Police in Beijing Suburb Abduct Over 16 Residents for Practicing Falun Gong

Since June 2011, police officers in Changping, a northwest suburb of Beijing, have abducted at least 16 local residents because they were discovered to practice Falun Gong. According to sources inside China, officers from the Changping District Police Department and the Dongxiaokou Police Station have carried out four rounds of detention at the Tiantongyuan community, taking 16 people into custody. Among those abducted is 31-year-old Feng Qingdong, an employer with the media company Thompson Reuters (details below). In an apparent attempt to avoid an outcry from neighbors should they realize what was happening, the participating officers did not wear police uniforms or park their police cars nearby.

All of the abducted practitioners are reportedly being held at Changping Detention Center located in the town of Liucun. The police have refused to allow the practitioners to meet with either their families or their attorneys. They have threatened to revoke the license of any attorney who accepts one of the practitioners’ cases. They have also declared that all of the detained practitioners will be punished with sentences to re-education through labor camps.

The following are the known details about the abducted practitioners. The Falun Dafa Information Center urges international media and human rights groups to investigate their whereabouts:

• On June 30, 2011, Ms. Mei Xuehong was reported to the police by personnel at  Tiantong Tail Goods Market Management while selling her goods and was subsequently detained by officers from the Changping District Police Department. The Procuratorate is reportedly planning to file charges against her, setting her up for a sham trial and potential illegal imprisonment. .

• On July 4, 2011, Ms. Yang Xiuqin, Ms. Wang Shuhua, and two other elderly practitioners were abducted from the Second Quarter of West Tiantongyuan community.

• On September 15, 2011, Mr. Li Min and his wife Ms. Liu Qing, who live in the First Quarter of West Tiantongyuan community, were detained.

• On October 23, 2011, the police abducted at least nine practitioners living in the Second Quarter of West Tiantongyuan community. The detained practitioners include: Mr. Feng Qingdong, a Reuters employee; Mr. Song Zhao, an employee at a foreign investment firm; Ms. Sun Lixin, a painter; Ms. Yao Yuanying, a PhD student; Ms. Chang Chunyu, Mr. Li Ziming, Mr. Guo Longbin, and two practitioners from Shandong Province.

Additional details about Mr. Feng Qingdong, Reuters employee

Mr. Feng Qingdong, 31, was born in Chaoyang City, Liaoning Province. His father died when he was 12, so he and his mother rely on each other. He entered Beijing Foreign Studies University with excellent academic scores and now works at Thompson Reuters. Feng began practicing Falun Gong because he suffered from severe headaches. Shortly after he started the practice, his headaches disappeared. Known for working hard and being kind to others, he is well-liked at his company. Nonetheless, on October 23, 2011, he was abducted from his home for practicing Falun Gong. According to the latest reports from China, he remains at Changping Detention Center.

Names and phone numbers of individuals known to have been involved in the abductions:

Liu Gang, chief of the Changping District Domestic Security Division, mastermind of the detention spree
Niu Xiaobiao, officer from the Dongxiaokou Police Station, involved in the detentions
Liu Deming, officer from the Dongxiaokou Town 610 Office: +86-10-84816533, +86-13146729960 (Cell)
Sun Aiping, deputy head of Changping District 610 Office: +86-10-89741657 (Office), +86-13651051478 (Cell)
?Guan Hongjie, director of the Dongxiaokou Town 610 Office: +86-13910388531 (Cell) ?
Dongxiaokou Police Station: +86-10-84811952, +86-10-84811950, +86-10-84811951, +86-10-69114386
Changping Detention Center: +86-10-89798349