Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province: Seventeen Arrested in 23 Days

(Minghui.org) Fifteen Falun Gong practitioners in Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province and two of their family members were arrested over the course of 23 days, from November 27 to December 19, 2021. Out of the 17 people arrested, 10 are still detained at the time of writing. The local Procuratorate had approved many of the arrests with one more pending for approval. 

Orchestrated by Liu Changjie and Li Lie, captain and assistant captain of the Domestic Security Unit of the Taihe Police Sub-bureau, officers from several police stations participated in the arrests. It was reported that the police did not wear uniforms in most of the arrests. Nor did they show any identifications or search warrants. Personal items and money were taken from homes without a list of confiscated items provided. Police also used deceptive means to obtain false testimonies and collected so-called “evidence” from arrested practitioners and their families.

Nine Elderly Practitioners Arrested in One Day

Ms. Kang, a resident of Linghe District of Jinzhou City, was arrested on November 27, 2021. While the police were searching her home, Ms. Zhang Shu’ai (81 years old) came to visit Ms. Kang, unaware of what had happened. She was also taken into police custody. 

Throughout the day, the police arrested seven other Falun Gong practitioners who came to visit Ms. Kang, including Ms. Chen Wenxue (79), Ms. Liu Xiangliang (81), Ms. Pangwang (80), Ms. Zhang Suqing (73), Ms. Liu Yurong, Ms. Jin Xiaomei, and Ms. Li Shufang (75). At the time of writing, Ms. Chen, Ms. Liu and Ms. Jin remain detained at the Jinzhou Women’s Detention Center. The others were all released on bail. 

Ms. Liu went to Ms. Kang’s home to ask for help in looking for a job. Because she had been imprisoned for practicing Falun Gong before, the police arrested her without any evidence. The procuratorate had approved Ms. Liu’s arrest.

One Practitioner and Two Family Members Arrested 

Ms. Xu Qingfang was arrested on the morning of December 12, 2021, while distributing calendars bearing information about Falun Gong. Upon hearing the news, Ms. Xu’s daughter, Ms. Meng Tao, and Ms. Xu’s nephew, Mr. Xu Chi, went to the police station to seek her release. When the police refused to release Ms. Xu, the daughter and nephew went back to Ms. Xu’s apartment. The police followed them and arrested them for “destroying evidence.” Ms. Meng is currently detained at the Jinzhou Women’s Detention Center. Mr. Xu is detained at the Jinzhou Detention Center.

One Practitioner Arrested for Reading a Falun Gong Poster

Another Falun Gong practitioner, Ms. Guo Shufeng was arrested when she was passing by a pharmacy and stopped to read a Falun Gong poster on a lamp pole. A woman thought that Ms. Guo had put up the poster and reported her to the police. 

Around 10 p.m. that night, the police went to the home of Ms. Guo’s daughter with whom Ms. Guo lives. They broke through the door and searched the place. They took Ms. Guo’s Falun Gong books and over 12,000 yuan in cash, as well as a computer and a printer that belongs to Ms. Guo’s daughter. Although the family explained to the police that Ms. Guo does not how to use a computer, they still took the computer and printer as “evidence.” Ms. Guo was taken to a police station and was interrogated until 3 a.m.

Ms. Guo has been charged with “undermining law enforcement,” the standard pretext used by the Chinese authorities to persecute Falun Gong practitioners. 

Four Additional Arrests

Ms. Zhang Yingling was taken from her home on November 27, 2021. She is currently detained at the Jinzhou Women’s Detention Center. Ms. Song Dechun was also taken from her home on December 2, 2021. She was released on December 15. Mr. Jia Jinwen was arrested from home on December 19, 2021. He is currently detained at the Jinzhou Detention Center. Another practitioner, Ms. Tang, who works as a seamstress, was arrested around December 15, 2021, and released the same day. 

Additionally, four practitioners from Taihe District were harassed by police on December 17, 2021. The police searched their homes and confiscated Falun Gong books and pictures of the founder of Falun Gong.

According to available statistics, 52 Falun Gong practitioners and family members have been arrested in Taihe District since May 2016. Among them, 17 were sentenced to prison; 14 were given one-year or longer sentences. The longest prison sentence was 7 years. Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Li Yanqiu was sentenced to 5 years in prison. She died 14 days after being taken to the Liaoning Women’s Prison in 2019, less than 3 months after she was arrested.