Eight Practitioners in Liaoning Province Facing Persecution

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong), in collaboration with the Donggang Police Department in Liaoning Province, arrested eight Falun Gong practitioners during a one-month period between March and April, 2012. The practitioners were subsequently taken to forced labor camps or sentenced to prison.

Five practitioners arrested for explaining the facts about Falun Gong

Five practitioners, including Ms. Zhang Jing, Ms. Wang Jing, Ms. Liu Pintong, Ms. Zhang Yinghong and another practitioner whose name is still unknown, were arrested on the afternoon of March 3rd, 2012 by officers from the Bianfang Police Station, Qiangyang Township, Donggang while distributing leaflets exposing the persecution and telling people the facts about Falun Gong to local citizens. They were taken to the Dandong Detention Centre (also known as Baifangzi Detention Centre) that evening.

On the morning of March 4th, approximately eight officers headed by Zhang Qiang and Xu Jingdong from the Donggang Police Department ransacked the home of Ms. Zhang Jing and Ms. Wang Jing. Officials confiscated Falun Gong books and other items. The officers recorded the ransacking of Ms. Zhang's home, and also forced Ms. Zhang's father and child to face the video camera and walk around the house according to their instructions. They then created false evidence to be utilised for the prosecution of Ms. Zhang. Ms. Liu Pintong's son went to Ms. Zhang's home, and officials extracted a “confession” from him. The child said that he hadn't answered any questions from the officers, but they produced a full page “confession” and forced him to sign and and stamp it with an official seal. Ms. Liu Pintong's van worth 60,000 yuan (over $9,500 USD) was also confiscated. Reports indicated that the Donggang police staff were using the van in order to fabricate “evidence” to falsely incriminate Ms. Liu and other practitioners.

In mid-march, Ms. Liu's nephew went to the Dandong Detention Centre to visit her, but his request was denied. On April 11th, Ms. Liu's elder sister traveled a long distance from Fushun to the Bianfang Police Station, Donggang Township to see her. The guards refused to allow her to visit with her sister, claiming that she had no evidence proving her relationship to Ms. Liu, nor had Ms. Liu provided any family contact information. The guards did not provide any information regarding Ms. Liu's condition, so her sister returned to Fushun on April 13th in order to obtain a certificate which verified her relationship. She returned to the police station with the certificate on April 17th, but was rejected again.

Following Ms. Liu's arrest, she denied the fabricated accusations. Subsequently, the Donggang Police Department sought out her daughter and attempted to use her as leverage against Ms. Liu.

Shuanshan Village, Donggang practitioners arrested, taken to detention centre

Ms. Sun Hua, Ms. Zhou Gongqing and Ms. Xiu Guixiang from Shuanshan Village, Majiadian Township, Donggang were reported to the authorities while explaining the facts about Falun Gong, and subsequently arrested by Majiadian Police Station officers. They were taken to the Dandong Detention Centre that evening.

Ms. Sun is about 50 years old and was taking care of her mother-in-law, who is paralysed and bedridden. With the detention of Ms. Sun, her elderly mother-in-law is now unattended, so Ms. Sun's husband had no choice but to offer his salary as a pledge for the authorities to release her.

Ms. Zhou Gongqing and Ms. Xiu Guixiang are both 61 years old. Ms. Zhou's husband was recently discharged from the hospital following a brain cancer operation. Due to Ms. Zhou's arrest, no one was available to care of the family. Prior to practising Falun Gong, Ms. Zhou suffered from high blood pressure, and her family worried that if she underwent persecution, her previous disease would recur and endanger her life.

Ms. Wang Jing taken to forced labour camp; Ms. Zhang Ying sentenced

Ms. Wang Jing's family went to the Dangdong Detention Centre on March 10th, 2012 to visit her, but their request was denied. The detention centre staff was only interested in how much money her family deposited at the forced labour camp. At the end of March, the Donggang Domestic Security Division and Legal Section, in collaboration with the Dandong Police Department Legal Section, and the Forced Labour Committee used false evidence to sentence Ms. Wang to one year of forced labour. She was taken to the notorious Masanjia Women's Forced Labour Camp. In early April, the Dongdang Police Department used fabricated evidence to submit her case to the Donggang Procuratorate. Her family then received a formal warrant for her arrest.

Ms. Zhang Jing and family falsely incriminated by Donggang Police Department and 610 Office officials prior to her arrest

In September 2010, Wang Shukun from the Jinjiang Community pressured Ms. Zhang Jing to renounce her belief in Falun Gong. She demanded that Ms. Zhang write a guarantee statement to stop practising Falun Gong. She threatened, “If you refuse to write this, I'll send you away (to a forced labour camp) again for three years.”

Tan Shuyan, director of the Jinjiang Community of Donggang and another director surnamed Wu went to the home of Ms. Zhang's parents on November 20th, 2010 in order to harass them. Zhong Zhenfu, deputy party secretary of the Donggang Political and Judiciary Commission, and Song Xiaohe went to Ms. Zhang's sister's work unit twice the following morning, and pressured her to persuade Ms. Zhang to renounce Falun Gong. At around 5:00 p.m., Zhong Zhenfu, Song Xiaohe and others went to Ms. Zhang's home in an attempt to force her to give up her cultivation practice. Ms. Zhang's parents and sister agreed to cooperate with them after being repeatedly threatened, fearing that the officials would imprison Ms. Zhang again. Under familial pressure, Ms. Zhang compromised with the officials against her own will. However, she felt extremely hurt and guilty about her decision. She regretted yielding to the CCP officials. The 610 Office staff and neighbourhood committee planned to use Ms. Zhang as bait to persecute other practitioners. She was covertly followed and monitored. Since she often worked with Ms. Wang Jing, Ms. Liu Pintong usually went to Ms. Zhang's home to attend a Falun Gong study group. Due to this routine, they were all followed by the CCP staff.

Ms. Zhang saw through their methods. In order to stop this persecution, she published the persecution report of her experiences on the Minghui website on February 11th, 2012. Less than one month after the article was published, Ms. Zhang Jing, Ms. Liu Pintong, Ms. Wang Jing and Ms. Zhang Yinghong were arrested. At the same time, another practitioner whose name was not immediately known was also arrested along with the four practitioners.