County in Shanxi Province Holds Brainwashing Sessions Targeting Falun Gong Practitioners

(Minghui.org) Across Shanxi Province, the Political and Legal Affair Committees at the provincial, city and county levels have been carrying out the “zero out” campaign targeting Falun Gong practitioners. The campaign aims to force every Falun Gong practitioner on the government’s blacklist to renounce their faith.

In Linyi County, the local government mobilized the officials from 610 Office, township governments, police stations, and village committees to actively take actions in the campaign. They have held a series of brainwashing sessions, with each session targeting just one Falun Gong practitioner. 

Since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began its persecution of Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline also known as Falun Dafa, in July 1999, both the Political and Legal Affair Committee (PLAC) and the 610 Office have been tasked with overseeing the persecution.

Wang Shijun, the director of the 610 Office and a member of PLAC in Linyi County, orchestrated the brainwashing sessions. Guo Tieshan from Yuncheng City Domestic Security Division has been in charge of the sessions’ operation. The current brainwashing session is being held at Linyi County Quantai Hotel, with previous sessions done in the Jinguo Hotel in Beixin Township.

Fan Jinxing, deputy party secretary of Beixin Township in Linyi County, led a group of people from the township government and police station to break into the home of Mr. Yao Kangqiang in Pingyi Village, Beixin Township on July 5, 2021. They took him to the Jinguo Hotel for a brainwashing session. Mr. Yao had been harassed a dozen times at home before being taken away.

Mr. Yao held a hunger strike to protest the persecution. He was sent home after two days when he became unwell. The next day, after the brainwashing staff learned that he had recovered a little, they made him attend another brainwashing session. 

After he was released, he left his home to avoid further persecution. The authorities came to harass his family every day to try to find him. Even after his wife broke her foot and couldn’t walk, they forced her to take them around on crutches to search for Mr. Yao.

Mr. Sun Hongding, who was out of town, was tricked into traveling thousands of miles to return home in late July 2021. Then he was taken to the brainwashing center.

In mid-August, Huang Zhiheng, the party secretary of Beixin County, deployed more than 20 armed officers and another 20 medical personnel, township government officials and police officers, to take Mr. Xie Yunfeng to the brainwashing session.

Guo Tieshan, together with four or five people, including those who had given up practicing Falun Gong and unemployed people, gave brainwashing lectures to the practitioners. Each “lecturer” received 300 to 500 yuan every day. 

Usually Guo kept only one practitioner for each brainwashing session, which lasted from a few days to more than 20 days. In addition to the hotel rental and service fees, each brainwashing session costs tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands yuan.

In the brainwashing sessions, the practitioners were forced to watch videos that defame Falun Gong. The staff members intimidated, deceived, and enticed the practitioners in attempt to get them to renounce Falun Gong.

Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Wang Wenxia was taking care of two paralyzed seniors in her family. Instead of leaving her alone, the authorities held the brainwashing session at her home.

A practitioner from Dongzhang Township was also known to have been forced to attend a brainwashing session.

Perpetrators involved in the brainwashing centers:Wang Shijun (王世俊), the director of 610 Office and a member of Political and Legal Affairs Committee of Linyi County: [phone]Fan Jinxing (樊金星), deputy party secretary of Beixin Township: [phone]Huang Zhiheng (黄之横), the party secretary of Beixin County Guo Tieshan (郭铁山), police officer from Yuncheng City Domestic Security Division: [phone], [phone]Deng Yanpin (邓雁平), party secretary of Yuncheng CityZhang Haiyan (张海燕), director of Yuncheng City 610 Office: [phone] (Cellphone)