Reported in March and April 2024: 1,031 Falun Gong Practitioners Arrested or Harassed for Their Faith
(Minghui.org) A total of 1,031 cases of Falun Gong practitioners being arrested or harassed for their faith were reported in March and April 2024. The 537 arrest cases included 16 cases that took place in January 2024, 38 in February 2024, 238 in March 2024, and 240 in April 2024, as well as 5 cases with unknown months of occurrence. The first four months of 2024 also each saw 13, 63, 251, and 167 harassment cases, respectively, making up a total of 494. Due to strict information censorship in China, the persecution cases can’t always be reported in a timely manner, nor is all the information readily available.
Regrouping the above information, we note that a total of 896 arrest and harassment incidents took place in March and April 2024. Additionally, 130 of the newly reported persecution cases happened in the first two months of this year (130=16 arrests in January + 38 arrests in February + 13 harassments in January + 63 harassments in February). This new figure brought the January-February cases to a total of 435.
The March-April tally (896) more than doubled the January-February figure (435) because of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s two annual political meetings (“Two Sessions”) in March 2024 and the 25th anniversary of the April 25 appeal by 10,000 practitioners outside of the central government compound. As this year also marks the 25th anniversary of the persecution, the communist regime launched new rounds of propaganda campaigns to smear Falun Gong.
The newly reported 1,031 cases took place in 20 provinces and 4 centrally-controlled municipalities (Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai, and Tianjin). Hebei reported the most combined arrest and harassment cases (167), followed by 146 in Liaoning and 144 in Shandong. Fifteen other regions also had double-digit cases between 11 and 91. Another six regions had single-digit cases between 1 and 9.
Among the 1,031 targeted practitioners, 161 of them were 60 or older, including 47 in their 60s, 71 in their 70s, 41 in their 80s and 2 in their 90s. The police not only harassed an 87-year-old woman nonstop for distributing Falun Gong materials but also threatened to sentence her to prison.
One resident in Shanghai was evicted from her rental apartment because of her faith, not her failure to pay rent. Another woman in Shanghai, who was divorced by her husband and disowned by her daughter because of her faith, could barely pay for her rental after her pension was deducted by the authorities. Several other practitioners in other parts of the country also faced financial constraints either after their pension was suspended or their low-income subsidy application was denied.
Three practitioners, including a former hospital service manager and sister of a U.S. resident, were arrested again after having spent between 13 and 17.5 years behind bars for their faith.
While arresting the practitioners, the police unscrupulously threatened them, saying things like “I’ve long been put on the perpetrators’ list and I’m not afraid of retribution,” “You reported us police and we must take revenge on you,” and “We will starve you into a fossil and burn you down.”
Latest Round of Propaganda Targeting Falun Gong as 25th Anniversary of the Persecution Nears
The CCP has never stopped its persecution of Falun Gong since it launched a nationwide campaign against the peaceful spiritual practice on July 20, 1999. As the 25th anniversary of the persecution approaches, the Ministry of Public Security held a virtual meeting at the end of December 2023 and ordered a new round of crackdowns on “cults.”
While the order did not explicitly mention Falun Gong, it was understood that the real target was Falun Gong practitioners. No law in China criminalizes Falun Gong or labels it as a cult, but the communist regime has been using the cult label to justify its persecution of the practice and mislead the general public.
The Political and Legal Affairs Committees (PLAC) and the 610 Offices across China, both extra-judicial agencies, were given the power to override the judicial and law enforcement systems and led local governments and police to demonize Falun Gong in this new round of propaganda campaign. The tactics used included offering rewards to those who report Falun Gong practitioners, requiring people to take part in signature drives defaming Falun Gong or write pledges to not engage in cult activities, posting anti-Falun Gong messages on WeChat (a popular instant messaging and social media platform), and to display anti-Falun Gong propaganda on bulletin boards.
Below are some examples.
Xiangtan City, Hunan Province
On February 28, 2024, the Xiangtan City PLAC and the Xiangtan City Police Department jointly posted a message in multiple channels on WeChat. The message called for the general public to report practitioners of “evil cults,” including Falun Gong. Tipsters were promised a 500-4,000 yuan reward for each practitioner reported.
The Xiangtan City PLAC and the Xiangtan City Police Department also instructed all street committees within the city to re-post the same message in their own WeChat channels once every month. The three major telecommunication companies, including China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom, received notices to text their users the same message on a regular basis.
Chifeng City, Inner Mongolia
In March 2024, three agencies in Yuanbaoshan District, Chifeng City, including the 610 Office, the Political and Legal Affairs Committee, and the police department, jointly issued a notice calling for the public to report Falun Gong practitioners and promised rewards to tipsters. Street committees in the district soon followed up by posting the notice in their WeChat channels or on bulletin boards.
In mid-April 2024, the China Pingmei Shenma Holding Group Co. Ltd in Chifeng City ordered all its employees to sign a pledge promising to not take part in “feudal,” “superstitious,” or anti-Marxist activities. The workers must also state their full names and IDs on the pledge. Those who refused to sign were threatened with job termination.
While the pledge did not explicitly mention Falun Gong, it was clear the authorities were targeting Falun Gong.
Hebei Province
The Hebei Province Public Security Bureau dispatched agents to a certain county on April 15, 2024. Under their directive, the county police department displayed a bulletin board in the downtown area. The bulletin board was filled with propaganda defaming Falun Gong. Two police cruisers parked nearby monitored the bulletin board and those who read it.
Jingzhou City and Wuhan City, Hubei Province
A grid manager in Jingzhou City recently posted on WeChat “A Feature Article on the 25th Anniversary of the Crackdown on Falun Gong.” [Note: 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.]
Another grid manager in Wuhan City posted an anti-Falun Gong message from the anti-cult association’s WeChat account and called for locals to sign anti-Falun Gong statements.
Jilin City, Jilin Province
On April 17, 2024, the Jilin City authorities ordered all residential areas to post a notice in every apartment building. The notice called for residents to report practitioners of evil cults and promised as much as 5,000 yuan in reward money. Street committees across the city were also instructed to launch an online signature drive on the same day, requesting residents to sign Falun Gong-defaming statements.
The High-tech Zone in Jilin City recently issued a notice on reporting illegal and criminal cult activities. Upon receiving the notice, the grid managers relayed it to residential areas, which in turn blasted it to residents through their WeChat channels.
Anshan City, Liaoning Province
The Tiedong District in Anshan City recently posted a link in the street committees’ channels on WeChat. The link directed residents to a signature drive page that slanders Falun Gong.
Yantai City, Shandong Province
Every residential area in Yantai City has its WeChat channel. More than 90% of residents subscribe to these channels. In the past few weeks, the street committees’ WeChat channels have been filled with anti-Falun Gong articles, each of which linked to even more slanderous articles.
The street committees are under the administration of the Yantai City Political and Legal Affairs Committee.
Quyang County, Hebei Province
The police stations across Quyang County recently issued a notice ordering all schools to launch a signature drive campaign to defame Falun Gong. The Xinzhuang Elementary School, the Central School, the Jiahe Elementary School, the Chengdongwang Kindergarten, and the Chengdongwang Elementary School are a few schools confirmed to have started the campaign.
Heilongjiang Province
Some building managers in various residential areas in Heilongjiang Province recently posted anti-Falun Gong messages or articles in their WeChat channels.
Harassment Around Sensitive Days
Harassment During the “Two Sessions”
Falun Gong practitioners around China were harassed in March 2024 during the “Two Sessions,” annual meetings of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the National People’s Congress (NPC). This year the CPPCC began on March 4, 2024, and the NPC one day later. They both concluded on March 11. The communist regime has been known for intensifying its persecution of Falun Gong practitioners around sensitive dates, such as the “two sessions.”
Ms. Sun Guilan, of Chicheng County, Hebei Province, was harassed at home on March 5, 2024. One police officer inspected a table calendar that had information about Falun Gong, and Ms. Sun asked him to put it back on the desk unless he wanted it as a gift. He put it down. Another officer ordered Ms. Sun to tear off a wall decoration that had information about Falun Gong. She refused to comply.
The police ordered Ms. Sun to go with them or sign a statement to renounce Falun Gong. She again refused to comply and said she broke no in law in practicing Falun Gong. She urged the uninvited visitors to stop persecuting Falun Gong practitioners. Her son condemned them for harassing his elderly mother. They soon left.
Two officers harassed Ms. Sun again on the morning of March 8, 2024. They threatened to give her 10 days of detention if she refused to sign a statement to renounce Falun Gong. She still refused to sign.
Many other practitioners have also faced similar persecution. Below are a few additional cases.
Ms. You Yuxuan, a resident of Qingdao City, Shandong Province, bought a train ticket on February 27, 2024, to go to Beijing on March 2 to have a dental procedure. The police found out about her ticket purchase through their big data surveillance and ordered her to return the ticket. She refused and was arrested on March 1, the day before her scheduled trip.
The Nong’an County Domestic Security Division in Jilin Province and its subordinate police stations arrested at least four practitioners during the “Two Sessions.” Ms. Yuan Jinglian’s husband returned home one day and found a big mess. The local detention center called him that night to say that his wife had been arrested. Another practitioner surnamed Feng, was arrested while walking on the street on March 6, 2024, and detained for four days.
Mr. Luo Jiabin, a resident of Huaihua City, Hunan Province, had just returned from work at 6:30 p.m. on March 6, 2024, when he saw several officers outside his door. They said that higher-ups had ordered them to take photos of him at home to prove he had not gone to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong. He urged them to stop persecuting Falun Gong practitioners, and they left.
Ms. Ren Zhanhui, a resident of Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, was talking to people about Falun Gong on March 11, 2024, when a passerby seized her and reported her to the police. The police said her case was especially “severe” since she dared to promote Falun Gong on the last day of the “Two Sessions.” They gave her 14 days of administrative detention.
Harassment Before Anniversary of Historic Appeal
Prior to the anniversary of the historic April 25 appeal, the police and residential committee staff members in Beijing harassed many local practitioners, sometimes entering their homes to threaten them and take their photos. One practitioner noticed that two officers stayed outside her home to monitor her around the clock.
The harassed practitioners included Ms. Hu Xingxi, 82, Ms. Guo Meiying, 84, Ms. Xing Guiling, in her 80s, Ms. Qu Qizhen, in her 60s, Ms. Wang Cuijuan, in her 60s, and Ms. Hao Ruihua, in her 50s.
Police’s Brutality and Unscrupulous Threat
Shandong Woman Brutalized Following Arbitrary Arrest
As soon as Ms. Hei Yan stepped outside of her home on January 31, 2024, the 54-year-old resident of Qingdao City, Shandong Province was seized by three plainclothes officers and stuffed into a sedan. After they arrived at the Xinglong Road Police Station, they restrained her in a metal chair and confiscated her house key. At 8 p.m., officer Wang Jingguo showed up. He appeared to be a leader, as an officer asked him what “crime” to write on the case against Ms. Hei. He replied, “Anything is fine.”
Ms. Hei was later taken to the Pudong Detention Center. During the required physical examination, the officers dragged her from one room to another. When it came time to draw her blood, the police pinned her down, with one officer sitting on her stomach and another stepping on her face, which swelled up badly as a result.
The in-house clinic at the detention center closed for the day before Ms. Hei’s physical examination was done. Officer Wang dragged her outside and kicked her a few times. He then called a supervisor, who gave the order to take her back to the police station.
Two hours after Ms. Hei’s arrest, four officers from the police station, only one of them in uniform, broke into her father’s home at noon. They flashed a piece of paper and said it was a search warrant. Ms. Hei’s father noted that it was a blank piece of paper with only an official seal on it. The police confiscated Ms. Hei’s Falun Gong books that she had stored in her father’s home.
Five officers drove Ms. Hei to the detention center and stripped her into her undergarments on February 1, 2024, for a physical examination. She was released on March 8, 2024, after 38 days of detention.
“I’ve Long Been Put on the Perpetrators’ List and I’m Not Afraid of Retribution”
Ms. Ma Yuefen, of Jinchang City, Gansu Province, was harassed by Qi Shicheng and other officers of the Kuangshan Road Police Station. Ms. Ma told them that the persecution of Falun Gong doesn’t have any legal basis and that they would be held accountable one day for participating in the persecution. Qi said to her, “I am Qi Shicheng. I’ve long been put on the perpetrators’ list and I’m not afraid of retribution.” Ms. Ma was arrested and detained for seven days.
“You Reported Us Police and We Must Take Revenge on You”
Mr. Liu Linfeng, a Weihai City, Shandong Province, resident, was arrested by four police officers in his apartment building on April 26, 2024. An officer surnamed Bi said to him, “You reported us police and we must take revenge on you.” Bi was referring to a complaint Mr. Liu filed against them for raiding his home ten days earlier on April 16.
Mr. Liu was taken to the police station for interrogation. He demanded to see officer Bi’s ID. Bi flashed the ID in front of him and put it back quickly without allowing him to see what was written on it. The police also deceived Mr. Liu’s brother into signing his bail release document. He was released in the afternoon.
“We Will Starve You Into a Fossil and Burn You Down”
In Langfang City, Hebei Province, a group of people knocked on Mr. Xie Qimin’s home on April 25, 2024. They first claimed to be from the property management office and urged Mr. Xie to clean the area outside of his apartment. As Mr. Xie refused to open the door for them, the officers admitted that they were actually police. When Mr. Xie still refused to let them in, they cut off his power supply. They threatened him, “You can just go ahead and stay there. If you dare to come out, we will arrest you. We will starve you into a fossil and burn you down.”
Livelihood in Jeopardy
Since December 2022, a 67-year-old retiree in Shanghai has had more than half of her monthly pension benefits deducted by the government for her faith in Falun Gong. The 1,510-yuan pension issued to her every month is not even enough to cover her rent.
The financial persecution of Ms. Xu Nixia came one month after she completed her second prison term for practicing Falun Gong in November 2022. The local Social Security Bureau reduced her pension after she refused to pay back the more than 190,000 yuan in retirement benefits issued to her during her prison terms totaling seven years.
Fearing being implicated, Ms. Xu’s husband divorced her ten years ago, and her daughter disowned her. She was kicked out of their family home and moved in with her parents. The elderly couple passed away, one in January 2023 and the other in February 2024. With her pension deduction, Ms. Xu is now left destitute.
A resident of Guanghan City, Sichuan Province, was fired from her teaching job 20 years ago for refusing to give up her faith in Falun Gong. The board of education not only denied her repeated requests to have her job reinstated but also reported her to the police when she asked for her job back again in 2022. The police installed a surveillance camera and arranged for people in cars or on foot to monitor her, which continues to this day.
Ms. Zhao Xianchang previously served two forced labor camp terms totaling five years (2000-2002 and 2004-2007) for practicing Falun Gong. Her employer, the Guangshan Third Middle School, terminated her job shortly after her arrest in June 2004. After she completed her second forced labor term in 2007, she began her uphill battle to get her job back.
The Guanghan City Board of Education repeatedly denied her requests. When she approached them again in 2022, they reported her to the police and turned over her letter to the chair of the board of education. She went to a post office in a nearby town to mail a letter to relevant government agencies, but that post office gave her letter to the police instead.
The police summoned her on June 20, 2022, and accused her of violating the public security administration punishment law. She refused to sign the interrogation records, and the police noted so on the records. While they released her that day, they dispatched people to follow her every day as she juggled various temporary jobs to make a living. When they saw that she passed a certain intersection every day, the police installed a surveillance camera at the intersection.
The monitors assigned to shadow Ms. Zhao were everywhere. Some sat at a tea shop facing her home. As soon as she stepped out the door, they reported her to the police. When she got to her vendor booth (she ran a small business), the community workers there came out to inspect what was in her cart and see whom she talked to.
One day she was working her temporary job at a supermarket when a monitor followed her and insinuated to her coworkers that she was a terrorist because of her faith in Falun Gong. She felt tremendous pressure and soon quit the supermarket job.
Ms. Zhao wheeled her mother, in her 80s, to a local fair in March 2024 and ran into an acquaintance. They hadn’t seen each other for a long time so they chatted for a bit longer. The monitor shadowing her that day eavesdropped on their conversation.
Ms. Zhao wrote a letter to the police and the township officials, urging them to stop monitoring her like a criminal because she’d broken no law by practicing Falun Gong or trying to get her job back.
The authorities responded by raiding her home on April 3, 2024. Ms. Zhao was getting ready to tutor to a few students in her home at 3 p.m. that day when the police broke in. They ripped off the couplets on her door and confiscated her computer and Falun Gong books.
The police chief threatened to detain Ms. Zhao for two years. He said to her, “The Chinese Communist Party is so good yet you are going against it.”
The police and an agent from the Political and Legal Affairs Committee returned the next day, threatening to detain her because she had written a letter to government agencies requesting her job back.
Ms. Zhao is still under surveillance. She had to shut down her tutoring service because no parents dared to send their children to her home for after-school tutoring.
Shanghai Police Order Landlord to Evict Falun Gong Practitioner
Ms. Chen Wei returned to her rental apartment in Haitangcun Community, Pudong New Area, Shanghai at around 3 p.m. on February 7, 2024, to find police seals on the door.
Police seal the door.
Both seals read “Pudong Branch of Shanghai City Police Department.” There was also a note saying “Please contact officer Wu of the Cailu Police Station ASAP.” The Cailu Police Station reports to the Pudong Branch.
Officer Wu’s note on the door.
Ms. Chen called her landlord Ren (alias) and learned that officer Wu Kanchen had come to look for her at around 10 a.m. that day. She was not in and Wu called Ren on the spot, ordering him to evict Ms. Chen because she is a practitioner of Falun Gong. Wu named Ms. Chen as being a cult member, an accusation used to attack Falun Gong since the persecution began in July 1999, despite no law criminalizing Falun Gong in China.
Wu also asked if Ren had a key hidden anywhere near the rental unit so that he could go inside. Ren replied that there was no spare key around. Wu then ordered Ren to call him as soon as he terminated Ms. Chen’s lease. Wu said he’d personally come to check the rental unit after Ms. Chen was evicted.
Wu warned Ren to check all of his future tenants’ backgrounds to make sure they were not Falun Gong practitioners.
Not long before Wu’s visit, the local Haitangcun Community Office also called Ren and urged him to evict Ms. Chen. It is unclear whether he has formally terminated her lease at the time of writing.
A 66-year-old woman in Hechuan District, Chongqing completed her second prison term on January 3, 2024, only to be denied a low-income subsidy and subjected to ongoing harassment.
Ms. Gao Jie was home on June 17, 2022, when her electricity and water were suddenly shut off by the police and residential committee workers. The perpetrators pried open her door and broke in. Ms. Gao condemned them for raiding her home without a search warrant. The police claimed that they had one in their car and would show her later. But they never did.
Ms. Gao was sentenced to one and a half years on April 3, 2023. She filed an appeal with the Chongqing First Intermediate Court but was denied. She was released on January 3, 2024, and went to stay with her brother’s family. Moments after she arrived at her brother’s home, five officers showed up. They videotaped her against her will and ordered her to sign statements to renounce Falun Gong. She refused to comply.
Secretary Wang of the Yunmen Town Street Committee later informed Ms. Gao many times to apply for a low-income subsidy. She went each time but Wang always said she still needed this or that paperwork. When she finally got all the required documents, Wang said that the higher-ups would not approve her application unless she wrote a statement to renounce Falun Gong.
Ms. Gao refused to comply and never received a low-income subsidy. She had to do odd jobs to make ends meet. On March 1, 2024, she began working as a personal care aide for a retired teacher. Secretary Wang tracked her down and twice dispatched people to harass her at her employer’s home days into her job. Ms. Gao had no way but to quit her job. She then landed another personal care aide job for a family in Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, more than 200 miles away.
Two weeks later, on March 22, 2024, two uniformed officers broke into Ms. Gao’s new employer’s home to videotape and interrogate her. They did not show any IDs or reveal their names. They took her to a police station in Chengdu City. Ms. Gao condemned the police for arresting her. The Chengdu police said their counterpart in Chongqing had notified them of her new job in Chengdu and asked them to arrest her. She was released hours later.
Elderly Practitioners Targeted
78-Year-Old Hubei Woman Twice Briefly Detained in Three Months, Now Under House Arrest
A 78-year-old resident of Wuhan City, Hubei Province, was put under house arrest after a local detention center declined to admit her due to her poor health.
Ms. Lin Xianghua was home at around 9 a.m. on April 1, 2024, when the local street committee led about seven officers to arrest her. They said that she had been reported by a grid manager for distributing Falun Gong informational materials in her apartment complex. They produced a search warrant and confiscated her laptop, music player, and Falun Gong books and informational materials.
In the persecution of Falun Gong, in addition to using the law enforcement and judicial systems to arrest and sentence Falun Gong practitioners, the communist regime has also mobilized street committees and grid managers to aid in the persecution. The grid-style social management system in China 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.
The police took Ms. Lin to the police station for interrogation. They also forcibly took her pictures and blood samples. She was taken to the hospital for a physical examination. After the hospital visit, Ms. Lin was taken to the Wuhan City First Detention Center, where she was made to undergo another round of physical examination. The detention center refused to admit her after discovering she had high blood pressure. The police released her under house arrest after 7 p.m. that night. She refused to sign the paperwork.
Ms. Lin’s latest persecution episode was preceded by another one on January 19, 2024. She gave a neighbor a DVD containing Falun Gong information a bit past 10 that morning, only to be reported by the neighbor. The police descended on her home in less than one hour and confiscated her Falun Gong books and other valuables. They did not give her a list of confiscated items as required by law.
Ms. Lin was then taken to the police station, where she was interrogated and had her pictures taken and blood drawn. She was released after 10 p.m. that night.
87-Year-Old Woman Faces Prison Sentence for Distributing Informational Materials about Falun Gong
More than ten people from the Daxing District Court in Beijing descended on the home of 87-year-old Ms. Ma Xiuying on March 25, 2024, and threatened to have her sentenced to one year for her faith in Falun Gong.
Ms. Ma’s latest persecution episode stemmed from her earlier arrest in August 2021 for distributing informational materials about Falun Gong at a local market. Due to her advanced age, the market’s security released her.
After that, the police and residential committee staff members frequently harassed her, either demanding to take photos of her or ordering her to sign certain documents. The police forcibly collected a sample of her blood during one visit, threatening to take away the portrait of Falun Gong’s founder if she didn’t comply. After the police left, Ms. Ma noticed that her copy of Zhuan Falun, the main teaching of Falun Gong, was missing. She ran after the police and got it back.
She was also harassed by the police and community workers between March and June 2021, a few months before her arrest.