(Minghui.org) The number of Falun Gong practitioners arrested on May 12, 2021 in Tangshan City, Hebei Province has now become 31, after five additional arrests were confirmed.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Police forces in ten districts and county-level cities under the jurisdiction of Tangshan took part in the arrests, including Lunan District, Lubei District, Guye District, Kaiping District, Fengrun District, Fengnan District, Caofeidian District, Zunhua City, Luanzhou City and Yutian County.
Most of the arrests took place in the morning, with a dozen starting as early as 5 a.m. A majority of the practitioners also had their homes ransacked and their Falun Gong related materials confiscated.
Eight Remain in Custody
Among the 31 practitioners, eight of them remain in custody at the time of writing. They are: Mr. Miao Yongli and his wife Ms. Niu Ruiying, Mr. Liu Shangzhu, Ms. Zhang Wei, Ms. Guo Yanju, Ms. Sun Baifeng, Ms. Zhang Weiqi, and Ms. Zhang Guifang. Below are the details of their arrests.
Six practitioners in Guye District, including Mr. Miao Yongli and his wife Ms. Niu Ruiying, Ms. Niu’s sisters Ms. Niu Ruizhi and Ms. Niu Ruiqin, as well as Ms. Wu Caixia and Ms. Wang Guizhi, were arrested at around 5 a.m. All of their homes were ransacked.
While the other four practitioners were released shortly after their arrests, Mr. Miao and his wife were both given 15 days of detention. At the end of the detention on May 27, Mr. Miao was transferred to the Luanzhou City Detention Center. While Ms. Niu was released on May 27, she was arrested again a few days later and now held at the Tangshan City No.1 Detention Center.
Mr. Liu Shangzhu’s arrest at 6 a.m. on May 12 was recently confirmed. A dozen officers ransacked his home and confiscated his printers, computer and some office supplies. He is now held at Matoushan Detention Center.
Mr. Zhang Shuangyong, Ms. Zhang Wei, Ms. Guo Yanju and Ms. Sun Baifeng, who worked at the Zhuoyu Camera Store, were arrested at around 1 p.m. Ms. Zhang Weiqi, who had worked at the store before, was arrested around the same time. The police ransacked the store as well as Ms. Zhang Weiqi’s home.
While Mr. Zhang was released on May 23, Ms. Zhang Wei, Ms. Guo and Ms. Sun were taken to Tangshan City No.1 Detention Center on the next day and held there since. Ms. Zhang Weiqi is now held at an undisclosed detention facility in Fengnan District.
Ms. Zhang Guifang, a Tangshan resident in her 60s who was arrested separately, is also held at the Tangshan City No. 1 Detention Center.
Four More Additional Arrests
In addition to Mr. Liu, there are four more arrests recently confirmed.
Mr. Song Zuoqiang and Ms. Li Guiying were arrested at around 9 a.m. Their Falun Gong books and photo of Falun Gong’s founder were confiscated. They were released at 8:30 p.m.
Mr. Liu Shangyu was arrested at 10 a.m. His home was also ransacked by a dozen officers, and his Falun Gong books and magazines were confiscated. He was interrogated at the Woluogu Police Station and released at 5 p.m.
Ms. An Xiaoping was detained for nine days and released on May 21.
Related report:Tangshan City, Hebei Province: 26 Falun Gong Practitioners Arrested in One Day
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