(Minghui.org) Ostensibly to crack down on train ticket scalpers, China’s Ministry of Railways and Ministry of Public Security started a real-name ticketing system in 2011, requiring all train passengers to use their real names and produce identification documents when purchasing tickets and boarding the train.
This real-name ticketing system has become a mass surveillance tool to monitor and target Falun Gong practitioners and other groups of law-abiding citizens deemed enemies of the state. Many Falun Gong practitioners have been flagged and subsequently arrested while purchasing train tickets or boarding the train. Some of them were later sentenced to prison.
This report presents a few such cases at the hands of the Shanghai Railway Public Security Bureau, which is in charge of railway security and safety in Shanghai and three provinces (Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui). The Bureau has six branches, including Shanghai Railway Police Branch, Hangzhou Railway Police Branch (in Zhejiang Province), Nanjing Railway Police Branch and Xuzhou Railway Police Branch (both in Jiangsu Province), Bengbu Railway Police Branch and Hefei Railway Police Branch (both in Anhui Province).
These branches often subject Falun Gong practitioners passing through their jurisdictions to extensive searches while they go through security checks at train stations. Depending on the amount of Falun Gong materials found on their persons or luggage, the police follow up with various forms of persecution, including home raids, arrest, detention, and sentencing.
The following cases are sorted by the train stations where the concerned practitioners were arrested or harassed.
Longquan Train Station in Zhejiang Province
Mr. Xu Yongqing, an electrical engineer in Shanghai, was arrested on October 20, 2021, while going through security checks at the Longquan Train Station in Zhejiang Province. He was sentenced to four years on November 2, 2022.
Hongqiao Railway Station, Shanghai
Ms. Chen Heqin, a Shanghai resident, was arrested on February 1, 2014, and detained for 20 days.
Ms. Liang Yuying, a 68-year-old resident of Wusu City, Xinjiang Autonomous Region, was arrested on April 17, 2015, and released about one week later after her blood pressure shot up to dangerous levels and she began to exhibit stoke symptoms.
Ms. Li Fuju, a Shanghai resident, had her luggage searched on February 6, 2019. Even though the police let her board her train that day, they searched her again after she returned to Shanghai on February 17, 2019.
Ms. Ying Yu, a Shanghai resident, was body searched and arrested on April 4, 2023. Her home was raided and she was held at the Changning District Detention Center for one month before being released on bail.
Mr. Feng Xinglei, a Shanghai resident, had his bag searched on June 25, 2023.
Ms. Shen Genmei, a Shanghai resident, was arrested on August 9, 2023. The Hongqiao Police Station raided her home and confiscated her Falun Gong books. They also extorted 1,000 yuan from her.
Mr. Wang Yonghang had his luggage searched again after he already boarded the train in mid-January 2024.
Shanghainan Railway Station (Shanghai South Railway Station) in Shanghai
Mr. Wang Jianxin, a Shanghai resident, was brought to an office after going through security checks at the train station on February 14, 2019. The police searched his luggage again and checked his cell phone. They eventually let him go.
Mr. Yu Wuping, a resident of Yichun City, Jiangxi Province, went to visit relatives in Shanghai in October 2021. After he arrived at the Shanghainan Railway Station, an officer seized a Falun Gong amulet from his wallet.
Songjiangnan Railway Station (Songjiang South Railway Station) in Shanghai
Mr. Zhao Hongbo, a Shanghai resident, took a train to Wuhan City, Hubei Province, on March 2, 2021. The railway police searched his bag and checked his phone. On his return trip four days later, he was searched on the train.
The aforementioned Mr. Feng Xinglei was searched at the Songjiang South Railway Station on August 15, 2023.
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