First-hand Accounts of the September 23 Large-scale Arrests of Practitioners in Daqing City (Part 1)

Around 5:30 a.m. on September 23rd, 2005, large groups of police officers led by the Daqing City 610 Office¹ carried out city-wide arrests of Falun Gong practitioners.

Twenty-seven practitioners were arrested and their homes searched. After more than a month, the local media has not said one word about the incident. Arrested practitioners, however, are still detained. Except for a few relatives of practitioners and a few witnesses, most citizens, and even some relatives of the arrested practitioners, do not know of these arrests. Practitioners risk much spreading flyers to expose the illegal persecution, but flyers posted in public places have been quickly damaged by people hired by the government.

This article is based on information collected through painful efforts. It is our sincere hope that all kind people will offer their hand to help these practitioners.

1. Breaking into Homes Carrying Video Cameras to Fool the Neighbours

At about 5:30 a.m. on September 23rd, 2005 (Friday), large groups of police officers in Daqing City broke into many practitioners' homes to arrest them. On average, about 10 officers arrested each practitioner. Carrying video cameras, they damaged door locks, violently searched practitioners' homes, and "illegally arrested²" practitioners.

The Daqing City 610 Office mobilised 11 of 20 police branches. Total police officers in action were about 200.

1) Since practitioners have been telling the facts of Falun Dafa to people who had been misled by the government propaganda during the past six years, many people have learned the truth. It's hard for the persecution to continue now. Police officers know that they are doing wrong deeds because they know practitioners are good citizens. They even use groups of police officers to arrest just one 70-80-year-old practitioner.

2) Groups of police officers came in with video cameras in hand. Their intention was to trick by-standers into believing that they were searching for important evidence in practitioners' homes.

3) Police officers put computers, printers, and printer paper together with Falun Gong flyers, CD's, the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party and then videotaped them. In this manner, they hoped to trick viewers into believing that Falun Gong flyers and other materials were downloaded and edited on these computers. This is quite misleading because nobody who watches the video can tell what is actually inside those CDs, the computers, or the other materials. There was no proof whether the materials were from that computer or not. Since police officers treat all materials as "National Secrets," the public has no way to verify the integrity of the videos.

Police officers use tricks such as these to deceive the public, to appease the pressure from the authorities above, and to threaten and intimidate practitioners' families.

In this round of arrests, 27 practitioners were arrested. Most of them were women in their 40s to 50s. Three were in their 60s and 70s. Five of them were middle-aged men.

2. Practitioners are Good Citizens

The practitioners arrested on September 23rd are all good citizens who follow "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance" and do not seek revenge, even when being attacked or verbally abused. The following facts support this.

Ms. Chen Changxiu is a 49-year-old resident of Apartment 101, Unit 2, Building 2-1, Longnanyue Apartment Complex. She used to have many diseases which could not be cured even though she took many different medications. She was very weak. Not long after Ms. Chen began practising Falun Dafa, all her diseases disappeared, and she became very good tempered. All the people around her liked her. The neighbours could not believe that police officers would arrest her from home so violently.

Ms. Cheng Jinzhi is a 43-year-old accountant who was laid off with compensation from the bank where she worked. She lives at Apartment 301, Unit 2, Building 3-11, Longnanyue Apartment Complex. Through practising Falun Gong, Ms. Chen was cured of her serious muscle weakness disease, without medicine. It is widely known that she is a good wife and mother. Her husband is very sad about her arrest.

Ms. Li Shumei, 65, lives at Apartment 202, Unit 5, Building 25, Longnanle Apartment Complex. She used to have many diseases, but through the practise of Falun Dafa, she recovered completely. This time, Ms. Li was also arrested.

Ms. Chen Qingli is a 42-year-old worker at the Sa District Management Office. She lives in Building 5-25, Dongfeng New Village. Before practising Falun Gong, Ms. Chen was addicted to playing Mahjong, had a fiery temper, and had many health problems. After she started practising Falun Gong, she became healthy and open-minded, and she now enjoys helping others. Since July 22nd, 1999, Ms. Chen has suffered from much persecution. This time, her home was searched and she was arrested and detained.

Ms. Liu Li is from the Changxi area, in the Longfeng District. She was an employee of the Longfeng Cleaning Products Division, Wanlong Materials Company, a subsidiary of Daqing Petro-chemical. She is a very honest and hard-working person. Because Liu Li has been very firm in the practice of Falun Dafa and clarifies the facts to people, she was detained and forced into a compensated lay-off.. In April 2004, Ms. Liu opened a daycare. Due to her kindness and love for children, kids call her "Mum." On September 23rd, Ms. Liu was arrested and could not take care of the kids. About 30 kids had to leave her services.

Due to limited space in this article, not all of the practitioners' stories are listed here.

3. Police Officers Acted Like Ruffians in the September 23 Arrests

The following are some of the crimes committed by the police officers:

a) Police Officers Were Very Violent, Treating Seniors and Children Brutally

The chief of the Kaifa District Police Branch led a group of police officers and broke into Professor Liu's home at Daqing Petroleum University to arrest his 63-year-old wife, Gao Guifen. The police officers first confiscated all cellular phones in the home and cut the phone line, then they videotaped the home-searching process. Professor Liu's 13-year-old grandchild was very upset and cried. Professor Liu was seriously mentally affected. When Liu's family questioned the legality of the search, the police officers took out a blank warrant and filled it out in front of them.

The chief of the Donghu Police Branch led six officers to Mr. Li Qingzuo's home. Policewoman Xu Hongxiang lied, saying that she had a stomachache in order to deceive Mr. Li into opening his door because Mr. Li is a doctor. As soon as the door was open, officers rushed in and pushed Mr. Li down to the floor and twisted his arms and neck very brutally. Mr. Li's son tried to stop the violence. But police officers stepped on his toes and said, "Are you practising Falun Gong also? We should arrest you as well!"

Police officers from the Babaixiang Branch and Huizhan Branch arrived in three police vans at Mr. Zheng Hongjun's home at Apartment 502, Unit 3, Building 3-4, Hongwei Village, Chengfeng District. Over 20 officers surrounded Mr. Zheng's home. They broke the door lock to enter Zheng Hongjun's apartment. Since Mr. Zheng refused to cooperate with them, six to seven officers beat Mr. Zheng all the way from the 5th floor to the outside of the building. The neighbours said, "These are ruffians, not police officers. They just arrested such a good person." The same day, police officers sealed up Zheng's business, "Shenghe Technology," which is located at Area B, Third Floor of the Dewei Computer Mall, Daqing City, and took what they wanted from it.

Ms. Tang Zengye is a practitioner who works at the Third Oil Extraction Factory. When she was greeting her friend Ms. Liu Fengying on a street, police officers rushed them and arrested the two women. Bystanders were shocked by the scene and thought the police officers were terrorists. The police officers then ransacked Ms. Liu's cellular phone store, and Ms. Tang's parent's and younger brother's homes.

Eight to nine police officers from the Xincun-Dong'an Police Branch arrived at Ms. Chen Qingli's home at the Dongfeng New Village. An officer pried the door lock and broke in. Police officer Zhu Liyou threatened Ms. Chen's husband, "I could destroy your family and kill you!" Deputy Police Chief Wu Guancheng was on site, but he said nothing when he heard these insane threats.

A female practitioner who lives at the Ranghulu District had a guest who was knocking on her door. When she opened the door, hidden police officers rushed in and arrested her. The guest was shocked, and went downstairs trembling. The guest told a by-stander, "Are those police officers? They are just like the terrorists in the movies."

b) Practitioners Accused Illegally

All arrested Falun Gong practitioners are charged with the same crime of "disturbing the enforcement of law by making use of a [slanderous words omitted]," which is derived from Item 300 of the Criminal Law, the "Explanations of Enforcing the Items Regarding Crimes Related to [slanderous word omitted] by the Highest Court and Procurator," and the "Decisions on Banning, Suppressing, and Punishing [slanderous word omitted] Activities" by the National Congress.

"Explanation" means if you print Falun Gong related materials, tell the facts to the public, and are steadfast in your belief in "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance," regardless of the fact that these are very beneficial to society, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) dictators will say you have committed crimes and could sentence you to serious "punishment." The Chinese Constitution stipulates, "Citizens have the right of freedom of speech." Item 19 of the "International Human Rights Treaty" says, "All individuals have the freedom to express opinions, spread or receive information through any media without limitation by boundaries of countries. It can be in any form such as oral, written, printed, or art."

After Mr. Li Qingzuo and his daughter and daughter-in-law were arrested, a family member went to the Donghu Police Station to ask for an explanation. The police chief said, "The provincial government ordered us to arrest a list of practitioners on September 23rd." The family member asked, "What law did they break?" An officer said, "Li Qingzuo has a bad attitude. He shouted 'Falun Dafa Is Good' when he was arrested and pushed into the police car."

The police officers did not prepare search warrants. When a practitioner questioned if they had a search warrant, one police officer answered, "Which warrant? We have a lot." He pulled several blank sheets out of his pocket, filled them out and threatened, "Is this enough? If it's not enough I'll fill out more. But I'll search your home as many times as the number of warrants I have."

It has been learned that police officers carried pre-stamped and sealed blank warrants with them and would fill them out as they pleased. When they arrested Ms. Tang Zengye and searched her parent's and brother's homes, Ms. Tang's family members questioned the police officers. They said, "Tang Zengye has 'Internet problems'."

b) Large-scale Burglary

Daqing police officers are notorious for illegally searching practitioner's homes. Some police officers check the practitioner's economic condition before doing a home search. If the practitioners don't have much money, the officers don't have any interest in searching their homes. Police officers are stealing property from practitioners' homes.

One police officer works at the Longnan Branch. His notebook PC and his child's mobile phone are both from practitioners. Illegal home-searching is one way police officers become wealthy. When they search practitioners' homes, practitioners have nowhere to appeal. One police officer told a practitioner, "I'll release you if you buy me a car. I don't need a new car. A used car is OK."

The September 23rd arrests were another opportunity for police officers to rob citizens.

According to practitioners' investigations, after the home searches, practitioners found that not only computers, printers, fax machines, and Dafa-related materials were confiscated, but telephones, bank deposit books, and bank cards were also taken away. Sometimes, cash and precious metals were also taken away. Police officers left no receipts after the robbery.

Practitioner Ms. Cao Shuxia is from the Science and Technology Park in the Rangqu District. After the home-search, her child's computer, her husband's camcorder, their bank deposit books, and 1,000 yuan³ in cash were all gone. Even the telephone had been taken away. The police officers followed no legal procedures, and left no receipts for the property taken.

Mr. Zheng Hongjun was forced to accept a compensated layoff. He is divorced and is supporting an 11-year-old daughter who is sick and cannot take care of herself. Since he had no income, Mr. Zheng rented out his only room to help pay for his daughter's living and medical expenses. They stayed with his parents and opened a computer store to survive. On September 23rd, police officers arrested Ms. Zheng and sealed up his store. Since Zheng Hongjun's family could not take care of the store, police officers have taken away most of the items in the store.

d) Torture and Painful Cries, Relatives Are Brokenhearted

Arrested practitioners are detained at the Daqing Detention Centre and Longfeng Detention Centre. Most of them have been tortured. Many of them went on hunger strikes in protest and were force-fed brutally three times a day. The police department declared that all arrested practitioners would be sent to forced labour camps. The following are pieces of information leaked out through layers of a tight information blockade.

Ms. Tang Zengye was tortured by being forced to sit on the Iron Chair. Her hands and feet were handcuffed to steel rings, which left her immobile. The torture, plus her hunger strike, has made Ms. Tang very weak. She vomited blood. The guards coerced criminal inmates to slap her face and hit her head with the steel basin used to force-feed her. In the force-feeding, criminals tortured Ms. Tang cruelly. The excruciating torture caused Ms. Tang to scream in pain.

Ms. Cao Shuxia is jailed at the Daqing Detention Centre. She was forced to sit on the Iron Chair for a whole night, followed by a 24-hour interrogation. On October 2nd, 2005, Ms. Cao was again interrogated starting at 7 a.m., and she was again not allowed sleep for 24 hours. As soon as she closed her eyes, the cruel monitors would hit her face with a mop, which left a big bruise around her eyes. Ms. Cao was not allowed to use the toilet even when she was on her period, which caused her trousers to be soiled. She was in a mentally disoriented state.

When Mr. Yuan Mi was first jailed at the Daqing Detention Centre; he was interrogated for 5 days and nights non-stop as to the source of the truth clarification materials in his possession. He was forced to sit on the Iron Chair and was not allowed food or sleep. An officer covered Mr. Yuan's head with a black plastic bag and blew smoke into it. He suffered serious mental trauma as a result of the torture. Mr. Yuan is now detained at the Harbin Drug Rehabilitation Centre.

Mr. Li Yequan has been on a hunger strike since he was arrested on the morning on September 23rd. On September 27th, the forced labour camp refused to take him after a physical exam. But the Daqing City Political and Judicial Committee, the 610 Office, the police department, and the forced labour camp held a meeting that night and decided to detain him for two years in the forced labour camp. At the camp, Mr. Li continued his hunger strike in protest. The camp force-fed him brutally three times a day. Witnesses said that the forced-feeding is too horrible to observe or describe.

Another practitioner, Mr. Ge Zhenming, was sent to the forced labour camp on a stretcher by his captors.

The ongoing six years of persecution have caused colossal mental and physical injury to the local practitioners and their families. Blood and tears have accompanied their lives. The September 23rd arrests added new pains on top of old scars. While over 20 practitioners are suffering in detention, hundreds of their relatives are suffering from illness, mental collapse, worry and sadness. Some families of the arrested practitioners have lost their source of income. They are having an extremely difficult time surviving and have had to beg for help.

Major Government Departments and Officers Responsible for the "September 23" Arrests and Home Searches of Practitioners

(Note: For home or office phone numbers, dial country code + area code before all numbers. For mobile phone numbers, dial country code before the numbers. Country code: 86, area code: 459)

Daqing City State Security Bureau

Director, Lin Zhisheng: 6281231(Office), 6688448(Home), 13604651999(M)
CCP Secretary, Wang Xiyan: 6181232(Office), 4611878(Home), 13904591292(M)

Daqing City Police Department

Chief, Cao Liwei: 6371699(Office)
Political Commissar, Cao Zhenhe: 6373066(Office), 6280888(Home), 13329500002(M)

Daqing Detention Centre

Head, Du Zhenjiang: 4616098(Office), 4667179(Home), 13936726888(M)
Instructor, Bai Yunshan: 4616090(Office), 6256942(Home), 13059043155(M)

Note

1. "The 610 office" is an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems.

2. “Illegally arrested”: Contrary to what former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin, who initiated the persecution, and the Chinese Communist Party would like the world to believe, practising Falun Gong is NOT illegal in China. Although the Public Security Department issued an unconstitutional set of restraints on the practice at the onset of the persecution in 1999, no laws have been passed by the only legislative body in China, the People's Congress, banning Falun Gong or granting the police the authority to arrest Falun Gong practitioners for practicing the exercises or distributing leaflets.

3. "Yuan" is the Chinese currency; 500 yuan is equal to the average monthly income of an urban worker in China.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2005/10/26/113178.html