Police Officer Held in Brainwashing Center and Forced to Retire Due to His Faith in Falun Gong

(Minghui.org) A police officer was held in a brainwashing center for three months. After he was released, he was forced to retire early and placed under strict surveillance, all because of his faith in Falun Gong.

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

Mr. Yan Ji, an Anlu City, Hubei Province, resident in his 50s, was arrested at work on May 24, 2022. Agents from the 610 Office and Domestic Security Office first said that they needed to talk to him. But before he could respond, they pushed him outside and into the police car.

They drove him 30 miles away to a facility owned by the Beifan Township Village Committee. The door plate read “Care Center,” a new name for many brainwashing centers across China. All of the windows and doors had security bars and the windows were covered with a film that keeps those on the outside from seeing in.

There was no lock on the door to the room where Mr. Yan was held, so the authorities could come in at any time to check on him. He wasn’t allowed to close the door when he took a shower or turn off the light to sleep.

Because Mr. Yan was arrested at work, he didn’t have a change of clothes. It was hot at the time, and his clothes soon started to smell. He had to ask his family to send in clothes for him.

Mr. Yan’s cell phone, house keys, and belt were confiscated. Although the authorities promised that they wouldn’t unlock his phone, officer Yang of the 610 Office later told him that they spent 20,000 yuan to hire an expert to tap into his phone and gain access to his personal information.

The authorities used his keys to search his office and home, including his closets, fridge, and under the bed. The police took his computer and have not yet returned it.

The brainwashing center had strict requirements for how Mr. Yan was to stand and sit. Even when he left the room to get food or water, he was verbally abused. He wasn’t allowed to get a haircut and had to stay in the room at all times. During the three months he was there, he was not allowed outside for even a minute.

The officers often said to him, “You have to do what the Party tells you to and you can’t do anything that the Party doesn’t approve of.”

When Yang with the 610 Office tried to brainwash Mr. Yan, he said that he didn’t believe Falun Gong practitioners’ efforts to raise awareness about the persecution could have any effect in helping people understand the facts or fight the Party. Zhang Guihong, a brainwashing center staff member, said, “Killing you is as easy as crushing an ant.”

The brainwashing center later arranged for a lawyer surnamed Cheng to talk to Mr. Yan. Cheng first threatened to have him detained in a different location. Mr. Yan asked Cheng to search for two pieces of information online. Cheng agreed and found them on his own phone: the list of cults issued by the Ministry of Public Security and the notice issued by the Chinese publication bureau that lifted the ban on Falun Gong books in 2011. Mr. Yan pointed out that Falun Gong was never on the list of cults. Cheng appeared shocked and was quiet for a long time after reading the information. When he talked to Mr. Yan again, his attitude had changed dramatically.

During an interrogation, an officer accused Mr. Yan of undermining law enforcement using a cult organization. Mr. Yan challenged him to present evidence for the accusation. The officer just said it was based on Article 300 of the criminal law. Mr. Yan said that Article 300 referred to a cult organization obstructing enforcement of the law, but that no law in China says practicing Falun Gong is a crime or labels it a cult.

Before Mr. Yan was released, he received a notice from his employer that he would be retiring early. An officer with the Domestic Security Office told him that no matter how they proceeded with his case, the only prerequisite was that he renounce Falun Gong.

When Mr. Yan returned home on August 24, he saw a big surveillance camera with a bright light installed facing his door. Whenever he opened his door, the light turned on.

Mr. Yan also noticed extra noise whenever he made calls on his cell phone. The photos he received in text messages had extremely poor resolution. Sometimes the calls he made or received were dropped suddenly. It was the same for his computer: Files he downloaded one minute would disappear the next or the web page he was browsing would suddenly close.

Mr. Yan said that when he was working in the police department, he was discriminated against because of his faith in Falun Gong. The authorities refused to give him the necessary access to his computer or database, which made it very difficult for him to get his job done. He was also passed up for any and all promotions. After he was forced to retire, his pension was significantly lower than others with the same years of service.