Nine Employees of a Tapestry Factory Face Trial for Their Shared Faith in Falun Gong

(Minghui.org) Nine Falun Gong practitioners, all of them employees at a tapestry factory in Weihai City, Shandong Province, were arrested in a police sweep on July 20, 2022. They are facing trial for their faith.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

The nine practitioners include Ms. Tian Lisha, 54, Ms. Li Shuhong, 61, Ms. Qu Aiping, 63, Mr. Zhang Yingming, 65, Ms. Liu Mingming, 36, Ms. Xu Changqing, 57, Mr. Cong Xu, 30, Ms. Lian Qingling, 71, and Mr. Jiang Changmin, 59. Most of them had their residences ransacked and their Falun Gong items, computers, and printers confiscated.

A tenth practitioner arrested on the same day, Mr. Lin Junsong, who was in his 50s, passed away on September 19, 2022. But details about his death aren’t clear.

The arrests took place at the Wendeng City Tapestry Factory, where the practitioners were living and working. Ms. Tian, Ms. Li, and Ms. Liu are the company’s legal representatives. After Ms. Li’s husband, Mr. Tian Shihong, the owner of the factory, passed away in November 2019 after suffering years of persecution for practicing Falun Gong, their daughter, Ms. Tian Tian, continues to run the business.

Over 200 officers were dispatched to arrest the practitioners and raid the factory. Many structures in the garden-like factory were vandalized. The police stayed there for a few days and severely disrupted the business operation.

Ms. Tian, Ms. Li, Ms. Qu, and Mr. Zhang were put on criminal detention and had their arrests approved on August 28. Ms. Tian, Ms. Li, and Ms. Qu are currently being held at the Wendeng Detention Center. Mr. Zhang is detained at the Weihai Detention Center.

The other five practitioners were released on August 29 on bail and had their bail conditions approved on November 29.

The Rongcheng City Procuratorate indicted the nine practitioners on December 28, 2022. They are now facing trial by the Rongcheng City Court.

Perpetrators’ contact information:

Wu Xiguo (吴希国), officer, Wendeng District Domestic Security Office: [phone]Wang Jian (王健), president of the Wendeng District Procuratorate: [phone]Li Yanzong (李延宗), prosecutor with the Rongcheng City Procuratorate: [phone], [phone]Zhang Xinfeng (张欣枫), president of Rongcheng City Court: [phone], [phone]