(Minghui.org) Since August 2020, authorities in Jiansanjiang of Heilongjiang Province have been harassing Falun Gong practitioners as part of a nation-wide “Zero-out” campaign, a concerted effort to force practitioners on the government's blacklists to renounce his or her faith.
At Qianjin Farm, one of the state-owned farms in Jiansanjiang, eight practitioners were threatened to have their retirement pensions discontinued, their children fired from their jobs, and grandchildren blocked from attending college. Among them, two practitioners who are not living in the area were also visited and coerced by officials.
Several Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials visited Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Liu Shiying on August 30. They demanded that Mr. Liu sign a statement saying that he no longer practices Falun Gong. Mr. Liu adamantly refused. When they returned the next day and the day after, Mr. Liu refused to open the door for them. The officials then cut off electricity and water to Liu's home.
A few days later, they came back and made the same demand again. They threatened, “If you refuse to sign the paper, all we need to do is to make a phone call and your daughter will lose her job. We can also stop your retirement pension. We have many ways to deal with you.”
More than a dozen people in six cars stopped at Mr. Yu Songjia's home on the morning of September 3. One of the officials said, “Our job is to have you sign guarantee statements and video record you renouncing Falun Gong. I don't care if you keep practicing Falun Gong at home afterwards. Once this is done, we won't be under pressure. Otherwise, we have to keep coming back.”
Mr. Yu tried to explain to them the facts of Falun Gong, but they refused to listen. A neighbor came over and rebuked the officials. “Mr. Yu is a good person. Those who practice Falun Gong are all good people. You people are preposterous. With so many of you threatening him, if it were anyone else, he would be scared to death!”
Mr. Lu Chuan'gang works at Qianjin Farm Hospital. He was summoned to the Hospital Administrator's office on September 7. The Party Secretary at the hospital, Zhou Wenge, said to him, “You are required to write and sign a guarantee statement, and have a picture taken. If you sign the statement, your name will be removed from the list, and your children will not be affected in attending school or joining the military in the future. If you don't, you won't even able to take trains or travel by air in the future. Your children will be your guarantors.”
Zhou also told Ms. Lu that if he refuses to cooperate, the CCP will dock part of Zhou and the hospital administrator's salaries and they may even lose their jobs. Between September 30 and October 10, Mr. Lu was asked multiple times to sign the guarantee statement and he refused every time.
On October 14, Mr. Lu was told that he was being suspended with no pay. Mr. Lu protested, “This is persecution, and it is against conscience. I did not break any law. I want to appeal.” Mr. Lu's family was given two months to convince him to give up his belief or face more severe consequences.
Ms. Jiang Xinbo moved to Shandong Province temporarily last year to stay with her daughter, who graduated from college and got a job there. On October 3, Ms. Jiang's husband and brother, instructed by Qianjin Farm CCP officials, traveled two thousand miles to Shandong to urge Ms. Jiang to sign the guarantee statements. After Ms. Jiang refused, officials suspended her husband's job at Qianjing Farm School. They also sent a letter to Ms. Jiang's daughter's workplace, threatening to have her fired from her job.
Ms. Jiang Xinbo had been sentenced to prison twice, for a total of seven years, for her faith in Falun Gong; and twice she was taken to brainwashing centers.
Ms. Liu Yuanzheng is a retiree from Qianjin Farm Hospital. On September 8, she received a phone call from her son, relaying a message from the CCP officials of Qianjin Farm Hospital, “Ms. Liu needs to go to the hospital to sign a guarantee statement stating that she no longer practices Falun Gong and be video recorded. If she refuses, she will no longer receive her retirement pension. In addition, you [referring to Ms. Liu's son] may lose your job in another city as a government employee and your son [referring to Ms. Liu's grandson] will be prohibited from attending college or joining the army.”
After the phone call, Ms. Liu's son drove a thousand miles through heavy rain to Ms. Liu's home and tried to convince her to give up her belief in Falun Gong, even though he knew very well that Ms. Liu had benefited from Falun Gong.
Another practitioner, Ms. Pan Shurong, lives with her daughter and son-in-law. On October 10, two officials from her daughter's workplace visited her and demanded that she sign the guarantee statements. When Ms. Pan refused, they threatened, “Both your daughter and son-in-law have good jobs. If you don't sign the statements, they may lose their jobs.” Ms. Pan's whole family has been very stressed about it.
Moreover, Mr. Li Changping, a former employee, moved to Sichuan Province several years ago. Yet officials in Qiangjing Farm sent people to his home in Sichuan and attempted to have him sign the guarantee statements.
Ms. Shao Aichun, 82 years old, has been very healthy and self-sufficient after she started practicing Falun Gong. However, threatened by the CCP officials, her children and grandchildren pressured her into signing the guarantee statement. Ms. Shao later regretted it terribly and declared the statement that she signed to be void.