(Minghui.org) Police in many regions of China recently went to the homes of Falun Gong practitioners in advance of the Chinese Communist Party's 19th National Congress in October 2017. Officers said they were carrying out a “Knocking on Doors” directive.
Various ranks of officers questioned practitioners about whether they still practiced Falun Gong. Many also inquired about their occupations and other aspects of their lives. Some said they did not have bad intentions and just needed to obtain some information to report to their supervisors.
In some areas, police tried to get practitioners to sign a “guarantee statement” not to practice anymore, not to participate in activities related to Falun Gong, and not to appeal to higher courts. Others checked for computers or printers in the home and whether practitioners were using the Internet. Some confiscated their Falun Gong books.
Officers often had a list of practitioners who were known to them before the Communist Party's persecution of Falun Gong began in 1999, as well as practitioners who have participated in filing criminal complaints against former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin, who directed the persecution.
In the past two weeks, police in Lechang, Guangdong Province harassed practitioners who had been recorded by police in 1999 or had participated in the movement to sue Jiang Zemin. Officers even questioned the family members of practitioners who have passed away.
Police and domestic security officers in Kuiwen District, Weifang City, Shandong Province harassed practitioners who had submitted criminal complaints against Jiang. They brought audio and video recording equipment to check on these practitioners, who then talked to them about Falun Gong and the persecution.
Around 100 practitioners in Fushun District, Liaoning Province have been harassed since late March. Local police and community personnel went to practitioners’ homes or called them by phone, stating that they were acting on their supervisors' orders to investigate. Some officers took pictures or videos of practitioners, confiscated their Falun Gong books and written materials, and checked whether they were using the Internet.
Policemen in Guanshan Town, Shanxi Province questioned practitioners about whom they had recently contacted and whether they still practiced Falun Gong. They tried to get practitioners to sign a document denouncing Falun Gong, but were not successful.
Some practitioners in Henan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, and Ningxia were threatened during attempts to get them to sign letters stating that they would give up practicing Falun Gong. Practitioners in some areas did sign their names, however, including many who gave up their practice at the start of the persecution.