(Minghui.org) Eight residents of Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province were arrested on September 22, 2020 and two more went missing two days later, after being targeted for their faith in Falun Gong, an ancient spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Mr. Lin Jinpeng was arrested around 2 p.m. on September 22 outside of his apartment building, when he returned from an out-of-town business trip. The police took him to the Daokoujie Police Station and confiscated his house key. They then searched his home and arrested his wife, Ms. Liu Hui, and another practitioner, Ms. Zhang Jinsheng, who happened to be at their place. 

The police confiscated the couple’s two printers, three laptops, Falun Gong books, and 2021 calendars printed with information about Falun Gong. Many tools used to make the calendars, including a hole puncher and paper cutter, were also seized.

Mr. Lin refused to provide any information to the police during the interrogation. He was released around 1:30 a.m. on September 23. 

Ms. Liu and Ms. Zhang were sent to the Harbin City No. 4 Detention Center on September 23 after being forced to take a physical examination.

A fourth practitioner, Ms. Wang Shurong, in her 70s, was also arrested on September 22. The police ransacked her home and confiscated her Falun Gong books and a photo of Falun Gong’s founder. She was released in the evening after being forced to write a statement renouncing Falun Gong. 

Four more practitioners were arrested around 5 p.m. on September 22. Ms. Kai Hong and Mr. Liu Baocai both had their homes ransacked. The names of the other two practitioners are not known.

Another two practitioners, Ms. Liu Bobin and Mr. Liu Zengkui, went missing on September 24, 2020. Their families suspect that they may have been arrested or gone into hiding to avoid arrest.