Mr. Yang Zhixiong's Whereabouts Unknown After His Arrest in Beijing

Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Yang Zhixiong, 48, from Bandong Village, Xiong County, Hebei Province, was arrested on November 3rd, 2012, at his rental residence in the Shunyi District of Beijing. His whereabouts are still unknown to his family even after many inquiries.

Mr. Yang was the office head at a foreign enterprise in Beijing. He and his wife, Ms. Qi Hongjin, both practise Falun Gong, and they have both been repeatedly arrested and detained.

Ms. Qi was arrested in Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province on June 15th, 2003. That same day, Mr. Yang was arrested in Beijing by officers from the Shijiazhuang Police Department, and taken back to Shijiazhuang. Mr. Yang was sentenced to a four-year prison term and incarcerated in Jidong Prison in Tangshan City. Ms. Qi was sentenced to two years of forced labour. Their 13-year-old son was left at home without care.

Ms. Qi was arrested again on June 4th, 2008, by officers from the Lianmeng Road Police Station. She was sentenced to one year of forced labour and held at the Hebei Province Women's Forced Labour Camp. Mr. Yang requested an administrative review and submitted a lawsuit on behalf of his wife.

On July 7th, 2008, Mr. Yang and his son moved back to his hometown in Xiong County. One month later, on August 7th, three officers from the Mibei Town Police Station, including Liu Wenqiang, broke into Mr. Yang's home and arrested him. They then drove to the Xiong County Toll Station. Several officers from the Xiong County 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong), including Li Chengqun, were waiting there. Mr. Yang was shoved into the car and taken to the Baoding City Brainwashing Centre. Mr. Yang's lawsuit and request for an administrative review were halted.

Mr. Yang lost his job due to the repeated arrests and detentions, and he had to find odd jobs to make a living. He later moved to the Shunyi District in Beijing. He was arrested again on November 3rd, 2012, just before the 18th Party Congress. His family went to the local police station to inquire as to his whereabouts. An officer said that Mr. Yang had been arrested by Xiong County police. However, after more than two weeks had passed, Mr. Yang's family had not received any notice.