Manager of Foreign Owned Company in Sichuan Province Arrested for Purchasing Tickets of Shen Yun Show in Hong Kong

Name: Wu Li
Gender: Unknown
Age: Unknown
Address: Unknown
Occupation: Manager of a foreign owned company
Date of Most Recent Arrest: January 25th, 2010

Most Recent Place of Detention: Jinhua Brainwashing Centre
City: Chengdu
Province: Sichuan
Persecution Suffered: Detention, Interrogation

Wu Li was a manager of a foreign owned company in Chengdu City, Sichuan Province. Wu was arrested and then detained for eight days for purchasing tickets for the Shen Yun show in Hong Kong. Shen Yun Performing Arts is a New York based company showing traditional Chinese culture through classical dance and music. Some dance pieces in the show depict the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China and how they show their compassion under extreme conditions. After being arrested at the office, Wu was forced to leave the company.

On the morning of January 25th, 2010, officers from the Nanzhan Police Station in Chengdu City, the State Security Bureau and the Chengdu City Police Department deceived Wu into meeting them at one of the company's meeting rooms and then requested that Wu go with them to assist in an investigation. When Wu asked what the investigation was for, Su Ji, the director of the Nanzhan Police Station, hesitated to give an answer. Wu requested time to make some arrangements at work and leave afterward, but the officers refused. Wu's foreign colleagues came in to see what was going on, but the police refused to give them a direct answer. The colleagues refused to let the police take Wu away. After Wu made some work arrangements, several police officers took Wu to the Nanzhan Police Station.

The following day, the police from the Fancao Street Police Station in Gaoxin District, Chengdu City went to Wu's home and ransacked the place. They confiscated portable hard drives, passports and a Hong Kong-Macau pass.

Later, Wu was taken to the Jinhua Brainwashing Centre located at the Chengdu Law Education Centre, 66 Caojin Street, Chengdu City. When Wu questioned the reason for and length of the detention, and what law the detention was based on, Liu Xiaokang, a director, said that he did not know. After Wu started a hunger strike to protest the detention, Liu started mentioning the Shen Yun tickets and also threatened that they knew how to deal with the hunger strike. Liu also mentioned that the detention was based on the People's Police Law but he did not have a discrete answer.

During the detention, Liu, the police and the officials from Chengdu Military Region all interrogated Wu. Wu told them, "The show is a public event and the tickets were purchased through a public channel. I did not try to hide anything or do anything secretly, otherwise, you would not have been able to find out about it. No matter who asked this question, I always gave the same answer. Why did you make such a big deal about this?"

On February 1st, 2010, when Wu was released, the Party Secretary of the Fangcao Street Police Station requested that Wu report to them if he was ever going out of town. When Wu asked them what this request was based on, they replied, "Nothing. We don't need to discuss anything with you. This is our request. If you choose not to follow it, we will find ways to monitor you."

Shen Yun Performing Arts was scheduled to perform at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts' Lyric Theatre January 27th-31st, 2010. However, on January 21st, 2010, the Hong Kong Immigration Department refused to give seven of the core production team members entry visas. On January 23rd, 2010, Shen Yun Performing Arts had to cancel the shows.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2010/2/21/218566.html