Shandong Woman Detained for Three Weeks and Counting for Her Faith in Falun Gong

(Minghui.org) A 60-year-old woman in Malan Town, Pingdu City, Shandong Province, is still detained following her arrest on July 3, 2023 for her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.

Ms. Jiang Caifeng was in good spirits, according to her lawyer who visited her at the Qingdao City No. 2 Detention Center on July 14. Qingdo oversees Pingdu City.

The lawyer also said that Ms. Jiang choked up when thinking about the seven other local Falun Gong practitioners seized at her home while visiting her on the day of her arrest. The police had staked out her home for three weeks before making the group arrest.

“We’re Not Ashamed of Her at All!”

When some locals shamed Ms. Jiang for her arrest, her sister-in-law defended her, saying, “She simply practices Falun Gong to be a good person. She did not steal anything or rob anyone. She was arrested for her faith. We’re not ashamed of her at all!”

Ms. Jiang used to be headstrong and dominant and did not put up with any criticism. After she took up Falun Gong in 1998, she became calmer and more considerate. Her husband, who had a limp, worked a non-farm job. She thus took care of all the household chores, as well as the farm work all by herself.

Her husband admired her for her ability to endure hardship and was also proud that Falun Gong turned her into a better person. He once recounted a story, “In 2017, we hired a contractor to do our floor tiles for 5,300 yuan. After the job was done, the contractor offered to just charge us 5,000 yuan, probably to increase our satisfaction and loyalty, but my wife insisted on paying the initially agreed price. She said it was not easy for the contractor to make money and we should be considerate of him.”

Ms. Jiang asked her lawyer to tell her husband and their son and daughter not to worry about her. Her family is longing for her release.

Group Arrests Stem from Police Hunting for One Guest

A group of friends, all Falun Gong practitioners, gathered at Ms. Jiang’s home on July 3, 2023. Mr. Hao Jingming was the last to arrive. As soon as he arrived, about two dozens officers came out of nowhere and broke into Ms. Jiang’s home.

The police seized Mr. Hao and handcuffed him. They also arrested Ms. Jiang and all her other guests.

According to the police, they had been staking out Ms. Jiang’s home for three weeks in order to catch Mr. Hao.

Mr. Hao, 58, is a former director of the Baishiyi Air Force Meteorological Observatory in Chongqing. He was a senior colonel with the deputy regiment rank of the main battalion. He was sentenced to seven and a half years following an arrest in March 2011 for talking to people about Falun Gong. He later moved to Shandong Province after he was released.

It is unclear what led to the police to hunt for Mr. Hao. He is being held at the Pingdu City Detention Center following his latest arrest.

Multiple Agencies Involved in Group Arrests

According to eyewitnesses, about 20 private cars lined the three main roads leading to Ms. Jiang’s home on the day of the group arrest. At around two o’clock that afternoon, someone saw a private car parked on the east side of Ms. Jiang’s home. Two cars more cars showed up two hours later.

When the police raided Ms. Jiang’s home, a tall, thin officer yelled at her to take out her Falun Gong items. She ignored him as those were her lawful assets and should not be confiscated.

While tallying the confiscated items, a Malan Town Police Station officer asked her where she got her Falun Gong informational materials. She refused to answer and said instead, “I just want to be a good person, and I will always strive to be a good person! It feels good to be a good person!”

The police also obtained home surveillance videos from Ms. Jiang’s neighbor. An officer even bragged how they knew every move Ms. Jiang and her family made. He showed her his phone, where it said exactly when her husband left home that morning and that three practitioners had already arrived by then.

Ms. Jiang’s husband, who later returned home, demanded to know the identities of the police officers. They said they were from Xiangdian Police Station, Malan Town Police Station, Taishan Road Police Station, Dongge Police Station, Pingdu City Domestic Security Office, and Pingdu City Criminal Investigation Brigade. Only three officers gave their names: chief Yang of the Malan Town Police Station, Liu Jie of the Pingdu City Domestic Security Office, and an officer surnamed Wan.

The police flashed their badges before they left and forced Ms. Jiang’s husband to sign the search warrant.

In addition to Mr. Hao, Ms. Ma Meijun and Ms. Zhang Hongyan were among Ms. Jiang’s arrested guests. Ms. Jiang and Ms. Zhang were first taken to the Pingdu City Criminal Investigation Brigade. Ms. Jiang was later moved to the Malan Town Police Station and Ms. Zhang to the Mingcun Police Station.

Transferred to Qingdao City No. 2 Detention Center

On the morning of July 5, the Malan Town Police Station called Ms. Jiang’s husband and told him to deliver clothes and food to the Qingdao City No. 2 Detention Center (located in Pudong Village in the Jimo District in Qingdao), where she was to be transferred later that day.

The police called again in the afternoon and told Ms. Jiang’s husband to go to the police station to sign her detention notice. He went and noted that his wife had been arrested for “organizing and using a cult organization to undermine the implementation of the law,” a standard pretext used by the communist regime to frame and imprison Falun Gong practitioners.

Ms. Jiang and Ms. Zhang was transferred to the detention center hours later.

As of July 14, the police had interrogated Ms. Jiang twice at the detention center and signed her name on the interrogation records against her will.