Famous Calligrapher Liu Xitong in Qingdao City Arrested for Exhibiting His Work

On November 12th, 2007, Falun Gong practitioner and calligrapher Liu Xitong and his wife Liu Aifang were arrested by officers from the Xiangtan Road Police Station in Qingdao City. The Lius' home was ransacked.

Calligrapher Liu Xitong

From November 3rd to 8th, 2007, Mr. Liu Xitong successfully held a six-day calligraphy exhibition in the Publishing Art Hall in Qingdao City. Thousands of people visited the exhibition, Qingdao TV Station, Qingdao Morning News, and other media outlets reported on this event. An administrator in Qingdao City stated: "We held numerous calligraphy exhibitions; this is the most successful one." Other administrators told the host that it did a great thing in hosting this exhibit.

The day before the exhibit, the 610 Office¹ and the Political Legal Committee ordered the Public Security Bureau and Department of Culture to pressure the venue to cancel Mr. Liu's exhibit. During the exhibition, numerous plain-clothes police officers loitered on site and some even warned visitors that "It's all Falun Gong inside." The police also told other visitors to not go in.

Mr. Liu Xitong, 56, is a famous calligrapher in Qingdao City and a member of the Chinese Calligrapher Association. He had worked in Anqiu, the Chinese Calligraphy Institution, and the Postal Rehabilitation Centre in Qingdao. Mr. Liu was twice sentenced to forced labour camps for practising Falun Gong.

When Mr. Liu was in the labour camp, authorities spread rumours that he had jumped into the ocean to commit suicide. Many in the Calligraphy Society were deceived. To promote traditional culture, Mr. Liu held several successful and well-received calligraphy exhibits in Weifang and Anqiu in the Shandong Province in 2007. Five major media outlets covered the event. The suicide rumour fizzled out.

Mr. Liu said that cultivation in Falun Dafa has improved his mind and given him new inspiration. Many colleagues were impressed by Mr. Liu's new works.

On November 12th, 2007, Mr. Liu and his wife Liu Aifang were arrested by Xiangtan Road Police in Licang District, Qingdao City. Their home was ransacked. Among other personal property, police also confiscated Mr. Liu's daughters' desktop computer, laptop computer, and a printer. Police also took many of Mr. Liu's calligraphy works, including the work "Happiness." Police claimed that "these are all Falun Gong material."

On November 13th, Xiangtan Road Police decided to officially detain Mr. Liu for one month under the groundless accusation of "using an [slanderous term deleted] practice to obstruct justice." Mr. Liu is held in No. 1 Detention Centre in Qingdao City. His wife was not admitted by the detention centre due to failing to pass their physical examination. However, the police extorted five thousand yuan² from Mr. Liu's daughters before releasing his wife.

Xiangtan Police Station in Licang District Qingdao City: 86-532-66576631, 86-532-66576632, 86-532-66576633, 86-532-66576634, 86-532-66576635, 86-532-88666763
Liu Zhengpo: 86-13792829967
Assistant Station Directors: Gu Dali: 86-13793206333

Note

1. "The 610 office" is an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems.

2. "Yuan" is the Chinese currency; 500 yuan is equal to the average monthly income of an urban worker in China.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2007/11/20/166889.html