(Minghui.org) 2020 marks the 25th year since Zhuan Falun, the book comprising the main teachings of Falun Gong, was published in 1995. Inside China, however, citizens continue to be persecuted for following this traditional spiritual discipline. Even reading Zhuan Falun at home with other practitioners can constitute a crime.
Falun Gong, known as Falun Dafa, is a meditation system based on the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began to suppress the group in July 1999, untold numbers of practitioners have been detained, imprisoned, and tortured.
When practitioners in their 60s and 70s were reading together in Shaanxi Province on July 10, 2019, over 30 police officers from Qishan County arrested 10 of them. Most have been released on bail due to their age, but three—Ms. Ya Lan, Ms. Xu Mingxia, and Ms. Jiao Binglan—have been detained since the July arrest, and eight are now facing indictment by the local procuratorate.
One of the key perpetrators responsible for the arrests and detentions is Zuo Cangxun, manager of the Qishan Domestic Security Division and deputy director of the Qishan 610 Office. In addition to directing the arrests of these 10 practitioners, Zuo also ordered them to be detained and is responsible for prohibiting family visits.
The group arrests took place on instruction from the Qishan Political and Legal Affairs Committee, the 610 Office, and the Domestic Security Division. Zuo, who holds positions in both the 610 Office and the Domestic Security Division, has been particularly ruthless in his treatment of practitioners.
The police broke into Ms. Xu Mingxia’s home on July 10 and arrested her. They hit the door so hard that the glass in the door was shattered. They confiscated personal belongings related to Falun Gong. On July 12, Zuo and over 10 officers from the Fengming Police Station ransacked her place again. They ordered a locksmith to open the door to Ms. Xu’s daughter-in-law’s room and confiscated two computers, a printer, and Falun Gong books.
After being abused at a hotel in Qishan County for 13 days, Ms. Xu failed the physical examination and the Fufeng Detention Center refused to accept her. Through his connections, however, Zuo got the head of the Fufeng Police Department to sign the paperwork to have Ms. Xu admitted to the detention center.
Ms. Xu is now in very poor health. It is said that she would soon be transferred to the Qishan Detention Center and charged by the Qishan Procuratorate.
Another practitioner arrested on July 10 was Ms. Jiao Binglan. After arresting Ms. Jiao at her residence in the country seat, officers took her to her hometown—where she has not lived for years—to confiscate personal belongings. While she was detained, the guards hung her up and would not let her use the toilet, forcing her to soil her clothing. The guards then humiliated her by laughing at her. Now in the Qishan Detention Center, Ms. Jiao is to be charged by the Qishan Procuratorate like Ms. Xu.
Mr. Shen Hongqing, owner of an appliance shop, was arrested on July 22, 2019 by officers from the Qishan 610 Office, the Fengming Police Station, and the Maiheying Police Station. They ransacked his shop and home and confiscated personal belongings. They held him at a hotel, where he was tortured and interrogated in an iron chair for four days and nights.
After Mr. Shen was arrested, his family did not tell his 90-year-old mother because they worried she could not withstand such a heavy blow. When she eventually heard about it, she could not sleep and begged her family to visit him. She then suffered a stroke and was hospitalized. With the elderly woman on the verge of death and calling for her son, her family asked Zuo and Jin Xiaopeng of the Fengming Police Station for a family visit, but they were turned down.
Grief-stricken, his mother died several days later. The Qishan Procuratorate plans to charge Mr. Shen for his belief in Falun Gong.
Eight Shaanxi Residents Face Indictment for Reading Books of Their Faith Together