More Than 20 Practitioners Arrested in Yantai City

On March 20th, 2012, officers from the Zhifu District Police Department, Yantai City, Shandong Province arrested more than 20 practitioners. Fifteen [15] of them are being held in the brainwashing centre located in the Xingfu Fourteen Village, Zhifu District, Yantai. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) agents forced practitioners to watch maliciously fabricated video defaming Falun Gong. In addition, they tortured them.

Ms. Ren Aihua Brutally Beaten in a Brainwashing Centre

Ms. Ren Aihua is a practitioner from Yantai. She disobeyed the illegal orders after she was arrested. The head of the brainwashing centre, Liu Guoyao, physically abused her by punching, kicking, and hitting her head, face, lower back and other places. Guard Zhang handcuffed Ms. Ren so tightly that the cuffs cut into her flesh. She suffered severe contusion on her wrists and fainted due to the sharp pain.

When Ms. Ren shouted “Falun Gong is good,” Zhang slapped her mouth, face and head with the bottom of a shoe. Ms. Ren went on a hunger strike and has now left the brainwashing centre.

On April 8th, 2009, Ms. Ren was arrested on the street by plainclothes officers who had been following her. The officers subsequently ransacked her home, seized her copier, two notebook computers belonging to her son, and more than 2,000 yuan¹ in cash. She was taken to the brainwashing centre in Xingfu Fifteen Village where she was beaten for adhering to her belief. The agents pushed her to the ground, and brutally beat her. Her face was swollen and deformed. Even so, she continued to explain the facts about Falun Gong to the agents and admonished them to do the right thing. On June 9th, 2009, Ms. Ren was sentenced to two years of forced labour and was persecuted at the Wangcun Forced Labour Camp in Zibo City.

Arrests of Several Practitioners

1. At 7:00 a.m. on March 20th, 2012, in the Fu'an neighbourhood, Zhifu District officers from the Xingfu Police Station were waiting at the door of Ms. Song Wenrong's home. When one of her family members opened the door to go to work, the officers forced their way into her home. They ransacked her home and arrested Ms. Song. They took her away without giving her a chance to wear a coat. They held her in the brainwashing centre and asked 4,000 yuan for room and boarding fees. Ms. Song's family rejected their demands.

2. Around 7:00 a.m., officers from the Ermalu Police Station, Zhifu District arrested Mr. Sun Yuanhua at home and ransacked his home.

3. Police officers broke into Ms. Yang Xiaohuan's home in Zhifu District and arrested her. Another practitioner from Zhifu District, Ms. Chen Guanglan, was arrested by officers from the Ermalu Police Station.

4. Ms. Liu Yongfang, in her 60s, lives in Sanmalu, Zhifu District. She was arrested at home at around 11:00 a.m., and was later taken to the brainwashing centre.

5. Ms. Song Yurong, in her 60s, lives on Fenghuangtai Road, Zhifu District. Three officers arrested her at home. She was first taken to the local police station, then to the brainwashing centre. The police ransacked her home, confiscated her computer and other belongings.

6. On the morning of March 20th, someone knocked on the door of Ms. Zhang Xiuyun's home claiming to be a gas meter reader. Once the door was opened, seven to eight police forced their way into her home and tried to arrest her. Ms. Zhang and her family resisted, and the arrest attempt failed.

According to incomplete statistics on Minghui from July 1999 to January 2012, least 590 persecution cases have taken place in Zhifu District, Yantai City. One hundred ninety-five [195] practitioners were detained a total of 225 times. One hundred eighty-four [184] practitioners were subjected to brainwashing in the brainwashing centres a total of 234 times. Seven [7] practitioners were taken to the mental hospital a total of 8 times. Seven [7] practitioners died directly or indirectly due to the persecution. They are Mr. Yang Shouwu, Mr. Wu Haiyou, Ms. Wang Fengqin, Ms. He Xiuling, Mr. Long Lianzheng, Ms. Sun Aihua, and Ms. Guo Juxiang.

Personnel involved in the persecution:

Jiang Zhongqin, director of the Yantai 610 Office: +86-535-6789698 (Office), +86-13706458666 (Mobile)
Sun Jiyun, deputy director of the Yantai 610 Office: +86-535-6789929 (Office), +86-13706389156 (Mobile)
Li Shicui, deputy director of the Yantai 610 Office: +86-535-6789626 (Office), +86-15865647999 (Mobile)
Yantai Zhifu District Domestic Security Division: +86-535-6217744, +86-535-7069865
Ermalu Police Station: +86-535-6226241

Note

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