(Minghui.org) A Laishui County, Hebei Province resident has been kept for two months at Baoding City Detention Center for not renouncing her faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Dong Yanjun's family went to the detention center three times but were never allowed to see her. She is now facing further prosecution after the police submitted her case to the county procuratorate.
Ms. Dong was arrested on April 12, 2019 during a newly launched 100-day campaign targeting Falun Gong practitioners in Hebei Province. Another seven practitioners from Laishui County were arrested on the same day.
Ms. Dong's arrest came shortly after she was visited by two government officials on March 31, 2019, who asked her many questions and took her photo, with the excuse of poverty alleviation.
Ms. Dong later confirmed that fifteen other Falun Gong practitioners in Shiqing Town, Laishui County were visited by officials that day, who asked for their personal information with the same excuse of poverty alleviation.
Just as Ms. Dong became suspicious about the purpose of the officials' visits, a dozen officers broke into her home on April 12, 2019. They searched her place and confiscated her Falun Gong books and related materials, as well as seven printers and three computers that she used to print the materials.
As the police were ransacking her home, they called the police station twice for help. Two more groups of officers, of more than 30 people, soon arrived. Her home was eventually surrounded by five police cars.
Ms. Dong was brought to the local detention center later that day. One officer threatened her: “You don't need to think about how to get out now.”
Ms. Dong's arrest and detention left her family in a dire situation. Her husband, Mr. Liu Chunyu, who was suffering from poor health, was deprived of care provided by her. Her oldest son was frequently harassed by the police and his personal business was affected.
This is the eighth time Ms. Dong was targeted for practicing Falun Gong. In her past arrests, she was subjected to intensive brainwashing and savage beatings. The officers whipped her, slapped her in the face, tied her up, and forced her to kneel down for long hours.
When Ms. Dong held a hunger strike to protest the persecution, the officers stepped on her head and force-fed her with mouthfuls of salts.
While Ms. Dong and Mr. Liu were held in detention, their three children were forced to drop out of school as they ran out of financial support from their parents. This further caused trouble when they were looking for jobs after growing up.
After Ms. Dong was arrested and given 1.5 years of forced labor in 2007, Mr. Liu was forced to live away from home to avoid persecution. The local Party secretary, Liu Peifu, often stayed outside of his home to check on whether he came back home. Liu also threatened Mr. Liu's mother, in her 70s, that he would arrest Mr. Liu as soon as he came back.
The couple was harassed again during the “Knocking on the Door Campaign” in 2017.
Laishui, Hebei Province: 8 Falun Gong Practitioners Arrested on Same Day in New 100-Day Campaign
Practitioners in Laishui County, Hebei Province Illegally Arrested