(Minghui.org) Early in the morning on October 24, 2013, students in the Chinese Traditional Culture class at Shenyang City Xiongshi Arts School went to class as usual, but their teachers were not there. They soon heard the shocking news that a number of teachers and students had been taken away by police the night before.

Police Presence

Later that day police went to the school again and installed electronic surveillance devices. There were also a number of strangers walking around the campus monitoring students' movements. The students are young, most of them teenagers or young adults, and they were very distressed by what was taking place. They don't understand what's happening and really miss their teachers. They are concerned about their safety, hoping they will soon return and help them finish their studies.

When the students gathered together, they commented on how much their teachers care about them. One young female student tearfully said, “I feel the same about my teachers as I do my parents. Now the teachers are in trouble, and I am really sad.” Some students wrote on the blackboard: "Let's wait for our teachers to return in the best state we can possibly be in.”

Students Questioned

Plainclothes police called students out of each class for “questioning.” Some of the officers asked questions and tried to pressure the students for answers, while others stared at their faces, trying to find their weak points. The police also took notes.

Some young teenage girls were questioned for a long time and the questions touched on private matters and slandered the founder of Falun Dafa, such as, "Why did you choose to come to this school? How did you get to study in this school? Do students read [Falun Gong] books and do the exercises here? Is there anyone in your family who practices Falun Gong?"

Students Pressured

On the afternoon of Saturday, October 26, the police held an assembly for students. During the meeting, the founder Falun Gong was openly vilified and the police played a video that slandered Dafa. Once again, they tried to deceive students with fabricated lies that had long been exposed by Falun Dafa practitioners overseas, such as the staged “Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation” and the “April 25 Appeal.” Many students didn't go to the assembly.

According to Minghui reports, they also tried to force the students to write guarantee statements. If anyone has more information about what took place that day, please contact Minghui.org.

The next day, Sunday October 27, more officers in plainclothes went to the school, making the atmosphere on campus even more tense. More than 200 students from the Chinese Traditional Culture Class were forced to leave school. They had to leave behind their personal belongs including computers, clothes, bedding, and daily necessities. Many of them returned to their hometowns, not knowing what will happen with their future studies.

A Class with High Standards

The Traditional Chinese Culture Class is a legitimate program with a formal teaching curriculum. The teachers, who practice Falun Gong, work conscientiously, take great care of the students, and are deeply respected in return. In today's China, morality is rapidly going downhill and young people born in the 80s and 90s do not have a strong moral sense.

Teachers at this school base their teaching on traditional values and guide students to behave properly, from the way they sit, stand, and walk, to their manners and how they talk and behave. They have guided many children back on the right track, children who were addicted to the Internet and games, who were very interested in the opposite sex at an early age and were keen to fight and argue. Some children whose parents were no longer able to educate them were put under the care of teachers at this school and they mended their ways with the teachers' guidance and help.

The school's teaching standards are highly praised. Every teacher at the school is a respected professional, and they all have a strong sense of responsibility. To help students improve in their studies, teachers come in on their days off and offer classes free of charge. Some professionals are very surprised to see the high standards of these students' artwork and speak highly of the teaching results.

In the last few years, the school has produced many talented graduates with fine character and excellent professional skills. They are very successful in their jobs. Teachers also organized various clubs and activities for students with different interests, established a library, and held arts festivals of traditional music and dance. They have put in a lot of thought and effort into enriching the campus cultural life for students.

In a society where morality is deteriorating so quickly, how precious it is to have such a nurturing learning environment for children. What a wonderful school! What wonderful teachers! They have provided an excellent environment for children to learn and grow in, shared the burden with their parents, and produced talented graduates.

Harassment Began Two Years Ago

However, the police in Shenyang City have harassed the school for some time. According to a recent report on Minghui, “In fact, as early as two years ago, the Domestic Security Division in Shenyang regularly harassed the school by monitoring and investigating the school and sending agents to the school in disguise as students. The homes of some parents were also put under surveillance, and some parents were even taken away and illegally sentenced to prison.”

The police went to the school and took away teachers, students, and parents and their children, terrorizing the entire school. They illegally monitored, checked, house-arrested, and questioned innocent students, trying to get “evidence of crimes” against their teachers. This harassment has caused the students serious psychological torment and damage.

The police openly slandered the founder of Falun Gong and the practice in an attempt to poison students' minds. They also tried to ruin the image of their teachers. There's a sharp contrast between kindness, selflessness, peacefulness, and professionalism demonstrated by the teachers and the hoodlum behavior of the police. The students tried to learn what happened to their teachers and hope they will be back to school soon.

In a short period of just a few days, the campus was under enormous pressure. The students miss their teachers and feel lost about their future studies. Most are feeling heavyhearted. One male student said with emotion, “The only thing I want to do is sit in class and study conscientiously with my classmates.”

According to a Minghui report, Guo Baoshi, his wife Liu Aichun, and their five-year-old daughter were taken away from their home. Xu Juntao and his son Xu Zheyu, Wang Haixia, Chen Xiu, Wang Yiyong, Dong Zhiyu, Kang Ning, Sun Zhe, Qi Baidan, Song Jingjing, Sun Zhaodan, Sun Yingying, Xiao Jianfeng, Zhao Yanan, Aunty Wang, and her son Ba Guannan were also taken away by police. The women are being detained at Dadong Detention Certer, and the men are being detained at Shenyang Detention Center. The Shenyang Police Department has now set up a “special case team” to handle them.

It was learned that when one teacher's family members went to the detention center to look for their loved one, the authorities denied that they had her. The above names may not include all those who are being persecuted. According to the students, teacher Dong Zhiyu's house was searched and ransacked and the police took away many copies of Zhuan Falun . Student Kang Weijie in Class Five of the second year in senior high school was arrested. Teacher Wang Haixia's under-aged son (around 14 or 15) was also arrested.

We hope that those who know more about what happened will contact the Minghui website, provide more detailed information about the persecution of teachers and students at Shenyang Xiongshi Art School, and further expose the conduct of those involved.

The principal and teachers aren't breaking any laws by running a proper school. There's nothing wrong with students paying for their education and gaining knowledge and skills at the school. But because the teachers practice Falun Dafa, the police in Shenyang are actively persecuting them.

We urgently call on overseas Falun Gong practitioners and people from all walks of life to help rescue the teachers and students.

Update: It was recently learned that the Traditional Culture Class has been unlawfully banned.

Address of Shenyang Xiongshi Art School: 9, Songhuajiang Dongjie, Huanggu District, Shenyang (next to Dongfangqing KTV)

Contact information for the parties responsible for persecuting these teachers and students. Those in the know, please help correct any errors in the information and add more of what you know:

Shenyang 610 Office: 024-25842329
Shenyang Police Department： Address: 106, Zhongshan Rd. Heping District, Shenyang，Postcode: 110002 Telephone: 024-2310583
General Duty Office 23105090
Wang Xiaogang, deputy head Shenyang Domestic Security Division: 024-25850233, 2842260, 24844574, 24850789
Ma Lixin, Branch leader;
Liu Xin, deputy leader;
Ma Zhanliang and Chen Fuyang, domestic security police Command Center Police Section: 024-23105075; Fax 024-23105129; email [email protected]
Shenyang Inspection Report Hotline: 024-24847161
Shenyang (Zaohua) Detention Center： Address: Gaoli Village, Zaohua Township, Yuhong District, Shenyang, Postcode: 110148 Telephone: 024-89241895, 024-89241894（ext 8084）024-89248084
Huanggu Branch Domestic Security Division: 024-86404354
Huanggu District Domestic Security Division: Wang Dongchen, division leader till late 2011; current situation unknown
Address of Shenyang Huanggu District 610 Office: 32 Zhongshan Rd. Qishan, Shenyang; Post code: 110031
Shenyang Huanggu District 610 Office: 024-86855063
Jia Dianjie and Wang Chun, Shenyang Huanggu District 610 Office personnel

Police units that participated in arresting the teachers and students:
Huanggu District Police Substation,
Tiexi Police Substation,
Yuhong Police Substation Liu Xianfeng, head of Shenyang Huanggu District 610 Office: 024-86844016(O)
Dadong District Political and Legal Affairs Committee: 024-2437062
Dadong District Police Substation: Address: Dabeiguanjie, Dadong District, Shenyang, Postcode 110041 Telephone: 024-88503258 24830645
Piao Qiang, head; Zu Liansheng, political commissar;
Li Hui and Wang Xiaodong, directors Dadong District Domestic Security Division: Address: 36-2 Dabeiguanjie, Dadong District, Shenyang, Postcode 110042 Telephone: 024-88538659
Qiao Yi, Tao Zhongxin, leaders; Zheng Yunlong and Wang Jinyi, police officers

Additional contact information may be found in the original Chinese article.