Additional Persecution News from China – February 23, 2020 (15 Reports)

(Minghui.org) Today's news from China includes incidents of persecution that took place in 15 cities or counties in 9 provinces, where at least 26 practitioners were recently persecuted for their belief.

1. [Beijing] Ms. Wang Cuiping and Mr. Fu Dongman Harassed
2. [Jilin City, Jilin Province] Zhang Yong Sentenced to Three Years in Prison
3. [Changchun City, Jilin Province] Ms. Ma Xiurong Arrested and Ms. Li Guiyin Harassed
4. [Tianjin] Four Practitioners Tried in Court and Sentenced
5. [Huai'an City, Jiangsu Province] Ms. Zuo Kangwei's Pension Deducted
6. [Tangshan City, Hebei Province] Seven Practitioners Arrested
7. [Dongyang City, Zhejiang Province] Yao Hao Arrested 
8. [Dalian City, Liaoning Province] Ms. Ma Hui Persecuted
9. [Fushun City, Liaoning Province] Ms. Zhao Jie Sentenced to Five Years and Six Months in Prison
10. [Mudanjiang City, Heilongjiang Province] Ms. Wang Meihong's Case Filed to the Procuratorate
11. [Nanchong City, Sichuan Province] Mr. Zhang Jun Imprisoned
12. [Maoming City, Guangdong Province] Ms. Luo Ji Sentenced to Three Years
13. [Huizhou City, Guangdong Province] Ms. Yan Ping Sentenced to Two Years and Three Months
14. [Wanzai County, Jiangxi Province] Mr. Yang Dexin Sentenced to Four Years
15. [Renqiu City, Hebei Province] Ms. Cui Lanqin Sentenced to Five Years

1. [Beijing] Ms. Wang Cuiping and Mr. Fu Dongman Harassed

Ms. Wang Cuiping and Mr. Fu Dongman were harassed at their homes in Gaoling Town, Miyun District by local 610 Office official Liu Yang, the village official Huang Junpo and a police officer on August 20 2020. When she was asked whether she would continue practicing Falun Gong, Ms. Wang did not answer but Mr. Fu said yes. They later learned that they were secretly videotaped.

2. [Jilin City, Jilin Province] Zhang Yong Sentenced to Three Years in Prison

Zhang Yong (gender unknown) was sentenced to three years in prison and has been detained in Gongzhuling Prison since December 2020. 

3. [Changchun City, Jilin Province] Ms. Ma Xiurong Arrested and Ms. Li Guiyin Harassed

Two officers from the Sijianfang Police Station, and Zhang Guojun and Yang Chengyi from the property management office of the Academy of Agricultural Sciences, came to Ms. Ma Xiurong’s home on December 18, 2020. Ms. Ma was arrested and detained in a hostel for quarantine. 

The two police officers then came to Ms. Li Guiying’s home. Ms. Li’s mother drove them out.

4. [Tianjin] Four Practitioners Tried in Court and Sentenced

Four practitioners were tried in the Hedong District Court on January 22, 2021. Ms. Han Shujuan was sentenced to three years; Ms. Liu Shuqin was sentenced to three years; Ms. Sun Xiuqin to half a year on bail pending trial and Zhang Guangmin was sentenced to one and a half years on bail pending trial.

5. [Huai'an City, Jiangsu Province] Ms. Zuo Kangwei's Pension Deducted

Ms. Zuo Kangwei has been detained in prison for three years, from March 2014 to March 2017. After she didn’t receive her pension in August 2020 and went to the social security bureau to inquire, she was told that she had to refund the pension she received during her detention, which totaled about 97000.

After Ms. Zuo appealed to the district appeal office, she was told that her pension was readjusted from 2700 yuan a month to 2300 yuan a month, which is 400 yuan of deduction per month. Ms. Zuo started to receive the newly adjusted pension amount in October 2020 but with 1000 deduction per month until the deduction reaches 97000 yuan. She actually receives only 1300 yuan per month. 

6. [Tangshan City, Hebei Province] Seven Practitioners Arrested

Seven practitioners including Ms. Geng Xia, Ms. Wang Xiuhong, Ms. Fu Ruiying, Mr. Wei Guoshen, Ms. Qian Shujuan, Mr. Qiu Ruiwang, and Ms. Lu Caiyun, were arrested around 4 or 5 a.m. on June 18, 2020. Their heads were covered with plastic bags when they were arrested. Mr. Wei Guoshen had 17,000 yuan in cash taken away by the local police officers. 

Later, Ms. Geng Xia, Ms. Fu Ruiying and Mr. Wei Guoshen were released on bail for medical reasons. Ms. Lu Caiyun, Ms. Qian Shujuan, Ms. Wang Xiuhong, and Mr. Qiu Ruiwang were taken to the No.1 Detention Center. Their case hs been currently transferred to Zunhua City. 

7. [Dongyang City, Zhejiang Province] Yao Hao Arrested 

New practitioner Yao Hao (gender unknown) is an anesthesiologist in the Dongyang People’s Hospital and was married three months ago. 

Yao was reported to police for distributing truth-clarifying materials on January 20, 2021, and was caught on the surveillance camera. Officers from the Nanshi Police Station came to Yao’s home and arrested Yao on January 27, 2021. Yao was placed under official arrest on February 11, 2021. 

8. [Dalian City, Liaoning Province] Ms. Ma Hui Persecuted

Ms. Ma Hui was arrested by officers from the Beijing Street Police Station on September 19, 2019, and was detained in the Yaojia Detention Center. Her case was filed to the Xigang District Procuratorate around November 2019. 

It is learned that Ms. Ma is currently detained in the Yaojia Detention Center. Ms. Ma was not at her first court hearing or the second court hearing that was held two months later. 

9. [Fushun City, Liaoning Province] Ms. Zhao Jie Sentenced to Five Years and Six Months in Prison

Ms. Zhao Jie and Ms. Liu Guizhi were arrested on December 5, 2019, and were detained in the No.1 Detention Center. Ms. Zhao was placed under official arrest on January 6, 2020.

Her case was filed to the Suncheng District Procuratorate on June 15, 2020, and she was tried in court on June 28, 2020. The verdict was issued on December 10, 2020. Ms. Zhao was sentenced to five years and ten months in prison and fined 20,000 yuan. 

10. [Mudanjiang City, Heilongjiang Province] Ms. Wang Meihong's Case Filed to the Procuratorate

Ms. Wang Meihong’s case was filed to Daoli District Procuratorate on February 2, 2021. Her family was given three days to decide whether they would hire a lawyer or not.

11. [Nanchong City, Sichuan Province] Mr. Zhang Jun Imprisoned

Mr. Zhang Jun was arrested on November 30, 2019, and sentenced to 2.5 years with a 5,000-yuan fine on September 7, 2020. He appealed against the verdict, but the Nanchong City Intermediate Court ruled to uphold his sentence on November 14, 2020.

On January 5, 2021, his family received a letter from Jiazhou Prison that he was transferred there. But the intermediate court has yet to send any documents about the ruling to his family. 

12. [Maoming City, Guangdong Province] Ms. Luo Ji Sentenced to Three Years

Ms. Luo Ji, 73, was arrested on August 10, 2020, for distributing Falun Gong materials. She was tried by the Maonan District Court on November 24, 2020, and sentenced to three years on February 5, 2021. She is still detained in the Maoming City No.1 Detention Center at the time of this writing.

13. [Huizhou City, Guangdong Province] Ms. Yan Ping Sentenced to Two Years and Three Months

Ms. Yan Ping, a former elementary school teacher, went missing in late March 2020. It wasn’t until June 2020 that her family received confirmation that she was arrested and held in the Meihua Detention Center. The police monitored her daily activities for a while before arresting her.

Ms. Yan was sentenced to two years and three months in late January 2021. She has appealed to the Huizhou City Intermediate Court. She is still held at the detention center at the time of writing.

14. [Wanzai County, Jiangxi Province] Mr. Yang Dexin Sentenced to Four Years

Mr. Yang Dexin, 53, was arrested in July 2019. His family recently learned that he has been sentenced to four years in July 2020. When they searched the detainee database of the Nanchang City No.1 Detention Center in July 2020, he was no longer there. They think that he may have been transferred to the Nanchang Prison.

15. [Renqiu City, Hebei Province] Ms. Cui Lanqin Sentenced to Five Years

Ms. Cui Lanqin was arrested on August 23, 2020, for talking to people about Falun Gong. She stood trial on December 24, 2020. Her daughter learned from her lawyer in early February 2021 that she has been sentenced to five years.