Summary of Key Persecution Facts:
Name: Xiang Li (项丽)
Gender: Female
Age: 52
Address: Yizhou Town, Yi County, Liaoning Province
Date of Most Recent Arrest: April 24, 2013
Most Recent Place of Detention: Dongcheng Detention Center (北京东城拘留所)
City: Jinzhou
Province: Hebei Province
Persecution Suffered: Forced labor, brainwashing, illegal sentencing, imprisonment, extortion, home ransacked, detention.
(Minghui.org) Ms. Xiang Li, a 52-year-old Falun Gong practitioner from the small town of Yizhou, Yi County, Liaoning Province, was arrested in Beijing on April 24, along with two other practitioners, for sharing information about Falun Gong. This was her 11th arrest since the Chinese regime outlawed it on July 20, 1999.
The Chinese Communist regime has since arrested and imprisoned hundreds and thousands of practitioners for passing out materials about Falun Gong, calling them “damaging the legal and social system.” Practitioners have faced charges and prison terms for distributing uncensored materials such as “False Fire,” a documentary that analyzes footage of the 2001 Tiananmen Square Self-immolation Incident, which has been used by the regime's state-run media to cause public resentment in China towards Falun Gong. The police have also tortured practitioners to gain intelligence on the production of such uncensored materials.
Ms. Xiang started practicing Falun Gong in 1998, and experienced better health and spiritual well-being. She also became a more thoughtful and selfless person by following the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
1 st Arrest: Ms. Xiang was arrested for the first time shortly after July 20, 1999. She tried to appeal to the State Appeals Office in Beijing for Falun Gong as her constitutional right, but she was intercepted before she reached the capital city.
2 nd Arrest: Arrested by the local police in Yi Town on October 26, 1999. She was detained for 15 days and fined 1,220 yuan.
3 rd Arrest: Shortly after last arrest, she was arrested again and sent to a local forced brainwashing class for nine days.
4 th Arrest: Arrested again after the neighborhood committee reported her to the police for practicing Falun Gong. She was detained for five days.
5 th Arrest: She went to Beijing again to appeal for Falun Gong on November 30, 2000. She was transferred back to Yi Town where she was detained for 35 days.
6 th Arrest: After she was released, she was arrested again and sent to the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp where she spent the next two years.
7 th Arrest: Arrested by the local police on May 19, 2002, and detained for 35 days.
8 th Arrest: Ms. Xiang was arrested by the local police and again sent to the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp. She was quickly released only to be arrested again shortly afterwards and detained for 15 days.
9 th Arrest: In May 2003, Ms. Xiang was arrested by the local police and detained for three days. The police arrested her again shortly after she was released, and kept her in custody for six days and collected a fine of 500 yuan.
10 th Arrest: Arrested by local police on July 21, 2011 and detained in Jinzhou City Detention Center after her home was ransacked. She was released on August 5.
11 th Arrest: Ms. Xiang is currently detained in the Dongcheng Detention Center in Beijing since her arrest on April 24, 2013.
Many people wonder why Falun Gong practitioners risk their personal safety to publicly appeal or distribute information. Actually, even if they hide at home, they are monitored by their employers and local authorities. Moreover, as it is against the principles of Falun Dafa to lie, practitioners have been nobly speaking the truth and standing up against the persecution for the past 14 years. They are the only group to openly stand up to the Communist regime's tyranny without giving in. In addition to appealing for the right to spiritual belief, practitioners' efforts further have benefited Chinese citizens, opening their eyes to the deceitful crimes of the Chinese Communist regime. As a result over 100 million Chinese people have chosen to renounce their memberships to the Chinese Communist Party.