Part 2
Please also read Part I.Editor’s Note: Dr. Wang Lian was kidnapped in Zhu Hai City in Canton (Guangdong) Province on Sept. 12, 2006 by special agents of the Chinese regime’s notorious Public Security Bureau (PSB). After intense brainwashing Dr. Wang was forced into spying for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on the Hong Kong Epoch Times. He was given the mission to bring down the Hong Kong Epoch Times as soon as possible.
In the eyes of the CCP, The Epoch Times is an outspoken news agency that does not bow submissively to Chinese censorship and has significant influence on social and human rights issues in mainland China. The CCP sees it as a serious “thorn in the side” and has continuously harassed the normal operations of the Epoch Times in Hong Kong since its inception.
As a result of interference by CCP agents, The Epoch Times was suddenly in May 2005 unable to find a print shop in Hong Kong that would take its money. After the news agency established its own print shop the CCP hired thugs to break in and destroy valuable computer equipment programmed to print the newspaper. Now Dr. Wang reveals how the CCP has targeted individuals, seeking to undermine The Epoch Times from within.
After fleeing to Australia, Dr. Wang e-mailed the account below to the editors of the Hong Kong Epoch Times. Having experienced mental torments that left him wishing he were dead, Dr. Wang nonetheless wished to reveal the crimes of the CCP and to show the extent to which it will go to persecute Falun Gong and damage The Epoch Times. He believes that there are likely to be others like him and hopes that his frank account may encourage others with similar experiences to stand up and expose the truth about the vile deeds of the CCP. He adds that only by remaining true to one’s principles may one be free of fear and truly happy.
Here is the second and final part of Dr. Wang’s statement.
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On the third morning of my detention inside a tiny room somewhere in Zhu Hai City, the three “brainwashing experts” spent several hours trying to convince me to denounce Falun Gong. Then the three men from the Public Security Bureau in Zhu Hai asked what I did for The Epoch Times in Hong Kong. This went on into the afternoon. By the end of the day, two new officials walked in. They looked like they were of a higher ranking than the ones who questioned me earlier.
They looked quite upset. “You should know what crimes you’ve committed! The Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party attacked the great Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It made the leaders of China look bad. Now everyday someone is reading articles on the website of the Hong Kong Epoch Times, where you work. Everyday, someone is reading The Epoch Times on the street. The influence is very bad. What do you think should be done? Even execution and dozens of years in prison are [punishments that are] too light [for you]!”
They kept repeating this, and I didn’t have anything to say in response. I felt that all hope was gone and I was only waiting for death.
Then they changed their tone. “After all, you’ve gone to school for that many years. How could you believe in Falun Gong? How could you believe that gods exist? What era are we in now? Let me tell you: there are no gods. If there were, why don’t you ask them to protect you?
“However, our government is very kind and forgiving. As long as you’re willing to repent, we can think about how to make up for the loss you caused. Let’s do this: first, you sign this letter of repentance.”
After several days in detention, I had been tortured mentally and worn out physically. Under their pressure, I could not bear it any longer and signed the letter of repentance against my will. The letter said that I was willing to give up practicing Falun Gong.
After I signed, they asked me to add, “I will come anytime when called, and do whatever I am asked to do.” This last line made it clear to me that their true purpose for kidnapping me was to turn me into their spy.
After I signed the repentance letter, the two officials smiled, which was rare. They asked the guards to bring me some tea and let me rest, then they left. In about half an hour, they returned, their faces flushed and their breath smelling of alcohol. They said to me with a smile, “We were happy, so we had a few drinks to celebrate.”
They asked the guards to stop monitoring me. They blindfolded me again and tried to calm me, “Don’t worry. Let’s go out and get something to eat.”
Specially Chosen
By then, it was already early morning. When we ate at the restaurant, their delight was obvious.
One of the guards told me, “Did you know? There are so many people practicing Falun Gong in Hong Kong, but our boss looked everywhere and picked you. You’re truly impressive!”
His boss, who was one of the two high-level officials who spoke with me before, said, “Yes. You started practicing Falun Gong in 1998, which was very early. You are also a Ph.D. and a technical staff member of the Hong Kong Epoch Times. All of the Falun Gong practitioners in Hong Kong trust you. Your helping us would be the best fit. We can meet frequently in the future.
“You should stop reading Falun Gong books, or else you might believe in Falun Gong again. But you can still do the exercises. If you don’t do the exercises for a long time and can’t cross your legs when meditating, others will become suspicious.
“Also, you should still read the Clearwisdom website; otherwise you will be behind in the movement of Falun Gong, and others will be suspicious, too.
“You can take a rest after the meal. We'll send you over tomorrow afternoon. Saturday afternoon you should go to The Epoch Times office in Hong Kong. Next Wednesday, you can come back here to Zhu Hai. We will tell you where to meet Xiao Cao (Little Cao), who will be your only contact. Remember, don’t tell anyone about this, including your wife and parents.
“If you do well, you can receive permanent residency in Hong Kong sooner. If not…You are a smart one. You should know. Also, when you go to Macau, register with the school right away.”
Remorse
As prescribed, I returned to Macau on the afternoon of September 15. The first thing I did after arriving in Macau was tell the school that my problem with Customs was solved. Then I took a ferry to Hong Kong.
On the ferry, I cried. It was Falun Gong that taught me to live according to the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance and to be considerate of others. It changed me from short-tempered to patient. It gave my whole family good health. Yet I had given it up. What hurt me even more was that I had become a spy. I would soon betray the good people who worked with me. I felt that I could not take it anymore. I needed to let someone know. I could not really depart from my faith in Falun Gong.
When the ferry arrived in Hong Kong, I told another practitioner, Auntie Sun, about everything. She said I should try to go abroad as soon as possible. That evening, I also told my wife.
On Sept.16, I went to The Epoch Times office as usual. However, I didn’t want to speak with anyone. I felt very guilty. Even a smile or a small gesture from another person would make me panic.
On Sept. 18, Xiao Cao emailed me and asked me to meet him at the Jidazhongtian Hotel in Zhu Hai. He left his full name as Cao Yunfeng. On Sept. 20, I met him at the lobby of the hotel. He took me to a room in the hotel, where one of the high-level officials and one of his subordinates who had interrogated me were.
After we sat down and chit-chatted a little, the high-level official said, “You don’t have to feel guilty. Working for us is working for the Party and for the nation. It is most glorious and honorable. If you do well, it shouldn’t take more than a few months for you to get permanent residency in Hong Kong.”
I told him, “I am really nervous. When I went to The Epoch Times office in Hong Kong, I felt as though I was a thief and felt very uncomfortable.”
The high-level official said, “Don’t worry about it. They won’t do anything to you. Just take your time. Remember you are serving the Party and the country. You should feel proud.”
Undermine The Epoch Times
Next the high-level official told me my top order. “You must undermine The Epoch Times Hong Kong branch from within. Think and plan carefully before you take any action.”
He told me to spend more time chatting with Epoch Times personnel and steal their logins and passwords when I repair or maintain their computers. He also asked me to steal some documents from the Epoch Times servers.
One day in October, they came to Macao to meet with me. They gave me two USB portable hard drives, each with 2GB of storage and asked me to copy documents from The Epoch Times’ servers on these USB hard drives.
In the beginning of October, I went to the Epoch Times Hong Kong branch and copied the master copy of three weeks’ of editions in PDF format of the Hong Kong edition of The Epoch Times onto the USB portable hard drives. Before I handed these files to the Public Security Bureau (PSB) agents, I deleted all the editors’ names and personal information from these files. I also deleted some of the PDF files, which I didn’t want them to see, such as advertisements.
When my Hong Kong visa expired, I had no choice but to apply for a visitor’s visa for Hong Kong. Therefore, I did not enter Hong Kong for a month. When I met with the PSB agents, including the high-level official, I told them, “You don’t have to go through the trouble of coming here. You (the leader) may send an agent down here or you may give your orders via emails. Is it really necessary for us to meet so often?”
The high-level person replied, “You know what? When you were living in Hong Kong, we investigated you from Shenzhen. When you moved to Macao, we went to Zhu Hai to investigate you. It is not easy to find someone of your caliber. This is the reason why I insist on meeting you each time. Each time we drove for two hours from Shenzhen to Zhu Hai just to meet you because we want to keep helping you and making sure you no longer turn back to Falun Gong. You have been practicing Falun Gong for such a long time. If we don’t meet with you often, it is hard to say, but you might start practicing Falun Gong again.”
At the end of October, I informed the school of my decision to quit my job. The dean was puzzled about my decision and repeatedly tried to change my mind. Finally, he gave up and told me regretfully, “It is not easy to find someone of your caliber!” In November, I gave the agents the computer distribution map of The Epoch Times Hong Kong office and information about which practitioner uses which computer, but the information I gave them was not completely accurate.
On Dec. 20, I provided them with the PDF files of two already published editions of The Epoch Times. This meeting was different from the previous ones. In the past, they were not anxious, but this time they looked very anxious.
The leader asked, “What do you think is the fastest way to destroy the Epoch Times Hong Kong branch?”
I replied, “I have no idea.” He said, “You and another practitioner are in charge of maintaining the Epoch Times computers. You are already one of us. Do you think you could make the other guy leave them? If the Epoch Times computers are broken, how are they going to publish The Epoch Times while you are in Macao and the other person refuses to help? They can’t blame the Chinese Communist Party for sabotaging their publication! Ha! Ha! Ha!”
I replied, “I dare not approach him. He won’t do it.”
The leader said, “Don’t worry about it. We will make contacts with him though his friends. He is a problem. We have investigated him already. He has only entered China once for the past few years and he returned to Hong Kong on the same day. What about this? When you return to Hong Kong, socialize with him more. Buy him dinners and chat with him more. Try to find out who his family members are, where they live, and what their phone numbers are. The more information you can find out about his family, the better.”
Escape
After the meeting, I returned to Wuhan and told my parents everything. They both advised me to escape to the western world. On Jan. 1, 2007, I returned to Hong Kong and applied for a visitor’s visa for Canada and Australia.
On January 8, I got a visitor’s visa to Canada. I looked at the visa and ran on the streets in jubilation. Finally I would be able to run away from all of these troubles.
On Jan. 12, Cao Yunfeng asked me to go to Zhu Hai via email, but I didn’t reply. On Jan. 21, I finished my job in Macao. On Jan. 25, I obtained a visitor’s visa to Australia. I immediately went to the travel agent and ordered a plane ticket to leave Hong Kong right away.
However, the agent told me that there was no ticket available until Feb. 12. There might be some tickets at the end of February or I would have to wait for a canceled reservation. Finally, I got a ticket on Feb. 6 to Melbourne. My wife asked me to stay in Hong Kong for a few days to spend more time with her and to get the ticket for a later date for half the price instead.
But I couldn’t wait any longer. Since the day I had obtained the visa for Australia, I feared that they might do something to me. Every day I tied my passport stored in a small plastic bag to my abdomen because I knew I would be dead if the agents should steal my passport.
When the plane finally took off and left Hong Kong, I didn’t know if I should feel happy or worried as I stroked the passport hidden inside my clothes. I am happy to know that I no longer have to work for the CCP or sell out others or myself. I am worried about my elderly parents who are living in China. Are they going to fall into the hands of these thugs? I am worried about my wife and my son.
Wang Lian February 10, 2007
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