Shandong Woman to Stand Trial for Her Faith in Falun Gong

(Minghui.org) A 65-year-old woman in the Kuiwen District of Weifang City, Shandong Province, is set to stand trial on September 26, 2023, for her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.

Ms. Kong Xiangyin was arrested on July 23, 2023, after being reported for talking to people about Falun Gong at a farmers’ market. The arresting officers from the Dongguan Police Station and Kuiwen District Domestic Security Office proceeded to raid her home and confiscated her Falun Gong books and informational materials.

The Kuiwen District Procuratorate indicted her and the Kuiwen District Court scheduled a hearing of her case for September 26. Ms. Kong is now awaiting trial at a local detention center.

Past Persecution

Ms. Kong credits Falun Gong for curing her gynecological diseases, chest discomfort, stomach problems, and cervical spondylosis (an inflammatory arthritis of the spine). She also improved her character and became more considerate after she took up Falun Gong in October 1997.

Because she held firm to her faith after the persecution began on July 20, 1999, she was repeatedly persecuted, especially at the hands of her employer, a local radio factory, which held her “in custody” even though it was not a law enforcement agency.

Held in a Hotel for 9 Hours in July 1999

On July 28, 1999, eight days after the communist regime formally declared its intent to persecute Falun Gong, Ms. Kong’s supervisors deceived her into going to Huaguang Hotel. She was held there for nine hours and watched by her coworkers. They ordered her to write a statement to renounce Falun Gong. The factory security guards also raided her home that night.

Detained over a Month Between November and December 1999

Ms. Kong went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong in November 1999. She was arrested on November 22 that year while doing the Falun Gong exercises on Tiananmen Square. The arresting officers from the Tiananmen Square Police Station took her to the Weifang City Government’s Liaison Office in Beijing, where she was searched. They confiscated the 2,000 yuan in cash she was carrying. Her employer dispatched security guards to pick her up from Beijing and escort her back the same day.

Ms. Kong was again held at Huaguang Hotel and watched by two coworkers. Four officers from the Weifang City Police Department, including Yang Zhaoyan, Hui Jian, and Ma Bo, interrogated her in the hotel and ordered her to write statements promising to not appeal in Beijing again or practice Falun Gong. They also fined her 2,000 yuan.

Her husband was summoned to the hotel to “work on” her. Under the mounting pressure to make his wife submit, he fainted several times. Yang and Hui kicked him a few times and shamed him for not being able to handle his own wife. They extorted 500 yuan from him to cover their gas to drive to and from the hotel and threatened to beat him up and keep him detained.

Du Zaiming, a factory security guard, handcuffed Ms. Kong and forced her to do difficult physical movements as punishment. He also didn’t give her anything to eat.

Ms. Kong was taken to the Weifang City Detention Center after several hours at the hotel. The detention center guard took her picture and collected her fingerprints by force.

Seven days later, Ding Zhihui, another factory security guard, picked Ms. Kong up from the detention center and took her to their factory. They locked her up in a warehouse for more than a month, during which time she had to sleep on the floor and was only given rice to eat—no vegetables or meat. Her husband had to pay 4,000 yuan before being allowed to pick her up on December 29, 1999.

Head Injured During Arrest in June 2000

On June 16, 2000, Ms. Kong was intercepted while on her way to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong by Du Shicong, then factory Party secretary, and a few security guards. They drove her home and left.

Ms. Kong visited a fellow practitioner that night. Du somehow found out about it and led a few factory security guards to surround that practitioner’s home. He also called in officers from Dayu Police Station, who broke in and ordered Ms. Kong and her host to turn in their Falun Gong books. While trying to protect the books, Ms. Kong’s head was injured and bled profusely.

Arrested in Beijing Again in September 2000

Ms. Kong managed to go to Beijing again on September 30, 2000. She was arrested on Tiananmen Square. An officer kicked her on the chest, and she was in so much pain that she couldn’t talk and collapsed.

The police drove her to the Sijiqing Police Station in Beijing, where she was forced to stand facing a wall for extended periods of time. On the third day, she was taken to a detention center and forced to sit on a small stool for long hours on end. Three days later, she was taken to the Weifang City Government’s Liaison Office in Beijing and held there for one night.

On October 13, 2000, Ms. Kong was brought back to Weifang and held at Dongguan Police Station. Five hours later, her employer picked her up and took her to Huaguang Hotel. The next day, she was taken to the Weifang City Detention Center. She was released ten days later on October 24, 2000, but not before she was forced to pay a fine of 1,500 yuan.

The very next day, then factory secretary Li Qiyi led security to the detention center, intending to take Ms. Kong to a brainwashing center. They were infuriated to learn that she had been released the day before. They soon found out that she was staying at her parents-in-law’s home and went there to pick her up. She asked them not to frighten her father-in-law, who had dementia.

Li said, “You must go to the brainwashing center tomorrow no matter what!” He had people watching outside Ms. Kong’s parents-in-law’s home to monitor the family. In order to lessen the pressure on her family, Ms. Kong scaled the wall and escaped that night. She lived away from home for a period of time after that.

Held in a Warehouse for 15 Days in 2005

On May 11, 2005, the radio factory deceived Ms. Kong and several other employees who also practiced Falun Gong into going to a warehouse for a “meeting.”

They were all held there for half a month.

Mother and Daughter Detained for 7 Hours and Fined 10,000 Yuan in 2008

Captain Chen and more than a dozen officers, including Gu Zhiyong, from the Kuiwen District Police Station broke into Ms. Kong’s home at 9 a.m. on December 23, 2008. Her daughter was still asleep. She woke up and condemned the police for arresting people without legal documents. Gu flashed a blank form and said they could fill it out then and there.

Four officers carried Ms. Kong and her daughter to their cruiser and drove them to the police department. The mother and daughter were held for seven hours. Ms. Kong’s husband had to pay 10,000 yuan to get them released.

Twice Arrested in 2013

Ms. Kong was arrested on the morning of March 8, 2013, after being reported for talking to people about Falun Gong at a supermarket. The Weicheng Police Station officers searched her and snatched her bag. They took her to Weifang Second People’s Hospital for a physical exam.

When she refused to cooperate, three police officers held her down so a nurse could draw her blood. She was covered in bruises. They then took her back to the police station, detained her for 12 hours, and extorted 10,000 yuan from her before releasing her at around 10 o’clock that night.

Ms. Kong was buying groceries on November 19, 2013, when she was arrested and taken to the Nanliu Police Station. She was interrogated and had her picture taken against her will.

Four hours later, the police drove her to Weifang Second People’s Hospital for a physical exam. The nurses drew her blood and gave her an electrocardiogram. The police then drove her to the Weifang City Detention Center, which declined to admit her.

Officer Ding from the Weifang City Domestic Security Office and five others raided Ms. Kong’s home while she was in custody. They confiscated two computers, 600 yuan in cash, a bronze tripod (worth 4,600 yuan), an MP5 player, and two sets of Falun Gong books. After extorting 5,000 yuan from her family, the police released Ms. Kong at 11:30 p.m. on the day of her arrest.