(Minghui.org) Tianjin Police arrested more than 20 Falun Gong practitioners in early March 2015. Mr. Yang Hong and his wife Ms. Jiang Yahui from the Nankai District were part of mass arrests that took place on March 1 and 2.
About 30 officers broke into the couple's home and ransacked it. They confiscated their computers, printers, DVD burner, card printer, and other personal belongings valued at over 10,000 yuan. The officers were from the Tianjin Municipal Public Security Bureau, the Nankai District Domestic Security Bureau, and the Huayuan Police Station.
The couple is now being held in the Nankai District Detention Center. Their ordeal is yet another chapter in the 16 years of persecution that they have endured.
Mr. Yang Sentenced to Forced Labor Twice
This was Mr. Yang's third arrest. He was sentenced to three years of forced labor the first time and one year the second.
He started practicing Falun Gong when he was a student at Tianjin University. There were several practice sites on campus at the time. His insomnia disappeared and he felt renewed both physically and spiritually.
After graduating in 1995, Mr. Yang was employed by the Tianjin Toyota Motor Company. He lived by the Falun Gong principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and his outstanding performance prompted management to send him to Japan for training and career development.
When the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started the persecution of Falun Gong in July 1999, Mr. Yang was still studying in Japan. He was determined to return to China as soon as possible and speak up for the right to practice.
When Mr. Yang landed at the airport, a police car was waiting for him. He was taken to his work place, where his supervisor and the police ordered him to write a statement giving up his beliefs. He refused.
Instead, Mr. Yang told them of his own experiences with Falun Gong and persuaded them not to believe the CCP's lies and propaganda.
He held up a Falun Gong banner on Tiananmen Square on October 1, 2000. Tianjin Public Security Bureau officers took him home and sentenced him to a year and a half of forced labor.
Mr. Yang was brutally tortured in Tianjin Shuangkou Forced Labor Camp, and his term was extended for another 1.5 years. Mr. Yang, who was about 5 feet 11 inches tall, weighed only 77 pounds in 2003 and was on the verge of death. The guards didn't want to be held responsible in case he died, so they told his family to take him home.
While Mr. Yang was being detained, the Tianjin Toyota Motor Company forced his family to sign a document terminating his employment contract.
By practicing Falun Gong, Mr. Yang slowly recovered after his release, and started a company with his classmates. Just as his business was taking shape, police from the Nankai District Domestic Security Bureau arrested him again in November 2004. He was sentenced to another year of forced labor.
Mr. Yang's parents have been living in fear and despair ever since the CCP started to persecute Falun Gong.
Ms. Jiang Yahui Lost Her Job for Talking to a Tourist about Falun Gong
Mr. Yang's wife Ms. Jiang Yahui started practicing Falun Gong in 1996. She has also been arrested and sentenced to forced labor and prison. She was fired in January 2015 from her job as a tour guide for talking to a tourist about Falun Gong and the persecution.
Perpetrators' Contact Information
Tianjin Public Security Bureau: +86-22-27355957Zuo Lin, director: +86-13802106489 (Cell), +86-13920461373 (Cell)
Nankai District Domestic Security Division: +86-22-27601135Wang Hongshui: +86-13011300682
Nankai District Detention Center: +86-22-87611960Cai Shugang, superintendent: +86-13302051890
Huayuan Police Station: +86-22-27601678, 011-86-22-27601679Liu Jinchang, superintendent: +86-22-27601671
Related Article:Over 20 Falun Gong Practitioners Arrested in Tianjin
