By Xin Fei, The Epochtimes, May 10, 2005-

Since the recent worldwide recognition of more than a million people announcing their withdrawal from the Chinese Communist Party and its associated organizations, the CCP has begun making widespread arrests in China.

The Epoch Times editorial series "Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party" published last year initiated an unprecedented wave of people withdrawing membership in the CCP. Currently on the Epoch Times Web site, there are nearly 1.4 million people who have done so. Most of them reside in China. After the global parades recognizing a million withdrawals took place April 23 and 24, the CCP started nationwide arrests, threatening and harassing dissidents who openly provide interviews to the Epoch Times, publicly announcing their withdrawal statements and support for the global parades.

People who Support Quitting the CCP Are Persecuted to Varying Degrees

On April 30, Li Ming and 10 people from the Chongqing City Public Security Bureau confiscated Xu Wanping's household property. They took away his personal computer, documents, letters, bankbook and cash. At noon, police subpoenaed Mr. Xu and secretly imprisoned him. He has not yet been released as of the day of report.

Hu Jia has long been working on environmental protection and AIDS prevention and is a human rights activist in Beijing. He was imprisoned by the Beijing Zhaoyang District National Security imprisoned on April 28. He was interrogated and brutally beaten for six days and released on May 4, and he remains under house arrest.

On April 28 and 29, the local police tapped Li Guotao's phone, followed him and restricted his freedom. The police insulted and beat Mr. Li as well. His head and abdomen were injured and his leg is still injured due to the beating and is unable to walk normally.

Mostly Asks About the Issue on Quitting the CCP

When police interrogated these people, they tried to verify whether interviews and public announcements of withdrawals and support the global parades had been given to the Epoch Times.

The police asked Leng Wanbao at the interrogation, "You gave an interview to Xinfei from The Epoch Times and announced your withdrawal from the party to support the New York City parade in April. Is that true? Why did you do it?" Mr. Leng replied: "It's true. I supported it because I hope the parade can draw the CCP's attention to examine its past. This will benefit social advancement."

The police asked Xue Zhenbiao: "You were no longer a party member, so why withdraw?" He replied: "I merely expressed my attitude, an attitude of being responsible for what I did. It is my right to withdraw from the party. I said what I thought honestly."

The police threatened Hu Jia at the interrogation: "You were lucky you only withdrew from the Young Pioneers. If you were a CCP member and dared to withdraw, I would take care of you."

Mr. Hu told the Epoch Times that the CCP appeared very worried about the withdrawals. They closely monitor the Epoch Times to dig out clues in order to attack.

The police also interrogated Huang Xiaomin and asked him about his interview with The Epoch Times on April 20. Mr. Huang told The Epoch Times: "The CCP is very careful with the small things that might cause serious trouble. The party tries to eradicate the factor of instability at its early stage. They really worry about the Epoch Times because it backs up the domestic democratic activists. The CCP is still very careful with its international image."

Zhao Xin told The Epoch Times that the more sensitive an issue is, the less the CCP wants to question it. The CCP didn't want to make a big deal out of it and bring more attention to the withdrawals.

- Source: CCP Arrests and Interrogates Those Who Withdraw from Party, The Epochtimes, May 10, 2005