(Minghui.org) More than 100 Falun Gong practitioners have been arrested since Yu Shen, Chief of Police Department and deputy Mayor of Yushu City, Jilin Province took office in January 2018.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a mind-body spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
It was reported that Yu ordered a new scoring system to evaluate the police's performance. For each officer, they earn 10 points every time they arrest one Falun Gong practitioner, while only 1 point for every two suspects arrested – which means one Falun Gong practitioner equals twenty non-practitioner suspects.
If the targeted practitioners had medical conditions and could not be admitted by the local detention center, the police still took them there to finish the paperwork, as it wouldn’t count toward their points if the practitioners were released at the police station.
According to information collected by the Minghui website, more than 80 practitioners were arrested in 2018, and 20 practitioners were arrested and 5 were harassed between January and March 2019.
Below are the details of the arrests in 2019 so far.
(1) Mr. Zhong Jianhua was arrested at home on January 2, 2019. The police claimed that they were given special tasks to arrest Falun Gong practitioners. Mr. Zhong was released after five days of detention.
(2) Ms. Liu Fengbao, Ms. Ding Lijie and Ms. Yang Yanjie were arrested on January 7, 2019 after being followed by the police while hanging up a banner with messages about Falun Gong. The police confiscated Ms. Liu's motorcycle and Falun Gong materials they had brought. Both Ms. Ding and Ms. Yang's homes were ransacked.
All three practitioners were transferred to the detention center five days later and have been detained since. They are now facing further prosecution after their arrests were approved by the procuratorate.
(3) Ms. Chai Xiuhua was arrested on January 26, 2019. The police followed her home and arrested her sister Ms. Chai Xiuzhi, as well as two of their grandchildren. The police ransacked both sisters' homes and confiscated their Falun Gong books and computers. One officer put Ms. Chai Xiuzhi's grandson in a choke hold and asked whether he practices Falun Gong or not. The boy was terrified.
(4) Ms. Wang Fengjuan was arrested in a bakery on February 11, 2019. The store owner, Ms. Bai Lijun, was also arrested. The police ransacked both practitioners' homes and confiscated their Falun Gong related belongings. They were transferred to the local detention center after being held at the police custody for five days.
(5) Ms. Huang Yuru was arrested at home on the morning of February 12, 2019. Her home was also ransacked. She was released later that day after the detention center refused to take her because of her medical conditions.
(6) Ms. Mu Guirong and Ms. Zhao Yulan were arrested at home on February 13, 2019. The police attempted to confiscate Ms. Mu's Falun Gong books, but relented after her strong protest. She was released after five days of detention. Ms. Zhao, however, had her home ransacked and was forced to provide information about three other practitioners before being released later that day.
(7) Ms. Ma Lingxi was arrested on February 22, 2019 after the police found a media player with Falun Gong music and lectures in it at her home. She was detained at Yushu City Detention Center for five days.
(8) Ms. Gao Yanzhen was arrested after being recognized by the police on the street on March 1, 2019. She was brought to the police station and forced to write a statement to renounce Falun Gong. She suffered convulsions at the police station and was hospitalized. She was released later that day.
(9) Mr. Zhang Fengjun was arrested at home on March 7, 2019 and held for five days at a local detention center.
(10) Ms. Yu Aihua was arrested on March 13, 2019. The officers ransacked her home and confiscated her Falun Gong book without a search warrant. She was detained for seven days before being released.
(11) Ms. Yang Fuzhen was arrested on March 14, 2019. Her home was ransacked. She was detained for five days.
(12) Ms. Ni Wenli and Ms. Cao, who happened to be visiting Ms. Ni, were arrested on March 21, 2019. The police ransacked both practitioners' homes. Ms. Ni later lost consciousness after having a heart attack at the police station. Ms. Cao was also found to have heart problems during a physical checkup. Both were released later that day.
(13) Mr. Fan Yunpeng was arrested at home on March 26, 2019 after being seen on a surveillance camera for posting information about Falun Gong in a residential area. The police ransacked his home and confiscated his Falun Gong books and related items. He was transferred to the detention center after eight days of incarceration at another detention facility. He is now facing further prosecution after his arrest was approved.
(14) Ms. Zhang Fengrong was arrested at home on March 27, 2019. The police ransacked her home and held her in custody for 15 days.
Below are the details about the harassment cases.
(1) Three officers broke into the home of Ms. Han Xiaozhen on January 27, 2019. While Ms. Han wasn't home at that time, the police searched her house in front of her bedridden husband and took away two trinkets with designs about Falun Gong.
(2) The police searched Ms. Liu Zhaomei's home on February 18, 2019 and left without finding anything of interest.
(3) Five officers from Huancheng Police Station knocked on the door of Mr. Hu Yanzhang's home on March 8, 2019. They left upon finding he wasn't home.
(4) Three officers twice tried to harass Mr. Zhang Qingxiang, first on March 13 and then March 15, 2019. He wasn't home either time. The police searched his home and left without finding anything.
(5) Another three officers also harassed Ms. Li Yafen, in her 60s, twice on March 13 and March 15, 2019. They searched her home both times and left without finding anything.
