By a Falun Dafa practitioner from South Africa

(Clearwisdom.net) The Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance International Art Exhibition was held at the V & A Waterfront Shopping Center in Cape Town, South Africa from September 9 to 22, 2008. Thousands of people visited the exhibition.

The paintings were created by artists who practice Falun Dafa. They vividly picture scenes of true life in today's China, touching the hearts of many in the audience. They display the beauty of Falun Dafa, expose the Chinese Communist Party's brutal persecution in China, and reflect the courage and faith of Falun Dafa practitioners.

Many students came to see the exhibition, with over 600 in attendance at one particular time. The visitors were not only from Cape Town but also surrounding towns and cities. The exhibition was publicized on local radio and TV and promoted at the Tri-Country Film Festival. It received a lot of support.

Many visitors were moved. Some were in tears and wrote down their praise and encouragement in the visitors' book.

During the exhibition, the Chinese Consulate instigated a few Chinese to interfere and harass. They also put pressure on the management of the shopping center to close the exhibition. Local practitioners explained the situation to the management, telling them why they had been targeted by Chinese consular officials. Recognizing the evil nature of the Communist Party and the importance of protecting human rights, they became very supportive and allowed the exhibition to continue without interference

 

http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com

 

By Stephen Daniells, 28-Oct-2008

Consuming cooked or processed broccoli may result in less of the potential anti-cancer compounds being available for absorption, suggests a new study from TNO Quality of Life.

 

By Minghui reporter Huaqing

(Clearwisdom.net) On October 12, Falun Gong practitioners from Sydney attended the annual Multicultural Festival in Lane Cove. The practitioners introduced Falun Gong and clarified the truth about the persecution.

Practitioners demonstrated the exercises, passed out truth-clarifying materials and collected signatures on a petition opposing the persecution.

Many people signed their names to support Falun Gong. Some of them were attracted to the peaceful exercises. They learned the exercises and asked for detailed information about Falun Gong.

One lady talked to practitioners for a long time. She signed the petition and expressed interest in learning the exercises. She asked for contact information of the local exercise site and bought a copy of Zhuan Falun.

An older Chinese gentleman talked to practitioners and accepted a copy of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party. The practitioners passed out many informational materials and hand-made paper lotus flowers.

 

 

 

 

http://www. sciencedaily.com

ScienceDaily (Mar. 4, 2003) — Fruits and veggies grown organically show significantly higher levels of cancer-fighting antioxidants than conventionally grown foods, according to a new study of corn, strawberries and marionberries. The research suggests that pesticides and herbicides actually thwart the production of phenolics — chemicals that act as a plant's natural defense and also happen to be good for our health. Fertilizers, however, seem to boost the levels of anti-cancer compounds.

The findings appear in the Feb. 26 print edition of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society. The article was initially published Jan. 25 on the journal's Web site.

Flavonoids are phenolic compounds that have potent antioxidant activity. Many are produced in plants in response to environmental stressors, such as insects or competing plants.

"If an aphid is nibbling on a leaf, the plant produces phenolics to defend itself," says Alyson Mitchell, Ph.D., a food scientist at the University of California, Davis, and lead author of the paper. "Bitter or harsh phenolics guard the plant against these pests."

The need for these natural safeguards decreases with the use of herbicides and pesticides in conventional agriculture. This decrease is reflected in the total amount of antioxidants the plants produce. "This helps explain why the level of antioxidants is so much higher in organically grown food," Mitchell says. "By synthetically protecting the produce from these pests, we decrease their need to produce antioxidants. It suggests that maybe we are doing something to our food inadvertently."

Mitchell measured antioxidants found in corn, strawberries and a type of blackberry called a marionberry. "We started with these three due to plant availability," Mitchell explains, "but we intend to widen our search to include tomatoes, peppers, broccoli and a variety of other vegetables. We expect these results to be transferable to most produce."

The investigation compared the total antioxidants found in foods grown organically (using no herbicides, pesticides or fertilizers) to foods grown sustainably (in this study fertilizers but no herbicides or pesticides were used) and conventionally (using synthetic chemicals to protect the plants and increase yield).

The results showed a significant increase in antioxidants in organic and sustainably grown foods versus conventionally grown foods. The levels of antioxidants in sustainably grown corn were 58.5 percent higher than conventionally grown corn. Organically and sustainably grown marionberries had approximately 50 percent more antioxidants than conventionally grown berries. Sustainably and organically grown strawberries showed about 19 percent more antioxidants than conventionally grown strawberries.

Antioxidant levels were highest overall in sustainably grown produce, which indicates that a combination of organic and conventional practices yields the highest levels of antioxidants. "This may reflect the balance between adequate nutrition in the form of fertilizers and external pest pressures because of the lack of pesticides and herbicides," Mitchell explains.

"Originally, the question was just really intriguing to me," says Mitchell, whose research grew naturally from a personal interest in organic foods. "I found that the higher level of antioxidants is enough to have a significant impact on health and nutrition, and it's definitely changed the way I think about my food."

---

 

13 October 2008  NewScientist.com news service.  

Rachel Courtland

 

By Liu Guifu

(Clearwisdom.net) The Brainwashing Center in the Haidian District, Beijing, is located inside the Ministry of Nuclear Industry Sanatorium near Beianhe. It was hosted by the Haidian District 610 Office and run by Director Zhou, Section Chief Zhang, and Section Chief Zhou. On the night of November 30, 2003, I took some clothes and living expenses to a homeless and destitute practitioner and was followed by Ma Jun from the Beijing National Security Team. We used used our wisdom and escaped. The second day, December 1^st, police officers Ma Jun and Zhang Junti suddenly broke into my home and arrested me, claiming it was for my "safety." They took me to the brainwashing center in the Haidian District and detained me for three weeks.

I was isolated from other detainees. Two women from the army monitored my every word and action. I was forcefully brainwashed for more than 10 hours every day. At least three to five collaborators tried to "transform" me every day. The collaborators included Yan Haiyan, who was brainwashed at the Beijing Xin'an Women's Forced Labor Camp in 2001; Lu Zongren, who lived at the Qinghe area; Zhao Suying, who lived at the Eight-One Middle School in Daoxiangyuan; Wang Yuzhen, who lived in Zhongguancun; and Li Huan, who is one of the key persons in the brainwashing of Falun Gong practitioners. (Li Huan lives in Guajiatun. He was the Party secretary of the Fifth Chemical Factory before the persecution of Falun Gong and was responsible for the Dafa materials at the Beijing University exercise site). Other collaborators were Wang Ning, Wang Rongzhi, and many others. They were paid a a 600-yuan salary every month. Section chief Zhang and Su monitored the brainwashing process and participated when they felt necessary. Everyone incurred 150 yuan in food expenses every day.

The brainwashing center usually used two steps to persecute practitioners. The first step was to brainwash the practitioner and the second step was to coerce the practitioner into exposing other practitioners. If the practitioners refused to be "transformed", the police would then interrogate them. During the first step, the collaborators who had studied the Fa before tried to brainwash me and "transform" me. Since they had studied the Fa, they knew how practitioners talked and thought. They also deliberately misinterpreted Teacher's Fa and defamed Falun Gong when they felt it necessary. They helped the CCP to slander Dafa and used their experience and evil theories to "transform" the practitioners--just for this very limited salary. They wanted to take advantage of my compassion and tried to find my areas of confusion on the Fa's principles to brainwash me. Then they threatened to send me to the forced labor camp in order to shake my belief in Dafa and to force me to give up my belief in the Fa. Their goal for the first step was to destroy my mental defenses and to prepare me for the second step of forcing me to tell the whereabouts of other practitioners who had fled their homes.

The leader of the collaborators, Yan Haiyan, said, "If you don't want to be 'transformed,' then confess what you did!" Section Chief Zhang said, "Write down your understanding of Falun Dafa." He also threatened to send me to the forced labor camp if I refused to be "transformed." I wrote down without any hesitation, "Falun Dafa is the righteous Fa." Section chief Zhang had to take the paper and walk away.

After I was mentally tortured for nearly three weeks, I wrote down the words,"I insist on firmly cultivating Falun Dafa" and then signed my name, Liu Guifu. Collaborator Yan Haiyan said in exasperation, "Please find other people to 'transform' her."

The next day, three officers from the Haidian District Police Department interrogated me and tried to force me to tell them the whereabouts of other homeless practitioners. When they failed to get any information from me, they tried to pretend to be nice to lure me. Since the police department had issued an arrest warrant several years before to arrest those homeless practitioners and they still could not catch them, the police did not want to let a clue like me go easily. Finally, after 22 days, the police asked the street 610 Office to bail me out and let me go home.

During my detention in the brainwashing center, I continuously tried to wake up those collaborators. But my efforts had no effect. I was very sad to see those lives being destroyed by the CCP and I finally got sick.

The CCP personnel failed to get any information from me. Then they tried to use money to entice me into being a spy. The second day after I was home, police officers Zhao Fenglin and Yu (female) from the Beijing National Security Team came to my home and asked how I was doing. They also asked if I needed money. I clearly knew that they wanted to lure me into being a spy. I told them frankly, "I do need money right now. But I cannot betray my soul just to get money and let my good fellow practitioners be imprisoned for many years. I will definitely not do such a bad thing."

After that, the police came constantly to my home to harass me. They continuously monitored my home phone and arrested everyone who called me. When I went out, they also followed me. When I made phone calls at the public telephone booth outside, they suddenly appeared and checked the phone number I called. Once I went to visit my schoolmate with my sister. While we were waiting for the bus, the Beijing National Security Team's vehicle parked right on the other side of the street to monitor me. A police officer got out of the vehicle and walked toward us. When he saw that we did not respond, he rudely searched the other passengers who were also waiting for the bus. Then he came to me. I calmly walked toward him. The officer hesitated. Finally, he did not search us, but they did not want to give up. They followed the bus and arrived at my schoolmate's office before us and monitored our every action. After my sister and I went home, the police found my schoolmate's boss and the security department of his office and told them that I was a very important person and that the police were following and monitoring me at this stage. Finally my schoolmate had to resign in order to avoid being arrested and persecuted by the police.

This situation lasted until February 28, 2005, when I was arrested for the fifth time. The CCP personnel monitored my telephone and followed me when I went out. Then they wrote down the information they got from a record and showed it to one of my fellow practitioners. The practitioner did not see through the police's tricks and thought the police already knew everything. He signed his name on the record without looking at the details. The police then used this signed record as an excuse to arrest me again, and illegally sentenced me to two years and six months of forced labor. They brutally tortured me in the forced labor camp, but they failed at their goal again and did not get any information from me.

Symphonie Fantastique

An Episode in the Life of the Artist Opus 14, usually referred to by its subtitle Symphonie fantastique (Fantasy Symphony) is a symphony written by French composer Hector Berlioz in 1830. It is widely regarded as one of the most important and representative pieces of the early Romantic period, and is still very popular with concert audiences worldwide. The first performance took place at the Paris Conservatoire in December 1830. The work was repeatedly revised between 1831 and 1845.

 

Instrumentation

 

 

 

By Matthew Little
Epoch Times Toronto Staff

 

 

Sometimes the story behind the story is better than the story itself.

Like the story behind the million-plus messages the Chinese version of Skype recorded on an unsecure server and likely shared with Chinese authorities.

While the explosive controversy surrounding the Skype logs has grabbed headlines around the world, the content of those logs has gone relatively unreported.

Barely mentioned in media reports was the fact that a substantial portion of the logs is about a grassroots movement to eliminate China’s communist dictatorship.

This movement is a result of an editorial series published by The Epoch Times called Nine Commentaries on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The series gives a detailed historical account of the CCP’s conduct from inception to today and advocates the withdrawal of Chinese people from the Party and its affiliated organizations.

The movement involves overseas Chinese, mainly practitioners of the spiritual practice Falun Gong, sending the editorials to China and encouraging Chinese citizens to withdraw from the CCP. To date, nearly 50 million have quit the Party.

One of the methods volunteers for “Party Quitting Centres” use to get those editorials into China is Skype.

“A lot of those messages were to do with that campaign,” said Nart Villeneuve, a researcher at Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto who uncovered the fact that the Skype logs were being monitored and archived.

“When looking through the log files, that commentary critical of the communist party is being targeted.”

Villeneuve said he researched Tom-Skype because he suspected there was something untoward going on.

When people in China try to download Skype, the friendly software that turns your computer into a telephone that can call anywhere in the world without long-distance charges, they get redirected to Tom-Skype.

Tom-Skype is like normal Skype but it isn’t nearly as secure, and if you mention Falun Gong, Taiwan, communist party or a host of other words or phrases in your messages it records your conversation.

Typically, China’s regime uses information from web companies including Yahoo, Google and Microsoft to track down dissidents, some of whom have been arrested and sentenced to jail.

In one famous case, journalist Shi Tao was sentenced to 10 years after Yahoo’s Hong Kong office shared his personal information with the authorities.

It’s nasty stuff, and it seems Skype has now joined a growing list of companies implicated in helping the Chinese regime monitor its own citizens’ online activity.

Villeneuve wouldn’t talk in detail about the discussions revealed in the logs in order to protect the safety of the people participating in those conversations.

This is also the reason why Party Quitting Centre volunteers in North America warn their chatters about surveillance, says Rong Yi, a volunteer with a centre in Flushing, New York.

“We are worried that once the Chinese government got hold of these peoples’ names, there might be a danger they could lose their lives.”

Rong Yi said volunteers are “very much concerned” as it seems no method of communicating is secure now.

“We can’t use Yahoo messenger, email is not safe, phones are not safe, and now Skype is not safe. We don’t know what to use.”

A report by Citizen Lab stated that Villeneuve’s findings should serve as a warning for groups <!--[if !supportEmptyParas]-->engaging in political activism or using censorship circumvention technology accessed through companies that have compromised on human rights. <!--[endif]-->

“What is clear is that Tom-Skype is engaging in extensive surveillance with seemingly little regard for the security and privacy of Skype users. This is in direct contradiction of Skype’s public statements regarding their policies in China,” the report said.

 

By a Turkish practitioner

(Clearwisdom.net) On August 20-21, 2008, Falun Gong practitioners in Turkey held activities in a square in a busy commercial area of Istanbul, raising awareness about Falun Gong and the persecution taking place in China.

The square is in the busiest and most crowded area of Istanbul and between two main commercial streets full of pedestrians coming and going. Many people stopped, came forward, accepted leaflets and asked for exercise locations. During the nearly three hours of activities, many people were sitting nearby, watching the exercise demonstrations from beginning to end.

A university student came over and told a Falun Gong practitioner, "At first, I didn't pay much attention to it, but I was touched the moment you started demonstrating the exercises." The practitioner told him what Falun Gong is and why Falun Gong practitioners are being tortured inhumanly in China. After hearing this, the student said that this was of such great value that he wanted to take this matter as a special topic in his paper. As he was leaving, he left his address and telephone number so that the practitioner could keep in touch.

An older woman was keenly focused on watching the exercise demonstration not far from the square. Later, she told a practitioner who approached her, "Falun Gong has made me feel a quietness and peacefulness I have never had before." She asked for the locations of exercise sites multiple times.

During the process of applying for a permit for the activity, practitioners visited several departments. At the Sicily local authority, practitioners were warmly received by many officials including Mr. Mustafa Sarigul, Mayor of Sicily, and Mr. Aydin, Deputy Mayor of Sicily. After viewing pictures and a brief introduction about Falun Gong, one official telephoned a recreation room in the local area recommending these exercises which can improve people's health, and at the same time he told the practitioners, "Our people need Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance." The official then invited the practitioners to join in a foundation-laying ceremony for a new school. He told them that they could distribute leaflets to people who came to participate in the ceremony, and said that children and many people there would have an opportunity to learn about Falun Gong. At the conclusion of the event, Mr. Aydin held up a Falun Gong banner and took a photo with the practitioners.

During the two days, practitioners brought many hand-made paper lotus flowers, which symbolize the noble spirit of Falun Gong practitioners.

 

 

By Wang Ying in San Francisco

(Clearwisdom.net) In the toxic milk powder scandal, the Chinese Communist regime covered up the truth and did not announce the problem to the public when it was first informed of the contamination. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) takes people's lives for granted, which has brought harm to the wellbeing of many families. At present, 43 million Chinese compatriots have seen clearly the CCP's nature and renounced the CCP and its affiliated organizations. People from all walks of life in the Bay Area of San Francisco held a parade and rally on September 28, 2008 to celebrate this amazing accomplishment on the part of these Chinese people.

Parade procession marches through San Francisco's Chinatown

The parade procession included two sections, the Divine Land Marching Band composed of Falun Gong practitioners and a Quitting-the-CCP lineup. The procession marched along Grant Ave/Dupont Street and passed through bustling Chinatown. Majestic and vigorous music drew the attention of many passersby who stopped and watched.

Among the spectators was Ms. Jiang from Beijing. She was very excited and said that the Falun Gong contingent was really great. She said it was pity that she did not bring her video camera with her, because she would have recorded the parade and shown it to her friends. She has many friends who practice Falun Gong.

Hostess of the rally Wang Feng said that, since the publication of the editorial series the "Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party," more and more Chinese people have renounced the CCP and its affiliated organizations. The Nine Commentaries truly reveals the CCP's nature and explains that communism is, historically, an almost unbelievably evil system. "We are hear to support the 43 million Chinese people who have quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations. We have been urging the disintegration of the CCP, because the CCP has been persecuting Falun Gong," said Ms. Wang.

Falun Gong practitioner: We must immediately stop the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong

Practitioner Mr. Zeng Yong from San Francisco said that Falun Gong practitioners cultivate themselves according to the standard of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance to become good people. The CCP launched a persecution campaign against Falun Gong in 1999, which has caused thousands of practitioners to lose their lives and led to the destruction of moral principles in China. People no longer value morality. Under the tyrannical rule of the Party, people have become money-oriented, and they do whatever is necessary to make money.

Mr. Zeng said that, from the official response to the disasters, earthquakes and floods that took place this year, it can be seen that the CCP covered up the truth and did not announce the news to the public in time. Shoddy construction of school buildings caused the deaths of thousands of children, and the CCP even suppressed the protests of parents whose children had died. On top of that, the toxic milk powder that has spread poison to every corner of the country and also overseas, is granted the status of a "quality-inspection-free product" in China. The CCP's evil nature has been thoroughly exposed. It persecutes innocent people, creates terror, and has endangered the wellbeing of every family. All this has a direct connection with the persecution of Falun Gong, because the persecution of Falun Gong has destroyed China's moral fiber. To fundamentally resolve the problem, we must immediately stop the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong and disintegrate the CCP.

Mr. Zeng said, "At such a historic moment, I hope our Chinese compatriots can understand clearly the great events in the world, distinguish good from bad and righteous from evil, and quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations as soon as possible."

Coordinator of the Quit-the-CCP Service Center: Quitting the CCP is a movement that shows the nation is awakening

Dr. Ma Youzhi, coordinator of San Francisco's Quit-the-CCP Service Center, said that quitting the CCP and its affiliated organizations is the nation's awakening to a clear vision of the CCP's evil. The movement was inspired by the publication of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party. The poisoned milk powder in mainland China has resulted in many children suffering from kidney stones or even dying. Since the CCP seized power in China, at least 80 million Chinese compatriots have died unnatural deaths under the its tyranny. Mr. Ma said, "If we allow the CCP to continue to rule China, it will be disastrous for the Chinese nation. Communism has proven to be a cancer that endangers all of humanity. We should be awakened."

Software Engineer: A society under the rule of the Communist Party is not a normal society

Computer software engineer Eugene

Eugene is a software engineer in a high-tech company in the southern Bay Area. He said that he practices Falun Gong and does everything according to Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. He believes that everybody needs Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.

Eugene said that he had lived in Romania under the rule of the Communist Party for 30 years. What he had learned in school were all distorted facts. His grandparents had their own land in the countryside, but when the Communist Party came, in order to grab the land, his father was fired from his university job, and his grandparents were forced to sign over their land.

He said, "After I began to practice Falun Gong, and especially after I read the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, I ultimately understood. The CCP's nature is evil. In China, everybody knows that Falun Gong practitioners are good people. The CCP regime still persecutes them and kills them. The truth will ultimately prevail."

PhD graduate from Stanford University: "Please take a copy of the Nine Commentaries!"

Dr. Song, who graduated from Stanford University, said that she came to the United States to study in the early 1990s. An American student in the lab told her, "Your government used tanks to suppress students." At that time, she replied without hesitation, "China is such a big country, and it needs stability." But now she still remembers her confusion when she gave that answer: "That American student was right. How can a government kill its own people!?" She saw with her own eyes how the students peacefully protested the CCP when she went to school every day in 1989.

"Now when I recall what I said at that time, I usually gave 'standard answers' fed to me by CCTV, the government's 'official' TV station," Dr. Song said. She read the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party at the end of 2004. It moved her soul. Although she thought she was brilliant and intelligent and had won first place in PhD courses in the US, she said, "I had to admit that I had been brainwashed by the CCP!" The CCP's brainwashing is nationwide--young or old, men or women, no matter how many books you have read or how many certificates and degrees you have earned.

"Please take a copy of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party!" Dr. Song begged. "In the depths of our soul, we all believe in kindness and peace. Chinese people's invisible fear and terror all stem from the CCP's brainwashing. Let us call on people's kind nature, let kindness protect us so that we can walk out of the shadows of fear and terror!"

Representative of the Chinese Democratic Party: Quitting the CCP is the right thing to do

Zheng Cunzhu, one of the student representatives from Anhui Province during the "June 4" student movement in 1989, came to the United States three years ago. He said that some of the people who participated in the June 4 student movement founded the China Democratic Party in China. Jiang Zemin gave orders to suppress it in November 1989, and over a hundred members of the Chinese Democratic Party were arrested. Some of them were sentenced to over ten years of imprisonment. Ten years later, the CCP started its persecution of Falun Gong.

Mr. Zheng said that he opposes the CCP persecution of Falun Gong. When he was a graduate student at Shanghai Normal University, his roommate, Guo Shenghuan, practiced Falun Gong. Guo was a top student in the Mathematics Department. Guo once took part in the Olympic Mathematics Model competition on behalf of his school, and won. Mr. Zheng said that Guo is a good person, always ready to help others. He remained to teach at school after his graduation. Now he is being held in a prison in Shanghai because he practices Falun Gong.

Mr. Zheng said that quitting the CCP is the right thing to do, so he came to support it.

 

NEW YORK (AP) -- In a sign of the times, the legendary National Debt Clock in New York City has run out of digits to record the growing debt.

The Times Square-area ticker needs two additional digits to track a national debt 100 times larger than the current $10.2 trillion.

As a short-term fix the digital dollar sign on the billboard-style clock has been switched to a number one - the "1" in $10 trillion. The Durst Organization says it plans to update the sign next year.

The late Manhattan real estate developer Seymour Durst put the sign up in 1989 to call attention to the then-national debt of $2.7 trillion. The clock was turned off during the 1990's when the debt decreased.

Seymour Durst died in 1995, and his son Doug Durst now runs the company that maintains the clock.

Clearwisdom.net) Bai Mingku, 50 years old, is the chief of the Political and Judiciary Committee in Jiaohe City. He also works at the Jiaohe City Police Department. Before 1999, Bai used to work at Jiaohe City Water Resources Bureau. Since he started working at the Political and Judiciary Committee, he has been actively involved in the persecution of Falun Gong. Bai is the key perpetrator in the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in Jiaohe.

Using the Beijing Olympics as an Excuse to Arrest Dozens of Falun Gong Practitioners

Bai Mingku arrested practitioner Ms. Shi Xiuzhen and tortured practitioner Zhang Ming before the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

On the afternoon of March 18, 2008, Bai Mingku and four policemen from the Xinzhan Town Police Station broke into Shi Xiuzhen's house in Changjia Village, Mingzhu Street, Jiaohe City. They beat Ms. Shi, took away her Falun Gong books, TV set, satellite receiver, two cell phones, ID card, and bank deposit books. They took Ms. Shi to Jiaohe Police Department and tortured her. Bai also tried to arrest Shi Xiuzhen's husband Liu Zhaofu, who works at the Broadcasting Bureau in Jiaohe. Liu escaped and was forced to leave home to avoid illegal detention. He was fired by his workplace and Ms. Shi Xiuzhen was sentenced to 7 years.

On March 20, 2008, policemen from the Chang'an Street Police Station arrested Falun Gong practitioner Zhang Ming. They searched her house and detained her at Jiaohe Detention Center. Zhang Ming refused to answer any questions. The next day, Ms. Zhang was sent to the police department. Bai Mingku and other policemen tied her to a bed and tortured her. Bai said to her, "Expose me on the Minghui website. I don't care." Ms. Zhang was brutally tortured and then was sentenced to four years.

During that time period, Falun Gong practitioners Zhang Guosheng, Chang Guiyun and Liu Baochun were also arrested and badly tortured. Bai Mingku was involved in all of these cases.

Ms. Ren Hongxia Tortured with Hot Pepper Mixture

On October 26, 2004, Ma Jinki and Zhang Yashuang, police officers from Yong'an Police Station, broke into practitioner Ms. Ren Hongxia's house and took her to the police station. They kicked her legs violently in the process. That night, they sent her to Jiaohe Detention Center.

On the afternoon of October 28, policemen took Ms. Ren back to Yong'an Police Station. They tied her to a chair and tied her hands behind her back. One policeman held her neck, one blocked her mouth with a towel, and another policeman force-fed a mixture made up of hot pepper stems, which are many times more spicy than the hot pepper itself, through her nose.

They applied this torture to Ms. Ren every 15 minutes. They stretched out her arms and kept pouring the mixture into her nose and mouth. She was in excruciating pain, and her clothes were soaked with sweat.

The policemen continued to torture Ren Hongxia until past midnight. Bai Mingku kicked her in the chest. Ren Hongxia could not fall asleep because her stomach was burning, and the policemen refused to give her water. The next day, Bai Mingku took Ms. Ren back to the detention center.

Due to the extreme pain caused by the torture, Ms. Ren's mind became unclear. Her nose kept running. Later, when another practitioner Sun Shujie washed Ms. Ren's clothes for her, the hot pepper mixture on the clothes burned Sun Shujie's hands. One can imagine how much pain Ms. Ren endured when it was poured into her nose. Ms. Ren could not get up the next day. Her face and chest turned black and had many blisters. Her roommates cried upon seeing Ms. Ren's face. The pain did go away until ten days later. The skin on her face and chest peeled, and her nose still has problems even now.

Due to the torture, Ren Hongxia's tuberculosis, which was healed by practicing Falun Gong, came back.

Practitioner Ms. Zhang Guosheng Brutally Beaten

On October 28, 2005, several policemen including Li Guoliang, Yao Shusen, Guo Bucai, and Du Laishun from Yong'an Police Station broke into practitioner Zhang Guosheng's house in Jiaohe city and took him to Yong'an Police Station.

At the police station, policemen stripped Zhang Guosheng and beat him until he passed out. That night, Bai Mingku beat Mr. Zhang again.

On October 29, Bai Mingku ordered Yu Ruxin, a policeman from Yong'an Police Station, to beat Zhang. Zhang's leg was injured, and he could not walk. After beating him, Yu Ruxin threatened Mr. Zhang and said, "If you practice Falun Gong again, I will find some people to beat you every day."

Practitioner Liu Huihai Arrested and Sentenced to Labor Camp

On February 8, 2006, policemen from Qianjin Police Station in Jiaohe City broke into practitioner Liu Huihai's house and illegally detained him in Jiaohe Detention Center. The policemen also stole 3,400 yuan from him.

Mr. Liu was beaten by the policemen and sent to the hospital. The next day, Liu Huihai's 70-year-old father went to the police station, asking to see his son. Policemen refused his request and denied that they beat Liu Huihai. Mr. Liu's father simply didn't believe it, because 44-year-old Liu Huihai was very healthy and didn't have any kind of health problems prior to being sent to the hospital.

Mr. Liu's father went to the police station many times, but he never got see his son.

Liu Huihua is currently jailed at the Jiaohe Detention Center. He has constantly clarified the truth about Falun Gong to the people around him. He went on several hunger strikes to protest the persecution. He was force-fed, and has been sentenced to a labor camp.