Communist Secret Police Use Skeleton Keys to Abduct Falun Gong Practitioners

Chinese authorities have increasingly used skeleton keys to enter the homes of adherents of the persecuted spiritual practice Falun Gong before abducting them.

In Shanghai, around a dozen police secretly entered the home of practitioner Zhao Xianliu after using a skeleton key to enter his home on Oct. 31 early in the morning. They failed to present a search warrant.

As Zhao slept, they turned on the light, startling his family and then between four and five police jumped on him, dragged him to the ground, and took him in for interrogation while he was barely clothed. Zhao’s nephew tried to take photos of the incident, but the camera was taken by police. Several Falun Gong books, two laptops, and valuable items were also taken from his house by the police.

It is unclear from the anecdotal reports how the police are obtaining the keys, and the process of their manufacture. The reports could indicate a sophisticated system of cooperation, or information seizure, from building management or real estate companies by Chinese public security forces, who have keys manufactured and distributed to the Party’s foot soldiers.

In recent months, Chinese authorities have targeted Falun Gong adherents as well as Tibetans, petitioners, lawyers, human rights activists, and others in an attempt to “maintain stability” while the country undergoes a leadership change. The changing of the guard culminated in last week’s 18th National Party Congress, where Xi Jinping assumed leadership over the ruling Chinese Communist Party.

On the same day in Jinan, the capital of Shandong Province, Falun Gong practitioner Cui Aimin was abducted by local authorities without a warrant. It was learned that local National Security leaders Zhang Zhixin and Qiu Yongxue ordered Cui’s arrest. Cui’s home was also broken into via police using a skeleton-key, and her computers, printer, Falun Gong books, and related materials were taken.

Her mother-in-law recalled that Cui said she received a number of health benefits through practicing Falun Gong after learning it in 1997. “My daughter in-law is not like what you alleged. People who practice Falun Gong are good people. Please don’t disturb us from now on,” she told police.

Also on Oct. 31, Liaoning Province Falun Gong practitioner Li Guang’s home was broken into with use of a skeleton key before around six police officers took Li away, without producing a warrant for his arrest, and also took his books and two computers. Li is currently being held at the Bayuquan Detention Center on the orders from Wang Honggui, a member of the city’s National Security bureau.

In similar incident, around ten police in Hanchuan, a city in Hebei Province, used a skeleton key to enter the home of practitioner Huang Rongdi on Oct. 9, taking her to the police station, also without a warrant. 

Her arrest was orchestrated by Liu Qiong, the head of the local 610 Office, a Communist Party extrajudicial apparatus designed to coordinate the persecution of Falun Gong. The office has been blamed for many deaths, torture, and mistreatment of practitioners while it also directs state-run agencies to monitor and disseminate propaganda against Falun Gong.

Read the original Chinese article.

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*Reprinted with permission from The Epoch Times