(Clearwisdom.net) Officers from Li County Public Security Bureau, Domestic Security Division; police stations in various townships and towns in Li County, Hebei Province; and agents from the county 610 Office turned out in full strength at about 7:00 p.m. on September 23, 2009, in an attempt to arrest 14 practitioners. They ransacked practitioners' homes and plundered their properties. Only Ms. Liu Yuhuan and Ms. Zhang Xia escaped being arrested.
On the afternoon of September 26, without following any legal procedures, Public Security Bureau deputy director Wang Ruixin and others sent six practitioners—Ms. Zhu Lihua, Ms. Zhao Limei, Ms. Gu Xiangrui, Ms. Tian Junfang, Ms. Qi Fangwei, and Ms. Liu Rongzhen—to Shijiazhuang Women's Forced Labor Camp, and two practitioners— Mr. Zhu Yanlong and Mr. Zhu Junqing—to Gaoyang Forced Labor Camp. They cruelly tortured Mr. Zhao Xiaochang to pressure him to give up Falun Gong. They had a mock trial in secret and sentenced him to two years in prison on a false charge. Ms. Yan Xiaoge, Mr. Liu Min, and Ms. Zhao Yanmei were released after being detained for a few days.
After attending a meeting in Anguo City with the Anguo Public Security Bureau director and the Boye County Public Security Bureau director, Li County Public Security Bureau director Guo Jianmin returned to his workplace at about 4:00 p.m. on September 23. He secretly ordered that all officers were to remain at work. He also took all the officers' cell phones away. He then organized the roundup and confiscation, claiming that it was all right to do this to severely punish all Falun Gong practitioners.
The following are more details about each of the arrests:
1. Mr. Zhao Xiaochang
Mr. Zhao Xiaochang is in his 50s and lived in Nanguan Village, Li County. At about 7:00 p.m. on September 23, 2009, when he had just come home after helping his friend harvest corn, a gang of police officers barged into his home and arrested him without showing any identification. They ransacked his home and took his computer, Falun Gong books, and many other items.
Mr. Zhao was cruelly tortured in the county detention center. They handcuffed him and put fetters on his ankles many times for extended periods. Officer Wang Ruixin also connected the handcuffs and the fetters so that Mr. Zhao could not stand. Mr. Zhao went on a hunger strike to protest the illegal treatment.
Wang Junchang from Li County Domestic Security Division arrested Mr. Zhao’s wife, Ms. Feng Wenzhen, in September 2007 for explaining the facts about Falun Gong to the public. Officers ransacked their home and took their TV, DVD player, and 1,000 yuan, among other items. Finding no more items of value, they even took their pump. They fabricated a bogus charge and had Ms. Feng Wenzhen sentenced to seven years in prison.
With Mr. Zhao in custody, nobody was living in their house. Before practicing Falun Gong, Mr. Zhao suffered a stroke and could not keep his legs from wobbling while he walked. He often got drunk and cursed people on the street. After practicing Falun Gong, he recovered from all his illnesses and became a better person by living by the universal principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Now both he and his wife have been sentenced to prison just because they practice Falun Gong.
Some police officers were out to punish Mr. Zhao because, while his wife was in prison, Mr. Zhao called for justice for his wife and exposed the violence that the officers used on her and other practitioners. The officers in question wanted to send Mr. Zhao to prison to get him out of the way. They collaborated with a supervisory council and court to put Mr. Zhao on trial twice, and, without letting his family know, they sentenced him to two years in prison on a false charge.
2. Mr. Zhu Yanlong
Mr. Zhu Yanlong was born in 1970. At about 8:00 p.m. on September 23, 2009, directed by the county 610 Office, personnel from Hebei Province Li County government collaborated with officers from the Domestic Security Division of the County Public Security Bureau and officers from Linbao Township Police Station to barge into Mr. Zhu's home and arrest him without showing any identification. Mr. Zhu was taken to the County Public Security Bureau in secret, while the rest of the officers turned his home upside down and took his materials about Falun Gong, books, a recorder, a copier, and many other items. In the public security bureau, they interrogated Mr. Zhu in an attempt to force a confession from him until after midnight.
The next day they took him to Li County Detention Center at about 8:00 a.m. He had been on a hunger strike to protest the persecution since his arrest. He was sent to Gaoyang Forced Labor Camp on September 26, 2009, for an 18-month term.
3. Mr. Zhu Junqiang
Mr. Zhu Junqiang was born in 1971. He was laid off from a business unit. At about 7:00 p.m. on September 23, 2009, officers in several police vehicles suddenly laid siege to Mr. Zhu's house. Public Security Bureau deputy director Wang Ruixin directed the action while Major Cases Squadron chief Liu Haijian and officers from Baichi Police Station participated. Mr. Zhu refused to open the door no matter how hard officers banged on it. After several unsuccessful attempts, Wang Ruixin directed officers to climb to the top of the house, climb down a rope, and break the window to get into the house. But no officer dared to. They got a fire truck and attempted to break the window to get in. They did not succeed because the space was too narrow for the truck. Wang Ruixin then ordered officers to use an axe and broke down the security door. As soon as they got in, an officer sprayed poisonous gas in Mr. Zhu's and his wife's faces. They took Mr. Zhu to the Public Security Bureau without showing any identification. They took a computer, a DVD player, an MP3 player, a printer, and a safe where Mr. Zhu kept his savings and the money float for the store that he and his brothers own. They then went to Mr. Zhu's sporting goods store and took a DVD/CD duplicate tower, broke into a safe, and took cash and a deposit passbook for an account containing 100-200 thousand yuan. They confiscated his collection of paper currency, clothing coupons, grain coupons, and postage and froze his bank account. The officers left no receipt. Mr. Zhu's family tried to get back their property later by asking for help from local people who had connections with the police. However, Guo Jianmin, Wang Ruixin, Wang Junchang, and Liu Haijian kept shifting the responsibility onto each other, which made it difficult for the family. At that point the police still tried to extort more money, tobacco, wine, etc.
When Mr. Zhu was detained in the county detention center for two days, the center authorities extorted 300 yuan from his wife for his food. In fact, Mr. Zhu didn't eat anything provided by the detention center in those two days.
Li County Public Security fabricated charges and sent Mr. Zhu to Gaoyang Forced Labor Camp for a two-year term. No legal procedures were observed.
4. Mr. Liu Min
Mr. Liu Min was born in 1966. At about 7:30 p.m. on September 23, 2009, Li County Public Security Bureau deputy director Zhang Zhihui, Liushi Police Station director Che, Li County Public Security Bureau Economic Crimes Investigation Division chief Song, and others broke into Mr. Liu's home to arrest him without showing any identification.
After chief Song arrested Mr. Liu, other officers ransacked his home. An officer grabbed a laptop computer, which contained bookkeeping for Mr. Liu's family business, and ordered Mr. Liu's family member to sign on a blank paper [as the receipt for the laptop]. Mr. Liu's family member refused to sign, but the officer still took the laptop.
Chief Song interrogated Mr. Liu at the Li County Public Security Bureau. He asked, “Which bank do you deposit your money in? Do you have deposits in Liushi Bank? Did you ever provide financial support to Falun Gong practitioners?” Mr. Liu answered, “No.” They investigated all business deals that Mr. Liu conducted from the beginning of his business to the present to find out if he had ever mailed money to aid Falun Gong practitioners. At the end of the investigation, they discovered that all money he mailed out was for his business. Although they tried to find an excuse to persecute Mr. Liu, they did not succeed. However, they would not give up, and, in the end, they froze Mr. Liu's bank accounts.
5. Ms. Zhu Lihua
Ms. Zhu Lihua was born in 1970 and worked as an analyst in Li County Chinese Medicine Hospital. She recovered from multiple illnesses including heart disease after she began practicing Falun Gong. At about 7:00 p.m. on September 23, 2009, officers from Li County Public Security Bureau and Guodan Police Station, including Guodan Police Station chief Han Dakuan, arrested Ms. Zhu and ransacked her home. They took a computer, two cell phones, and Falun Gong books. Ms. Zhu was sent to Shijiazhuang Women's Forced Labor Camp on September 26 for a term of 18 months. She was held in the 4th team of the labor camp where guards often beat and cursed her. As a result of torture, Ms. Zhu began to suffer from heart disease, lymph node enlargement, and pain all over her body. Lumps grew on her head, neck, arms, and the top of her thighs. Sometimes she could not even stand. However, guards still forced her to do hard labor. They said, “If you cannot work, then you have to stand here and watch others work.” When she could no longer stand, they forced her to sit on the cold concrete ground. Guards also did not let her use the toilet. Once when she was using toilet, guard Zhao Yuan rushed into the restroom, kicked her, and dragged her out. Ms. Zhu wet her pants. It was very cold and windy that night, and Zhao again forced Ms. Zhu to sit on the cold concrete floor in a hall for the whole night.
Ms. Zhu's family accompanied her to a hospital, where she was diagnosed with heart disease and lymph node enlargement. However, the authorities continued to hold her despite her being ill. When her term was up on March 22, 2011, because she would not give up her belief, the forced labor camp authorities would not—and will not—release her. They have also denied any family visits. Her family has been extremely worried. It was Ms. Zhu who had been taking care of her sick father-in-law, measuring his blood pressure and sugar levels, giving him injections and intravenous infusions, etc. When his daughter-in-law was suddenly arrested, the old man was so worried his condition worsened. He passed away with tears in his eyes about four months after her arrest.
Ms. Zhu's elderly mother cried every day, longing for her daughter's return. Her father was deeply worried, and suffered a relapse of his illnesses many times. At one time he did not eat anything for 20 days. Ms. Zhu's husband was under immense pressure. He had to comfort their daughter, take care of his parents and in-laws, and run around investigating all possible means to rescue his wife from torture and imprisonment. He overworked himself and suffered heart attacks.
6. Ms. Zhao Limei
Ms. Zhao Limei was born in 1965 and worked as an instructor for TV University. Because she did not give up her practice of Falun Gong, she has been harassed and persecuted many times in the past several years by agents from the 610 Office, officers from the Public Security Bureau, TV University authorities, and personnel from the Education Committee. Her family was wrecked as a result.
At about 7:00 p.m. on September 23, 2009, Li County Public Security Bureau deputy director Liu Wenli and officers from Nanzhuang Town Police Station in Li County arrested Ms. Zhao at her door when she had just returned from visiting her relatives. They took her electric power cart and her purse with her house key and a bank passbook worth 7,000 yuan given to her by her ex-husband to support their child. The police then ransacked her home and took a DVD player, an EVD player, cell phones, Falun Gong books, electronic books, pictures of the Falun Gong founder, a copper burner worth 100 yuan, several MP3 players, several small speakers, a purse she had just bought for 60 yuan, and other items. There were no witnesses when they ransacked her home and they didn't keep a list of items that they took. Yet, they claimed on the statement of forced labor for Ms. Zhao that she had examined all items that they confiscated. However, Ms. Zhao was not even aware that they had ransacked her home at that time.
After ransacking Ms. Zhao's home, they secretly monitored it, attempting to apprehend any practitioners coming to visit her.
In Li County Public Security Bureau, they forced her to lie on a cold concrete ground for the entire night, and Liu Wenli directed officers to keep flipping her over. One officer also stepped on her chest. The next morning, Ms. Zhao felt extremely sick because the concrete ground was so cold. She climbed to a chair with great difficulty, but an officer immediately pulled her off it.
They sent Ms. Zhao to Li County Detention Center on the morning of September 24. Two agents from the 610 Office went to the center on the morning of the 26th and secretly videotaped her. Ms. Zhao advised two of them that if they participated in the persecution of Falun Gong, they would feel regretful later. They used that videotape as a so-called “confession” and sentenced Ms. Zhao to a year of forced labor.
Desperate to reduce the severity of the persecution of Ms. Zhao, her family promised Yang Hongliang, chief of Li County Public Security Bureau Law Section, a brand new cell phone if he would keep Ms. Zhao from being sent to a forced labor camp. Yang, knowing that it was impossible to stop the process, went to the cell phone shop that Ms. Zhao's family ran and took a new cell phone anyway. Ms. Zhao's family used their connections to have the Domestic Security Bureau return Ms. Zhao's electric power cart and house key. However, they refused to give back the bank passbook worth 7,000 yuan. Gao Jianguo, chief of the Domestic Security Division, even claimed that he found and took a laptop in Ms. Zhao's house, which was not true, in an attempt to extort some more money from Ms. Zhao's family.
After Ms. Zhao was sent to Li County Detention Center on September 24, detention center officials told Ms. Zhao's family that food in the center was terrible and they would give Ms. Zhao much better food if her family gave them extra money. Ms. Zhao's family thus handed over another 350 yuan to the center. Ms. Zhao was held in the center for two days, during which period she was provided with only black bread and water with several pieces of vegetable leaves floating on the surface. When Ms. Zhao's family brought a box of instant noodles to her, the staff at the center ate them all.
Ms. Zhao was sent to Shijiazhuang Women's Forced Labor Camp on September 26 for a term of one year. Without receiving the notice of forced labor from the Public Security Bureau as required by law, Ms. Zhao's elderly mother, who was almost 80 years old, and other family members did not know her whereabouts until many days later. They had gone to many places including Dingzhou City and Shijiazhuang City to inquire about her whereabouts without success, and the whole family was very worried. Her elderly mother was deeply worried, and hardly able to concentrate or even walk.
7. Ms. Qi Fangwei
Ms. Qi Fangwei was born in 1958 and ran a bookstore. A dozen people suddenly barged into her bookstore at about 7:00 p.m. on September 23, 2009, when she was having supper. They claimed that they were there to examine her books. Without showing any papers, they began rummaging throughout the store and made a big mess. They took her laptop, printer, identification card, USB disk, and cell phone. They first tried to coerce Ms. Qi to get into their car, but she refused. Then their leader directed a man and a woman to drag her into the car. Ms. Qi was taken to the Public Security Bureau, where she was deprived of sleep overnight. They sent her to the county detention center the next morning and extorted 225 yuan in cash from her for 15 days worth of food. After two days, they sent her to Shijiazhuang Forced Labor Camp for a term of one year.
8. Ms. Zhao Yanmei
Ms. Zhao Yanmei was born in 1957 and is a retired teacher. At about 7:00 p.m. on September 23, 2009, three or four police vehicles suddenly blocked her way when she was going home after visiting her in-laws. Many police officers got out of the cars. The person in charge was Yuan Dingchun, deputy director of the County Public Security Bureau. Yuan said to Ms. Yan, “Get in the car!” When she asked why, Yuan answered, “To discuss something at the bureau.” Ms. Zhao would not cooperate. Several of them stuffed her into a car. During the interrogation conducted in the County Public Security Bureau, Ms. Zhao learned that many practitioners had been arrested and that the authorities had ransacked her home and took her TV, recorder, photos of the Falun Gong founder, all her Falun Gong books, several hundred yuan in cash bills with facts about Falun Gong on them, a mat used for her practice, and other items.
Ms. Zhao's mother was very ill during that time, and Ms. Zhao asked many times to go home to take care of her. Her requests were completely ignored. After her release from the detention center, she learned that on the day when she was arrested, about two dozen officers went to her home, frightening her mother so much that she cried the whole night. Due to pressure and fear, her mother’s illnesses worsened, and soon after she passed away.
9. Ms. Gu Xiangrui
Ms. Gu Xiangrui was born in 1956 and is a retired teacher. At about 7:00 p.m. on September 23, 2009, Zhao Pengfei from Li County Public Security Bureau and four officers barged into Ms. Gu's home without following any legal procedures. They said that they needed to interrogate Ms. Gu at the public security bureau because she practiced Falun Gong. Agents from the County 610 Office and officers ransacked her home the same day, and took photos of Falun Gong founder Mr. Li Hongzhi and all her Falun Gong books in her bedroom.
Zhao Pengfei interrogated Ms. Gu in the County Public Security Bureau for the whole night of September 23, without giving her any time to sleep. He asked Ms. Gu when she began practicing Falun Gong, whether she had attended brainwashing sessions, and whether she had been sentenced to prison or forced labor. Zhao took Ms. Gu to the county detention center at about 8:00 a.m. the next day and claimed that they would hold her there for 15 days. He demanded 300 yuan from her for her meals. However, two days later, on the afternoon of September 26, without following any legal procedures, the County Public Security Bureau director and a group of armed officers took six practitioners including Ms. Gu to Shijiazhuang Women's Forced Labor Camp. Ms. Gu's daughter and daughter-in-law had just delivered babies a few months before and were badly in need of Ms. Gu's help.
10. Ms. Liu Rongzhen
Ms. Liu Rongzhen was born in 1965. A dozen officers suddenly barged into her home at about 7:00 p.m. on September 23, 2009, when Ms. Liu was taking care of a child and her pregnant daughter. They arrested Ms. Liu and ransacked her home without showing any identification. They took her Falun Gong books, cell phone and computer. (That computer's hard drive is still in their hands). They interrogated Ms. Liu all night long in the Public Security Bureau. They asked her who had taught her Falun Gong and where she had got her Falun Gong books, and also tried to force her to acknowledge that she had committed a crime. They pretended they had found a lot of materials explaining the facts about Falun Gong, in an attempt to make her tell them what they wanted to know. They did not succeed. The next day, they took Ms. Liu to the detention center and extorted 200 yuan from her family. Two days later, she was taken to Shijiazhuang Women's Forced Labor Camp for a term of one year.
Ms. Liu's arrest was a terrible blow for her mother-in-law, who was in her 70s. Her blood pressure rose rapidly, her spirits fell, and she wanted to end her life. The cries have not stopped in this family since Ms. Liu's arrest.
When officers were ransacking Ms. Liu's home, one of them bumped into Ms. Liu's pregnant daughter. Her daughter covered her belly with her hands in distress, which the officers ignored. She later had a premature delivery.
11. Ms. Liu Yuhuan
Ms. Liu Yuhuan is in her 40s. A group of officers from Li County barged into her home at about 7:00 p.m. on September 23, 2009, to arrest her and ransack her home. She managed to escape. In the following year, officers often taunted her family about still trying to arrest her since she was on the list of those on the run. Their purpose was to extort money from her family. On December 2, 2010, when Ms. Liu went to the Li County Agriculture Bank to have some work done, agents from the Li County 610 Office and officers from the Domestic Security Division and Chengguan Police Station arrested her and took her to Baoding City Detention Center. Only after extorting 30,000 yuan from her family did they release her. Soon after her release, the corrupt police officers, enjoying the fruits of extortion, attempted to arrest Ms. Liu again when she went to Li County Agriculture Bank again. This time, they did not succeed.
12. Ms. Tian Junfang
Ms. Tian Junfang was born in 1963. At about 7:00 p.m. on September 23, 2009, when Ms. Tian had just got home after work and before dinner, a gang of people barged in, claiming that they were from the Public Security Bureau. Without showing any identification, they ransacked her home, and took the computer that her husband used to store important accounting data, a Falun Gong exercise videotape, and Falun Gong books. They then threw Ms. Tian into the car, took her to the Li County Public Security Bureau Domestic Security Division, and started interrogating her.
Ms. Tian was taken to Li County Detention Center the next day. They forced her to call her family to bring money to the center and pay 15 yuan for every day that she would be held there. They took 200 yuan from the family without giving them a receipt and then confiscated her cell phone and the key to her house. Two days later, Ms. Tian was sent to Shijiazhuang Women's Forced Labor Camp in secret.
13. Ms. Yan Xiaoge
Ms. Yan Xiaoge is in her 40s. At about 7:00 p.m. on September 23, 2009, a dozen officers from Li County Public Security Bureau and Qudi Township Police Station barged into her mother's home in Chenying Village, Qudi Township, where Ms. Yan's younger sister was caring for their mother, who had fallen and broken her back earlier. Officers put Ms. Yan's younger sister into the car while shouting to arrest Ms. Yan Xiaoge. Ms. Yan's younger sister was scared and wet her pants. Her mother almost passed out because of the shock. Later, learning that they had arrested the wrong person, officers forced Ms. Yan's younger sister to call Ms. Yan Xiaoge. Ms. Yan did not know what had happened and immediately returned home upon getting the call. A dozen officers arrested Ms. Yan at the door and took her to the Public Security Bureau. Ms. Yan explained the principle of good being rewarded and bad being punished to the officers and told them that persecuting practitioners would lead to karmic retribution. Wang Ruixin, deputy director of Li County Public Security Bureau and director of the detention center, slapped Ms. Yan in the face. Ms. Yan went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution.
The next afternoon, they took Ms. Yan to Xiaobailou Brainwashing Center in Baoding City. She questioned 610 Office director Zhang Yuexian, who was responsible for her arrest. Zhang answered by passing the blame, “It's not me. It's my boss who made me do this.” He told Ms. Yan to cooperate with them and stay there for a few days. Ms. Yan firmly said, “No, you did all this. These people are all good people. Arresting good people will harm you and your family. You must immediately release me.” Zhang had to release Ms. Yan. However, he continued to threaten her husband to punish them with heavier charges if they didn't voluntarily hand over materials with the facts about Falun Gong that they had in their home.
14. Ms. Zhang Xia
Ms. Zhang Xia was born in 1969 and worked for the Land Resources Bureau of Li County. She has been persecuted many times since the persecution of Falun Gong began in 1999. She went to Beijing to appeal in February 2001 and was detained in the Peking Office for two days. She went to Beijing again to appeal at the end of 2001 and was detained in Mancheng Detention Center for seven days. During China's congressional session in 2001, she was held in her workplace for seven days. In April 2001, she went to Beijing and was detained in Shunyin Prison for two days. That same year, she was detained in a local detention center for 11 days and was released after a hunger strike. Ignoring her health, her workplace director Yao Xiaosong collaborated with Li County head Li Zhigang and officers from the Public Security Bureau to detain Ms. Zhang and her aunt in a county hotel for 15 days, during which time county head Liu Liming had a conversation with Ms. Zhang and threatened not to release her if she did not write a guarantee statement renouncing Falun Gong. On May 30, 2001, her workplace section chief, Zhou Liangcai, collaborated with officer Li Junchang to con her into going to the public security bureau. Then they sent her to Baoding Forced Labor Camp for a term of three years.
After her release, her workplace authorities would not allow her to return to work until after she talked with them many times. After she returned to work, agents from the 610 Office and her workplace supervisor had conversations with her many times trying to force her to renounce her Falun Gong practice. Officers from the Public Security Bureau attempted to arrest her again on September 23, 2009, but she managed to escape. At that time, one of their parents was already paralyzed at home after suffering a stroke. Her husband tried to stop the police and asked them if they would take responsibility if the old man suffered a stroke again. Ignoring what her husband said, officers ransacked their home and took their printer, consumables, pictures of the Falun Gong founder, and Falun Gong books. The old man was scared and eventually hospitalized in Baoding Hospital.