(Minghui.org) The first two months of 2022 saw reports of 423 Falun Gong practitioners arrested for their faith and another 359 harassed.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999. Countless practitioners have been arrested, harassed, sentenced, and tortured for upholding their faith. But due to strict information censorship in China, the incidents can’t always be reported in a timely manner, nor is all the information readily available.

The 423 reported arrest cases include 9 incidents that took place in 2020, 143 in 2021, 187 in January 2022 and 84 in February 2022. Thirty practitioners had a total of 595,237 yuan confiscated while the police ransacked their homes, including 210,000 yuan taken from one practitioner and 150,000 yuan from another. One more practitioner had 10,100 USD taken away from him.

The arrests resulted in the deaths of three practitioners, including two women and a man, who passed away within 3-35 days of their arrests.

Weeks ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics in February 2022, the authorities arrested and harassed practitioners in Beijing and Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province, two of the three zones to host the snow sports, under the pretext of preventing them from speaking out about Falun Gong during the games.

For the 359 harassment cases, 1 took place in 2020, 167 in 2021, 133 in January 2022 and 58 in February 2022.

Among all of the targeted practitioners, 261 had their homes ransacked and 174 (41%) practitioners have been released at the time of writing. A total of 124 (16%) practitioners older than 60 were targeted, including 22 in their 60s, 69 in their 70s, 32 in their 80s and 1 in her 90s.

The 782 practitioners hailed from 27 provinces and municipalities. Hebei topped the list with 102 total persecution cases, followed by Shandong (94) and Sichuan (82). Thirteen regions had cases between 10 and 70. Another eleven provinces had single digit cases.

Several examples of the various kinds of cases of persecution reported in January and February 2022 are presented below:

Death Cases

Woman in Her 50s Dies Three Days Following Arrest for Practicing Falun Gong

Ms. Huang Sulan of Chengdu, Sichuan Province, was arrested outside of her apartment building on January 20, 2022, and taken to a secret detention facility in Pengzhou.

The police informed Ms. Huang’s family on January 23, 2022, that she had died earlier that day. Her body was soon moved to the Pengzhou City Funeral Home. Her family has seen her body, but further details about her death remain under investigation.

Prior to Ms. Huang’s last arrest, she was previously arrested on July 10, 2019, while visiting practitioner Ms. Mao Kun. Although Ms. Huang was released on August 9, Ms. Mao was later sentenced to 11.5 years and died in custody.

Woman Dies in Custody Eight Days After Being Arrested and Denied Medical Treatment

Ms. Zhang Siqin, a 69-year-old woman in Dalian City, Liaoning Province, died at the Yaojia Detention Centre, eight days after she was arrested for practicing Falun Gong.

Ms. Zhang began to experience severe medical problems on the first night at the detention centre, yet the authorities refused to provide any treatment for her, except feeding her unknown drugs without any diagnosis.

Ms. Zhang was taken back into custody on January 19, 2022, to serve a two-year term. She was terrified and was struck with a wave of nausea. Even though the doctor advised against her detention due to her medical condition, the police insisted that she was fine and took her to the Yaojia Detention Centre.

On the first evening at the detention centre, Ms. Zhang was unable to walk on her own or fall asleep. The guards refused to provide her with any food. The next morning, she was so weak that she wasn’t able to put on clothes herself and had to rely on her roommate’s help.

For the next few days, she was unable to keep any food down and vomited everything she ate. The food the guards provided was only congee and steamed buns. She remained too weak to stand on her own.

When she was admitted to the detention centre, the guards took away her denture. She asked several times to have it back, but the guards refused to return it to her, which made it even more difficult for her to eat.

Despite her medical issues, the guards didn’t take her to see a doctor and gave her some unknown drugs, which caused her condition to further deteriorate.

On January 25, the sixth day of her detention, Ms. Zhang began to shake uncontrollably and was unable to sit up on her own. Her roommate reported it to the guards, who insisted on giving her an unknown drug, with no medical assessment. When she was unable to take the drug, the guards ordered five inmates to hold her and force-feed her the drug. She became incapacitated and lost the strength to sit up afterwards.

At 2:20 a.m. on January 26, Ms. Zhang began to shake uncontrollably. The inmates in the room were all awake, yet the guards still ignored her. At 9 a.m., Ms. Zhang was taken out in a wheelchair but was brought back in just ten minutes. The guards continued to force-feed her the unknown drug.

Ms. Zhang began to run a fever around midnight. By 2:40 a.m. she was in critical condition. The guards still refused to take her to a hospital and ordered the inmates in her room to keep monitoring her.

By the morning, she was unable to sit up even with her roommate’s help. Although the inmates reported her situation at 7:07 a.m., the doctor hadn’t shown up by 7:25 a.m. Her roommate kept calling the guards, but no one showed up either.

By the time the doctor arrived at 7:30 a.m., Ms. Zhang had stopped breathing and didn’t have any blood pressure. The doctor tried to resuscitate her, but she didn’t respond. The doctor called the guards at 7:34 a.m., but they didn’t answer until the doctor called the third time. Ms. Zhang was pronounced dead at 7:35 a.m. and removed from the cell.

Delivery Worker Dies 35 Days Following Arrest for Giving Out a Falun Gong Pamphlet

Mr. Dai Zhidong and Mr. Sun Deguo, both residents of Daqing City, Heilongjiang Province, were arrested on January 8, 2022, after they were reported for giving out a pamphlet with information about Falun Gong at a gas station in nearby Lindian County.

After they were taken to the Lindian Police Department, Wei Fang of the Domestic Security Office snatched their keys and ransacked their homes without a warrant. While searching Mr. Sun’s home, the police arrested two more practitioners, Mr. Sun Wenzhong and Mr. Zhang Liguo, who happened to be visiting at the time.

Mr. Sun Deguo’s Falun Gong books, computer, and over 20,000 yuan in cash were confiscated. But Wei claimed that she only took 10,000 yuan.

Mr. Sun Wenzhong claimed the responsibility for making Falun Gong materials and was held at the Taikang Detention Centre on charges of “undermining law enforcement with a cult organisation,” the standard pretext used to frame Falun Gong practitioners. The other three practitioners were released on bail after paying a 10,000 yuan bond each.

All the practitioners later filed complaints with the Daqing City Procuratorate against the police’s violation of legal procedures in arresting them and ransacking their homes.

Upon returning home, Mr. Dai, a delivery worker, was under tremendous pressure with the newest round of financial persecution. His wife died of a disease a year ago, and he was still struggling to pay off her medical bill. With the police confiscating his only 5,000 yuan cash in saving and his son paying the 10,000 yuan bond for him, he worried when he would be able to pay off all the debts. Meanwhile, the police threatened him not to report the persecution to Minghui.org. The mental pressure took a toll on his health and he passed away on February 11, 2022. He was 60.

Arrests and Harassment Ahead of the Winter Olympics

Falun Gong Practitioners Arrested in Winter Olympics Host City Near Beijing

Weeks ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics in February 2022, the authorities in Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province, one of the three zones to host the snow sports, arrested five local Falun Gong practitioners under the pretext of preventing them from speaking out about Falun Gong during the games.

The five practitioners, from Chongli District, where the ski resorts are located, were arrested on January 20 and 21, 2022. The authorities claimed that they would detain the practitioners until February 6, two days after the opening of the Winter Olympics.

Under the directive of Zheng Jianguo, of the Chongli District Domestic Security Office, the police arrested Ms. Bai Mei at her daughter’s home at 9 p.m. on January 20. Her cellphone and other personal belongings were confiscated.

Around the same time, the police also broke into the home of Ms. Bai’s brother, Mr. Bai Tao, and confiscated his Falun Gong books, a photo of Falun Gong’s founder, a speaker and a tablet. As Mr. Bai wasn’t home when the police came, they returned the next day and arrested him.

At midnight on January 21, the police arrested three more practitioners, Ms. Kang Cuiqing, Director of Pediatrics for the Chongli District Hospital; Ms. Qin Yulan, a teacher at the Chongli Education Bureau; and Ms. Wei Jiansheng, a teacher at Chongli No. 1 Middle School.

The three practitioners were held at the local police station and then transferred to the Zhangjiakou City Lockup for 15 days.

In addition to Falun Gong practitioners, the local residents are also facing extreme restrictions on their daily life, as part of the authorities’ effort to ensure a successful international sports event.

Beijing Woman Arrested Prior to Winter Olympics, Accused of Distributing Falun Gong Materials a Year Ago

Ms. Jiao Shuying was arrested by police officers who broke into her apartment on January 23, 2022. She was taken to Changping Detention Centre the next day. The resident of Changping District in Beijing is accused of distributing Falun Gong informational materials a year ago.

In early 2021, the Hongfuyuan Residential Area, where Ms. Jiao lives, was locked down due to the Zero-COVID policy. All the residents were required to submit their personal information when the authorities ordered massive PCR tests of local residents. The police located her via the information her family submitted for her. But instead of arresting her back then, they waited a year and arrested her weeks before the Winter Olympic Games were to be held in Beijing.

The police ransacked Ms. Jiao’s apartment and confiscated two calendars and several card readers. Before her arrest, a Pingxifu Police Station officer went to confirm she was at home by claiming to be conducting a census. Her 90-year-old mother is now on her own, struggling to care for herself.

Tightened Surveillance

In addition to the arrests, most Falun Gong practitioners in seven central districts in Beijing, including Haidian District, Shijingshan District, Chaoyang District, Shunyi District, Changping District, Fangshan District, and Tongzhou District, were closely monitored by the authorities.

In Chaoyang and Haidian, each local practitioner was under 24-hour surveillance by four people in two shifts. It’s reported that each of the “community watchers” earned a daily stipend of 180 yuan in Chaoyang and 200 yuan in Haidian.

Similar surveillance was also reported in Shanghai. Mr. Qu Fei was about to take a flight on January 28, 2022, to visit his brother in the U.S., when he was stopped at the airport by officer Huang Jia of the Domestic Security Office. He is now under 24-hour surveillance.

Elderly Not Spared

66-year-old Woman in Critical Condition After Holding Hunger Strike to Protest Arbitrary Detention

Ms. Ji Yunzhi, a 66-year-old Chifeng City, Inner Mongolia resident, is in a coma after weeks of being on a hunger strike to protest her latest arrest on February 1, 2022, for practicing Falun Gong. The police refused to release her despite her critical condition.

Ms. Ji was arrested at home at around 8 a.m. on February 1, Chinese New Year’s Day. The police broke in when her family left briefly to take out the trash. Another practitioner, Ms. Sun Zhifang, who happened to be visiting, was also arrested. The police searched Ms. Ji’s residence and confiscated 40 Falun Gong books and a photo of Falun Gong’s founder.

As Ms. Ji refused to go with the police, they forcibly took her and Ms. Sun to the police car. Both women were taken to the Bahrain Left Banner Detention Centre. Ms. Ji went on a hunger strike to protest the arbitrary arrest and detention.

Ms. Ji’s family was informed by the police on February 11 to go to the Bahrain Left Banner Hospital. When they went there, they were devastated to see Ms. Ji in a coma. Yet the police still had her feet shackled to the hospital bed. The doctor ordered them to sign a form acknowledging Ms. Ji’s critical condition.

Ms. Ji’s family applied to have her released on bail the next day. The police raised three conditions before they would approve the bail release. It’s not clear what the conditions are. Ms. Ji was still at the hospital at the time of writing.

87-year-old Retired Professor Interrogated for Ten Hours for Speaking Up for Her Faith

Ms. Chen Shejie, an 87-year-old former Associate Professor of Central South University, was arrested at home on December 24, 2021. A group of plainclothes officers broke in and searched every room at her home in Changsha City, Hunan Province, without a warrant. Her Falun Gong books, computer, printer, and Falun Gong-themed paintings on the walls were confiscated.

The police brought Ms. Chen to the Yuelu Police Station for interrogation. She refuted their defamation of Falun Gong and demanded that they produce documents providing legal basis for the persecution. While the police claimed they had the documents, they never showed anything to her. One officer threatened her, “We’ve arrested you once in 2016. Now you did it again. If you continue to do it (speaking up for Falun Gong), we will throw you into jail.”

Before allowing Ms. Chen to go home with her family at 1 a.m., another officer threatened to monitor her life and said to her family, “If she continues to talk to others about Falun Gong, we wouldn’t let her go so easily!”

76-year-old Former Acupuncturist Arrested and Interrogated

When Ms. Nie Yulan, a 76-year-old retired acupuncturist in Zhengzhou City, Henan Province, returned home at noon on January 5, 2022, from buying some steamed buns, a dozen officers surrounded her and broke into her home.

While an officer restrained Ms. Nie in her bedroom, the rest of them confiscated her computer, Falun Gong books, a photo of Falun Gong’s founder, and other Falun Gong materials. The police also forced Ms. Nie to open her locked drawers, from which they snatched 2,600 yuan in cash, including 2,000 yuan in banknotes printed with a short message about Falun Gong.

Due to strict information censorship in China, many practitioners use creative ways to raise awareness about the persecution, including printing information on banknotes.

The police took Ms. Nie to the Dianchanglu Police Station. They claimed that she was reported for trying to hire a lawyer for Ms. Zhang Hui, who was arrested days earlier for practicing Falun Gong. Ms. Nie demanded to know the police’s names. They refused to answer, saying that she would submit their names to Minghui.org if she knew who they were.

Ms. Nie refused to answer the police’s questions. As the police continued to interrogate her, she began to experience tightness in her chest and stomach pain. Her hands and feet first became cold, and then her body felt cold and couldn’t stop shaking. She also had difficulty breathing. The police called an ambulance and the doctor found her heart rate was below 40 beats per minute. She was then taken to the hospital for resuscitation. She returned home at around 11 p.m.

Elderly Couple Arrested By Police Who Pretended to Be Healthcare Workers to Vaccinate Them

Four people knocked on Ms. Tang Peilian’s home in Changsha City, Hunan Province on December 25, 2021, claiming to be from the local community and going door to door to give people shots against COVID-19.

Her husband, Mr. Huang Zhijie, opened the door. Without saying a word, the four people, with a female in police uniform, rushed in and ran to her bedroom. Ms. Tang, who was printing informational materials about Falun Gong, immediately locked her closet where she kept the printer and computer, despite their effort to stop her.

Turning around, Ms. Tang, in her 80s, demanded the four people show their IDs and search warrant. While they refused to show their IDs, one man introduced himself as a staff member from the residential committee, the other two males said they were with the Yueli District Police Department, surnamed Zhang and Wang, respectively.

Ordered by Wang, the other three agents searched Ms. Tang’s home. Wang ordered Ms. Tang to turn in the key to her closet. When she refused to comply, Wang tore down the Falun Gong paintings hanging in her living room. All of Ms. Tang’s Falun Gong books and informational materials were also ransacked.

The police claimed that they targeted the couple after Mr. Huang was recorded by surveillance camera distributing informational materials about Falun Gong. They tracked him down and found his address.

The elderly couple was brought to the Yueli District Police Department and interrogated in separate rooms. They were released at around 8 p.m.

Locked Up in Brainwashing Center and Psychiatric Hospital

Shandong Man Suspended from Work, Held in Brainwashing Center for a Month

Since the second half of 2020, Falun Gong practitioners at Gudao Oil Production Plant of Sinopec Shenli Oilfield in Dongying City, Shandong Province have been targeted in the “zero-out” campaign.

The “zero-out” harassment campaign aims to force all Falun Gong practitioners on the government’s blacklist to renounce their faith. To that end, the police, street residential committees, and the targeted practitioners’ workplaces were all mobilised.

At the Gudao Oil Production Plant, the company’s Party Committee, Petition Office, and Workers’ Union together arranged meetings with practitioners, both current and retired employees, mostly with the presence of the police. During the meetings, practitioners were threatened with employment termination, pay and bonus deduction, or obstacles for their children in seeking jobs or promotions if they refused to renounce their faith in Falun Gong. Some practitioners were required to surrender their ID cards.

One of the company’s employees, Mr. Li Bing, in his 30s, was first taken to a brainwashing session at Jindao Hotel in early December 2020. Several psychological experts were hired by the authorities to give brainwashing lectures, aiming to force him to give up Falun Gong.

While Mr. Li was released weeks later, Liu Shuting, the company manager, suspended him from his position on April 1, 2021, under the order of the company 610 Office. Mr. Li was held in isolation and ordered to hand-copy the history of the Chinese Communist Party, as well as writing statements to renounce Falun Gong.

As Mr. Li refused to comply, the authorities withheld 2,500 yuan from his monthly pay, leaving him with 500 yuan each month only. With rapidly increasing prices, the financial persecution caused tremendous difficulty to Mr. Li’s family, especially given that he needs to support his parents and child. He appealed to manager Liu several times. Liu claimed that the decision came from the company’s leadership, but he couldn’t provide any formal documents about it, with an excuse that it’s confidential.

Weeks later, Liu took out a notice that one would be deprived of “pay for performance” compensation if one can’t generate income for the company. He used that as the justification to suspend Mr. Li’s pay and ordered him to sign it. Mr. Li said he had no objection to the notice, but it’s not that he can’t work and generate income for the company, but the company itself suspended him from his job. As such, it shouldn’t be him who bears the consequences. He refused to sign the notice.

To seek justice, Mr. Li appealed with the company’s workers’ union and Dongying City Human Resource and Social Security Bureau, accusing his manager of violating his employment contract. While an officer accepted his appeal, he later returned it, hinting that they received a call from the local Political and Legal Affairs Committee, which pressured them not to accept Mr. Li’s case.

Between November 16 and 17, Wen Shuming, an agent of Shengli Oil Production Plant 610 Office, pressured Mr. Li and tried to force him to renounce Falun Gong.

After Mr. Li exposed Wen’s persecution on Minghui, overseas Falun Gong practitioners called Wen and urged him to stop participating in the persecution. Wen found Mr. Li on December 2 and said he was very angry to receive those calls. He reported Mr. Li to the police, who harassed Mr. Li the day after and ordered him to write a repentance letter.

Police officers Ren Anyuan and Ma Yuqiang harassed Mr. Li again on December 6 and asked him how he submitted the information to Minghui.

Weeks later, in late December, Mr. Li was arrested and taken to the Jishu Brainwashing Center. His company arranged for four employees to take turns monitoring him. He was held there for a month and released around January 22, 2022.