(Minghui.org) Five elderly Wuhan City, Hubei Province, residents were harassed by the police and members of the residential committee for their faith in Falun Gong in March 2021, including four women in their 60s and 70s and a man in his 80s.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

81-year-old Man Threatened

Mr. Wang Wenqing, 81, who is retired from the Agricultural Bank, lives in the Huangpi District. In early March, two officers from the Yaoji Street Police Station broke into his home. They took pictures and harassed him. When Mr. Wang asked them what they were here for, they replied, “Nothing,” and left.

In the following days, members of the residential committee and officers from the Yaoji Police Station returned to harass Mr. Wang every few days. They intimidated him and ordered him to give up his faith. Once, they took out a prepared statement promising to renounce Falun Gong and told him to sign it.

They implied that they would take him off the government’s list of Falun Gong practitioners to be targeted and he could still practice Falun Gong in private after signing the statement. Mr. Wang still refused to comply.

Mr. Wang's wife passed away many years ago and he lives with his disabled daughter. He strives to become a better person by following Falun Gong’s principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. For upholding his faith, however, he’s been repeatedly arrested and detained and had his home ransacked.

Four More Incidents of Harassment

Ms. Li Yuzhen, 72, has been harassed and photographed by police repeatedly since March 9.

Ms. Wang Fengying, 67, a retired teacher, was harassed by residential committee officials and the police four times in March. They photographed her and tried to force her to sign the statement to give up her belief.

Ms. Li Juhua, 65, was harassed three times in March. Residential committee members and the police photographed and intimidated her, threatening her with detention and suspension of her monthly pension of 2,000 yuan if she refused to cooperate.

Ms. Xia Bayun, 65, was harassed and photographed by the officials from the residential committee and police officers four times in March.

Chinese version available

Category: Accounts of Persecution