(Minghui.org) More than thirty residents of Jiaohe City, Jilin Province were arrested over the course of two days in late October 2023 for practicing Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
The police revealed that they monitored the practitioners for more than five months before making the group arrests. They even called in help from neighboring towns to carry out the operation. None of the arresting officers wore uniforms. They also did not show their IDs or have any search warrants.
When the police interrogated them, some practitioners were shown surveillance videos of them talking to people about Falun Gong or putting up Falun Gong informational materials in apartment buildings. Ms. Wang, an elderly practitioner, was shown a video that was recorded across from her second-floor apartment unit. The clip showed who entered or exited her home.
One other practitioner reported that an officer placed a portrait of Falun Gong’s founder on the floor and ordered her to step on it. The officer threatened her and said he would record her stomping on the portrait and send the video clip to Minghui.org. She refused to comply.
A few of the arrested practitioners were released the next day after they failed the required physical examination. The rest were detained for five days.
Officers from the Hebei Street Police Station broke into Ms. Liu Huiqing’s home around 9 a.m. on October 27, 2023 and arrested her and her guest, Ms. Wang Xiulian, who also practices Falun Gong. The police beat Ms. Liu and her face was swollen as a result.
Mr. Yuan Enzhu and his wife Ms. Zhang Shuqin were arrested around the same time by another group of officers.
A third group of officers knocked on Mr. Qiu Baohe’s door on October 27, 2023. When he refused to let them in they called in a locksmith to pry open the door. Mr. Qiu was handcuffed and taken to a police station.
Also arrested on October 27 and October 28 were: The aforementioned Ms. Wang’s daughter and the daughter’s child’s parents-in-law, Ms. Lyu, Ms. Li, Mr. Tan Chunqing, Ms. Zhang Chunmei, Ms. Yu Hong, Ms. Gu Fengqin, Ms. Wang Rongxia, Feng (gender and first name unknown), Ms. Jiang Kaiying, Ms. Liu Shufan, Ms. Liu Shufen, Ms. Yang Yongmei, Mr. Ma Guixian, Ms. Ren Hongxia, Ms. Zang Xiuqin, Ms. Wang Qiuxia, Ms. Cao, and Mr. Wang Aiguo and his wife.