(Minghui.org) An 86-year-old man and his family in Jinchang City, Gansu Province have been repeatedly harassed by local officials in recent months for his faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Mr. Wang Chengtang’s son received a call on October 23, 2020, from Liu Guoshuang, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) secretary of their village. Liu said that township officials demanded he have a talk with him about getting his father to give up Falun Gong.
That afternoon Mr. Wang’s son met with three township officials and told them that it was his father’s personal choice to practice Falun Gong and that he couldn’t represent him. He added that his father has been enjoying very good health because of practicing Falun Gong.
The officials threatened to withhold the elderly man’s pension if he refused to give up his practice. Mr. Wang’s son still insisted that he couldn’t comply with their request.
Liu also called Mr. Wang’s daughter-in-law and tried to pressure her. She also refused to comply and said that Liu should talk to Mr. Wang himself.
Four days later, on the morning of October 27, 2020, three officers knocked on Mr. Wang’s door, pretending to be conducting a census. It’s not clear whether Mr. Wang opened the door for them.
Another two officers came to harass Mr. Wang again on October 29, but Mr. Wang didn’t let them in.
At around 9 a.m. on November 10, Liu visited Mr. Wang himself. Mr. Wang’s daughter, Ms. Wang Shuhua, kept Liu out of the door. Liu said to them from the hallway that the township officials would give Mr. Wang 3,000 yuan if he agreed to renounce Falun Gong. He added that it was an order from the provincial level officials.
Not long after Liu left, another village official, Yang Wensheng, stopped by and said that he was there to conduct a census. “Didn't you just come a few days ago? Why are you here again?” Ms. Wang said to Yang.
Moments after Yang left, a third official, Wang Xushan came, also under the pretense of conducting a census. “When can you stop lying?” Ms. Wang said to him.
At 10 a.m., Wu Jinzhang, the Party secretary of Ningyuan Town, knocked on Mr. Wang’s door. As Wu had previously come to harass Mr. Wang in July, Ms. Wang refused to let him in. Wu said he came just by himself and he asked to talk to Mr. Wang. After Wu promised not to take photos of Mr. Wang or call in the police, Ms. Wang opened the door for him.
Just as Wu sat down, Kang Shenghong, another township official, knocked on the door and shouted Ms. Wang’s name. She questioned Wu, “Didn’t you say you came by yourself? Who is the person outside?”
Wu shouted back, “Kang Shenghong, stop shouting. I’m leaving soon!” He turned around and said to Ms. Wang, “See, I didn’t let him in. You don’t have to open the door for him.”
Ms. Wang said to Wu, “It’s a heavenly principle that good and evil will be rewarded accordingly. There is always a price to pay when people do bad things.”
Wu laughed and said, “I’m leaving now. I didn’t have anything important. Just checking if he is doing well.”
“My father is fine,” Ms. Wang replied and then opened the door for Wu.
Before she realized it, five police officers rushed inside. One of them held a video recorder and videotaped Ms. Wang.
After two of the officers denied that they were with the police, Ms. Wang said, “I know you. Your family name is Liao and you are Wang.”
With nothing to hide, the four officers held Ms. Wang and the fifth went to Mr. Wang’s room.
The police carried Ms. Wang to their car and took her to the village committee office. She demanded to talk to village secretary Liu Guoshuang, but was told he wasn’t in the office. It’s not clear whether Ms. Wang has been released at the time of writing.