(Minghui.org) Five Yuxi City residents were arrested on July 24 while giving out informational materials about the persecution of Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline violently suppressed by the Chinese communist regime since 1999. Their homes were ransacked shortly afterwards.
When their families went to seek their release on July 27, they were threatened by agents of the local 610 Office, an extralegal agency given power to override law enforcement and the judicial system in its directive to eradicate Falun Gong.
The four women and one man remain detained at the time of writing. Their families are not allowed to see them. They are Ms. Qin Liyuan, Ms. Deng Cuiping, Ms. Li Li, Ms. Li Qiongzhen, and Mr. Pu Zhiming.
Families Intimidated
The arrested practitioners had been repeatedly targeted in the past for refusing to renounce Falun Gong. Their families knew all too well that the 610 Office was behind the latest arrest.
Ms. Qin Liyuan’s family went to the 610 Office on the morning of July 27 and was scolded for trying to seek her release.
The families of Ms. Deng Cuiping, Ms. Li Li, and Ms. Li Qiongzhen visited the same office in the afternoon but were told that the person in charge was out of town.
They refused to leave. About one hour into their wait, several dozen men in black uniforms appeared. They were led by a policeman surnamed Li, who ordered the families to leave immediately. The families had no choice but to comply.
That night, the authorities sent several agents to interrogate Ms. Deng’s family at home.
The next day, the other families were warned by their respective workplace supervisors to “not make any more trouble.”
Mr. Pu Zhiming, the only male practitioner arrested, has no family around to help him. His wife, who also practiced Falun Gong, died in July 2009 after years of detention and torture.
Career Halted
Several of the arrested practitioners had their careers ruined after the persecution of Falun Gong began in 1999.
Ms. Deng, 51, was first removed from teaching at a local elementary school in 2004. She was fired after being sentenced to three years in prison in 2006 for refusing to renounce Falun Gong.
Ms. Li Li and her husband Mr. Gao Xingdong are both teachers. While she was newly arrested, Mr. Gao remains detained following his arrest in October 2014. Their 7-year-old son is now in the care of relatives.
Ms. Li Qiongzhen used to manage the Yuxi City Branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank, but she was fired for practicing Falun Gong.
Mr. Pu, formerly a driver at Yuxi municipal government, was terminated after he was sentenced to 4 years.
Ms. Qin is a 27-year-old piano teacher whose budding career was interrupted by her arrest.
Related Reports:Mr. Pu Zhiming Sues Authorities after His Wife Dies as a Result of PersecutionYunnan Teacher Arrested for Telling Students How to Discover the CCP's True Colors
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