Between Qitaihe City and Baoqing County in Heilongjiang Province, there is a tollbooth, and there are police stationed there. In order to identify practitioners, the policemen laid a person on the ground and covered his face. Then they forced the passengers from the buses to kick the person on the ground and to curse Falun Gong and its founder. If people refused to do so, they would be assumed to be practitioners (as they do not hit or curse people) and would be arrested. Every passenger went through strict inspection, particularly those who covered their face with scarf.
On February 26th, 2008 around 5:00 p.m., practitioner Mr. Yan Jingzhu age 45, from Hongwei Town, Qiezihe District, was arrested by policeman Liu Xuejun from Hongwei Town Police Station. He is still being held in Qitaihe City Detention Centre.
From March 4th to 9th, 2008, thirty-seven practitioners were arrested in Qitaihe City. Numerous sites producing leaflets exposing the persecution of Falun Gong were destroyed. Many practitioners were followed and monitored. The policemen ordered neighbours to monitor practitioners and to report to the police.
One elderly couple had stopped practising Falun Gong after July 20th, 1999 when the persecution started, and had developed symptoms of stroke. However, the police still harassed them and arrested them in the middle of the night and held them in a detention centre during this round of mass arrests.
On March 5th, the police arrested two young practitioners Ms. Xu Yan and Ms. Tao Xu. They are both nineteen years old. They were held in Qitaihe Detention Centre, where the police covered their faces with cloths and began to hit their faces and heads with handcuffs. Ms. Xu Yan's face was disfigured after the severe beating; she could not open her mouth. Ms. Tao Xu passed out many times. The police threw cold water on them and exposed them to cold air. The police put Teacher Li's [Teacher Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Gong] picture on a bench and asked whether the practitioners would still practise Falun Gong. If they answered yes, they were tied down on the bench and forced to sit on the picture.
Ms. Liu Shuling, age 53, is a practitioner from Hongwei Town, Qiezihe District. She was among six practitioners arrested on March 5th. One unnamed female practitioner's mobile phone and bankbook were confiscated by the police. They were all held in Taonan Police Station. Ms. Liu Shuling was transferred to Taoxi Police Station and interrogated for two days and nights. She was deprived of sleep. The police covered her face with a cloth and fiercely beat her face and head. Then they threw cold water all over her and exposed her to the cold weather. There were thirty policeman who took turns interrogating Ms. Liu, but she did not give in and instead she explained the facts about Falun Gong to them. On March 8th, she had a heart attack, began vomiting blood and was in critical condition. In order to shirk their responsibility and shift the blame to others, the authorities of Qitaihe Detention Centre notified her family and released Ms. Liu on March 10th, 2008.
On March 6th, 2008 around 4:00 p.m., practitioner Ms. Wang Yuhua, age 40, from Santang, Sibai District, was arrested by the police leader surnamed Bi from the Public Security Bureau in Qitaihe City. Five or six policemen raided her home, and confiscated a computer, a printer, and three mobile phones. Ms. Wang is being held in Qitaihe Detention Centre.
Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2008/3/15/174384.html
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