Overseas Chinese Practitioner Encounters Illegal Search and Inquiry When Visiting Relatives in China

By an overseas practitioner

(Clearwisdom.net) It had been two years since I last went back home. This year I longed to go back to China and spend the Spring Festival with my parents. On the one hand I can visit my parents and friends. On the other hand I can clarify the truth of Falun Dafa to my relatives, face to face.

However, at around 7:30 p.m. on my third day after arriving in Beijing, while I was having dinner with my family at a relative's home, seven or eight men broke in. The person in charge showed identification of "Beijing Police Department" and asked me to go with them. I said, "I didn't do anything wrong. If you want to ask anything, ask me now!" They then tried to forcefully take me away. To avoid involving my family, I was ready to go with them. At that moment, the head policeman pointed to me and said sharply, "You are not allowed to make phone calls! You are not allowed to make phone calls!" I was shocked andsuddenly not being allowed to make phone calls immediately realized how afraid the police was.

They forcefully put me into a black car, and left one man and one woman in plainclothes to watch me. The middle-aged head policemen did not get into the car right away. It was two hours before he got into the car. Later I discovered that during that two-hour period they interrogated my relatives individually, searched my luggage, and went through all the rooms of my relative's home, including the basement. The car started to move. On the way I noticed that four more identical black cars joined in one after another and drove together. The five cars stopped in front of a small building without any identifying sign. Later I noticed that it might be located in Xicheng District. They also had brought my luggage with them and searched it once again. They confiscated all the truth-clarifying materials about Falun Gong and held my passport and other certificates. They also tried to take a photo of me, but I refused firmly. I am not a criminal, why should I have my photo taken? They finally gave up. Then they started the unconstitutional interrogation that lasted for about six hours, from 11:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. the next day. They verified the information about my family and my social contacts. They interrogated me about the purpose of this trip back home, the purpose of bringing truth-clarifying materials, as well as what Falun Gong activities I had participated in overseas, etc.

At 8:00 a.m. the next day, five men from the Public Security Department of my hometown escorted me back to my parents' home, claiming that they didn't want to interrupt our Spring Festival [Chinese New Year] celebration. After I returned home, my family noticed that they stationed someone in front of our home to monitor us. During the Spring Festival I was interrogated again four times. They wanted to find out to whom I would bring the truth-clarifying materials, who I had contacted, who "instigated" me to bring back the truth-clarifying materials, my activities abroad, Falun Gong activities oversea and other similar things. I told them that I came back simply to spend the Spring Festival with my family. In order to help my relatives in China know the truth about Falun Gong, I brought these materials. It was not because of anyone's suggestion, and I had no any mission at all. It was totally out of my personal wishes. When asked about Falun Gong overseas and some major activities I had participated in, I replied that all these activities were public and reported on the Clearwisdom Net. I told them why I wanted to participate. It was totally not so-called "playing politics" as they thought. Since Falun Gong teaches people to be good but is persecuted for no reason, and I had benefited a lot from practicing, I was willing to stand up to say some just words about Falun Gong. I said that we Falun Gong practitioners do not have any organization, and we are not against the government, nor do we rely on any so-called "overseas anti-China forces."

I came back to spend this festival with my family, but it turned out that I was interrogated several times. My family members were worried and frightened everyday, and they were under very high pressure. During the interrogation they often claimed that bringing Dafa truth-clarifying materials was a violation of the country's law. I could not accept that. Through practicing Falun Gong, people become healthier and strive to be better people. Thus, society's morality is upgraded. However, the country not only does not promote it but on the contrary, it enacted laws to punish good people, utilizing dictatorial methods to brutally persecute good persons, using all media to slander, and strictly blocking information about the truth. Why is this done? What are all these for? Why are they so afraid to let people know the truth? Why can't they stand for people's belief in "Truthfulness, Benevolence, Forbearance?" Why do they ignore the rights of citizens bestowed to them in the Constitution, freedom of belief and freedom of speech? It is inconceivable!

During these unconstitutional interrogations, a police officer divulged that they had begun to work on my case more than ten days beforehand. At that time I was just booking a ticket from overseas over the phone and contacting my family. That means that they tapped the telephone and listened in on the calls to my family. They did not deny this. From the questions they had asked and the information that they wanted to confirm, I was convinced that the calls of my relatives were also monitored since I arrived in Beijing. My calls to relatives and friends after I arrived, and calls from my fellow practitioners overseas were all overheard. My activities were also monitored. There were more than 30 policemen from Beijing and my hometown involved in this case. Some of them directly arrested me, some interrogated, some drove, some monitored the calls, and some monitored my activities. How busy they were, as if they were facing a strong enemy! The country deploys so many people and resources simply to deal with an ordinary woman who practices the principle of "Truthfulness, Benevolence, Forbearance." Treating someone like me as a "dangerous enemy," it makes one wonder whether to laugh or cry.

During the interrogation, the police held a stack of materials regarding my activities, including when I made a speech at a Dafa experience sharing conference. They said with satisfaction, "We noticed you long time ago." I felt sorrow upon hearing this. I am only an ordinary Falun Gong practitioner but have such a dubious "honor" to be "noticed" by so many people. There are so many practitioners in both China and overseas, how much resources had the country deployed? This is truly leaving the bad person to run free while arresting good people. Some police officers said that they respected human rights and didn't persecute me. I was shocked. I told him, "Do you think that monitoring phone calls and activities of a citizen is respecting human rights? Is it a normal procedure that you arrest and interrogate me like this?" While others were happily celebrating the festival, I was unconstitutionally interrogated just because I practice Falun Gong and want to let people know the truth. Cultivating the heart to be a good person and clarifying the truth have all become crimes. My parents were eagerly looking forward to my return home, but what they saw was their daughter being escorted home by the police. Do you call this "kind treatment?"

After the interrogation I felt as if I had experienced a nightmare. This is the "respect" and "kind treatment" that China's dictatorship government has shown me during the so-called "the best human rights period in China's history."

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