(Minghui.org) A Beijing woman was arrested with her husband for talking to people about Falun Gong and the coronavirus pandemic. This was the fourth time she was arrested for her faith.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is an ancient spiritual discipline based on the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. It has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
In the past 21 years, Falun Gong practitioners have been peacefully resisting the persecution with grassroots efforts. After the coronavirus broke out in China late last year, practitioners across China have also started to warn people about how the communist regime has been using the same cover-up and suppression tactics from the persecution of their faith in handling the outbreak.
While shopping for furniture on May 4, 2020, Ms. Guo Xiulan, 58, and her husband, Mr. Yang Baozhu, told the salesperson about the pandemic and stories about people recovering from the virus infection by reciting the phrases, “Falun Dafa is good; Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.”
The salesperson, however, reported them to the authorities. The police followed them home and broke into their residence. The officers confiscated Falun Gong books and other personal belongings. The couple was arrested and detained in the Changping District Detention Center. Mr. Yang's father, 92, was left on his own at home, struggling to find care.
Past Persecution
Ms. Gao took up Falun Gong in February 1999 and soon saw her uterine fibroids and severe anemia disappear. She followed the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and became a good wife and daughter-in-law.
However, she was detained three times and served three years in prison for her faith prior to her latest arrest. Her husband and daughter were frequently harassed as well.
First Arrest
Changping District 610 Office agents arrested Ms. Guo in November 1999, four months after the persecution began.
She was taken to a brainwashing class in the Changping District and forced to read and watch materials slandering Falun Gong.
Second Arrest
Ms. Guo was arrested again on January 13, 2005, for telling people the facts about Falun Gong.
When she was detained in Beiqijia Detention Center, she was interrogated and tortured every day. Since her family was not notified of her whereabouts, she had no basic necessities, from toilet paper to menstrual pads, to a change of clothes.
She was later sentenced to three years in Beijing Women's Prison. There, several inmates were ordered to monitor and restrict her activities all the time. She was often subjected to brainwashing aimed to force her to renounce her faith as well.
Third Arrest
Ten police officers opened Ms. Guo's door with a master key and broke in on July 20, 2015. They ransacked her home and arrested her. Her father-in-law was pushed to the ground.
The arrest took place during a time when the military was conducting training at the military base in the Changping District for the military parade coming up on September 3, 2015, as part of the celebration of the 70th anniversary of victory over the Japanese during World War II.
The regime usually intensifies its persecution of Falun Gong practitioners around politically sensitive dates. Over a dozen other practitioners in Changping District were also arrested around the same time as Ms. Guo, who was also on the police's radar for filing a lawsuit against former Chinese dictator Jiang Zeming for his crime in persecuting Falun Gong.
Ms. Guo was detained in the local detention center for a month before being transferred to a brainwashing facility. She wasn't released until the parade was over.
