On August 11th, high school sophomore Sun Yanpei was arrested by policemen from the Chinese Communist Party’s notorious 6-10 Office. They arrested her at her school in Zhaoyuan City and placed her in the “Zhaoyuan Legal Training Center” at Lingnan Goldmine. Each day, the police threaten her with various kinds of torture and demand that she reveal her mother’s whereabouts. Her mother, Teng Yingfen, was fired from her job due to her firm belief in Falun Gong and has since become homeless. Sun has refused to offer any information and has requested that she be released immediately to continue with her studies. Her jailors have not acquiesced.
Yanpei, only 16 years old, is going on a hunger strike, which she will continue until the day she is released. Her teachers have tried to intervene on her behalf with the local 6-10 Office officials, letting them know in no uncertain terms that Yanpei is a very good student and that they wish to see her back in class as soon as possible, but the officials have been deaf to the teachers’ good sense.
A bystander who witnessed Yanpei’s abduction told the police, “She is a good girl and an outstanding student. Be careful not to ruin her life.”
One of the officers replied, “This school has no shortage of good students.” Why has this happened to Yanpei? What do the authorities want with her? Simple — she and both of her parents practice Falun Gong.
Yanpei’s mother, a long time employee of the Automatic Instrument Plant in Zhaoyuan, used to suffer from all kinds of painful ailments. When she began practicing Falun gong in 1996, her ailments quickly disappeared. Her father, a former department chairman of the Electricity Bureau in Zhaoyuan, experienced something similar. This was enough to convince Yanpei that she too should begin practicing Falun Gong.
On September 5, 2002, while distributing Falun Gong leaflets with others in Xi Wan Fu village, Sun Guo, Sun Yanpei’s father, was beaten and harassed by police. He was beaten so violently that bystanders, intimidated by the brutal scene, could see blood flying from him. Someone who sympathized with Sun Guo reportedly said, “They were just handing out leaflets. Why do they (police) beat them so badly...it is surely a sin.”
Though Yanpei’s father survived the attack, he was sentenced to eight years in prison without ever receiving the benefit of a trial. He is still serving his sentence at the First Prison in Jinan City, Shandong Province. Teng Yingfen was fired from her job for her refusal to renounce Falun Gong and has been homeless for almost 4 years.
We contacted Yanpei’s high school recently, and they informed us that she is a very good student, that she is ranked # 2 in the whole city of Zhaoyuan for academics in her age group. Her teachers very much want to see her released from detention so that she can continue to live out her promising future.
When members of Global Mission to Rescue Persecuted Falun Gong practitioners contacted the Municipal Public Security Department of Zhaoyuan City on August 15, they were met with stonewall tactics and tacit denial. The officials claimed that they have no knowledge of a 16-year-old detainee. But, they added that if she is detained, there must have been a good reason for the arrest.
“There must be some reason for the arrest. Even a child could be arrested for behaviors not allowed by the state,” one official remarked.
Based on the information published on the website of Global Mission to Rescue Persecuted Falun Gong Practitioners, 363 Falun Gong practitioners in Shandong Province have been persecuted to death, 24 of whom lived in Zhaoyuan City.
Currently the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights is paying a visit to China in hopes of urging China to sign and obey the international human rights covenant.
Members of Global Mission urge kindhearted and righteous people of the world to help Sun Yanpei return to school. They call on people from all walks of life to keep putting pressure on China to release all unlawfully imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners, and to put an end to the persecution.
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