(Minghui.org) It's nearly Chinese New Year, an important holiday when Chinese people traditionally get together for family celebrations. Many Falun Gong practitioners' families came from all over the province to Jinan, the capital city of Shandong Province, to visit their loved ones detained in Jinan Prison. However, they were met with harsh treatment by the prison authorities.
After Ms. Li Yuzhen's family finished the visit application procedure, they were told “You must write a 'guarantee statement' before you can meet with her.”
Baffled, Ms. Li's family asked, “Why do we need to write a guarantee statement for a family visit? To whom and for what?”
They called the prison No. 11 Ward (which specializes in the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners), and asked for an explanation. The officers would not give any specific reason, and just said ambiguously, “You write a guarantee statement, then you can meet with your family member.”
Ms. Li 's family tried to reason with the officers, urging them not to persecute Falun Gong. They also asked the officers to be considerate of the family, as it wasn't easy for them to travel such a long distance to meet with their loved one for the Chinese New Year.
Ms. Li's relatives mentioned the major changes in China, and that Li Dongsheng and Zhou Yongkang, key officials responsible for the persecution, are no longer in power. When the officer heard this, he began shouting and said, “Now you are even less likely to meet with her!” and hung up the phone. The officer did not answer any calls after that. Ms. Li Yuzhen's family were not allowed to meet with her, and returned home.
Some families came from far away and had to ride the train for an entire day to get to Jinan. They were supposed to be allowed a 30-minute visit, but simply because they said the words “Falun Gong,” the relatives were abruptly thrown out after only two minutes.
Some families had visited before, but this time the meetings were abruptly canceled without explanation.
Fei Guanghe, head of the prison, +86-531-87075516, +86-531-87072666 (Home), +86-13954161333 (Cell) No. 11 Ward: +86-531-87072680
