Queens Man Survives Chinese Imprisonment

Middle Village resident Andrew Carlucci had been in China for a matter of days before he and his traveling party were arrested, beaten, interrogated and, eventually, deported back to their respective countries of origin. For most tourists, this would have been the most nightmarish ordeal imaginable one both so inconceivable and horrific that it seems more the domain of Hollywood than real life. But for Carlucci, though he had not known what to expect prior to his February 2002 departure to the east, realistically, he had anticipated that his party would be met with opposition by the government of China.
Carlucci, 29, went to Beijing to protest the persecution of practitioners of Falun Dafa known more commonly in the west as Falun Gong by Chinese President Jiang Zemin and his government. Falun Dafa, according to literature published by its American proponents, is "an ancient form of qigong, the practice of refining the body and mind through special exercises and meditation." Comparable to tai chi, practitioners perform motions intended to increase self-awareness, self-control, and tranquility, both physically and mentally. Though Falun Dafa has reportedly been taught in private for thousands of years, it became a sensation following the 1992 book "Zhuan Falun" by Li Hongzhi, which for the first time publicly revealed the method.
By July 1999, approximately 80 to 100 million people were practicing Falun Dafa throughout China, such significant numbers, alleges Carlucci, that fearful of opposition to his Communist rule, Jiang outlawed the practice, denounced it as a cult, calling it, according to published reports, an "anti-China international movement," and set about incarcerating, torturing, and, in over a thousand cases, murdering, all those who insisted upon adhering to the practice. "For me, its comparable to George Bush suddenly deciding to persecute yoga," said Carlucci of Jiangs supposed discrimination.
The Chinese consulate in New York did not return calls seeking clarification of the governments position on Falun Gong.
Carlucci, like an estimated 10,000 Americans, about 800 of whom live in the tri-state area, tries to perform the five basic exercises that are the foundation of Falun Dafa every day before he goes to work as a computer programmer at Bloomberg LP. The exercises, which take between one and two hours to complete, says Carlucci, have changed his life since he took them up in 1999. Having learned about Falun Dafa from an acquaintance of his girlfriend she does not practice the meditation technique Carlucci claims that after only months of doing the exercises, the migraine headaches which had long plagued him went away and have not since bothered him once. Carlucci had dabbled with meditation and martial arts in the past, but he was able to adhere consistently to Falun Dafa, because "it really overwhelmed me," he explained. "When I dont do them [the exercises] I feel really sluggish physically and mentally, as opposed to when I do do them I feel really cool and light. They are incredible."
The mild-mannered Carlucci, whose soft-spoken, polite disposition casts him as an atypical international freedom fighter, considers the impact of Falun Dafa on his life to be so monumental that he has sought to educate others as to what he sees as the practices virtues. It is this conviction that inspired Carlucci last month to join the first group of westerners, over 50 in all, to travel to China specifically to oppose the Chinese governments persecution of Falun Dafa devotees. After a few days of sightseeing and intermingling with the people, the delegation headed to Tiananmen Square where it had arranged to stage its protest alongside the many Chinese men, women, and children who are arrested daily in the countrys capital imploring the government to cease its oppression of the practice.
Carluccis intentions were symbolic. He had wanted to unfurl a banner that stated simply "Falun Dafa is good," to demonstrate solidarity for the struggle. However, literally within seconds of setting foot in the Square, recounts Carlucci, he and New Yorker Sterling Campbell, who plays drums in David Bowies band, were tackled by police and military officers and dragged off to a van full of political prisoners. "We werent over there throwing smoke bombs or shouting at passersby. We were just protesting peaceably. Technically, I didnt even break any laws, because I was arrested before I even got the opportunity to protest."
Every non-Chinese person, according to Carlucci, was rounded up indiscriminately. One unwitting bystander, a hiker from Sierra Leone, was incarcerated for being in the vicinity of the Square during the sweep. Without a common language, no one was able to explain to him the confusion.
As prisoners, Carlucci and his delegation were provided with no explanation as to why they had been arrested, allowed no opportunity to explain their circumstances, not told where they were being taken, and never offered to contact the American embassy for assistance. All camera, cell phones, laptops, palm pilots and any other communications devices were confiscated. "Whenever we asked them [the authorities] a question they told us to shut up. They forced us to get into the van. If you didnt get on, they punched you until you couldnt resist."
Carlucci says that he was repeatedly manhandled, shoved, and punched in the back, but that, though he stood up to the officers, he did not do so as vehemently as others, saving him from the worse punishment that his friends were forced to endure. After refusing to sit down in the interrogation center where the prisoners were brought, Campbell was kicked in the legs and punched in the head until he slumped down into a seat. Having already drawn the ire of the authorities, when Campbell later tried to assist a western woman who was getting beaten Carlucci tells of being particularly appalled and shocked to see the equal, savage treatment that female protestors received the musician was forced into a choke hold and later surrounded by officers who kicked him while he writhed on the floor. Despite the abuse, though, both Carlucci and Campbell relate that they felt no pain at the time, owing, they believe, to the strength of the teachings of Falun Dafa. "This is where it got pretty deep for me. My resolve was so strong, that I didnt even know that I had bruises until I got home. I was so concerned with telling these people the truth, that I just didnt feel anything. I was almost laughing."
Arrested around 2 p.m. on Valentines Day, Carlucci was held for roughly 26 hours, during which time he refused food and water, which were offered to him, he maintains, solely in an attempt by the authorities to take pictures of the prisoners eating to substantiate that they were being treated properly. During the time period, Carlucci, who was held in an abandoned hotel used specifically for deportees and political dissidents, tried, even amid a harsh interrogation session, to reason with the authorities, in order to show them that they had been "brainwashed by their government" into believing that Falun Dafa was so threatening that it should be forcibly suppressed. Though this approach further enkindled the wrath of senior officers, he avows having gotten through to some younger soldiers, making one even break down into tears. "As westerners we had an opportunity to really talk to these people, and we had to be treated better," said Carlucci. "If we were Chinese, we would have just been beaten and hauled off."
Carluccis struggle ended with him and his party being escorted to their airport and put on a plane to Canada. His visa was revoked and he had since been informed that he is barred from re-entering the country for five years. Even after having been imprisoned wrongly, he believes and battered, Carlucci harbors no animosity for the Chinese people. "I found the people to be really kind. I felt really bad for the people, because they didnt know what they were being denied."
Campbell, too, has no regrets: "For me, it was the most unselfish thing that Ive ever done in my life. I can relate now to people who have done really incredible things in the past, and believe in what they have done. I would do it again."