regarding the Arbitrary Detention Against the Falun Gong Practitioners in The People’s Republic of China 2001: Serial Number: 040’, Falun Dafa Information Centre, 11 January – Attachment 2). May 2000 Message Received: 5/17/00 Victims: 1. Li Ruqin, female 2. Hu Liya, female Location of Incident: Sanshui, Guangdong Province Description: Li Ruqin and Hu Liya from Gaoyao or Zhaoqing, Guangdong Province, were both sentenced to 2 years of forced labor in Sanshui, Guangdong Province. (Zhou, Shiyu et al. August 2000, A report on the extensive and severe human rights violations in the suppression of Falun Gong in the People’s Republic of China , Golden Lotus Press, sec. 6.74 ‘Practioners from Guandong Province Sent to Labour Camp’, p.174 – Attachment 1). Nov 2000 Zhaoqing City Police sentenced university graduate and Dafa practitioner Huang Songtian from Zhaoqing City/Guangdong Province to two years of forced labor because he went to Beijing to appeal for Dafa in November, 2000. He is currently unlawfully detained in the Guangdong Sanshui Labor Camp. … According to incomplete statistics, over ten Dafa practitioners have been illegally sent to labor camps in Zhaoqing City alone. (‘Dafa Practitioner, a University Graduate of Guangdong Province, Sentenced to an Illegal Two Year Forced Labor Sentence for Appealing in Beijing’ 2001, Clearwisdom.net, 30 October http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2001/11/8/15524.html – Accessed 4 January 2007 – Attachment 3). 2001-2002 Mr. Lin Fengchi is from the Duanzhou District of Zhaoqing City, Guangdong Province. He was detained and tortured at the Sanshui Forced Labor Camp in Guangdong Province because he practiced Falun Gong. On September 13, 2003, the torture facility was again removed from Sanshui Forced Labor Camp after existing there for over half a year. Mr. Lin was again transferred to a different location. (‘Burning with Boiling Water, Salt Applied to Wounds, Wounds Scrubbed with a Toothbrush’2007, Falun Gong Human Rights Working Group http://www.flghrwg.net/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=844&Itemid=0zx zx – Accessed 4 January 2007 – Attachment 4). Dec 2004 Ms. Feng Yuqiong, from Zhaoqing City, Guangdong Province, was arrested on December 16, 2004. Only after she was arrested, did the police issue the warrant for her arrest. She faces a possible prison term and is being held at the Duanzhou Detention Center. Ms. Liang Shiqiong was arrested on December 7, 2004. She was sent the Gaoyao Detention Center where she went on a hunger strike that lasted nine days. She was released from the detention center with the help of righteous thoughts. Since then the police have been harassing her at her home. (‘Latest News from China – February 9, 2005’ 2005, Clearwisdom.net, 9 February, No 4, http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2005/4/2/59123.html – Accessed 4 January 2007 – Attachment 5). 2005 Brainwashing Centers in Guangdong include: Sanshui, Guangzhou Chatou, Maoming, Zhuhai Fumin, Meizhou, Shantou, Zhaoqing… Some practitioners have been held there for several years. In 2005, policemen and unlawful people from all over Guangdong carried out a few large-scale raids to find Falun Gong practitioners. So far, several hundred practitioners are still being held in brainwashing centers, detention centers, and forced labor camps where they are suffering inhumane torture and persecution… (‘Evil Places in Guangdong that Persecute Falun Gong Practitioners (Photos) (Part 2)’ 2005, Clearwisdom.net, 12 December http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2006/1/3/68120.html – Accessed 4 January 2007 Attachment 6). June 2005 Zhaoqing City, Guangdong Province, set up a brainwashing center at Beiling Party School on June 6, 2005. Five practitioners, including Ms. Wang Lizhen, were arrested and persecuted there. (‘Latest News from China – June 14, 2005’ Clearwisdom.net, 14 June, No 5 http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2005/6/29/62361.html – Accessed 4 January 2007 Attachment 7). Dec 2005 [Zhaoqing City, Guangdong Province] Ms. He Meiting Arrested In December 2005, practitioner Ms. He Meiting was arrested when she was clarifying the truth on the street. She is being held in the Sanshui Forced Labor Camp, where she is being tortured. (‘Additional Persecution News from China – January 7, 2006’ Clearwisdom.net, 7 January,No5. http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2006/1/15/69009.html – Accessed 4 January 2007 Attachment 8). The following Falun Gong report details arrests of Falun Gong practitioners within a Zhaoqing College between 1999-2004: Practitioners from Zhaoqing College in Guangdong Province (formerly Zhaoqing Xijiang University) were sentenced to forced labor by the 610 Office of Zhaoqing City because they appealed to the government for justice for Falun Gong and clarified the truth about the persecution. They are being detained and persecuted in the Guangdong Sanshui Forced Labor Camp. Below are some facts about this persecution: Ms. Fang Yi, in her mid-40’s, was an outstanding physics teacher. Since 1999, the police have harassed, persecuted, and followed her. She has been detained and sent to brainwashing centers many times. Around June or July of 2003, the college officials, in cooperation with local 610 officials, fired her and sent her to the Guangdong Sanshui Forced Labor Camp. Ms. Fang’s current situation is unknown. Mr. Huang Songdian is a 29-year-old from Jieyang City, Guangdong Province. He graduated from the Chemistry Department of Zhaoqing Xijiang University in July 1999. Mr. Huang was sentenced to forced labor because he appealed for the right to practice Falun Gong. He was released from Guangdong Sanshui Forced Labor Camp in 2002. On December 30, 2004, Mr. Huang and Mr. Tang Zhiheng were arrested by the police in his neighborhood. On December 31, the police handcuffed him and took him in to the police station to book him. Mr. Huang was sentenced to three years of forced labor. Mr. Tang Zhiheng, 29, also graduated from the Zhaoqing Xijiang University Chemistry Department. Mr. Tang was sentenced to forced labor because he, too, appealed for the right to practice Falun Gong. He was released from the First Forced Labor Camp of Guangzhou City in January 2003. In 2004, Mr. Tang, Mr. Lin Yanguang, and Mr. Huang Songdian started a leather product business in a market close to the Guangzhou City Train Station. They later set up a supply center for truth-clarification materials that operated for some time. On December 30, 2004, the police arrested them. Mr. Tang was sentenced to four years of forced labor and is currently detained in Guangdong Sanshui Forced Labor Camp. In addition, Ms. Li Ruqin, a practitioner from Zhaoqing, who used to be the volunteer director of the Zhaoqing Falun Dafa Assistance Center and the Principal of Baihua Elementary School in Zhaoqing City, was arrested in April 2004. She was later transferred to Guangdong Sanshui Forced Labor Camp. It is known that Ms. Li has been thrown into male prisoners’ cells during her detention. (‘The Facts about the Persecution of Practitioners from Zhaoqing College in Guangdong Province’, 3 September 2006, Clearwisdom.net, 3 September http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2006/3/9/70639.html – Accessed 4 January 2007 - Attachment 9). 3. Can you provide information on Duanzhou Detention Centre, Tielu Detention Centre and Zhaoqing Detention Centre? Duanzhou Detention Centre Duanzhou is the name of a district of Zhaoqing city and appears to be largely urban.