[Minghui Net] On New Year's eve 2001, Falun Gong materials clarifying the true facts and banners exposing those against Dafa and promoting the truth of Dafa were hung everywhere in the streets of urban districts, villages, and towns of Weihai city. Big banners with the words "Falun Dafa is good" could even be seen at popular tourist sites such as the -- Huan Cui Lou TV Tower. Many tourists stopped and read them. They gasped in admiration at the courage of Falun Gong practitioners.

The local authorities were panicked and upset by this scene, since the Weihai Public Security Department had been rated as the so-called "Nation-wide Advanced Group" for having rendered "great" service in persecuting Falun Gong, in the year 2000.

After careful planning, on the first day of the New Year, the Weihai Public Security Department launched a large-scale illegal search and arrest of Falun Gong practitioners. They broke into the homes of practitioners. The policemen ransacked their homes and took away whatever they wanted. Some chests and cabinets were broken after being forced open. They handcuffed Dafa disciples as soon as they got into the house and forcefully took them away. It was less than minus ten degrees outside. Some mean policemen did not allow the practitioners to put on overcoats and shoes, and dragged them into the police vans barefoot. When the practitioners protested by shouting, the policemen covered their heads with clothes, gagged their mouths and pushed them into the van so that they could not move. Some practitioners were handcuffed barefoot against the tree on the street outside of the police station. Some family members who are not Falun Gong practitioners were also taken away, without reason. The policemen tried to substantiate the charges against Falun Gong practitioners by mistreating, threatening, and extorting "confessions".

There are more than fifty practitioners who were arrested during this round of persecution. Some were detained for 2 weeks, some for a full month. Some were sentenced to forced labor. All of their homes were ransacked. When the practitioners were arrested and interrogated, the policemen beat them and humiliated them. Some practitioners were illegally interrogated for three whole days without sleep. The practitioners suffered from severe physical punishment. Some policemen flung verbal abuse upon Dafa and Master Li. In order to protest against the policemen's illegal activities, the practitioners went on hunger strike during their detention period.

In this round of persecution, the policemen whose behaviour was especially vicious included Liu Jie, Liu Jinhu and director Wang from Chengli police station. They not only confiscated all Falun Dafa books, but also seized the opportunity to rummage through other personal assets that had nothing to do with Falun Dafa. Some policemen stole more than one thousand antique coins handed down from the ancestors of one practitioner. Some policemen wanted to confiscate money from the practitioners, who took back the stolen coins after they found out about it. Some policemen took away the kids' toys; some even took away chair cushions. These are activities are the due to what Jiang Zemin has claimed as "the best period of human rights in China."

There were some other policemen who were not acting in a vicious manner. They were not beating nor were they stealing from practitioners. This was probably the result of the tremendous efforts toward clarifying the truth of Falun Gong, which may have made them understand the universal law that "good will be rewarded with good, and evil with evil".

Submitted by Dafa practitioners from Mainland China