(Minghui.org) Mr. Xu Tong, a 49-year-old middle school teacher in Zhanjiang City, Guangdong Province, is set to stand trial on September 2, 2026, because he practices Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Mr. Xu who was born in August 1977, was arrested at home on the evening of February 3, 2026, by approximately 20 officers from the Chikan District Police Department and the Cunjin Police Station. His Falun Gong books, computer, printer, and cell phone were confiscated.
Officer Zeng Zhihao from the Chikan District Police Department interrogated Mr. Xu. Zeng and other officers then forged a physical exam report without having Mr. Xu undergo any checkup. They also put him in a chokehold and grabbed his hand to collect a sample of his blood.
Mr. Xu was next taken to the Zhanjiang City Detention Center. His family was recently notified that his court date is September 2, 2026.
Mr. Xu, a teacher at the Chikan District 17th Middle School, discovered Falun Gong in 2012 and identified with its principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. He realized that the practice was nothing like what the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) depicted—instead it’s an ancient spiritual discipline that teaches people to be good. As he strove to live by Falun Gong’s principles, his outlook on the world changed. He focused on eliminating his jealousy and short temper. Some of his chronic diseases also disappeared.
Prior to his latest persecution episode, Mr. Xu was arrested one other time, on the evening of August 6, 2018. The next morning, Huang Zuhua, the head of the Chikan District 610 Office led eight officers to ransack his home, and they confiscated his computer and other personal items. Mr. Xu was held at the Zhanjiang Brainwashing Center for four months. He was eventually released after he started a hunger strike to protest. Upon returning home, he still faced constant harassment. That same year, the Chikan District Political and Legal Affairs Committee forced his school to withhold his annual bonus, under the pretext that he had been detained.
During the “Zero-Out” campaign in 2020, the Chikan District Political and Legal Affairs Committee repeatedly harassed Mr. Xu and ordered him to sign statements declaring that he renounced Falun Gong. When he refused to comply, the authorities pressured his school again to withhold his annual bonus, and claimed that he failed the annual performance review.