(Minghui.org) Mr. Zha Zhuolin was dealt a heavy blow when he was fired from his job for practicing Falun Gong on August 19, 2020, two years before his retirement. The mental distress took a toll on his health. He became paralyzed on one side of his body and now relies on others for care.
Mr. Zha was a well-known police officer in Yuzhou City, Henan Province. He joined the army at 18 and won numerous awards for his service. After he retired from the military at the age of 35, he became a police officer. He worked hard and cracked many difficult cases involving drug trafficking, murder, and robbery.
Years of hard work caused him to suffer from many ailments. He couldn’t sleep well and was often exhausted from standing to question suspects. He sought many forms of treatment, but none of them did much good. With no hope in sight, he decided to practice Falun Gong, a spiritual and meditation discipline with tremendous health benefits, despite the ongoing persecution by the Chinese communist regime since 1999. To his surprise, all of his symptoms soon disappeared and he returned to good health.
Starting in October 2019, officers from Yuzhou City Domestic Security Office began to threaten to fire Mr. Zha and arrest his wife if he didn’t give up practicing Falun Gong. Mr. Zha’s father in his 80s was terrified by the police and soon passed away.
In June 2020, Xu Wei, the police chief, and Wang Xiaowei, director of the Domestic Security Office, made a final attempt to pressure Mr. Zha to express his attitude about Falun Gong. Mr. Zha replied that he didn’t do anything wrong by following Falun Gong's principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance and trying to be a good person.
Shortly after that meeting, Mr. Zha was ordered to turn in all his police equipment and he was put on leave. Two months later, he received a formal notice that he was fired.
Mr. Zha appealed against his job termination to the Yuzhou City Police Department. The agency head, Zu Junmin, refused to answer his call, but directed him to the political directors, Xu Zhengkui and Zhang Xiaoguang. When Mr. Zha went to the police department trying to talk to the officers, he was blocked outside by the security personnel.
During a town hall of Liu Lu, Secretary of the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection, on September 15, 2020, Mr. Zha made another attempt to submit his appeal, but to no avail.
When the police fired him, they promised to continue issuing his salary for another 24 months. But when Mr. Zha tried to confirm it with political director Xu in October 2020, Xu responded that because Mr. Zha was appealing his retirement case, they would no longer issue him the severance pay.
Mr. Zha met with Cui Guohui, deputy director of the Yuzhou Appeals Office, on October 15. Cui said to him, “No one can solve the issue for you. The government has made a decision about Falun Gong.”
Liu Xinmiao, the head of the Municipal Civil Service Bureau, told Mr. Zha in December 2020 that his appeal had been rejected. Liu said, “If you continue to practice Falun Gong, the Chinese Communist Party will not give you salary.” He repeated that the government has decided to ban Falun Gong, despite Mr. Zha’s argument that no law ever criminalizes Falun Gong in China.
Mr. Zha expressed that he wanted to file another appeal and asked Liu about the legal procedure involved. Liu refused to help him.
A few days later, Mr. Zha was summoned to the police department, where a woman took his picture and asked him to sign a document which she said was a response from Yuzhou Appeals Office to his appeal. He refused to sign. The police chief and some other officers soon arrived to record video and audio of him. It is unclear what they intended to do with the recordings.
Having worked for 21 years as a police officer, Mr. Zha didn't expect to suffer such persecution, discrimination and humiliation for upholding his faith in Falun Gong. With no channels to address the injustice, he felt devastated and saw his health decline to the point of becoming incapacitated.
Related report:
Police Officer Fired for His Faith Two Years Before Retirement
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