Tiananmen police in Beijing are reported to have been investigating the village of citizens who have come to appeal at 7 p.m. on Jan. 21. Eight people have been taken away, and their whereabouts are now unknown, and dozens of police are now searching and arresting people in the village. The police vehicle has been already packed with villagers.

The villagers anxiously told The Epoch Times, “We can see disaster is imminent.”

According to the villagers, police have said that those among them who visited Fuqiang Alley, the site of the mourning hall for former Secretary General Zhao Ziyang, would be arrested under orders from the government. After Zhao’s death on Jan 17, many visitors from the provinces of Xinjiang, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Guizhou, Jiangsu, Liaoning, Henan, Hebei, Hubei, Anhui and others have come to offer condolences to Zhao’s family. More either were obstructed on their way or have gone missing, there whereabouts now unknown.

At approximately 10 p.m. on Jan. 20, Tiananmen local police came to the appealers’ village to arrest people matching photographs taken by plainclothes officers at Fuqiang Alley. More than 10 Xinjiang visitors were taken to the police vehicle. More than 30 others were taken to the police vehicle for “interrogation” that same night.

Visitors told The Epoch Times, “On the morning of January 21, Ms. Bai from Heilongjiang and others, formed a group of 10 and got up at 6 a.m. and arrived in Fuqiang Alley at 8 a.m. They were blocked by a 60-year-old man who said, ‘You know Zhao Ziyang is a political offender, yet you still come? What relations do you have with him?’”

The visitors told him, “Zhao Ziyang was an open policy reformer and counter-corruption leader. Now that he has passed away, is it wrong for us to offer condolences?”

The old man said, “It can’t be done. The country won’t let you see political offenders. It’s the order from above. National security and the country have ordered that you cannot come.”

Then the visitors said, reciting an old axiom recalling the accomplishments of Zhao during his career, “‘If you want to eat grain, go to Zhao Ziyang; if you want to eat rice, go to Wan Li.’ What right do you people have to keep us out? What harm is there in us visiting Zhao? Is this in the Constitution?”

The 10 visitors were all taken to Dingshikou local police station by police, who ordered them to stand against the wall with their hands up to be searched. Photos were taken of the visitors. The police said, “Because you got involved with the political offender, we have to report it to the National Safety Bureau and re-educate you, since you are thinking about revolution.”

Visitor Liu Hongbo said, “What revolt would our group of 10 cause? The person causing revolt is Jiang Zemin. He embezzled 47 billion yuan. Isn’t he the political criminal? How is it that Zhao Ziyang is a political offender? The nation’s money was embezzled by Jiang and everything from the top down in the central government is corrupt. Is that Zhao Ziyang’s fault? Are there laws? Are there people?”

The police said, “Shut up. No more speaking. You want to revolt, do you? Go stand against the wall.”

The 10 were kept surrounded for a full day. Ms. Bai was released by a person from Heilongjiang Peking office at night. After a day of hunger and fear, she was unable to find her home. Other villagers saw her, however, and helped her home.

She said, “Being locked up and under arrest for a whole day, we weren’t even allowed to drink a sip of water. The police told us, ‘After you all get out, none of you are allowed to go see that political offender.’ The other nine are still held by the police.”

Visitor Ma said, “This morning, three groups of people from the village of appealers went to Fuqiang Alley. More than 80 are completely missing and none have returned yet. One person from Henan is a traitor; for every appealer that he rats on, the Tiananmen local police pay him money. He betrayed the people who went to offer condolences today, making it possible for the Tiananmen local police to be able to call Dingshikou local police station and arrest people.”

“What kind of a criminal is a political offender? Why do they say Zhao Ziyang is a political offender?” one of the visitors asked.