Police Arrest and Terrorize Seven Older Women, Extort Large Sums of Money

Around 2:00 p.m. on May 12th, 2008, police from the Domestic Security Division of the Changtu County Police Department in Liaoning Province and the Tongjiangkou Township Police Station surrounded the home of Huangjia Village practitioner Ms. Li Yongxin. Using the excuse of "ensuring security for the Olympics," the police dispersed the villagers who gathered after hearing the news, broke into the home, ransacked it, and arrested Ms. Li Yongxin, Ms. Zhao Cuizhi and her mother, Ms. Hou Guiqin , Ms. Zhao Shuwen, Ms. Zhang Peihuan, and her sister. Chinese Communist Party (CCP) agents told the family members of each practitioner that they might be freed after two weeks and then proceeded to extort money from them. On May 19th, Ms. Li Yongxin and Ms. Zhao Cuizhi were taken to Masanjia Forced Labour Camp in Shenyang City.

The following is Ms. Zhang Peihuan's personal account of what she experienced. She is 75 years old.

On May 12th, 2008, I rode my battery-powered bike two and a half miles to the home of fellow practitioner Ms. Li Yongxin. That day was the 21st day after her husband's death. Also, since her crops were seeded unevenly, everyone was prepared to help her plant the unseeded areas. Except for me, everyone else were either senior ladies living near Li Yongxin or her relatives. There was a total of six people.

After lunch, a group of police appeared suddenly. They were from the county 610 Office¹, the county Domestic Security Division, the Tonjiangkou Police Station, and the riot police. There were 20 to 30 police officers. They were led by the captain of the Domestic Security Division, Liu Jianxin, and the chief of the Tonjiangkou Police Station, Sun Sheng.

The police started overturning things as soon as they came inside. One of them flashed a pamphlet but didn't let us see what it was. We didn't know what was happening. We were just a bunch of old ladies and we were startled. The oldest in the home was the mother of Ms. Li Yongxin who is 84. The youngest was Ms. Li Yongxin's grandson, who is only four. I was 75, Ms. Zhao Shuwen is 71 and Ms. Wang Lianqing is over 60. Ms. Zhao Cuizhi is 52 and Ms. Hou Guiqin is 47.

The police didn't allow anyone to speak, not even the non-practising daughter of Ms. Li Yongxin. When she said, "I came home to burn incense for my deceased father. You can't treat us like this," the police ignored her and snatched her gold bracelet, gold ring, and gold necklace. They even examined closely to see whether they were made of real gold. Inside her purse was a jade ring worth over 4,000 yuan², a silver pendant, and a pair of silver bracelets for her four-year-old child. The police took all of these, plus the 700 yuan and two mobile phones in her bag. The police also took the 200 yuan in one of the drawers, the television, tape recorder, DVD player, video game system, speakers, several Falun Gong books, and Falun Gong materials exposing the persecution. Everything valuable in Ms. Li's home and my battery-powered bike were taken.

They forced the six of us practitioners, all older women, and Ms. Li and her daughter into the police car. They took us to the Tongjiangkou Police Station and detained us in a little room. Ms. Wang Lianqing said, "We didn't commit any crimes! Why did you bring us here?" The captain of the Domestic Security Division, Liu Jianxin, slapped her really hard and she fainted immediately.

They interrogated each of us individually. Ms. Li's daughter doesn't practise Falun Gong but was subjected to the same treatment. They threatened her and she sobbed. She was released only when someone came to testify on her behalf, saying that she did not practise Falun Gong and provided bail. She has a four-year-old child at home. They extorted 2,000 yuan from her in the process. After she returned home, her home phone was monitored and people kept close watch on her home.

We are seven older practitioners. Before we practised Falun Gong, we all had severe illnesses. Ms. Wang Lianqing was in the late stages of tuberculosis, Ms. Li Yongxin had heart problems and tuberculosis, Ms. Zhao Cuizhi had several major operations before practising, but now all of us are healthy. We just practise according to Truth-Compassion-Forbearance and enjoy good health while we raise our moral standards. We are widely known as being good people. Now we were being arrested and interrogated and the police brutally beat four of us.

The police took us to the Changtu Detention Centre for 15 days in detention. On the third day there, three more officers came from the local police station (chief Sun Sheng and police Li Yuhao and Li Chunlei), together with officers from the county Domestic Security Department (Liu Jianxin, Shang Yufeng, Gu Xiaofeng and He Yuting). They interrogated us but they were just trying to trick us by saying, "We found something at your home. Where did you get it? Who gave it to you?" They beat and cursed at us if we didn't answer. Liu Jianxin grabbed Ms. Hou Guiqin's hair and forced her to kneel and began slapping her. Ms. Zhao Cuizhi, Ms. Li Yongxin, and Ms. Wang Lianqing were all badly beaten. The police ransacked their homes. The interrogation records were never shown so we do not know what has been written. They forced our fingerprints onto the documents. The police that returned empty-handed from ransacking homes tricked the practitioners' children by telling them that their mothers would be released if they gave them some money. After they gave the police 1,000 yuan and took them out to eat, their mothers were still detained for 15 days.

The police did not find anyone at my home, so they could not trick anybody. However, they found a way to pass a message to my relatives and lied to them, saying that I had confessed that I had written all those Falun Gong messages in my neighbourhood and that I would probably get a three-year sentence. My relatives thought that it was true and they gave the police 3,000 yuan and also took them to dinner. Two weeks later when I returned home, my relatives did not even dare tell me.

I still have not got my bike back. The police noticed that I was trying to get my bike back, so they threatened my younger brother by saying, "Your sister is still in trouble. The Tieling Domestic Security Department will investigate her again and they said that those people should not have been released. They have already posted notices and many people said your sister is the leader. You better tell her to hide--she is on the wanted list." Someone even told me that I should never speak about the money given to the police in my case, or else I would be in trouble.

Ms. Zhao Shuwen was taken to the detention centre. She was badly threatened. Her health suffered in detention and she was not allowed to practise the exercises. She was finally released due to her worsening health. She had over 2,000 yuan extorted from her. They even fabricated a story that she was going to Beijing "to cause trouble."

Ms. Li Yongxin, was badly beaten every time she was interrogated, and each time she was hurt very badly. On the fourth round of interrogations, the police set out a pile of papers listing crimes she did not commit and told her to sign them; they were trying to get some money from her. Later on when they learned that she did not have any money, they fabricated more crimes and sentenced her to a forced labour camp for two and a half years.

Every time Ms. Zhao Cuizhi was interrogated, she was beaten. The police framed charges against her, saying that they found items at her home. They showed a photo of unknown source, with a black utility pole with "The CCP is disintegrating" written on it. They told her to sign it and she refused. She was sentenced to forced labour camp for one and a half years.

Ms. Hou Guiqin was beaten countless times. Because she practised the Falun Gong exercises, she was interrogated and beaten, taken to a detention centre for 15 days, and 1,350 yuan was extorted from her.

Ms. Wang Lianqing couldn't practice the exercises in the detention centre and wasn't allowed home even when she became ill multiple times. The police threatened and frightened her every time during interrogations. She was beaten, detained for 15 days and 1,350 yuan was extorted from her before she was let go.

These police realized that we had no plans to go to Beijing during the Olympics. We are only a bunch of senior ladies without any money. They have reported to senior management and asked for their decision. However, the Changtu County CCP and police continue to use the excuse of having a "safe Olympics" to persecute innocent practitioners.

People involved in the persecution:

Captain of the County Domestic Security Division Liu Jianxin: 86-410-5825979 (Home)
Domestic Security Division: Shang Yufeng

Chief of Tongjiangkou Police Station Sun Liang: 86-13841026788 (Mobile)
Tongjiangkou Police Station: Qiao Gang, Zhang Wei and Xie Liandi
Head of the county 610 OfficeYan Guijun: 86-410-5826345 (Office), 86-410-5811187 (Home), 86-13941021098(Mobile)
Chief of Changtu County Police Department Wang Jun: 86-410-5835899 (Office), 86-410-5823452 (Office), 86-410-3825999 (Home), 86-410-5822621 (Home)
Deputy Chief of Changtu County Police Department Yang Yuping: 86-15841033222 (Mobile)

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.org/mh/articles/2008/9/17/186048.html