Jiangsu Man Dies After Two Decades of Harassment and Extortion in the Persecution for His Faith

(Minghui.org)

Name: Li JianpingChinese Name: 李建平Gender: MaleAge: 61City: NanjingProvince: JiangsuOccupation: Company ownerDate of Death: Mid-April 2023Date of Most Recent Arrest: January 2015Most Recent Place of Detention: A brainwashing center

Mr. Li Jianping, a Falun Gong practitioner in Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province, was arrested several times for upholding his faith after the Chinese Communist Party began to persecute Falun Gong in 1999. When he wasn’t in detention, he was forced to live in displacement for a period of time to hide from the police. After he returned home, he faced constant harassment from the police and lived in fear that he might be arrested at any time.

Eyeing Mr. Li’s private company and his real estate properties, the police found all kinds of excuses to extort money from him. The harassment and the extortion caused tremendous emotional distress to him. He passed away in mid-April 2023. He was 61.

Mr. Li wasn’t the only one in his family to have been victimized by the 24-year-long persecution by the Chinese Communist Party. His mother, also a Falun Gong practitioner, was threatened by the police not to contact him; otherwise, both she and he would face grave consequences. The elderly woman in her 80s died in distress in late 2017.

Two Decades of Persecution

Mr. Li owned a company in Nanjing and enjoyed good business. One month after he took up Falun Gong in 1996, his diabetes disappeared. He lived by the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance and became more honest and considerate when handling business affairs. At home, he was a filial son, a caring husband, and a gentle father of two children.

On July 20, 1999, the day when the persecution started, Mr. Li and many local Falun Gong practitioners went to the provincial government in Nanjing to appeal for the right to practice Falun Gong. Riot police were dispatched to clear the crowd. Mr. Li was arrested and taken to a school. The police slapped him in the face, causing his nose and mouth to bleed. His face became swollen, his clothes torn and his body covered with bruises.

While attending a practitioners’ gathering not long after, Mr. Li was arrested again and had his home ransacked. He managed to escape but was forced to live away from home to hide from the police.

Mr. Li went to Beijing to appeal in October 2000, only to be arrested again and taken back to Nanjing. He was almost tortured to death at the Qinhuai District Detention Center before being released. The local police frequently harassed him, raided his home, and extorted him. Some officers even attempted to seize a real property of his, if he continued to practice Falun Gong. Mr. Li was forced into hiding again to avoid the harassment.

Five officers, led by Xiao Ningjian, the head of the Nanjing 610 Office, broke into Mr. Li’s home in October 2012 and ordered his family to reveal his whereabouts. They refused to comply. Xiao then claimed that as long as Mr. Li came back, attended a brainwashing session for a few days, and wrote a statement to renounce Falun Gong, he could spend the new year with his family. The family still refused to tell him Mr. Li’s location.

For the next three months, the police constantly came to harass the family, sometimes staying outside of their home overnight, on the lookout for Mr. Li. The police also checked the financial records of Mr. Li’s company and collected information about the properties he owned. Mr. Li’s mother in her 80s, his wife and their children lived under tremendous mental pressure and fear.

Mr. Li was arrested on February 27, 2013, after being seen reading Falun Gong books on a train from Nanjing to Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province. He was taken back to Nanjing and held in the Qinhuai District Detention Center. When his mother went to the detention center to visit him, she was devastated to see her son was almost beyond recognition due to the torture he had suffered.

Mr. Li was arrested one more time in June 2013 while taking the train. The police denied his family visits this time. Even though he was struggling with severe diabetes, the police kept telling his wife and daughter that he was doing fine and his blood sugar level was normal. Not until he was in critical condition did the police notify his family to take him home, on the condition that he does not keep any contact with any other Falun Gong practitioner, including his mother. If he was found to be in touch with them, the police would confiscate his property.

Not long after Mr. Li returned home, he was arrested again on November 19, 2013. His two computers and Falun Gong books were confiscated. He was held at the Qinhuai District Detention Center for a month.

The police broke into his office on March 19, 2014, and later raided his home. Then the police went to his mother’s place and accused her of going out to talk to people about Falun Gong. They emphasized that she wasn’t allowed to contact Mr. Li or other practitioners, or they would arrest her. Overwhelmed by the mental distress, the elderly woman passed away three years later.

Mr. Li was arrested again on November 19, 2014. He fell into critical condition due to torture in custody and was taken to the hospital for resuscitation. While he was still recovering, the police seized him again in January 2015 and held him in a brainwashing center for a month.

In June 2015, Mr. Li filed a criminal complaint with the Supreme People’s Procuratorate and Supreme People’s Court against Jiang Zemin for initiating the persecution of Falun Gong. The police began to harass him in August and monitored his daily activities. Even his computer was hacked and monitored. Days later, the police ransacked his home when no one was around. His computer and Falun Gong books were confiscated. When he went to the police station, seeking the return of the seized items, the police claimed that his crime was so serious that he could get a death sentence for it.

Since late 2019, the police escalated the surveillance of Mr. Li. They and the residential committee staff members even began to play mahjong (a gambling game) at his home and forced him to play with them, in order to extort money from him.

The lead officer threatened him, “You’d better be smart. Do you think we are here to play with you? Let me tell you, for stubborn people like you, we can kill you at any time and remove your heart and liver. Tell your wife, if we stop coming to your home, she has to go to my place. I’m afraid you won’t be able to find her anymore if that’s the case. No one will help you. You can also tell your children. With us coming here, you get to keep your company and properties. Your family can also spend time together. How good is that!”

Perpetrators’ contact information:

Xu Jinhui (徐锦辉), secretary of Nanjing Political and Legal Affairs CommitteeChang Heping (常和平), head of Nanjing Police DepartmentGao Honghua (高洪华), head of Nanjing Domestic Security Office: [phone], [phone]Wang Xiaomin (王筱敏), head of Nanjing 610 Office

(More perpetrators’ contact information is available in the original Chinese article.)