(Minghui.org) Ms. Cong Peixi, 76, from Shanghai has had her pension suspended since March 2023 for refusing to pay back a one-time cost-of-living adjustment issued to her in May 2016. She has also faced weekly harassment from the local authorities since May 2023.
Ms. Cong was an engineer at Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics Chinese Academy of Sciences. She was fired in 2000 for refusing to renounce Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999. Her former employer issued her pension after she applied for retirement at an unknown date.
In the years that followed, Ms. Cong was arrested multiple times for upholding her faith. She served two terms of forced labor totaling three years (July 2001 – July 2003, and November 2004 – November 2005), as well as a three-year prison term (August 2009 – August 2012). When she was not in detention, she was harassed numerous times by the authorities.
In February 2022, two officials from the Retiree Management Committee of Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics, including Gong Haimei and Shi Huifang (+86-13901714092), began to coordinate with the Hongkou District Social Security Center in an attempt to rescind the one-time cost-of-living pension adjustment (9,401.5 yuan) that the Institute issued Ms. Cong in May 2016.
Ms. Cong refused to pay back the money as her pension and corresponding cost-of-living adjustments were all her lawfully earned assets and should not be forfeited. Three female workers from the Hongkou District Social Security Center, including Yan Jin (+86-18916876012), Han Juan (+86-21-65080233), and Zhang Wenxin (+86-18916877029), had a “talk” with her on March 27, 2023. They again said she must pay back the “debt” of 9,401.5 yuan because she was twice sentenced to forced labor and prison for practicing Falun Gong.
Ms. Cong demanded to see the legal basis for their unreasonable request. They then cited two policies (one issued in 2010 by the Shanghai Bureau of Human Resources and the Social Security Bureau and another issued in 2012 by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security), both of which barred retirees from receiving pension and cost-of-living adjustments while incarcerated.
The three workers refused to provide any other details about the policies.
Ms. Cong filed a request for information disclosure with the Shanghai Bureau of Human Resources and Social Security. She asked to know the full title of the 2010 policy, which government agency drafted it, when it was passed, how long it would last, and whether the municipal government approved this policy.
Ms. Cong never received a response so she filed a complaint against the Shanghai Bureau of Human Resources and Social Security for failing to respond to her open information request. The Shanghai Appeals Office forwarded her complaint to the Yangpu District Police Department. She called the appeals office numerous times to inquire about the legal basis for sharing her complaint with the police, but she did not receive a response.
As Ms. Cong refused to pay back the one-time cost-of-living adjustment, the Hongkou District Social Security Center suspended her pension in March 2023.
Starting in May 2023, Han Qingyou (+86-13916397558), director of the Yangpu District Political and Legal Affairs Committee, an extra-judicial agency tasked with overseeing the persecution of Falun Gong, led about seven people from various agencies to harass her at home once a week. They ordered her to give up Falun Gong and pay back the “debt” she owed.
This article details how Ms. Cong, who lives in Wujiaochang Town, Yangpu District, Shanghai, was persecuted. The Hongkou District Social Security Center is involved in her financial persecution because her former workplace is located in the district.
Taking up Falun Gong
Ms. Cong began practicing Falun Gong in January 1997 and came to understand that there is a reason behind everything. She no longer held a grudge for being passed over for a promotion at work. She also recovered from her gastric ulcers, gallstones, frozen shoulder, arthritis, and neurasthenia. Falun Gong turned her into a healthier and happier person and she didn’t waver in her faith after the persecution began in July 1999.
Earliest Persecution
After the persecution began on July 20, 1999, Ms. Cong was placed under residential surveillance and monitored around the clock for six months by her employer, the neighborhood committee, and the Wujiaochang Town Police Station. They often broke into her home and threatened her in order to force her to stop practicing Falun Gong. Her family lived in fear.
Ms. Cong went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong in January 2000 and was arrested. After she was escorted back to Shanghai, she was held at the Shanghai Cultural Heritage Bureau for 15 days before she was transferred to the Shanghai Lockup, where she was held for an unknown amount of time. It is unclear why the Shanghai Cultural Heritage Bureau was involved in persecuting her.
Officers from the Wujiaochang Town Police Station arrested Ms. Cong in March 2000 upon discovering that she called the People’s Congress requesting an immediate end to the persecution. The Shanghai Cultural Heritage Bureau picked her up and took her to the Shanghai Detention Center, where she was held for one month.
Given 2 Years of Forced Labor Following Arrest in 2001
Ms. Cong was arrested in July 2001 while distributing Falun Gong informational materials. Officers from the Yunguang Police Station and the Shanghai 610 Office soon gave her two years of forced labor at the Qingpu Labor Camp.
The labor camp guards forced Ms. Cong to do hard labor for more than ten hours every day. One of her tasks involved twisting tubes with her hands. Her joints became severely deformed as a result.
As Ms. Cong remained firm in her faith, the guards forced her to stand facing a wall from 5:30 a.m. until midnight every day. Her legs became so swollen that she couldn’t take off her pants. One winter, she was held in solitary confinement for long periods of time. She shivered in the cold as the guards intentionally left the window open in the unheated cell. They also ordered inmates to beat and verbally abuse her.
Ms. Cong was released in July 2003 and gradually recovered through doing the Falun Gong exercises.
Given One Year of Forced Labor Following Arrest in 2004
Ms. Cong visited the Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics in November 2004 and talked to a former colleague about Falun Gong. He reported her to the Party secretary, who in turn reported her to the Yangpu District 610 Office.
A few agents from the 610 Office deceived Ms. Cong into opening her door on November 26, 2004 by claiming to be delivery workers. They raided her home and took her to the Yangpu District Detention Center. They gave her one year of forced labor and she served time at the detention center. She went on a hunger strike in protest and became extremely weak. She also filed an appeal but there was no report on the outcome.
Detained for One Month in 2008
In September 2008, the Yangpu District 610 Office instructed the Wujiaochang Town Police Station to raid Ms. Yang’s home and confiscate her Falun Gong books. She was released within hours, but the 610 Office ordered her taken back into custody two days later. She was then detained for one month at the Yangpu District Detention Center.
Sentenced to 3 Years Following Arrest in 2009
In August 2009, the Wujiaochang Town Police Station and the Yangpu District 610 Office ordered the security guard at a local supermarket to frame Ms. Cong. While she was shopping there one day, the security guard parked a moped next to hers and placed a copy of Falun Gong related materials on his moped. As soon as she stepped outside, he grabbed her and accused her of placing the material on his moped.
The police arrested her and raided her home. They confiscated her computer, printer, copy paper and Falun Gong books. She was issued a formal arrest warrant in September 2009. The Yangpu District Court sentenced her to three years at an unknown date.
The guards at the Songjiang Women’s Prison ordered inmates to watch Ms. Cong around the clock. The inmates played anti-Falun Gong audio tapes and ordered her to write statements to give up her spiritual belief.
Three Brief Detentions Between 2014 and 2016
The Wujiaochang Town Police Station arrested Ms. Cong in April 2014 and held her for seven days before taking her to a brainwashing center, where she was held for an unknown amount of time.
The same police station reported her to the Yangpu District Police Department in May 2015 after she wrote a letter to the police chief urging him to stop persecuting Falun Gong practitioners. She was held at the police department for five days.
Ms. Cong was arrested again on July 22, 2016, after a man in his 30s reported her for giving him a copy of Falun Gong materials. She was taken to the Wujiaochang Town Police Station. The Yangpu District Police Department had her detained at a lockup for five days before moving her to the Yangpu District Brainwashing Center.
Harassed Three Times in 2017
On the morning of May 5, 2017, Ms. Cong was harassed at home by personnel from the Zhongxiang Street Committee and the Wujiaochang Town government.
Officer Ding Jianmin from the Wujiaochang Town Police Station and a female colleague broke into Ms. Cong’s home on June 30, 2017. She condemned them for harassing law-abiding citizens like her. Ding accused her of being in contempt of the police. He attempted to search her bedroom but she stopped him. He later refused to process her application for a passport and entry permit to visit Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Ms. Cong was summoned to the local street committee on July 24, 2017 to meet with two people from the Songjiang Women’s Prison. They said they were there to visit her after her prison release. She did not know them but urged them to not participate in the persecution of Falun Gong.
Two More Arrests in Late 2017 and Early 2018
Ms. Cong was arrested in October 2017, after being reported for talking to people about Falun Gong at a farmers’ market. The arresting officers from the Changbaishan Road Police Station turned over her case to the Yangpu District Police Department, which dispatched officers to raid her home. She was taken to the Yangpu District Brainwashing Center and held for an unknown amount of time.
The Yangpu District Police Department and the Wujiaochang Town Police Station arrested Ms. Cong on January 5, 2018, while she was visiting another Falun Gong practitioner. They released her hours later.
Around the Clock Surveillance in September 2019
Four people from the Wujiaochang Town Police Station began to follow Ms. Cong on September 16, 2019. They also took pictures of her, anyone she talked to, and even the groceries she bought. The street committee people also knocked on her door every day. They photographed her pictures and reported her activities to officer Jing.
Ms. Cong filed a complaint with the captain of the local Domestic Security office. The street committee stopped harassing her, but the police still shadowed her. Officer Jing also ordered the street committee to still knock on her door around sensitive dates, such as Falun Gong related anniversaries or CCP political meetings.
Three Latest Arrests
Officers from the Yangpu District Police Department and the Wujiaochang Town Police Station broke into Ms. Cong’s home on February 10, 2020 and confiscated her computer and Falun Gong books. They took her to the police station before transferring her to the Yangpu District Detention Center. She went on a hunger strike in protest and was released two days later.
On July 15, 2020, officer Ding from the Wujiaochang Town Police Station and Li Jie, an officer from the Changhai Road Police Station responsible for household registration, showed up at Ms. Cong’s home and said the district officials needed to have a talk with her. She believed them and went to the Changhai Road Police Station, where she saw Ren Rinen (vice team lead of the 610 Office within the Yangpu District Police Department), a man in plainclothes, and an officer who used a computer to collect fingerprints.
Officers Ding, Li, and Zhou Qunmin grabbed Ms. Cong’s arms, covered her mouth, pinched her ears, and yanked her hair to make her submit to their orders to have her photo taken, and have her blood sample and fingerprints collected. It was unclear when she was released.
On December 15, 2021, Ren Yiling, the head of the 610 Office of the Yangpu District Police Department, led his subordinate Wang Xiaojun and the aforementioned officer Li to Ms. Cong’s home. They snatched her mobile phone and took her to Changhai Road Police Station. Wang interrogated her, while other officers printed out the messages she posted on social media of stories of how Falun Gong practitioners benefitted from the practice. They later released her at an unknown date.
Harassment in Recent Years
Ms. Cong was harassed and shadowed by the police many more times in 2022.
On March 2, 2023, Ms. Cong noticed people were staked outside her home in two shifts. Four days later, the Changhai Road Police Station dispatched officers Ding and Chen Qihao to harass her at home. They attempted to search her bedroom but she stopped them.
Ms. Cong is now facing weekly harassment that began in May 2023 after she refused to pay back the one-time cost-of-living pension adjustment mentioned at the beginning of this report.
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