Recent Arrests of at Least Twenty Practitioners in Tangshan City

Chinese Communist Party (CCP) members in Tangshan City, Hebei Province under the guise of protecting the 30-year anniversary of the Big Earthquake and the welcoming of Olympic torch relay on August 4th, harassed and intimidated local residents and further persecuted Falun Gong practitioners. Clearwisdom.net has previously reported that on the morning of July 10th over ten practitioners were arrested. Between July 6th and 10th at least twenty practitioners in the Tangshan area were arrested and their homes ransacked.

1. Approximately 14 Practitioners Arrested in Urban Tangshan

On July 8th, Ms. Zhao Yabin was arrested and his home was ransacked.

On the morning of July 10th, Ms. Zhang Yueqin and her husband, their daughter Ms. He Yan and son-in-law Mr. Sun Fengli, along with practitioners Ms. Liu Suying and Xiao Hao (altogether eight practitioners) were arrested and their homes ransacked. The police robbed Ms. He of over 600,000 yuan¹ in cash that she had borrowed to start a business.

On the morning of July 10th, Tangshan practitioner Li Chunhua, 76 years old, who was originally from Wenzhuang Township of Zunhua City, was arrested by police from both Zunhua City and Tangshan City. Li's spouse, son and several other practitioners at the scene were also arrested.

2. Practitioners from Runfeng District Arrested and Their Homes Ransacked

On July 10th at around 11:00 a.m., practitioner Zhao Fengcun from Xiaozhanggezhuan Township of Fengrun District, Tangshan City was arrested while he was driving a public transit bus. His home was broken into and ransacked.

On July 10th, practitioner Zhao Guowu from Qingtuo Village, Xiaozhanggezhuan Township of Fengrun District, Tangshan City was arrested.

Around 11:00 a.m. on July 10th, practitioner Yang Guoguang from Gaotuo Village, Chahe Township of Fengrun District was arrested. His home was broken into and ransacked.

On July 10th at around 5:00 p.m., practitioner Zhang Zongquan from Wanggezhuan Si Village of Chahe Township, Fungrun District was arrested. His home was ransacked.

3. Police in Zunhua City Arrest Practitioners and Ransack Their Homes

On July 6th at around 12:30 p.m., the home of practitioner Zhao Jinjun of Zunhua City was ransacked and he was arrested. This was the fourth time Mr. Zhao was arrested by CCP police. During this latest arrest, the police not only kicked Mr. Zhao's 3-year-old son but they also called the young child a "b*****d." The police sprayed mace into the eyes of Mr. Zhao's 10-year-old son, Yang Yang, and Mr. Zhao's mother who is in her 60's. Yang Yang could not open his eyes after being sprayed and rushed to the sink to wash his eyes with water. Even after doing so, his eyes remained red and painful for the entire afternoon.

On July 6th at around 12:30, Zunhua City 610 Office² members, along with a dozen policemen from Dongjiuzhai County Police Sub-Branch, broke into the home of practitioners Mr. Liu Changyou and Ms. Wen Cuiyin in Wenzhuang Village. They ransacked their home for over an hour and then arrested the couple and brought them to Zunhua City.

On July 7th, the home of practitioner Wen Ruihua from Wenzhuang Village was ransacked. After being given a list of over a dozen practitioners' names, police from Zunhua City started massive ransacking and arrests in this small village. They made arrests at every household where Falun Gong books and materials were found.

4. Recent Persecution of Practitioners by Police from Leting Police Department

During June and July 2008, police from Leting Police Bureau ransacked practitioner Ma Lijun's home and put Ms. Ma under secret detention for ten days. They also ransacked practitioner Li Jinku's home and detained Mr. Li.

In early July, practitioner Gu Lijin from Daqinghe Salt Field was called to his work unit and then put under house arrest at his work place. On July 8th, Mr. Gu was sentenced to one year in a forced labour camp.

Note

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

2. "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.