(Minghui.org) Sixty-four Falun Gong practitioners in seven cities in Sichuan Province were arrested between July 5 and 18, 2019 for not renouncing their faith. Falun Gong is an ancient mind and body improvement system that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
The arrests came days before the 20th anniversary of the persecution of Falun Gong, which is often regarded as a “sensitive date” by the authorities. As with other “sensitive dates,” the authorities reacted with intensified arrests and detention of practitioners.
Several other group arrests of Falun Gong practitioners were also reported in the provinces of Jilin, Hebei, Shandong, and Liaoning in July 2019.
Among the 64 arrests in Sichuan Province, 37 were in Chengdu City, 11 in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, 6 in both Nanchong City and Suining City, 2 in Meishan City, and 1 in both Panzhihua City and Mianyang City.
To note, all of the arrests in each city took place in one day, the arrests likely to have been orchestrated and coordinated by the entire Sichuan Province police force.
Chengdu City: 37 Arrested in One Day
In Chengdu City, 37 practitioners were arrested on July 10, 2019. Twenty-seven of the practitioners remain in police custody at the time of writing.
In addition to the 28 practitioners that were confirmed in a previous report, the 9 newly confirmed arrests include:
Ms. Xia Zhenrong, Mr. Shen Xuewen, Mr. Chen Yixing, Ms. Huang Meirong, Mr. Peng Chian, Mr. Zhang, Ms. Wan Xiulin, Mr. Zhong Dianjun, and Mr. Zhong Dianyu.
The police ransacked Mr. Shen's home and confiscated 30,000 yuan in cash, as well as his computer and printer.
Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture: 11 Arrested in One Day
Eleven residents of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture were arrested on July 14. Seven remain in custody at the time of writing.
The eleven arrested include:
Ms. Zhou Xianrong, her husband Mr. Pan (who does not practice Falun Gong) and her daughter;Ms. Pang Sufen, 77, a retired pharmaceutical company employee;Mr. Huang Biao, a retired employee of the local labor department;Ms. Xu Shaoqiong, an elementary school teacher;Mr. Li Yusen, 84;Mr. Meng Xianhui;Mr. Hu Shuangfei;Ms. Ding Longfen;and Ms. Geng Daofen.
Nanchong City: 6 Arrested in One Day
In the early morning of July 5, Ms. Zheng Suhua, Ms. Zhao Mulan, Ms. Yang Guifang and her sister Ms. Yang Xiaoxue were arrested by the Langzhong City Domestic Security Division.
The Yang sisters were sent to the Nanchong City Brainwashing Center.
Another two sisters, Ms. An Linghua and Ms. An Suhua, were also arrested on the same morning and placed on criminal detention in Nanchong.
Suining City: 6 Arrested in One Day
Ms. Xi Xianrong, Ms. Xia Daixiu, Ms. Yang Guihua and Ms. Dai were arrested around 10:00 a.m. on July 18, 2019. While Ms. Xia was struggling with the police, she was hit by a car and sustained injuries to her back. The police called a taxi, dragged her onto the car and took her to the police station.
The police later ransacked Ms. Xia's home and confiscated her computer and cellphone.
Ms. Liang Qinzhun, in her 70s, and Ms. Chen were arrested at 1:30 p.m. on July 18 after returning home from grocery shopping.
Ms. Xi, Ms. Yang, Ms. Dai and Ms. Chen were released around 10:00 p.m. the same day. Ms. Xia and Ms. Liang continued to be held in police custody.
Other Arrests
Ms. Yu Jingfang of Panzhihua City was arrested on July 6. She was released after five days of detention.
Ms. Xu Zhonghui of Mianyang City was arrested at 2:00 p.m. on July 11 by officers from the Jiangyou Domestic Security Division. She is currently held at the Mianyang City Detention Center.
Ms. Zhou Sufang and her husband of Meishan City were arrested on July 15. Both have been released at the time of writing.
In addition, several practitioners in Dazhou City have been harassed by the police since July 18. The officers took pictures of them, ransacked their homes and attempted to force them to sign statements to renounce Falun Gong.
Related reports:
Chengdu City, Sichuan Province: 28 Falun Gong Practitioners Arrested in One Day
Tangshan City, Hebei Province: Nine Falun Gong Practitioners Arrested in One Day
Liaoning Province: At Least 35 Falun Gong Practitioners Arrested in Two Days
Jilin City, Jilin Province: At Least 24 Falun Gong Practitioners and Two Spouses Arrested in One Day
