Zhe Jiang Beggar Murder Case III
On June 26, 2003, a series of cases of murdering beggars with poison were reported in Cangnan town, Wenzhou, Zhejiang. On July 2, after the media reported that some high-ranking officials including the Public Security Minister Zhou Yongkang and the provincial officials in Zhejiang issued guidelines to the cases, the Xinhua News Agency carried an article by Lu Jing. Based on some farfetched reasons, the article claimed that the case had been solved and the "alleged suspect Chen Fuzhao is a Falun Gong follower". Afterwards, the Xinhua News Agency and Chinese Central Television (CCTV) carried further reports on this incident, putting Chen on national TV to spread the so-called "cultivation" theories that are completely contradictory to Falun Gong's teachings, thus launching another round of attacking and slandering of Falun Gong. On December 30, 2003, the Intermediate Court in Wenzhou suddenly sentenced the suspect Chen Fuzhao to death. Due to the fact that there were many suspicious points and loopholes involved in this case, WOIPFG opened a special investigation on July 2, 2003 and released its initial findings on July 5, 2003 and a second investigation report on January 4, 2004. (http://www.upholdjustice.org)
The investigation result revealed that Chen Fuzhao is an intermittent psychotic. His father said that he had brought Chen to the Neian hospital in Zhejiang province for his mental illness prior to the incident took place. The investigation results also showed that the Xinhua News Agency's reports conflicted with those from other media and were believed to be fabricated.
Based on facts and evidence, this report (Report III) discovered that:
1. The Xinhua News Agency, CCTV, and other "designated" media monopolized the news and blocked the information from all other media. At the same time, these "designated" media deliberately fabricated news. Some reporters under whose names articles were published did not participate in the interview, and many individuals whose names appeared in the reports said that they had never been interviewed.
2. The Public Security Ministry and the Central "610 Office" directly controlled this case behind the scenes. After the murder case occurred, high-ranking officials from Beijing and a central government department checked in a luxury hotel in Longgang and occupied more than 20 rooms. These members of the "special task team" from the central government did not leave Longgang on July 1, 2003, the day the murder case was allegedly resolved. Instead, they left on July 15 after all the "designated" media had published their stories.
3. Reporters from the Xinhua News Agency who participated in the reporting of this incident, and members of the "special task team" have all been promoted and transferred recently. For example, Zhang Zhiqi from the Xinhua News Agency was promoted to the deputy director position of the Interview Office. Chen Xuechao, former political instructor at the Longgang Public Security Station, was promoted to the chief of the criminal investigation team position in Cangnan county. Chen Yumin, former deputy director at the Longgang town public security station, was promoted to the deputy director general position of the Cangnan county public security station
Designating Media and Monopolizing Reporting
After the Xinhua News Agency claimed on July 2, 2003 that Falun Gong members were involved in the Zhejiang Beggar murder case, major media throughout China carried extensive coverage of the case, launching another round of media attacks slandering Falun Gong. However, as shown in our investigation that although many media reprinted the story by the Xinhua News Agency, the permit to interview and report the case was tightly controlled by the Xinhua News Agency, CCTV and the Legal Daily. Shortly after the incident occurred and prior to July 2, there were two local media coverage on this case. Neither one linked the case to Falun Gong. However, after July 2, there was no local media coverage on this case any more, and the previous reports were deleted from their websites. From July 2 to July 15, the Xinhua News Agency, CCTV, and the Legal Daily dispatched reporters from Longgang Town to interview the suspect Chen Fuzhao, the police, Chen's family members as well as local people and fabricated the so-called theories of "reverse cultivation", "no truth, no compassion, no tolerance", and "ascending to a higher level by killing people" etc., which completely contradicted Falun Gong's teachings. The reporters who participated in the interview and fabricated reports include: Li Yuqiang from CCTV (note: Li Yuqiang is not a formal employee of CCTV. She was involved in a series of media coverage slandering Falun Gong and was a key reporter in the "Selfimmolation in Tiananmen Square" hoax), Zhang Qizhi from the Xinhua News Agency Zhejiang branch, Zheng Heping, head of the Xinhua News Agency's Wenzhou Office in Zhejiang, Wu Huanqing from the Xinhua News Agency (who reported the "Self-immolation in Tiananmen Square" hoax), and Li Xinhui from the Legal Daily.
A reporter who is close to the source told the investigator that there were strict guidelines on what to and what not to report, how and when to report this case, and the relevant government department directed all the moves.
The undersigned reporter did not participate in the interview
On July 2, 2003, the Xinhua Net Zhejiang Channel carried an article by Lu Jing, claiming that the "series poisoning murder case in Zhejiang has been solved." This was the first report that tied the case to Falun Gong. However, WOIPFG discovered that Lu Jing is a reporter in the Political and Cultural editorial room at the Xinhua News Agency, Zhejiang branch. She was not directly involved in the interview of this case. The report was written by other reporters, and she did not know about it. Another person who is close to the source revealed that Zhang Qizhi, a reporter in the Political and Cultural Interview and Editorial Room at the Xinhua News Agency Zhejiang branch, was in charge of this report. Zhang also worked with Zhang Heping and published another report on the case on July 14, and introduced the so-called "reverse cultivation" theory. Just recently, Zhang Qizhi was promoted to deputy director of the Political and Cultural Interview and Editorial Room at the Xinhua News Agency Zhejiang branch due to his contribution to the case coverage.
Li Yuqiang, who fabricated the "Self-immolation in Tiananmen Square" report, showed up again
On July 14, 2003, CCTV broadcasted a Focus Interview program on the murder case, and notified the viewers in advance during the news hour to watch the program. Some work units and institutes were notified by their upper management to organize the viewers to watch the program. The way it was handled was apparently very different than any normal TV program
The interviews and reporting of this Focus Interview episode was once again done by Li Yuqiang, who had in many cases produced programs that distorted and slandered Falun Gong. The show was hosted by Bo Yang, Focus Interview's anchorperson. Li Yuqiang's title was a reporter from the news commentary department at CCTV, but in fact she was not a formal employee of CCTV. An individual closest to the sources said, "This not-so-well-known reporter came from Northeast China. She had won some news-reporting award for reporting negatively on Falun Gong. She now leads the programs that slander Falun Gong at CCTV.
After the "Self-immolation in Tiananmen Square" hoax took place on January 23, 2001, Li Yuqiang was a leading reporter and editor. She took part three times in the production of the "self-immolation" programs for the Focus Interview at CCTV and deliberately slandered and framed Falun Gong. In the beginning of 2002, when Li was interviewing Wang Bo at the Legal System Education and Training Center in Hebei province, she had a "discussion session" with practitioners illegally detained there. At that time, some practitioners questioned her about the numerous loopholes and suspicious scenes in the self-immolation video clip (especially about Wang Jingdong, who was severely burned, but the plastic Sprite bottle between his legs, supposedly filled with gasoline, was undamaged.) Li Yuqiang admitted openly that they had inserted the Sprite bottle between Wang Jindong's legs and shot the scene retroactively. She said it was to convince people that it was Falun Gong members who were doing the self-immolation. Had they known that viewers would see through the trick, they would not have shot the scene in the first place.
Zhao Ming, a graduate student at the Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, and a Falun Gong practitioner, said that he was "interviewed" by Li Yuqiang during his illegal detention in the Beijing Tuanhe Labor Re-education Camp. Li Yuqiang even said to Zhao Ming that she was in support of Falun Gong; only to get some raw footage for her fabricated reports. She would then turn around and cut and editor the stories at will. If nothing useful could be found, she would simply use a voice-over or subtitles to create false news.
Li Yuqiang was also involved in a series of reporting, both in writing and on TV that viciously slandered Falun Gong. We will not list the details here. (WOIPFG will provide a special investigation report on the subject.) It is worth noting that never once did Li Yuqiang appear on TV showing her full face. Viewers can only see her side, her back, or a black shadow that conceals her real identity.
In early 2003, WOIPFG received reports about Li Yuqiang, which stated that, "Li Yuqiang was not simply a reporter. She had on numerous occasions gone to labor camps and brainwashing classes around the country where Falun Gong practitioners were illegally detained, in an effort to "convert" these practitioners. Li actually worked for the '610 Office'."
Interviews That Never Happened
There were many interviewees appearing in the series reports by the "designated" media. However, our investigation revealed that their stories were all fabricated.
One village cadre whose name appeared in the reports as one of the interviewees told WOIPFG's investigators, "I've never met the reporter, nor did I have any idea why my name showed up in the newspaper… I've traveling out of town doing business for a while and I was not home at all when the incident occurred… Although my name and title appeared to be correct in the newspaper, however, I've never said those words."
One of Chen Fuzhao's friends, whose last name is also Chen, said that he was interviewed by a reporter. But when the story got published, it was quite different than what he had said. This has damaged the relationship between Chen Fuzhao and his parents. One of his acquaintances also said that the newspaper stories carried words he had never said.
A Chinese Youth League cadre whose name also appeared in the newspaper said, "I met Chen Fuzhao two years ago. I've never been interviewed. They (the reporters) simply used my name."
Media Deliberately Avoid Chen Fuzhao's Mental Disability
Family members, friends, and acquaintances of Chen Fuzhao, and even the government officials who are in charge of the persecution of Falun Gong, have all confirmed that Chen had had mental disability for quite a while and had been receiving treatment up until the incident occurred. (See the Investigation Report on the Zhejiang Beggar Murder Case (II) by WOIPFG.) However, this fact has been deliberately omitted in the reports from the Xinhua News Agency and CCTV. Instead, they blamed Chen Fuzhao's absurd comments and homicide behavior on Falun Gong. In particular, the Xinhua News Agency alleged in its July 14, 2003's report that Chen Fuzhao killed people because he was "reverse-cultivating" Falun Gong's principles of "Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance". Yet, the report failed to come up with a convincing explanation as to why and how behavior contradicting "Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance" has anything to do with Falun Gong.
Based on the investigation, it is apparent that the media coverage on the "Zhejiang Begger Murder Case" was controlled by the Central 610 office and executed by the reporters who specialize in slandering Falun Gong, deliberately omitting the fact that Chen Fuzhao had mental problem, attributing Chen's illogically words to Falun Gong's inducement, and alleging the beggar murderer needed to practice Falun Gong. All these were to cater to the regime's need to slander and crackdown on Falun Gong. Some of the individuals who know the real story have been warned and are forbidden to talk.
The Central "610 Office" and the Senior Officials at the Public Security Ministry Directly Manipulated the Case
During the investigation process, staff members at the local court and the propaganda department have all requested that investigators inquire about the case directly from the "610 Office"; and the provincial "610 Office" of Zhejiang even stated to the investigators that the Central "610 Office" is the only source to check on this case.
The "Special Task Team" from the central government stayed in a luxury hotel in Longgang.
A luxury hotel in Longgang confirmed during the investigation that members of the "Special Task Team" in charge of the case from Beijing did not leave Longgang after the case was allegedly solved on July 1, 2003. Instead, they did not leave Longgang until after July 14. It is confirmed that the government "designated" media arrived on July 9, 2003 to conduct interviews. The "Special Task Team" stayed in the hotel, occupying more than 20 rooms including 3 or 4 of most expensive rooms, while the task team from the local and provincial public security department stayed in a cheap hotel.
A number of local special task team members received promotions
Solid evidence showed that a number of local task team members were recently promoted. For example, Zhang Zhiqi, formerly a reporter in the Interview Office at the Xinhua News Agency Zhejiang branch, was promoted to the deputy director of the Interview Office position; Chen Xuechao, formerly a political instructor at the Longgang Public Security Station, was promoted to the chief of the criminal investigation team of Cangnan County; Chen Yumin was promoted from the Longgang Town Public Security Station to the deputy director general position at the Cangnan County Public Security Station.
A series of beggar murder cases that occurred during the same time period were ignored
According to the Xinhua News Agency, the Longgang series of beggar murder cases occurred between May 25 and June 26, 2003. However, a very similar beggar murder case was uncovered in the Wenzhou area on May 24. Suspect Chen Yongfeng committed a series of crimes against out-of-town beggars. He brutally murdered 10 beggars and dismembered 9 bodies. However, this case did not get any attention from the senior officials at the Public Security Ministry nor the Xinhua News Agency. Only a local media covered the case. It was kept very low key due to the closeness in time between the Zhejiang case and the Wenzhou case. It has yet to be determined whether the two beggar murder cases are related; however, the way these two similar cases were handled by the media and the public security differed drastically, which indicates that there were hidden factors behind Chen Fuzhao's case.
A reporter who is close to the sources said that "it is useless to hire an attorney for this case." Chen Fuzhao was not clear-minded during the interview
A reporter who once interviewed Chen Fuzhao told Chen's friend, "It does not matter whether an attorney is hired or not. Don't look for the expensive ones. Any attorney is fine… There is no advantage in spending the money. Think about it: even the central government got involved. What kind of case is this? Another reporter said to Chen's friend: When Chen Fuzhao was being interviewed, sometimes he's clear-minded but sometimes not. However, this is a state affair. Don't get involved anymore. Don't waste any energy. It is useless to hire an attorney.
Investigation Conclusion
Since WOIPFG began its investigation on this case on July 2, 2003, it has obtained following facts and evidence as a result of many concrete means including conducting on-site investigation:
1. The Central "610 Office" and the Public Security Ministry manipulated the case from behind, in an attempt to slander and frame Falun Gong, mislead the public, in order to further carry the persecution.
2. The Xinhua News Agency, CCTV, and other "designated" media monopolized news coverage. With no consideration to the basic work ethics as journalists, they fabricated interviewees' words and contents, concocted at the so-called "theories" such as "reverse cultivation", "ascend to higher level by killing people" that are totally against Falun Gong's teaching in order to distort and defame Falun Gong; at the same time, showed no interest in the case itself and the social factors that triggered a series of rat poison murder cases in China.
3. Chen Fuzhao's family members, friends, doctors who know him well, and the local officials have all confirmed that Chen Fuzhao hada mental problem. His father took him to the Neijiang hospital for treatment prior to the incident. Yet, the court in Zhejiang province deliberately concealed this fact and sentenced Chan Fuzhao to death. In all likelihood, this was to do away with a witness in order to conceal the truth.
WOIPFG believes that this case merits an independent investigation by a 3rd party outside of China.
WOIPFG is willing to assist and cooperate in the investigation in order to reveal the truth in its true color.
WOIPFG reserves the legal right to prosecuting the prime culprits who manipulated this case behind the scenes.
WOIPFG will submit all evidence it obtains to the court and related organizations.
World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong
Tel：1-347-448-5790；Fax：1-347-402-1444；
Mail Address：P.O. Box 84， New york, NY 10116
Website： http://www.upholdjustice.org/, http://www.zhuichaguoji.org/
