(Minghui.org) A Botou City, Hebei Province, man is facing prosecution in a city 250 miles away for posting information about Falun Gong on WeChat, a popular Chinese social media platform.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Mr. Li Bin’s wife was notified by the Wenfeng District Police Station in Anyang City, Henan Province on June 5, 2021, that her husband’s arrest has been approved by the Wenfeng District Procuratorate. He was charged with “undermining law enforcement,” the standard pretext used to criminalize Falun Gong practitioners in China. The 20 Chinese New Year stickers confiscated from his home were also included as prosecution evidence, because they have the words, “Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance,” (the central tenets of Falun Gong) printed on them.
Mr. Li, 50, was arrested at home on April 28, 2021, by Cui Yanhong, an officer from the Hedong Police Station in Botou, as well as four officers from the Wenfeng Police Station.
Upon entering Mr. Li’s home, the Henan police asked for his cellphone number and whether he practiced Falun Gong. After he answered both questions, the police began to ransack his place without showing their IDs or search warrant.
The laptop Mr. Li used to teach his granddaughter Chinese was confiscated after the police found educational cartoons made by Falun Gong practitioners on it. Mr. Li’s Falun Gong books and photo of Falun Gong’s founder were also confiscated in the raid.
The sudden arrest and violent raid angered Mr. Li’s neighbors, especially after they learned that he was merely targeted for sending information on WeChat. One neighbor said, “Why does the government have to control what people say? The Communist Party is a rogue regime and doesn’t allow people to tell the truth.”
After the raid, the Henan police took Mr. Li to Anyang in the afternoon and held him at the Anyang City Detention Center.
When Mr. Li’s wife went to the detention center to visit him in early May, the guards didn’t allow her to see him or to make a cash deposit for him in the police station account (for purchasing basic necessities). She called the police officer in charge of his case. The officer replied that he was out of town and didn’t have time to talk to her. He also said that he didn’t know when Mr. Li would be released.
Since 2019, the police in Henan Province have begun to travel to other provinces to arrest Falun Gong practitioners for spreading information about the persecution of their faith online.
Among the practitioners targeted by the Henan police, Ms. Wang Daiqing of Suining City, Sichuan Province, and Ms. Han Weifang of Chongqing were both arrested on July 1, 2020, and stood trial in the Chuanhui District Court in Zhoukou City, Henan Province on January 14, 2021. They are now awaiting their verdicts.
Ms. Fu Nijuan of Zhijiang City, Hubei Province; Mr. Li Fuchun of Beijing; and Mr. Wu Jiajian of Laixi City, Shandong Province, were arrested between October and November 2020 by police from Luoyang City, Henan Province. They were indicted by the Luoyang Jianxi District Procuratorate on April 25 and are now awaiting trial in the Jianxi District Court at the Luoyang City Detention Center.
Ms. Dai Zhiying, a 65-year-old Shanghai resident, was also arrested by the Luoyang police on April 12, 2021, and is now detained in Luoyang. Her mother, in her 80s and who practices Falun Gong as well, has also gone missing following Ms. Dai’s arrest.
Ms. Sun Lijuan and her husband Mr. Zhang Baoguo, of Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province, were arrested by police from Jiaozuo City, Henan Province on April 25, 2021. Ms. Sun is now held at the Jiaozuo City Detention Center and Mr. Zhang remains at the Jinzhou City Detention Center.
Henan Police Arrest Falun Gong Practitioners in Other Provinces for Raising Awareness of Persecution
Perpetrators’ contact information:
Hedong Police Station: +86-317-8283217Officer of Wenfeng Police Station: +86-15737215751Ouyang Baojun (欧阳报军), head of Anyang City Police Department: +86-372-5156001, +86-19803721666Hou Shangfa (侯尚法), head of Wenfeng District 610 Office: +86-372-5396287, +86-13700716959Liu Zhiying (刘志英), prosecutor of Wenfeng District Procuratorate: +86-372-5102189
(More perpetrators’ contact information is available in the original Chinese article.)