Attorney Wang Yonghang in Dalian City defended Falun Gong practitioners who were persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party. As a result, police broke into his home and arrested him and his wife. His wife and elderly mother were also physically assaulted.

On July 11, 2009, the local police in Zhuzhou City arrested Ms. Zhang Xinyi and detained her at District Police Precinct, where she was interrogated. Currently, she is detained at the 2nd of Detention Center of Zhuzhou City. Ms. Zhang has begun a hunger strike to protest the persecution. This is her third arrest for practicing Falun Gong.

Additional Information on the Detention of Wang Yonghang, an Attorney Who Defended Falun Gong Practitioners

Because Attoney Mr. Wang Yonghang defended Falun Gong practitioners no guilt at court, he was abducted at home by the police in Dalian City, Liaoning province. Then his wife and mother are also persecuted by CCP authorities.

On July 4, 2009 as Wang Yonghang's wife was heading out the door to go shopping, a group of unidentified thugs broke into their home and pushed her down to the ground. Wang's mother, about 80 years old, was also pushed down to the ground and could not move. They could not see the faces of the attackers. When asked what they were trying to do, nobody answered. Over twenty people ransacked their home. Wang Yonghang and his wife were both taken to a detention center.

It has been learned that people who participated in the arrest included the Domestic Security Team, over twenty policemen from Dalian City Police Department, Shahekou District Police Precinct and Jinxiu Police Station, and also CCP Secretary Shi in Jinxia Community. The personal belongings confiscated from Wang Yonghang's home included a desktop computer, a camera, a printer, three USB drives, several phone cards, and Falun Gong books.

Their family members went to the police station to ask for the couple's release, but the police refused to reveal where they were. In addition, wherever the family went, policemen in plain clothes would beat them. Wang Yonghang was detained in Yaojia Detention Center in Dalian city. Under strong appeal of his family members, people who arrested Wang Yonghang gave them a detention notice. On July 5, Wang Yonghang's wife was released. Her mother-in-law, traumatized by the situation, fell ill.

On July 6, Wang Yonghang's wife went to ask community CCP secretary Shi for information and help. However, Shi let community policeman Li Youzeng beat and insult her, and arrested her again. They took her to Jinxiu Police Station. Wang Yonghang's wife asked about Wang's whereabouts several times. She was finally told that Wang was detained in Yaojia Detention Center in Dalian city.

Wang Yonghang's wife and mother went to Yaojia Detention Center in Dalian city to visit Wang. The detention center personnel searched the women several times before finally admitting that someone by the name Wang Yonghang was detained there. But they did not confirm his identity, and refused to let them see him. Wang Yonghang's mother and wife had to leave some clothes, and left 400 yuan in the account of "Wang Yonghang" without confirmation that it was the right person.

Before his detention, Attorney Wang Yonghang was followed several times. On June 16, Attorney Wang Yonghang defended as the second attorney for Falun Gong practitioner Cong Rixu at Ganjingzi Court in Dalian City, with attorney Han Zhiguang from Beijing. His court debate was reasonable and justified, with nothing in rebuttal from the prosecution. On June 20, Wang Yonghang and a friend finished their lunch and waited outside for someone. A young person came and tried to take a photo of Wang with his cell phone. When Wang looked at him, he quickly put away his cell phone. After a while, a taxi stopped nearby. There were at least three people inside, but no one got out of the taxi and the windows were tinted.

Officials who participated are as follows:

Li Zhaoqun, chief of Jinxiu Police Station
Li Youzeng, local policeman in Jinxia Community
Sun Xianliang, policeman in Jinxiu police station
Tan Yuhao, policeman in Jinxiu police station
Yue Zhenzhong, detective in Jinxiu police station
Bai Yun (female), detective in Jinxiu police station
Ge Maoquan, policeman in Jinxiu police station
Shi, CCP ecretary in Jinxia communit

Ms. Zhang Xinyi from Changsha City on Hunger Strike to Protest Third Arrest

Ms. Zhang Xinyi, 55 years old, was a math teacher at the Changsha City Aluminum Factory Affiliated Elementary School (Now renamed as the Xintian Elementary School). She is a very kind person. Her students from years ago still came to visit her. In the summer of 1998, Ms. Zhang and her husband went to teach at the Chinese School in Phnon Penh, Cambodia.

In July 2002, officials from the Cambodia Immigration Bureau visited her and asked her some questions about Falun Gong informational materials. A few days later, her school fired both her and her husband. At the same time, all of the Chinese schools in Phnon Penh were ordered not to offer them jobs. The Chinese Embassy in Cambodia refused to extend their passports. The relationship between the Chinese government and the Cambodian government is very close. At that time, the persecution of Falun Gong inside of China was very high profile. Realizing the seriousness of their situation, Ms. Zhang and her husband went to the UN Refugee Agency in Phnon Penh. After listening to their situation, they helped them file the application for refugee status. Soon, the UNHCR granted them UN refugee protection status.

On August 2, 2002, the Cambodian police arrested Ms. Zhang and her husband, despite the fact that they showed them their certificates as UN protected refugees. They were told explicitly that the arrest was ordered by the Chinese Embassy in Cambodia. After being detained at the Phnom Penh Immigration Bureau for three days, they were forced to board an airplane that was going back to China. As UN protected refugees, their arrests and deportation violated international law. Many different international media outlets, including AP, have reported this incident. The UNHCR also blamed the Cambodian government for failing to undertake their responsibilities of protecting Falun Gong practitioners.

Right after Ms. Zhang and her husband arrived in China, they were detained at Changsha City Detention Center. She was released a month later.

Since September 2002, Ms. Zhang has appealed to different levels of government agencies about her persecution in Cambodia. She even wrote a letter to Hu Jintao, but no one responded.

In April 2005, the police from Hunan Province Police Department, Changsha City Police Department, Tianxin District Police Precinct and Xinkaipu Police Station jointly took action and arrested Ms. Zhang. Her home was ransacked and her passport was confiscated. Without notifying her family, Tianxin District Court held a secret hearing and sentenced her to three years in prison. Ms. Zhang made an appeal that was rejected. In January 2006, she was sent to the Hunan Province Women's Prison.

Ms. Zhang told her friends about her experience in the prison: she was forced to stand continuously for 7 days and nights without any sleep. When she lost consciousness, cold water was poured on her. Then she was forced to stand again. After extended mistreatment, her mind was not clear, she hallucinated and spoke nonsense.

3. Third Arrest

On July 11, 2009, Ms. Zhang was arrested again. Since she refused to tell where she obtained her Falun Gong informational materials, the police from the Domestic Security Team in Shifeng District interrogated her with torture. To protest the persecution, she started a hunger strike on July 16, 2009. She is still on a hunger strike now in the 2nd of Detention Center of Zhuzhou City.