(Minghui.org) Several Falun Gong practitioners in Xichang City, Sichuan Province were arrested or harassed on August 29, 2025, days before the Chinese Communist Party’s military parade on September 3, 2025 in Beijing.

The operation was ordered by the Xichang City government and Political and Legal Affairs Committee, as the authorities feared the practitioners might take the opportunity to expose the persecution. Some practitioners were followed when they went out, and some noticed surveillance cameras installed near their homes.

Ms. Zhang Yutao, 84, was arrested by eight officers in the morning and had her home ransacked. She was held at the Chang’an Police Station.

Ms. Yang Yuqiong, in her 60s, was arrested at home. The police confiscated her Falun Gong books and informational materials. Her husband’s safe was also broken into. The police took photos of her home and said they had been following her after she was found to be distributing Falun Gong materials.

Ms. Tang Deqiong, a retired employee of the Wujiaohua Company, was put under criminal detention at the Xiaomiao Detention Center. Her Falun Gong books and photo of Falun Gong’s founder were confiscated.

Three police officers and a community worker searched the home of Ms. Song Pingxiu, a retired teacher in her late 70s, and confiscated her Falun Gong books, media player used for doing Falun Gong exercises and her son’s cell phone. While they didn’t arrest her after the home raid in the morning, they seized her when she returned home in the afternoon from grocery shopping. They first took her to the Xicheng Police Station and then to the Xichang City Hospital for a physical exam. As she was found to have high blood pressure (190/100 mmHg when the normal level is 120/80 mmHg), the police released her in the evening. They ordered her son to watch her and threatened to arrest him if she was found distributing Falun Gong materials again.

Ms. Zeng Niang, 85, was also arrested, had her home ransacked, and detained at the Xincun Police Station. Also in custody were Ms. Wu Cailian, Ms. Chen Donglan, Ms. Li Daolan, and another practitioner also surnamed Li. The police also raided both Li’s homes.