(Minghui.org) A 51-year-old resident of Binhai New Area, Tianjin, was arrested on April 14, 2024 for her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Ms. Li Ping’s mother received a notice the next day from the police saying that her daughter has been put on criminal detention at the Binhai New Area First Detention Center (located in Tanggu District in Binhai New Area and also known as Tanggu District Detention Center and Zhaojiadi Detention Center).
This is not the first time that Ms. Li has been targeted for her faith in Falun Gong. She was previously jailed three and a half years (October 2000 – April 2004) and held in a labor camp for two years (December 31, 2005 – January 16, 2006). She was brutally tortured during her detention and was on the verge of death a few times.
Past Persecution
After graduating from Beijing Forestry University with a bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture, Ms. Li landed a job at the municipal administration office in the Tianjin Port Free Trade Zone. She designed many of the gardens and green spaces in the free trade zone. Her work was so outstanding that many other government agencies and private employers sent people to learn from her.
After the persecution began, Ms. Li went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong in early October 1999 and was arrested. The Tianjin Port Free Trade Zone Police Department officers picked her up from the Tiananmen Police Station in Beijing that night. She was detained for 15 days.
Ms. Li was arrested again in August 2000 and held at the Binhai New Area First Detention Center for 45 days. Not long after her release, she was arrested again in early October 2000 while visiting another Falun Gong practitioner. The Hebei District Police Department officers held her at the Hebei District Detention Center and later the Tianjin Public Security First Detention Center. Her employer fired her on October 3, 2000. She was later sentenced to three and a half years and endured brutal torture at the Tianjin Women’s Prison. She was released in April 2004.
The Tanggu District Police Department officers arrested Ms. Li as soon as she stepped out of a friend’s home around noon on December 19, 2005. They took her to the Binhai New Area First Detention Center. She was given two years of forced labor on December 31, 2005 and transferred to the Banqiao Women’s Labor Camp on January 16, 2006.
Ms. Li remained steadfast in her faith and was abused at the labor camp. The guards put her in solitary confinement and deprived her of sleep. They also did not allow her to drink water, purchase daily necessities, or write to her family. She went on a hunger strike on March 3, 2006 and was force fed yellowish unknown drugs. She struggled to breathe as a result. She also experienced chest pain, abnormally fast heartbeat, and difficulty with bowel movement. Her family was denied visits with her and their request to have her released on medical parole was rejected. Section chief Liu Yuxia claimed that Ms. Li was not near-death yet, which was the criterion to be released on parole.
For details of Ms. Li’s suffering at the labor camp, see the following related reports.
Related Reports:
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