(Minghui.org) A Pinggu District, Beijing resident had his one-year bail lifted on November 11, 2023 and no longer faced prosecution for his faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999. Mr. Liu Yaping, around 55, is still fighting to get his teaching job back.
Mr. Liu was initially arrested on October 5, 2022, and the Pinggu District Procuratorate issued a notice on November 10, 2022 to immediately release him. The police, however, refused to free him unconditionally and put him on one-year bail. They detained him again for several hours on May 10, 2023, installed two surveillance cameras on his door two months later and had people staked outside his home to monitor him.
Mr. Liu’s bail ended on November 11, 2023. The Pinggu District Police Department chief signed an order that day to destroy all the Falun Gong books and informational materials seized during his October 2022 and May 2023 arrests, but to return other confiscated items, including his computer and printer. It is unclear though whether the surveillance cameras have been removed from his door.
Mr. Liu is in the process of trying to get his teaching job at the Huangsongyu Middle School reinstated. He was fired before 2022 (exact time unknown) and landed a temporary job at the Nandulehe Kindergarten affiliated with the Nandulehe Elementary School. All the schools are under the administration of the Pinggu District Board of Education.
The rest of the report details Mr. Liu’s latest persecution from October 2022 to November 2023, followed by his earlier persecution.
Part 1: Persecution of Mr. Liu Between October 2022 and November 2023
Arrested in October 2022 and Released on One-Year Bail
Mr. Liu was arrested on October 5, 2022, while staying at his childhood home in Zhushui Village, Shandongzhuang Town, Pinggu District. The arresting officers were from the Nandulehe Police Station, the Pinggu District Domestic Security Office, and the Beijing Domestic Security Office. They raided his childhood home and took him to the Pinggu District Detention Center.
Mr. Liu requested paper and pen on October 7, 2022 as he planned to write a complaint letter to the Pinggu District Procuratorate against the Nandulehe Police Station. Guard Liu Hai (no relation) rejected his request and accused him of being disrespectful to detention center guards. He restrained Mr. Liu with handcuffs and shackles, which were linked by a short metal chain.
On October 10, 2022, Cao, the security director of Zhushui Village, led more than ten people, including officers from the Pinggu District Domestic Security Office and employees from the Huangsongyu Middle School, and descended upon Mr. Liu’s home.
Mr. Liu was still in detention and none of his family members opened the door. The police attempted to climb inside from a window, but failed. One of them threatened to pry open the window and search his relatives’ homes. They ended up leaving without breaking the window.
Meng Bin from the Pinggu District Procuratorate interrogated Mr. Liu at the detention center on November 8, 2022. Mr. Liu said that no law in China criminalizes Falun Gong and that the Press and Publication Administration had long lifted the ban on Falun Gong books. As such, the Falun Gong items confiscated during his arrest could not be used as evidence against him as the police intended to.
The procuratorate decided to not issue a formal arrest warrant against Mr. Liu and issued a release notice on November 10, 2022. The Nandulehe Police Station, however, put him on one-year bail that day and also refused to return the confiscated items.
Uphill Battle to Get Job Back
After he was released, Mr. Liu made a request to the Pinggu District Board of Education to reinstate his job at the Huangsongyu Middle School. The board of education refused to address the matter by using various excuses, such as the procuratorate did not have a written notice to not issue an arrest warrant against him; he was still on bail; and they needed to further investigate the matter.
On January 4, 2023, the board of education issued a disciplinary decision to lower Mr. Liu’s pay at his temporary job at the Nandulehe Kindergarten. He requested a review of this decision. The board of education declined to conduct a review on the grounds that his request materials mentioned Falun Gong. They forwarded his request to a supervising agency.
Mr. Liu filed a request with the supervising agency to have the board of education disclose all the details about the decisions made against him. The supervising agency mailed a response to the director of the human resources department of the board of education. The director withheld the response, instead of forwarding it to Mr. Liu.
There was also unverified news that the board of education suspended Mr. Liu’s pay and employee benefits for a period of time and was contemplating to terminate his kindergarten job.
Mr. Liu later filed an appeal with the Personnel Management Section of the Pinggu District Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, requesting that they revoke the board of education’s disciplinary action against him.
While he was awaiting a response, the Nandulehe Kindergarten implemented a new policy, barring its employees from taking time off for Falun Gong related matters. This new policy effectively hindered Mr. Liu from taking leaves to visit relevant agencies during weekdays to seek justice for himself.
Harassed Twice in Early 2023 for Appealing Against Board of Education
On April 17, 2023, Mr. Liu was at work when he was harassed by several agents from the Pinggu District Political and Legal Affairs Committee, Liu Jianhui from the Pinggu District Board of Education, and officer Wang Yunpeng from the Yuyang Police Station. They targeted him for his appeal against the board of education.
On April 25, 2023, Wang Yiman, chief of the personnel management section of the Pinggu District Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, registered Mr. Liu’s appeal case. It is unclear whether there has been a decision issued yet.
Briefly Detained in May 2023
Mr. Liu was arrested at work on the afternoon of May 10, 2023. He refused to have his pictures taken and vowed to file complaints against the police. He was released hours later.
The Pinggu District Political and Legal Affairs Committee, the Yuyang Police Station, the Taiheyuan Street Committee, the Jinhaihu Police Station, and the Zhushui Village Committee started monitoring Mr. Liu closely in July 2023. They installed two surveillance cameras on his door and dispatched grid managers to monitor him outside his home. [China’s grid-style social management system involves dividing each county into smaller zones (or grids) and tasking the grid managers with monitoring citizens and reporting suspicious activities to local governments on a regular basis.]
It is unclear whether the surveillance cameras and the grid managers were removed after Mr. Liu’s one-year bail ended on November 11, 2023.
Part 2: Persecution of Mr. Liu from 2009 to September 2022
Mr. Liu’s latest persecution was preceded by a two-year forced labor term and numerous harassment incidents.
Given 2 Years of Forced Labor in 2009
On the morning of December 23, 2009, Wu Yurong, a member of the Pinggu District Board of Education, led the Beijing Domestic Security Office and the Pinggu District Domestic Security Office and arrested Mr. Liu at the Huangsongyu Middle School. Because he refused to be searched, they beat him savagely.
The police next took Mr. Liu to the Pinggu District Detention Center on the grounds that he posted Falun Gong messages online. They later gave him two years of forced labor.
Harassed in 2015
At 2:30 p.m. on October 16, 2015, chief Hua Shaofu of the Yuyang Police Station led officers Yang Jianhua and Mei Qiuzhen to Mr. Liu’s home. They questioned him about the lawsuit he filed earlier that year against Jiang Zemin, former Chinese dictator who ordered the persecution of Falun Gong.
Mr. Liu explained that he had the right to sue Jiang for launching the persecution. The three uninvited visitors did not say it was wrong for him to file the complaint, but insisted that they must follow the higher-ups' order to “visit” and “talk to him.” They ordered him to sign the written records of their conversation. Mr. Liu refused and they left.
Harassed in 2017
On the afternoon of May 6, 2017, chief Wang Guangcheng of the Jinhaihu Town Police Station led officers Yang Qingshan, and security director Wang Baozhen of the Zhushui Village and descended upon Mr. Liu’s home.
He did not open the door and they broke in. He and his wife, Ms. Zhang Yuhong, refused to answer their questions. The police then left.
Harassed in 2021
Two officers pounded on the door of Mr. Liu’s home at noon on June 19, 2021. He did not answer the door and they left. At around 8 p.m. that evening, they came again and left when no one opened the door.
On the afternoon of October 15, 2021, Wang Yan, a member of the Pinggu District Political and Legal Affairs Committee and the aforementioned Liu Jianhui from the Pinggu District Board of Education, went to the Huangsongyu Middle School and harassed Mr. Liu. They asked if he still practiced Falun Gong. He did not answer them, but warned them to not infringe upon his constitution right to freedom of belief.
Harassment Incidents in June-September 2022
On the afternoon of June 28, 2022, an agent from the Pinggu District Political and Legal Affairs Committee and two people from the Pinggu District Board of Education harassed Mr. Liu at the Nandulehe Kindergarten. They did not reveal their names when asked. At one point, they tried to snatch Mr. Liu’s cell phone. When that failed, they ordered him to power off his phone. He refused to comply and condemned them for harassing law-abiding citizens.
On July 27, 2022, Wang Yanming, the school district secretary in charge of the Nandulehe Elementary School, which oversees the Nandulehe Kindergarten, had a talk with Mr. Liu and tried to make him stop practicing Falun Gong. Mr. Liu firmly refused to comply.
At 6 p.m. on September 9, 2022, Mr. Liu was stopped at a checkpoint while on his way home. His ID had been flagged as a Falun Gong practitioner and the officer at the check point threatened to arrest him if he did not renounce Falun Gong. He refused and the officer called his counterpart in Mr. Liu’s residential area. While the officer was on the phone, Mr. Liu managed to escape.
On September 22, 2022, an officer from the Yuyang Police Station harassed Mr. Liu over the phone.
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