(Minghui.org) After Mr. Wang Huayang took up Falun Gong in 1999, he soon quit smoking and drinking. The now 59-year-old Zhaoyuan City, Shandong Province, resident changed from a short-tempered person to someone who is upbeat and hardworking. His cholecystitis that had tormented him for years also disappeared.
Because he held firm to his faith after the Chinese communist regime ordered to eradicate Falun Gong from China in 1999, Mr. Wang faced constant harassment by the local police. He was forced to go into hiding in March 2012 to avoid being persecuted, only to be arrested in Qixia City (a city in the same province that borders Zhaoyuan City) on July 27, 2022, after being reported for spreading information about the persecution. The police in Qixia and Zhaoyuan were both involved in his arrest.
He was placed in criminal detention on August 18 and had his arrest approved on September 23. He is now being held at the Zhaoyuan City Detention Center and faces prosecution.
To collect information against him, the police targeted several practitioners who knew Mr. Wang. When they couldn’t find the practitioners, they turned to their family members instead.
Mr. Wang’s latest ordeal was preceded by the Zhaoyuan police’s failed attempt to arrest him on March 23, 2012. They had monitored his cell phone and followed him for several months before the operation. They raided his home and confiscated his Falun Gong books, two computers, five printers, several satellite dishes, many office supplies and nearly 10,000 yuan in cash.
Although Mr. Wang escaped, his wife Ms. Chi Ruimei and their daughter Ms. Wang Longna were arrested. After 15 days at the Zhaoyuan Detention Center, the mother and daughter were taken to the Zhaoyuan Brainwashing Center, where they were held for over three months. While Ms. Chi was released on July 16, 2012, her daughter was kept in custody at the Fushan Detention Center and later sentenced to three years.
Mr. Wang was forced to live away from home for the next ten years. The police installed surveillance cameras outside of his home and arranged people in the village to monitor the situation.
Mr. Wang’s elderly parents were dealt a heavy blow by the persecution. His father suffered a stroke and became bedridden. He developed more health issues over the years and passed away without seeing Mr. Wang for the last time.
Ms. Chi also faced constant harassment by the police and struggled to care for the family by herself.
Shang Hongtao (尚洪涛), director of Zhaoyuan Public Security Bureau and deputy mayor of Zhaoyuan: +86-535-8093101, +86-18660066417Zhang Xuan (张璇), president of Zhaoyuan City Procuratorate: +86-535-3012501, +86-18353500056Wang Lingli (王玲丽), president of Zhaoyuan City Court: +86-535-8248899, +86-18563178827
(More perpetrators’ contact information is available in the original Chinese article.)