(Minghui.org) Four residents of Wei County, Gansu Province, were detained for hours on March 15, 2026, because they practice Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.

Ms. Zhai Aiqin and two elderly female practitioners (one surnamed Liu but the other one’s name is unknown) were arrested at Ms. Gao Yuqin’s home, while the four women were reading Falun Gong books.

Someone knocked on Ms. Gao’s door around 3 p.m. When she looked through the peephole she saw a woman. When she opened the door five police officers from the Wei County Police Department and the Chengguan Police Station barged in. A female officer held a pile of documents, and a male officer flashed his ID and a search warrant.

Ms. Gao recognized one of them as Li Yan. She previously wrote to him, urging him to stop persecuting Falun Gong practitioners. She demanded to know the other officers’ names and badge numbers. They said they’d share the information after they took her and her three guests to the Wei County Police Department.

The police started criticizing Falun Gong. The four practitioners defended Falun Gong and talked about their own personal experiences after they began practicing.

Ms. Gao, who taught at the Wei County Experimental School, suffered from severe nephritis, heart disease, rheumatism, hypotension (with her blood pressure as low as 45/75 mmHg when a normal reading is 120/80 mmHg). She also had wind-induced headaches, cervical spondylosis, lumbar disc herniation, and gynecological conditions. All her symptoms disappeared two months after she began practicing Falun Gong.

Ms. Liu, in her 70s, said she was unable to walk for years due to her severe back and leg pain. She became healthy after she began practicing. Her hereditary hunch-back also disappeared.

The police ignored the practitioners’ testimonies and searched every corner of Ms. Gao’s home. They confiscated over 30 Falun Gong books, a portrait of the founder of Falun Gong, over 1,300 yuan in banknotes printed with Falun Gong messages, several copies of Falun Gong informational materials, two laptops, two cell phones, one printer, a vase, and some decorations.

The police also broke the lock on Ms. Gao’s cash box. Li also attempted to seize her banknotes that bore no Falun Gong messages. The other officers stopped him.

Li then called the police department to send officers to raid the homes of Ms. Gao’s three guests.

The four practitioners were taken to the police department for interrogation. They learned that the police targeted them after a surveillance camera recorded Ms. Gao and Ms. Zhai distributing Falun Gong materials some time ago.

Ms. Gao refused to answer questions or have her pictures or biometric information taken. She was released around 10 p.m. The other three practitioners were also soon released.

Prior to the latest persecution episode, Ms. Gao and another local practitioner, Ms. Yan Caiying, 76, had their homes raided on July 21, 2022, by officers from the Jiangluo Town Police Station and the Wei County Police Department. Ms. Yan’s home was raided again on March 9, 2026, and all her Falun Gong books and a cell phone were confiscated.