Twice Jailed Man Detained Again for His Faith in Falun Gong

(Minghui.org) A 61-year-old resident of Acheng District, Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province, was arrested on July 4, 2023 for his faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.

Mr. Sun Tienong’s latest arrest stemmed from an earlier arrest on April 9, 2020, when he and a few other practitioners were seized while distributing information about Falun Gong. They were taken to the Xinglong Town Police Station. The police beat Mr. Sun savagely. They also slapped him in the face so hard that he fell and became extremely dizzy. 

Mr. Sun’s car and cell phone were confiscated but later returned. After releasing him on one-year bail, captain Yang Ziheng of the Acheng District Domestic Security Office monitored him closely through license plate tracking technology. 

Mr. Sun was running errands on July 4, 2023 when he was intercepted by police and taken to the Bajiazi Police Station in Wuchang City (which is under the administration of Harbin City). He was later transferred to the Wuchang City Detention Center, where he remains.

This is not the first time that Mr. Sun has been targeted for his faith. He was previously arrested multiple times and twice sentenced to a total of nine years. 

The following past persecution of Mr. Sun took place when he was still living in Fangzheng Town, Fangzheng County, Heilongjiang Province. Fangzheng County is under the administration of Harbin City.

Arrests Between 2000 and 2001

Chief Li Zhimin of the First Police Station in Fangzheng Town, led a few officers and broken into Mr. Sun’s home at the end of August 2000. They took him to the Fangzheng Town First Police Station before transferring him to the Fangzheng Town Second Detention Center, where he was held for 15 days.

Mr. Sun went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong in October 2000 and was arrested. He was taken to the Tiananmen Police Station and held in a metal cage. Hours later, the Heilongjiang Province’s Liaison Office in Beijing picked him up and took him to the Jingxi Hotel, where he was held for two days. Chou Yongsheng and Li Kun, both of the Fangzheng County Domestic Security Office, along with the Shahezi Police Station chief, travelled to Beijing and escorted Mr. Sun back to Heilongjiang. He served two months of criminal detention at the Fangzheng County Second Detention Center. 

Director Guan Weixin and his two deputy directors, Liu and Li, force fed Mr. Sun at the detention center. He clenched his teeth tight, and the trio used a screwdriver and pliers to pry loose his teeth. Some of his teeth became loose and his gums bled as a result. They next kept his mouth open with a vaginal dilator before inserting a thick rubber tube. They also injected him with unknown drugs.

Mr. Sun was transferred to the Yimianpo Forced Labor Camp on November 27, 2000. Sixteen days later, he was moved to the Suihua City Labor Camp, where he was forced to read, watch, and listen to materials slandering Falun Gong. He was also ordered to write various statements to renounce and denounce Falun Gong. He was released four months later. It is unclear whether he was formally given any forced labor term or just detained in the two labor camps.

His supervisor Zhao Tongsheng showed up at his home in August 2001 and said he needed him to go to their factory. He went, only to be seized by the 610 Office agents. They took him to a brainwashing center and held him there for 15 days.

Four-year Sentence Following Arrest in 2002 

In October 2002, chief Zhao Jiaqi of the Fangzheng County Police Department, and Chou Yongsheng of the Fangzheng County Domestic Security Office, as well as three agents from the 610 Office, broke into Mr. Sun’s home. They confiscated his Falun Gong books, VCD player and other valuables. He was taken to the Fangzheng County First Detention Center and interrogated with torture.

The guards restrained him in a metal chair and whipped him with a PVC pipe. They then assigned him to Cell No. 2, where inmates Gu Zhongbao and Li Dawei were ordered to beat him and pour cold water on him.

The Fangzheng County Court held a hearing of Mr. Sun’s case without notifying his family in January 2003. He was soon sentenced to four years for “using a cult organization to undermine law enforcement,” the standard pretext used by the communist regime to frame and imprison Falun Gong practitioners.

Mr. Sun was admitted to the newly built Harbin Prison in February 2003. Upon arrival, he was stripped naked and forced to stand facing a wall. He was later forced to sit on a small stool or squat for long periods of time. He was only allowed to stand up during meal times or restroom breaks. The inmates were give free rein to beat him and curse him at will. They once elbowed him on the back so hard that he suffered severe back pain for a long time. He was also forced to walk in military postures and answer roll calls. 

On March 16, 2003, Mr. Sun was reassigned to Division Six, where heads Zhu Wenchen and Tang Xinmin, along with inmate Ma Lijun, ordered him to write statements to renounce and denounce Falun Gong. They also forced him to do various forms of hard labor, including digging ditches and transporting sand and gravel. He was exhausted from the long hours of work. 

The guards also assigned four inmates to watch him around the clock.

On July 1, 2004, Mr. Sun and 29 other jailed practitioners were transferred to Daqing Prison, where he was again monitored by four inmates around the clock and denied family visits. The guards in the new prison forced him to put on a prisoner uniform.

Yuan Hongjun, head of the prison administration department, took 500 yuan from Mr. Sun’s commissary account in July 2006. Three months later, the Fangzheng County 610 Office picked Mr. Sun up and drove him home.

Five-year Sentence Following Arrest in 2010

On January 24, 2010, Mr. Sun and other local Gong practitioners planted small flags reading “Falun Dafa is good” in the ground in Sanyang Village, Shuangfeng Township, Acheng District, Harbin City. They were arrested by officers of the Shuangfeng Township Police Station and taken straight to the Acheng District Police Department, which transferred them to the Acheng District Second Detention Center hours later. The practitioners were all given 15 days of criminal detention.

Mr. Sun was transferred to the Acheng District First Detention Center on February 8, 2010. The guards ordered inmates Zhang Afu, Zhang Hongfeng, Zhang Xueyu, Tian Yu, Li Zhijia, and Yang Fei to beat, kick Mr. Sun, as well as slapping him in the face. He was not allowed to use the toilet, wash his face, take a shower, trim his nails, or shave his beard.

The Acheng District Court tried Mr. Sun on July 7, 2010 and sentenced him to five years in prison eight days later. He was taken to the Hulan Prison on August 11, 2010. Like his first prison experience, he was stripped naked and forced to stand facing a wall upon arrival. He was later forced to squat or sit for long periods of time. His legs became swollen as a result. 

Mr. Sun shared a queen-size bed with seven other inmates. It was so crowded that he felt suffocated. No one was allowed to get off the bed in the middle of the night to get some fresh air. 

The guards also forbade Mr. Sun to purchase necessities, shower, do laundry, or dry his wet clothes. There were also lice everywhere, which even fell off Mr. Sun’s body when he walked around. 

He was also slapped in the face and ordered to write statements to renounce and denounce Falun Gong.

Mr. Sun was moved to Mudanjiang Prison on September 20, 2010. In the first three days, he was forced to sleep on the cold concrete floor and not allowed to talk to anyone. During the day, he was forced to sit on a small stool for long hours, all the while being verbally abused or beaten by head inmates.

On the fourth day, he was assigned to Division 14, where head Li Yan and guard Yan Rongwei instigated inmates Zhao Wenbo and Liu Qingyou to “work on” him. The inmates ordered him to write statements to renounce Falun Gong. He refused and was punished to do hard labor for longer periods of time. He had to sit on a stool all day long folding rice bags, gluing paper boxes, or packing chopsticks. He suffered severe back pain as a result.

Mr. Sun was released ahead of time. On October 24, 2013, Xu Jinghai, secretary of the Fangzheng Town Government, and two others picked him up from the prison and drove him home.

Perpetrators’ contact information:

Wuchang City Detention Center: [phone]

Related Reports:

Six Falun Gong Practitioners in Heilongjiang Arrested for Seeking Release of Fellow Practitioner

Mr. Sun Tienong and Mr. Xu Sheng Sentenced by Acheng Court Officials in Harbin City