Supporters of Longtime Chinese Prisoner of Conscience Rally in Los Angeles

Supporters of Longtime Chinese Prisoner of Conscience Rally in Los Angeles
Paul Wu, a representative of the Falun Dafa Association, speaks at a press conference in front of the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles, Calif. on Aug. 12, 2016. Sarah Le/Epoch Times
Sarah Le
Sarah Le
reporter
|Updated:

LOS ANGELES—Friends and supporters of Wang Zhiwen say he has been severely mistreated for the past 17 years in China. Just days ago his bid to leave behind that persecution was denied, as he was prevented from traveling outside China with his daughter and her husband.

A group supporting Wang gathered in front of the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles on Aug. 12 to tell the public his story—a story that is strikingly similar to the experiences of several people who attended the event.

Wang practices Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, a meditation discipline that includes five sets of exercises and moral teachings based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. He was one of over 70 million Chinese people who could be seen in parks throughout China in the 1990s practicing Falun Gong.

When then-regime leader Jiang Zemin decided to persecute Falun Gong practitioners in 1999, Wang Zhiwen was one of the first practitioners to be sentenced to prison.

“[Wang] was sentenced by a nationally televised show trial with three other members of the Falun Dafa Association. They were all sentenced to very long jail terms,” said Paul Wu, a representative of the Falun Dafa Association in Los Angeles.

“I still remember. He was a very, very handsome man at that time,” said Falun Gong practitioner Li Shuying, who was in the courtroom when he was sentenced.

However, during his 15 years in jail, Wang was subjected to inhumane torture in an attempt to make him renounce his beliefs. Both of his collarbones were broken, toothpicks were forced under his fingernails, and he lost all his teeth due to repeated beatings.

Chinese citizen Wang Zhiwen in 1997 and 2014. Wang endured 15 years of prison starting in 1999 for his practice of the spiritual discipline Falun Gong. (via Wang's family)
Chinese citizen Wang Zhiwen in 1997 and 2014. Wang endured 15 years of prison starting in 1999 for his practice of the spiritual discipline Falun Gong. via Wang's family
Sarah Le
Sarah Le
reporter
Sarah Le is an editor for The Epoch Times in Southern California. She lives with her husband and two children in Los Angeles.