(Minghui.org) Two residents of Changchun City, Jilin Province were issued formal arrest warrants in December 2023 for their faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Ms. Xiao Weiwei was arrested between 10 and 11 a.m. on October 19, 2023, by officers from the Baiju Road Police Station. While the police were raiding her home, her friend Ms. Zhuang Mingxia came to visit her and was also arrested.
Ms. Zhuang Mingxia
After searching Ms. Xiao’s home, the police proceeded to raid Ms. Zhuang’s home. No one was home, so they pried open the door. They also installed a surveillance camera on Ms. Zhuang’s door before leaving. Her husband was unable to open the door that night when he returned home. He then noted that the door handle was damaged and that the lock had been changed. Given his strong protest, the police later removed the surveillance camera.
Both Ms. Xiao and Ms. Zhuang have since been held at the Changchun City Detention Center. Their loved ones have not been given any official update of their case status. An insider revealed the news of the formal arrest warrants, but there is still no other information.
Arrest Triggered by a Simple Act
Ms. Xiao’s arrest early on the morning of October 19, 2023 was triggered by a simple act of hers, when she went to the Jilin Province Women’s Prison to pick up her friend Ms. Zhang Guixiang, who was set to be released that morning after serving three years for practicing Falun Gong.
Unbeknownst to Ms. Xiao and Ms. Zhang’s families, the Chuncheng Boulevard Police Station had dispatched officers to wait outside the prison. The local 610 Office had instructed them to take Ms. Zhang to some government agencies to sign statements to renounce Falun Gong.
When Ms. Zhang walked out of the prison at 8:30 a.m. that day, the police attempted to grab her. Both she and her family condemned the police, and her daughter managed to get her into Ms. Xiao’s car and leave before the police seized her.
The police seized Ms. Zhang’s daughter instead and took her inside the prison for interrogation, before transferring her to the nearby Lanjia Police Station at around noon.
Ms. Xiao returned home after dropping off Ms. Zhang, only to be arrested by the Baiju Road Police Station between 10 and 11 that morning. The police accused her of harboring Ms. Zhang, and also implicated Ms. Zhuang when she went to visit Ms. Xiao. Both Ms. Xiao and Ms. Zhuang had been repeatedly targeted for their faith in the past and were on the police’s radar. They knew that the police were simply finding an excuse to persecute them again.
Ms. Zhang was later seized by police on either the second or the third day after her prison release. They held her for a brief period of time before releasing her. Her daughter was released around the same time.
Due to the strict information censorship in China, Minghui correspondents cannot always obtain accurate information in a timely manner. A previous report indicated that both Ms. Zhuang and Ms. Xiao went to pick up Ms. Zhang, and the three of them were arrested together outside the prison by the Chuncheng Boulevard Police Station officers. The Chuncheng Boulevard Police Station then turned over Ms. Zhuang and Ms. Xiao’s cases to the Baiju Road Police Station.
But this new report confirmed that Ms. Xiao was arrested at home between 10 and 11 a.m. on October 19, 2023, Ms. Zhuang was arrested soon afterwards when visiting Ms. Xiao, and Ms. Zhang was arrested on either October 20 or 21, 2023.
Related Reports:
Jilin Woman Seized by Police the Moment She Walks Out of Prison After Serving 3 Years for Her Faith
Jilin Woman Secretly Tried and Sentenced for Her Faith
Jilin Judge Bars Out-of-Town Lawyer from Representing Local Falun Gong Practitioner
After Two Labor Camp Terms and Constant Harassment, Jilin Woman Arrested Again for Her Faith
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