Beloved Teacher Indicted for Her Faith, Her Students’ Parents Targeted for Seeking Her Release

(Minghui.org) After an elementary school teacher was arrested for her faith in Falun Gong, her students’ parents petitioned the authorities to release her. These parents were later targeted for supporting a Falun Gong practitioner.

Ms. Liu Kai, 50, is a homeroom teacher of a grade-four class at Baishan Experimental Primary School in Hunjiang District, Baishan City, Jilin Province. She took up Falun Gong, a mind-body practice based on the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, in 1997 at the recommendation of a student’s parents. 

She became more conscientious at work and her class often ranked among the best academically. She also taught her students the importance of being a good person and never accepted gifts from their parents [note: it’s very common for parents in China to gift their children’s teachers in exchange for more favorable treatment]. She won the trust and respect of her students’ parents. 

Ms. Liu was seized at home by Fan Jialiang and other officers from Baishan City Domestic Security Office on August 19, 2022. Her case was forwarded to Jiangyuan County Procuratorate in Baishan City on November 12, 2022. In early April 2023, the procuratorate released her on bail and told her that they had recommended a one-year prison sentence against her. It is unclear whether she had stood trial at the time of writing.

Upon learning of her arrest, her students’ parents signed a petition calling for her immediate release so she could teach their children again. The petition was submitted to the chief prosecutor of Jiangyuan County Procuratorate. The next day, the chief prosecutor had his staffers call each and every parent who signed the petition and asked if they had signed their names voluntarily. They all said yes, and some parents dialed back afterwards, urging him to release Ms. Liu.

On April 19, 2023, the Hunjiang District Political and Legal Affairs Committee (PLAC) ordered the Hunjiang District Education Bureau Director to pressure Ms. Liu’s school principal to gather detailed information about the petitioning parents, such as whether they were working and who were their employers. The principal was given one day to complete the task and submit the information to the PLAC. According to insiders, the PLAC planned to target every parent for supporting Ms. Liu, a Falun Gong practitioner.

Past Persecution

Ms. Liu has been repeatedly targeted during the past 24 years for upholding her faith. She went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong after the persecution began in July 1999. She was arrested and fined 2,000 yuan by police who worked at Baishan City Liaison in Beijing. After that, her school often restricted her personal freedom and the Hongqi Police Department harassed her at work during sensitive days (such as the communist regime’s political meetings or anniversaries related to Falun Gong).

On January 23, 2001, the communist regime staged a self-immolation hoax on Tiananmen Square and claimed that the self-immolators were Falun Gong practitioners [when in fact none of them were]. Baishan City Education Bureau ordered every school under its supervision to spread the propaganda to its faculty, staff members, and students. Ms. Liu told her students that Falun Gong prohibits killing, including suicide. She also pointed out the many loopholes in the hoax. 

Her school principal removed her homeroom teacher position (which was later reinstated) and demoted her to work at the school’s snack shop. The principal and the education bureau director also kept pressuring her to renounce her faith.

Ms. Liu was arrested in June 2001 for distributing materials exposing the persecution of Falun Gong. The arresting officers included Geng Lidong and others from Linjiang City Police Department in Jilin Province. They also extorted more than 10,000 yuan from her. 

After Ms. Liu was released 15 days later, the Hunjiang District 610 Office forced her to attend numerous brainwashing sessions. They extorted a lot of money from her school each time to cover their expenses of running the brainwashing sessions. Her school administrators blamed her for causing them trouble and disqualified her from applying for performance awards many times.

Ms. Liu went to Beijing in October 2001 and unfurled a Falun Gong banner on Tiananmen Square. She was arrested by officers from Qianmen Police Station and taken to Dongcheng District Detention Center, where she went on a hunger strike in protest and was force fed. 

She was transferred to Tiantanghe Women’s Labor Camp in Beijing on January 24, 2001. During her detention there, she was forced to watch propaganda slandering Falun Gong and subjected to various forms of abuse. She was once deprived of sleep for five straight days and she fainted as a result. In the next one plus year, she was only allowed very little sleep every night. She struggled to stay clearheaded due to the long-term sleep deprivation. Her school suspended 16 months of her pay to pay her fine.

In 2008, officer Chen Hongchao of Hongqi Police Department broke into her home and confiscated her computer, camcorder and Falun Gong books. They targeted her in the name of maintaining stability ahead of the Beijing Olympic Games. They took her to Heizuizi Women’s Labor Camp. 

In 2010, the Hunjiang District 610 Office ordered her school to send her to Changchun City Legal Education Center, a brainwashing center in disguise.

Perpetrator’s contact information:

Chen Zhongzhu, director of Hunjiang District Political and Legal Affairs Committee (who has persecuted Falun Gong practitioners on many occasions): [phone]