Railway Ticketing System Used to Identify, Arrest Falun Gong Practitioners

August 29, 2015 | By a Minghui correspondent in Guizhou Province

(Minghui.org) The Railway Police in Guizhou Province is using the ticket checking system to identify Falun Gong practitioners, search their belongings, and take them to brainwashing centers or prison.

Since the Chinese communist regime began its suppression of Falun Gong in 1999, practitioners have faced arbitrary arrest, detention, imprisonment, and torture for their beliefs. Ticketing systems have become the latest surveillance tool used by police to capture Falun Gong practitioners as they go about their daily lives.

Mr. Wang Zhixue, 39, was arrested at the Guiyang Railway Station on November 20, 2013, because his ID card showed that he practiced Falun Gong. In February 2015, he was sentenced to nine years in Doyun Prison. His appeal was denied.

In Guiyang City, Mr. Chen Jun and his mother were identified through their IDs at a railway station on July 4, 2015. Police found Zhuan Falun, the main book of Falun Gong, and other Falun Gong materials. They arrested Mr. Chen, ransacked his home, and took him to the Lannigou Brainwashing Center. He is still in custody at the time of writing.

These police activities violate Chinese law, including recording citizens’ religious beliefs on an identification card and checking citizens’ personal information through the ticketing system. Searching practitioners’ persons and their belongings based on religious beliefs found from such information is also illegal.

Chinese version available

Category: Accounts of Persecution

Indonesia: Exposing the Persecution of Falun Gong at International Endurance Competition

August 28, 2015

(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioners from Indonesia are using various opportunities to raise public awareness of the 16-year long persecution of Falun Gong in China. The recent international competition, the Ironman 70.3 Bintan, offered such an opportunity.

The event was attended by 800 athletes from Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, China, Indonesia, New Zealand, and Morocco, and included a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bicycle race, and a 13-mile run.

Along the major pathways of the event, practitioners demonstrated the exercises, held banners, passed out informational materials, and collected signatures on petitions that condemn the persecution.

Practitioners explain the recent wave of lawsuits against the former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin for persecuting Falun Gong.

Demonstrating the exercises on the beach.

Athletes sign petition supporting Falun Gong’s lawsuits against Jiang Zemin.

Chinese version available

Category: Other Community Events

Falun Gong Practitioner Dies Hours After Arrest in Hengshui

August 28, 2015

(Minghui.org) Fifteen Falun Gong practitioners from Hengshui City, Hebei Province were arrested on August 21, 2015, and one of them died just hours later. At the time of this writing, 13 of the practitioners remain in detention.

Mr. Yuan Shuchen Dies on Same Day of Arrest

Mr. Yuan, 65, suddenly passed away on the day of his arrest, with the police blaming the death on a “heart problem.” His family is working to find out the true cause of his death.

Prior to his arrest, Mr. Yuan had his home ransacked by local police on June 18. The officers confiscated many of his personal belongings, including two laptop computers, two printers, one CD burner, and three paper cutters. They tried to take Mr. Yuan away as well, but were stopped by his family members.

Non-practitioner Wife Seized while Trying to Stop Husband’s Arrest

Close to three dozen agents descended on Mr. Xie Xingguo’s house at around 4:00 a.m. on August 21. They scaled the fence and broke into the home. When Mr. Xie’s wife, who is not a practitioner, tried to stop the officers from taking away her husband, she was also arrested. She was held by police until later that day.

Thirteen Other Arrested Practitioners

In addition to Mr. Yuan and Mr. Xie, 13 other practitioners from Hengshui were also arrested on the same day, including Liu Xiuming, Wen Ping, Liu Yuping, Zhang Jinshan, a practitioner surnamed Feng, Yan Jun, Wei Xiubian, Xiu Yanhua, and five members of the same family (Wang Fulu and his wife Zhang Lanjun, along with their two sons and one daughter-in-law).

Except for Mr. Wang’s daughter-in-law, who was released later on August 21, the rest of the practitioners remain at various local detention centers at the time of this writing.

PLAC Secretary Behind Arrests

According to insiders, Dai Guohua, secretary of Hengshui City Political and Legal Affairs Committee, was the official behind the arrests. He has held many meetings since June to plot surveillance and arrests of local practitioners suspected filing lawsuits against Jiang Zemin. He ordered local post offices to stop processing criminal complaint letters submitted by practitioners, and also directed local counties to set up new brainwashing centers to hold arrested practitioners.

Chinese version available

Category: Deaths

San Francisco Gallery Hosts Exhibition of Falun Gong Artwork

August 27, 2015

(Minghui.org) The opening ceremony for “The Art of Zhen, Shan, Ren (Truth, Compassion, Tolerance) International Exhibition” was held in the YouCaring Compassion in Action Gallery in downtown San Francisco on August 21. The show will be up for a week.

Because the exhibition hall is in the downtown area, the rental fee is high. But the gallery owner was deeply moved by the artwork and its message and waived the fee.

Visitors study the paintings.

“I Sense the Divine [in the Artwork]”

Exhibit visitor Mr. Satnam Nandha, who works at the Federal Reserve Bank, was very impressed by this collection of artwork by Falun Gong practitioners.

“I like all the works. Wonderful. I sense the divine in them,” he told the Minghui correspondent.

Mr. Nandha’s favorite was the painting “Melting into the Fa.”

“The artist must be highly spiritual,” he said. “It reflects peace and manifests the inner world of the artist’s heart.”

The painting shows a mother holding a baby and reading the book Zhuan Falun, the main book of the Falun Gong teachings, under low lamplight.

“If everybody could reach this kind of inner peace, the world would be a wonderful place,” he said.

Mr. Nandha also learned about the persecution of Falun Gong in China from some of the paintings. He said he couldn’t understand why anyone would persecute such peaceful, kind people.

“I Admire Their Perseverance”

Samantha, a media editor from New York, said the exhibition was not her first encounter with Falun Gong. She said she had learned about the persecution from numerous Falun Gong events in Manhattan.

“I’m glad I got to see this wonderful artwork, which has helped me learn more about Falun Gong,” she said. “I admire their [practitioners] perseverance and strong faith in the face of the persecution. I can sense positive energy from the artwork. The peacefulness, kindness, and dignity of the practitioners is remarkable.”

The exhibition will continue until August 28.

Chinese version available

Category: Art & Photo Exhibits

Visit of Detained Practitioner Results in Arrest and Detention

August 26, 2015 | By a Minghui correspondent from Shandong Province, China

(Minghui.org) When three people tried to visit a Falun Gong practitioner at a detention center last month, they were turned away, but then followed and forcibly arrested by the police.

The Falun Gong practitioner, Mr. Li Zhiqiang from Dezhou City, Shandong Province, was recently sentenced to four years in prison after being illegally detained for one year and seven months for his belief.

Mr. Li’s son, nephew, and friend, Ms. Wang Yanzhi, tried to visit him on July 27, 2015. All three were arrested and taken to the Xincheng Police Station, where they were interrogated and mistreated. Ms. Wang was transferred to the Dezhou City Detention Center.

Arrested for Visiting Mr. Li Zhiqiang

When these three went to visit Mr. Li, they were told that he might be transferred to a prison and thus visitation rights were withdrawn. Therefore they caught a late afternoon bus back to the city.

Three plainclothes officers got on that bus at the Xinghelu Station. At the next bus station, the three people got off the bus. The officers followed and suddenly grabbed them. Mr. Li’s son asked that they show their identification. The police refused and instead video-recorded them.

Then, a car arrived with a group of police officers. The three were surrounded by officers who tried to force them into the car. Since the car did not have enough room, the police called a taxi. They resisted the police. The son’s glasses and bag were confiscated.

“My father is imprisoned by the police because of practicing Falun Gong,” he shouted. “Now you want to arrest us just because we visited him. Falun Gong is good.”

People surrounded them, the taxi driver refused to cooperate with the police and drove away. Eventually, the police called another police car, handcuffed the three and pushed them into the vehicle.

The three were taken to the Xincheng Police Station. The police confiscated all their personal belongings and separated them for interrogation.

Interrogated and Mistreated

Mr. Li’s son was taken to the interrogation room, handcuffed to the wall for more than two hours and interrogated for more than three hours.

The nephew was taken to another interrogation room. His hands were tied behind his back and his feet shackled. The interrogation lasted until past midnight. Then he was left in the interrogation room for the night with handcuffs on. His right arm was injured and the handcuffs left a mark on his wrist.

Ms. Wang began to throw up in the police station. She could not talk or even sit still. The police mocked her and said that she pretended to be sick. Then, the police called a doctor who did not treat her. The police turned the air conditioner to very cold and left her like this for the entire night.

A group of officers from the domestic security team and the Xincheng Police Station ransacked Ms. Wang’ home for three hours. They confiscated Falun Gong books and materials, banners and many other personal belongings. They did this in front of Ms. Wang’s mother-in-law and her granddaughter.

The police demanded that Ms. Wang’s daughter come to the police station and interrogated her for over five hours the next morning. They again interrogated Ms. Wang that morning. Ms. Wang’s daughter demanded to see her mother and was finally allowed to see her in the afternoon. The police refused to have her mother treated despite her poor health condition.

The police demanded that Mr. Li’s nephew provide his contact information and he refused. Therefore, they confiscated his cell phone to get his contact information.

The domestic security police released Mr. Li’s son and nephew at 9:00 p.m. However, not until they signed a guarantee statement that promised not to practice Falun Gong and their release forms. They also took blood samples and fingerprinted them.

The police took Ms. Wang to the Dezhou City Detention Center, although her daughter tried to prevent this transfer.

The police issued Ms. Wang’s official detention notice and a general letter claiming that Ms. Wang’s health was fine.

Participants in the persecution of Mr. Li:
Liu Zhong, chief of the Dezhou City Detention Center: +86-534-2187701, +86-13905342103
Yu Songyan, chief and CCP party secretary of the Dezhou City Police Department: +86-534-2292077
Zhang Baozhen, deputy chief of the Dezhou City Police Department and chief of Dezhou City Economic Developing Zone Police Department: +86-13705342656

Jia Zefeng, caption of the Domestic Security Team in the Dezhou City Economic Developing Zone Police Department: +86-15853452299

Related articles:

Shandong Court Denies Practitioner of Legal Representation During Trial
Mr. Li Zhiqiang Facing Trial
Mr. Li Zhiqiang and Ms. Shan Xiufang Arrested

Chinese version available

Category: Accounts of Persecution