The Persecution of Married Couple Mr. Liu Ruping and Ms. Zhang Chenglan

Falun Gong practitioners Mr. Liu Ruping and his wife Zhang Chenglan were arrested on the afternoon of August 12th, 2008. Those participating in the arrest were officials from Changqing District 610 Office¹, the Changqing District Police Department Domestic Security Division, along with the Xincheng Police Station and the Xiaoli Police Station, who took both practitioners into custody. Liu Ruping returned home on September 28th, but Zhang Chenglan is still being held at the Shandong Province No. 1 Women's Labour Camp.

The Arrest

These officials waited outside Mr. Liu Ruping's apartment on the afternoon of August 12th, 2008. When Liu Ruping's wife Ms. Zhang Chenglan returned home at 3:00 p.m., they jumped in front of her and arrested her without saying a word or showing a warrant. They seized her keys and opened the door to her home. Upon entering, they quickly spread out in the living room. Two officers held Liu Ruping's son. Liu Ruping was present, and he said to the officials, "This is a break-in and is against the law. Get out!" The police answered, "We have a warrant to search your home!" They arrested Liu Ruping and carried him out.

Going downstairs Liu Ruping shouted, "The police are arresting me!" One officer immediately attacked his face with pepper spray, making him cry, cough uncontrollably and making his nose run.

The agents took Ms. Zhang Chenglan to Xiaoli Police Station and interrogated her overnight. They transferred her to the Jinan City Detention Centre the next day.

Ms. Zhang Chenglan refused to sign any documents, to avoid admitting to fabricated charges. The officials interrogated her again on September 10th. Changqing District Police officials decided to sentence her to 21 months of forced labour, and reported the verdict to the Jinan City Labour Re-education Committee, which shortened the sentence to 18 months. Changqing police sent her to the Shandong No. 1 Women's Labour Camp on September 12th, 2008.

The authorities heavily restricted her freedom once she was in the camp. Her brother and nephew went to the labor camp on September 16th, but the officials refused to let them see her.

Her family never received any official notification about the sentence. Labour camp authorities have not allowed her to write letters or make phone calls to her family.

Mr. Liu Ruping returned home on September 28th, 2008. He and his son travelled to the labour camp on October 2nd, 2008, but the authorities refused to let them see Ms. Zhang.

Mr. Liu Ruping's Persecution Experience

Guo Jun, Zhang Jibin and other officers from Xincheng Police Station arrested Mr. Liu Ruping the afternoon of August 12th, 2008 and took him to Jinan City Brainwashing Centre, officially called a Legal Education Centre. Meng Qian, head of the 610 Office and deputy head of Changqing District Politics and Law Committee, went to different agencies to obtain approval for sending Liu Ruping to the brainwashing centre.

Liu Ruping refused to let Jinan City 610 Office agent Wu Jiling photograph him on August 14th, 2008. Officials from the Changqing District Politics and Law Committee Comprehensive Office, Changqing Police Department, and Jinan City Party School Administration Division tried to convince Liu Ruping on August 19th to cooperate with the persecutors. Liu Ruping exposed their true intentions, which were to make him renounce his belief.

Wang from Jinan City Party School accompanied Shi Weidong, political head from Xiaoli Police Station, and attempted to intimidate Liu Ruping on August 28th, but Mr. Liu exposed their lies and refused to cooperate with them. Three officers from the Xiaoli Police Station in the Changqing District took him to the Jinan City Detention Centre on August 29th, 2008, where he refused to sign a document. One police officer pried open Mr. Liu's fist, dipped Liu's thumb in red ink and pressed it on the document, to leave a fingerprint.

While at this facility, Changqing police interrogated Liu Ruping many times in order to get a false confession so they could send him to a prison or a labour camp. They even went to the university Liu's son was attending in another city and repeatedly threatened and intimidated him.

Mr. Liu Ruping calmly faced all of their fanatic attempts to destroy his will. He firmly refused to cooperate with the persecutors and at the same time seized every opportunity to explain to them the facts about the persecution and the crimes of the Chinese Communist Party.

At the start of each interrogation session, Mr. Liu always said to the interrogators in a serious voice, "You are committing a crime by persecuting Falun Gong and practitioners, and you will be brought to justice in the future. I will not listen to or answer any of your questions, and I will not sign anything. Nothing you do will have any effect on me, because I do not acknowledge anything you do. Of course, since we are here, I will treat you as friends, and you can learn the truth about Falun Gong through me!"

Each time Liu Ruping exposed the Party's brutality against Falun Gong, the police were never able to act in their usually vicious manner in his presence. Before each session ended, Liu Ruping told them, "You should remember that Falun Gong is good, and Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good! Choose a good future for yourselves!"

Officers from the Xiaoli Police Station in Changqing picked up Mr. Liu from the Jinan Detention Centre on September 28th and took him home. They never gave him any official document that explained why he was held at Jinan City Brainwashing Centre for 17 days, or at the Jinan Detention Centre for 30 days.
Confiscated Personal Possessions

Following Mr. Liu Ruping and his wife's arrests on the afternoon of August 12th, 2008, the police, led by security chief Wang Feng, looted the couple's home and took the following items: one computer, two printers, Falun Gong books, and various types of Falun Gong materials, six bank CDs worth more than 70,000 yuan², one debit card, 1,905 yuan in cash, one U drive, one DVD player, three MP3 players, and a tape recorder. They even took small items such as mats and an incense burner. The next day, officers Yuan Maoyuan and Kong Bin from the Xincheng Police Station went to Liu Ruping's home again and took supplies used to produce Falun Gong pamphlets.

After the police took the family's savings and cash, Liu Ruping's college-age son had difficulty paying tuition and living expenses. After strong requests from Liu Ruping's sister and son, and due to public condemnation, agents from the 610 Office reluctantly instructed the police to return 10,000 yuan [less than one seventh of what they took] to the son before the school year began. Corrupt persons at the Xiaoli Police Station kept the rest of the money and property without any explanation.

Officials involved in the persecution:
Meng Qian, deputy head of the Changqing District Politics and Law Committee and head of the 610 Office: 86-531-87223511 (Home), 86-13793138510 (Mobile)
Wu Lewen, head of 610 Office: 86-531-87224986, 86-13361081503, 86-531-82521588 Chen Zhong, deputy head of 610 Office: 86-531-87224817, 86-1320583908

Changqing District Police Department
Liu Gang, police chief: 86-531-85085201
Liu Wenquan, political head: 86-531-85085202, 86-531-87216908, 86-531-87226696, 86-13361081502, 86-13605412596

Xincheng Police Station in Changqing District
Wang Xianliang, police chief: 86-13012983598, 86-13361081598, 86-531-87225833, 86-531-87228598
Zhang Xiangjun, deputy police chief: 86-13176655158

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://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2008/10/26/188540.html