(Minghui.org) According to information compiled by Minghui.org, 574 Falun Gong practitioners were arrested for their faith in October 2016, and one of them died 12 days into her detention.
A total of 370 practitioners remain detained at the time of writing, and 22 of them have been formally arrested and are facing indictment.
The police also confiscated a total of 100,000 yuan in cash and valuables from 11 practitioners during the arrests.
The arrested practitioners hail from 27 provinces and centrally controlled municipalities. Jilin Province registered the most arrests (118), followed by Liaoning (100). Eleven other provinces reported double-digit arrests, while the rest logged single-digit arrests.
Jilin: 118Liaoning: 100Hebei: 55Sichuan: 50Shandong: 36Hubei: 31Heilongjiang: 30Guangdong: 19Tianjin: 18Inner Mongolia: 17Henan: 12Jiangsu: 12Jiangxi: 11Chongqing: 9Shanxi: 9Beijing: 8Hunan: 8Guizhou: 6Gansu: 6Ningxia: 5Shaanxi: 4Yunnan: 3Shanghai: 2Anhui: 2Fujian: 1Guangxi: 1Qinghai: 1
Liaoning Woman Dies 12 Days After Being Arrested for Her Faith
A Liaoyang City, Liaoning Province resident died less than two weeks after being arrested for refusing to renounce Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline being persecuted by the Chinese communist regime.
Ms. Xu Guixia, 47, was arrested on October 27, 2016 and later sent to Liaoyang City Detention Center.
On the afternoon of November 7, the police informed Ms. Xu’s son, who was attending school out of town, that his mother had fallen ill and wanted to see him.
The police called the son again the next afternoon, offering to pick him up. The young man dared not return to his hometown, not knowing what the police were trying to do to him and his mother.
Ms. Xu’s sister received a call from the police on November 10, saying that Ms. Xu had died at around noon on November 7.
The police, however, refused to allow the sister to view Ms. Xu’s body because she declined to sign a waiver to forgo her family’s legal right to seek justice for Ms. Xu.
The sister has recently hired a lawyer to explore their legal options. In the meantime, she is also working to seek the release of her brother-in-law, Mr. Liu Ying, who was arrested at the same time as his wife Ms. Xu.
Mr. Liu’s lawyer went to the detention center on November 11, but was denied visitation.
Changchun Police Arrest Falun Gong Practitioners to Fill Quota
Three Falun Gong practitioners, Ms. Li Guihua, Ms. Ma Xiurong, and Ms. Li Guiying from the Luyuan District of Changchun City, Jilin Province were arrested separately on the morning of October 25, 2016, by officers from the Sijianfang Police Station and the Changchun Domestic Security Division.
Officers said that the arrests were made to fill the quota assigned to them. They told the practitioners' families that they would be released in two weeks.
50 Arrested for Suing Jiang Zemin
Fifty of the 574 arrested practitioners were targeted because they filed criminal complaints against former Chinese dictator Jiang Zemin for ordering the persecution of Falun Gong that resulted in their past arrests and abuse.
Hospital Worker Arrested
Ms. Li Xinyu, an employee of Li County Hospital in Hebei Province, was arrested on October 18 and sent to Dingxing Brainwashing Center.
5 Liaoning Residents Arrested
Gao Yanshuang was arrested on October 23. Guo Yanxue, Hu Qinglian, Zhang Xiuxia, and Song Shouyun were arrested one day later. The five practitioners from Chaoyang County, Liaoning Province were made to sleep on bed frames without any bedding. They were also beaten and forced to do hard labor.
30 Sent to Brainwashing Centers
Out of the 574 arrested practitioners, 30 people were taken straight to brainwashing centers and forced to go through study sessions aimed at making them renounce their faith.
Daqing Oilfield Sends Employees to Brainwashing Centers
At least four employees working in various divisions of Daqing Oilfield were sent to its brainwashing center in October 2016 for refusing to renounce Falun Gong.
Mr. Wang Xuejun, an engineer of the No. 10 Refinery, was at work on October 12 when the 610 Office head showed up and took him to the brainwashing center.
Mr. Zheng Xinwei, an employee of No. 3 Refinery, had just finished his night shift on October 12 when a supervisor ordered him to go to a training base. While on the way there, Mr. Zheng sensed something was wrong and drove the supervisor back to the refinery. Two other managers stopped Mr. Xu and called in two police officers to take him to the brainwashing center. He has become incontinent as a result of brutal beatings.
Ms. Zhang Linying, a section chief of the drilling company, was seized from home on October 21 and taken to the brainwashing center.
Mr. Zhao Guohua, career services director of Daqing Medical School, was arrested on October 31 and taken to the brainwashing center.
2 Chongqing Residents Sent to Brainwashing Center
Ms. Li Yuqiong was grocery shopping on October 25 when she was arrested and sent to Nanshan Brainwashing Center. Mr. Zhou Liangrong was sent to the same center one day later.
Many Affected Practitioners Arrested Before
Many of the 574 arrested practitioners had been detained in the past for their faith.
Henan Woman, 81, Taken to Prison for Sentence Given Three Years Ago for Her Faith
A Xinxiang City, Henan Province resident was taken back into custody to serve a prison term given to her three years ago for refusing to renounce Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline being persecuted by the Chinese communist regime.
Ms. Zhao Meizhen, 81, was first arrested in July 2013 and ordered to serve 4 years in the Xinxiang City Detention Center. She was soon released when the detention center declined to admit her because of her poor health.
The police, however, returned to her home early on the morning of October 24, 2016, and arrested her.
The Xinxiang City Detention Center again refused to admit Ms. Zhao, because her blood pressure was dangerously high. Instead of releasing her this time, a prosecutor from the Muye District Procuratorate said, “Well, we’ll send her straight to prison then. She must serve a full four years!”
Ms. Zhao’s health has continued to deteriorate in Xinxiang Women’s Prison. Her family’s requests to visit her have been repeatedly turned down. The guards told them that she is now in the prison hospital.
Retired Professor Arrested for Seeking Reinstatement of Pension
Ms. Tang Xuzhen, a retired professor of Southwest Medical University in Sichuan Province, was arrested on October 9 after she went to her school to seek reinstatement of her pension, which was suspended after she was sentenced to 3.5 years in late 2009 for talking to people about Falun Gong.
Police Brutality
Many practitioners experienced police brutality during their arrests and detentions. Some family members were also roughed up by police.
Shanxi Woman Detained for Her Faith, Tied Spread Eagle to Bed
A Datong City, Shanxi Province resident remains detained for her faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline being persecuted by the Chinese communist regime. Because she refused to put on the inmate uniform, she was tied spread eagle to a bed for extended periods of time.
Ms. Chen Zhongli was talking to people about Falun Gong on October 18 when she was reported to the police and arrested. She escaped from the police station about two hours later and returned home in the afternoon.
The police tracked her down shortly afterwards and seized her when she and her daughter stepped out of their home that evening. Both women sustained injuries as they struggled to get away.
Ms. Chen was taken to the local police station, where she was ordered to give a urine sample. She refused and was soon driven to the local hospital for blood samples. The police never told her why they needed her urine and blood samples.
It was midnight when she was sent to Datong City Second Detention Center.
Ms. Chen’s daughter went to request her detention warrant and notice of detention the next day. Chief Liu Qian failed to produce the two documents as required by law.
The daughter protested against the illegality of her mother’s arrest and detention. Chief Liu replied that everything was legal, as they had verbal orders from higher-ups.
An official at the detention center initially declined the daughter’s request to meet with her mother when she went there on the third day. He relented upon the daughter’s protest.
Elderly Father Injured While Seeking Son’s Release
Mr. Tian Kaishan of Yi County, Hebei Province was arrested on October 5. His daughter and elderly father went to the police station ten days later to seek his release, but were barred from going inside.
The older Mr. Tian, who is in his 80s, leaned in from the open window to talk to an officer named Gao Yang, but the latter suddenly shut the window, injuring the father’s left eye.
157 Harassed
In addition to the arrested practitioners, 157 other people received unexpected visits from local authorities in October 2016 for refusing to renounce their faith in Falun Gong. One of them died within hours of the police visit.
Hebei Man Dies Hours After 610 Office Head Visit
Dang Hui, head of Anguo City 610 Office in Hebei Province, and his two agents showed up at Mr. Liu Zeng’an’s home at around 10 a.m. on October 18, 2016. They kept asking where Mr. Zheng had obtained his Falun Gong books and whether he had filed a criminal complaint against Jiang Zemin.
Mr. Liu wasn’t feeling well at the time, and he died at 1 p.m. that afternoon. He was 72.
3 Guizhou Women Forced to Give Blood Samples
Three elderly women in Guizhou Province had their blood forcibly drawn in October 2016. Ms. Luo Jindi was forced to give her blood sample on October 25, Ms. Pang Jihong on October 26, and Ms. Zhou Shuxiu on October 31.
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