(Minghui.org) Mr. Wang Xinjiang was set for release on March 19, 2018, after serving seven years for refusing to renounce Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline being persecuted by the Chinese communist regime.
His family arrived at the local prison that day to see him being driven away in a police cruiser. His son and grandson each drove a car and began to chase the police car. The two younger men caught up with police at a toll booth and freed Mr. Wang from police.
Mr. Wang is not the only Falun Gong practitioner in Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province, who almost didn't make it home on their scheduled date of release from prison.
Ms. Ji Guozhen walked out of the prison gate on March 13, 2018, to see three of her family members and six total strangers. The guard accompanying her said that the strangers were agents from the local judicial bureau, police department, police station and street committee. They were there to take her to a local brainwashing center after she finished serving four years in prison. She firmly refused to leave with those agents. One official eventually agreed to let her go home instead.
While Mr. Wang and Ms. Ji finally regained freedom, other Taiyuan practitioners are still being detained for refusing to renounce Falun Gong. Five of them have been sentenced to prison.
Mr. Tian Yunfei, 53; Mr. Xue Fugui, 70; and Ms. Lian Sulan, 81, were arrested on July 17, 2017, and appeared in court on March 6, 2018. They were convicted on April 8, with Mr. Tian being given 7 years and fined 6,000 yuan, Mr. Xue 3 years and 4,000 yuan, and Ms. Lian 2 years. Mr. Xue and Ms. Lian are in the process of appealing their sentences.
Ms. Li Runfang was arrested on September 5, 2017, and sentenced to 3.5 years in prison in late January 2018. She is appealing her case.
Mr. Yang Bin, Ms. Liu Jinxiang, and Mr. Hu Wuquan were arrested around November 20, 2017, for filing criminal complaints against former Chinese dictator Jiang Zemin for initiating the persecution of Falun Gong. They were detained in a lockup for several days before being moved to a local brainwashing center. Mr. Yang refused to renounce Falun Gong and was secretly sentenced to three years in prison in late 2017.
Mr. Zhao Kai was arrested on February 14, 2018, and remains detained.
Three women from the local street committee showed up at Ms. Li Yan's home on March 26, 2018. She was not in, and her daughter refused to open the door. The women called in police to break into the house. You Weidong, Wu Kai, and Yan Kai were among the officers who searched Ms. Li's home. They didn't leave until hours later.
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