(Minghui.org) Over 50 Falun Gong practitioners in Zhaodong City, Heilongjiang Province, were arrested on September 4, 2023. Among the 16 practitioners whose names were known, five of them were released that day, while the other 11 remain in custody.
The five who were released are: Mr. Sun Hongbo, Ms. Lian Jiarong, Ms. Huang Shuqing, Ms. Wang Hongyan, and Ms. Li Guihua. The 11 practitioners who are still detained are: Ms. Zhao Li, Mr. Wang Guodong, Ms. Qiao Shuzhen, Ms. Zheng Yanli, Mr. Zhan Xiangjun, Ms. Yuan Meng, Ms. Wang Zhujun, Ms. Yang Shujun, Ms. Guan Fengling, Ms. Li Jinhua, and Mr. Xiong Qiliang.
According to insiders, the Heilongjiang Provincial Public Security Bureau was involved in issuing the mass arrest order. The police began following and monitoring some of the practitioners two or three months before the arrests.
Ten days after the arrests in Zhaodong, the police in nearby Jiamusi City, about 260 miles away, arrested ten more practitioners. It’s not clear whether the arrests in both cities were connected.
Below are the details of some of the arrests in Zhaodong.
Ms. Zhao Li
Ms. Zhao Li, in her 50s, works as a part-time cashier in a property management company. As soon as she left home for work on the morning of September 4, more than ten officers arrested her and raided her home. The police said they arrested her because she hosted other Falun Gong practitioners at her home the day before.
Ms. Guan Fengling
Ms. Guan Fengling’s manager noticed a car parked outside the company for at least two days. He asked the person inside the car why he was there. The person showed his police ID and said he was told to watch a Falun Gong practitioner. While the officer refused to reveal who he was monitoring, Ms. Guan’s manager was certain she was the target as she was the only practitioner at his company. He told the officer that she was a good person and condemned him for monitoring her.
Ms. Lian Jiarong
Ms. Lian Jiarong was arrested by officers who were staked outside her apartment building when she went downstairs to throw the garbage out. They took her to her apartment and confiscated her Falun Gong books and a photo of Falun Gong’s founder. After she was released, she returned to the police station twice and asked for her books, but the police refused to return them.
Ms. Wang Hongyan
When the police came to Ms. Wang Hongyan’s home to arrest her, her family did not allow them to come in. “You are not allowed to enter our home at will,” they told the police.
The police found the neighborhood security staff and broke into her apartment with them. Ms. Wang’s one Falun Gong book and two pamphlets were confiscated. She was released later that day.
Ms. Li Guihua
Ms. Li Guihua went out around 3 p.m. on September 4 to buy something. As soon as she stepped out of her apartment building, a plainclothes officer came up, handcuffed her behind her back, and dragged her into a police car, where another officer was waiting. The arresting officer then called someone and said, “We got her.” The other person said, “You are awesome.” The arresting officer called in two more officers and the four of them raided Ms. Li’s home.
The four plainclothes officers moved Ms. Li’s handcuffs to the front and covered her hands with a towel. They took her upstairs and opened her door with the key they found in her pocket. As soon as they entered, they photographed the entire apartment and searched it. The police also took her husband’s cell phone and ordered him to cooperate with them.
Ms. Li’s husband shouted in the hallway, “The police are searching my home and snatching my cell phone like thugs!” Many of the neighbors came over to see what was happening.
Ms. Li’s husband wondered why her hands were covered with a towel so he lifted it. When he saw that she was handcuffed, he asked the police which law she violated and whether they had an arrest or search warrant. One officer said they received an order from the local police department.
Her husband said, “Who allows the police to persecute people? You are the people’s police and should protect us. What's happened to our country and why are you harming innocent people?” The police remained silent.
The husband then demanded to know the officer’s names and police IDs. He said he would file a complaint against them. One of them said, “I’m from the Nancheng Police Station. My name is Wang Gensheng. My police ID is 122295.”
Ms. Li’s husband was so upset about what the police were doing that he suffered a relapse of his heart disease and collapsed. The police relented. They removed Ms. Li’s handcuffs and returned her husband’s cell phone. They left without taking Ms. Li to the police station.
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