(Minghui.org) When the Chinese Communist Party launched the cellphone app “Health Code” in early 2020, claiming to track the transmission of COVID-19, many human rights experts expressed concerns that the app would be used as a surveillance tool for the authorities to target dissidents and faith groups.
In one recent case, a Falun Gong practitioner in Shuangliu County, Sichuan Province, reported that she was harassed by the local police, who arbitrarily turned her “Health Code” from green to yellow and forced her to sign a statement promising not to be against the Communist Party.
Ms. Li Caiqiong, 59, went to visit a friend at her tailor shop on the afternoon of September 28, 2022. Not long after, someone called her name from outside, “Your health code has turned yellow. The government requires you to do the COVID-19 DNA test. If you don’t do it, your code will turn red.”
Ms. Li came out and saw it was Luo Long, the director of the local residential community. She suspected that Luo found her with the location tracking function of the “Health Code” app.
Ms. Li refused to go with Luo and she explained that she didn’t have any exposure to the virus in recent days.
“You have to go with us!” Luo ordered her. Then another young official came over, and along with Luo, they pushed Ms. Li into their car and took her to the hospital.
After the test, Luo didn’t allow Ms. Li to go home on her own, but insisted on giving her a ride. Luo then called someone and seemed to have received some instruction. Before they left the hospital, another car arrived. Four young officers in plainclothes came out and dragged Ms. Li into the car. They then took her to the Dongsheng Police Station.
Not long after, two males and a female came to see Ms. Li. They introduced themselves as members of the Chengdu City Political and Legal Affairs Committee, an extra-judiciary agency tasked with overseeing the persecution of Falun Gong. They claimed that they were working on a new app to group Falun Gong practitioners by their health status and political views.
Ms. Li maintained that she wouldn’t renounce Falun Gong or sign any of their documents. She said that Falun Gong teaches people to be good and it’s beneficial to any individual, family, or an entire country. She told them that she used to have many ailments, but all of them disappeared after she took up Falun Gong.
The officers said to her, “We don’t care if you practice it at home. But if you talk about politics, the police will go after you. We have a document for you to sign. There are two major requirements. The first one is that you can’t oppose the Communist Party or communism. The second requirement is that you can’t read books such as the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party or Disintegrating the Communists Party Culture. And you are not allowed to participate in any Falun Gong activities."
After half an hour, the police took Ms. Li to the residential committee’s office and attempted to force her to sign the documents. They threatened to ransack her home if she didn’t comply.
As Ms. Li maintained that she wouldn’t sign it, the officers forcibly took her hands and pressed her fingerprints on it. They next seized her keys from her purse and confiscated her Falun Gong books, photo of Falun Gong’s founder, and other related materials from her home.
Past 14 Years of Incarceration
Ms. Li took up Falun Gong in November 1998. With the onset of the persecution, she went to Beijing three times in 2000 to appeal for the right to practice Falun Gong. She was arrested and detained all three times. Following her third arrest, she was put on criminal detention and given two years of forced labor in July 2000.
Ms. Li was arrested again on April 25, 2002, for distributing Falun Gong DVDs. In October 2003, the Shuangliu County Court sentenced her to four years at the Chuanxi Prison.
In October 2006, six months after she was released, Ms. Li mailed information about Falun Gong to the prison, only to be targeted by the police again. Her son was also arrested at school. To avoid further persecution, Ms. Li was forced to live away from home. Her husband later divorced her and she also lost contact with her son.
Only a year later, on December 27, 2007, Ms. Li was arrested after being found by the police for printing informational materials about Falun Gong. She was sentenced to eight years at the Jianyang Women’s Prison by the Shuangliu County Court in December 2008.
After she was released, the local police and residential committee staff members continued to harass her from time to time.
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