(Minghui.org) According to information reported on Minghui.org, several Falun Gong practitioners in Hegang City, Heilongjiang Province, were harassed during the first half of 2020. The following are a few of the cases.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is an ancient spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Ms. Zhang Huanchun and Ms. Zhou Yuqin were reported to the police on April 8, when they were telling people about Falun Gong. Both were arrested and detained at the Hegang Detention Center. Ms. Zhou was released after 15 days, while Ms. Zhang remains in custody and her arrest has been formally approved. Ms. Zhang is currently being detained at the Hegang City Detention Center.

Ms. Shi Chengjie was arrested before April 25 by police from the Xiangyang Public Security Branch and the Yangming Police Station. The police ransacked her home and confiscated her Falun Gong books. She was released after the Luobei County Detention Center refused to admit her.

Ms. Zhu Xiuhua, 80, was arrested on May 12 by agents from Hongjun Police Station. Her home was ransacked and several personal belongings, including her computer, printer, books, and Falun Gong-related materials were confiscated. She was given seven days of detention, which were served at a relative's home.

Mr. Di Guibin was harassed at his workplace prior to May 13, World Falun Dafa Day.

Ms. Zhao Lili was arrested on the eve of May 13 and detained for 15 days.

Several other practitioners were arrested on the night of May 13. One of them was Ms. Liu Fengqin. The police confiscated two Falun Gong books from her home. She was detained at the Hegang City Detention Center for ten days.

Two other practitioners, Ms. Xu Hongmei, in her 40s, and Mr. Li Yan, in his 50s, were also arrested on May 13. Their homes were ransacked and several Falun Gong books were confiscated. Ms. Xu was released that night while Mr. Li was detained at the police station. Ms. Xu was taken back into custody and sent to the Hegang City Detention Center with Mr. Li, where they were detained for ten days.

On the same day, another practitioner, Mr. Li, was arrested by officers from the Tiexi Police Station. After he managed to escape, Mr. Liu Zhenchang assisted him to his sister's home. The police then went to Mr. Liu's home to harass him. They arrested him the next day at his workplace. He was put under house-arrest for 15 days and later forced to move, after his landlord became afraid and refused to let him and his younger brother, who is disabled, live there. Mr. Li was later arrested by the police and detained for 15 days.

A plainclothes police officer named Gao Yulei from Jiefanglu Police Station went to Ms. Zhang Yingchun’s home on May 16 and arrested her without showing his ID. Gao asked another man to assist him in ransacking Ms. Zhang’s home and also ordered Ms. Zhang to open her cabinets, or else he would pry them open. Several personal belongings, including Falun Gong books, a laptop computer, and a video player, were confiscated. Ms. Zhang tried to ask for a list of the confiscated items, but to no avail. She was detained for 15 days.

Ms. Zhang's aunt and younger brother, who is not a practitioner, were also arrested when visiting Ms. Zhang during the police raid. Ms. Zhang's brother was detained for seven hours and released after his wife went to the police station to ask for his release.

Mr. Zhang Shuping was home on May 20 when three police officers arrived. They deceived Mr. Zhang, saying that they were staffers from the community. When Mr. Zhang opened his door, the three officers rushed in and pushed him to a corner, threatening him not to move.

One officer opened Mr. Zhang's computer to check if it contained Falun Gong-related materials, while another threw Zhuan Falun, the main text of Falun Gong, to the ground. They then asked Mr. Zhang if he would continue practicing Falun Gong. Mr. Zhang replied that the law stipulates freedom of belief and religion, and told them that what they were doing was wrong.

The officers continued to ransack his home, and confiscated his computer and radio. They also threw more of his Falun Gong books and materials onto the ground.

The police refused to let Mr. Zhang contact his family, and took him to the police station. He was then handcuffed to a metal chair and interrogated. After the interrogation, the police forced Mr. Zhang to sign the record before releasing him from the chair and locking him in a cage.

In the afternoon, one officer asked Mr. Zhang if he could contact one of his coworkers to collect his phone and computer. When Mr. Zhang said that he had lost contact with his workplace, the officer told him to remain in the station for a night before proceeding to call Mr. Zhang's sister. The officer also told Mr. Zhang that the higher-ups had approved his detention for 12 days, but decided to let him go, under the condition that he must return to the police station whenever he is asked to.

The police also arrested three other practitioners, two males and one female, in the month of May. The male practitioners were detained while the female practitioner was released to go home. Their names remain to be investigated.

Ms. Zhao Guiyou and Ms. Hu Guijie were arrested on June 1 by officers from the Shandong Police Station. The detention center refused to admit Ms. Hu because she failed her physical exam. She was released home the next day. Ms. Zhao was detained for 15 days and her computer and Falun Gong books were confiscated.

Other Recent Cases

Officers from Tiexi Police Station went to the homes of two practitioners, Mr. Qi and Ms. Zhang Fengling, to harass them. Several of their Falun Gong books were confiscated.

Another practitioner Ms. Zhao Shuling was also harassed by the officers from Tiexi Police Station. The officers attempted to arrest her but were unsuccessful. They then took away the image of Falun Gong’s founder from her home.

The community officers of Baoquanling often called Ms. He Ping to harass her. They told her that she would be removed from the authorities’ black list if she signed a guarantee statement promising to renounce her faith. She refused to comply.

Two other practitioners, Ms. Du Guihua and Ms. Li Guoyun, were also harassed by community officers, who ordered them to write guarantee statements renouncing their faith. They refused.

Contact Information for the Parties Involved:Jianquan (刘建全), community officer of Baoquanling: +86-15946638001Zhang Qinghui (张庆辉), police chief of Liuhao Police Station: +86-18404686087

Please refer to the original Chinese article for more people involved in the persecution.