A Real Hero - The Story of Yuan Jiang (Part 2 of 2)

For part 1 see: http://www.clearharmony.net/articles/a111465-A-Real-Hero-–-The-Story-of-Yuan-Jiang-Part-1.html

5. A Miraculous Escape

The police tortured Yuan for nearly two months, using all of their methods. They hung him up in the air with his limbs stretched apart and beat him viciously. Finally, seeing that he was on the verge of death, they let him down but still kept him in handcuffs and shackles.

On the morning of October 29th, Yuan miraculously took off the handcuffs and shackles, passed through a few doors, climbed over the front gate, and escaped.

The severe injuries he sustained from being tortured had taken their toll, and he was not able to make it very far. Sirens could be heard whistling in the distance. Yuan crawled into a cave and passed out.

It was cold in Lanzhou, Gansu Province, and there was ice in the cave. Yuan was wearing summer clothes. He woke up and passed out several times during the four days he hid there.

When the police sirens could no longer be heard, Yuan crawled out of the cave. Using a tree branch as a stick, he struggled to a nearby road. A kind taxi driver gave him a free ride to the house of Wang Zhijun, another Falun Gong practitioner.

Wang was shocked when he saw Yuan at the door. Yuan's face was bruised; dried blood was visible in his nose and mouth. A few wild radishes could be seen in his ragged shirt pocket, indicating what he had lived on over the past few days. An area of skin and muscle on his calf was gone, exposing the bone. Both legs were black and blue, showing signs of beatings and other torture.

Wang could not recognise him until he said, “I am Yuan Jiang.” Wang couldn't believe that the handsome young man was so badly tormented. He burst into tears.

6. The Death of a Hero

Wang contacted a few other practitioners, including Yu Jinfang. They couldn't take Yuan to hospital. Yuan didn’t have an ID; no hospital would take him. Moreover, the hospital might call the police, and they were searching for him all over the city.

At the height of the persecution around 2001, many Falun Gong practitioners' deaths were reported. Not only did those responsible escape any consequences, they were rewarded and promoted. Yuan would be in great danger if the police caught him again.

The practitioners decided to hide him and asked Yu’s daughter to take care of him. Yuan was badly injured internally and externally. He often bled through his nose and vomited blood. He was unconscious on and off for a few days.

Every night, Yuan tossed and turned due to the pain and couldn't sleep. However, on the morning of November 9th, Yuan appeared to be in a sound sleep, so no one went to wake him up for breakfast until a friend of his came to visit. They then discovered that Yuan had passed away during the night.

Yuan Jiang, 29, a talented engineer, a kind friend, a dutiful son, and an honest citizen, peacefully resisted the brutal persecution and stood up for justice and faith - and lost his life. Yuan had devoted all his money and time too exposing the regime's lies about Falun Gong and informing people of the facts. Despite being subjected to unimaginable torture, he did not give any information or sell out any other practitioners to the police.

The grievous news saddened all practitioners in the northwest provinces. Everybody remembered the smiling face of this volunteer assistant and all that he had done for them.

The police department also heard the news. They took Yuan's body away and forced his family to have him cremated right away, thereby erasing all evidence of torture. The team set up to interrogate Yuan was dismissed, and the personnel involved in torturing him were transferred to different posts and hidden.

How did Yuan's family handle his death?

His father, Yuan Zhuguo, former chair of the physics department at Northwest Normal University, started practising Falun Gong before 1999. His mother, Ren Canru, an elementary school teacher, is also a Falun Gong practitioner. She had gone to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong, and was arrested twice. She has been under constant surveillance.

When Ms. Ren Canru was in jail, the police told Yuan to publicly renounce Falun Gong in exchange for his mother's release. Yuan refused to comply. Later, Ms. Ren proudly praised her son for not giving in to the police.

During the persecution, both parents and son were separated several times, but kept encouraging one another to be steadfast in their shared belief. Little would the parents know that their next reunion would be at a funeral home. The old couple broke down in tears.

7. Ongoing Persecution

The police in Lanzhou didn't stop after Yuan's death. They launched another large-scale arrest, targeting those who had helped Yuan after his escape.

Wang Zhijun and Wen Shixue were sentenced to five and eight and a half years respectively. Yu Jinfang was sentenced to five years and his wife Xia Fuying to three. Even Yu's daughter, who does not practise Falun Gong, was arrested and tried, because she had taken care of Yuan for two days before he passed away. Her house was sealed by the police, and she has not been allowed to live there since.

Mr. Yu Jinfang was tortured in prison for five years. When he was released on November 13th, 2006, he was too weak to eat. His tongue was stiff, and he often vomited. He passed away 12 days after his release.

Mr. Wen Shixue was also tortured in prison. He was forced to read and watch materials that slandered Falun Gong. He was jailed in a solitary cell and baked under a high power lightbulb for days. In October 2009, he had a stroke in prison and became paralysed.

Yuan Jiang's story is just one of the many stories that millions of Falun Gong practitioners are writing as part of China's contemporary history. The traditional moral standards destroyed under communist rule are being restored through practitioners who safeguard and validate the values of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.

Exposing the lies, ending the persecution, and restoring justice in society, millions of “Yuan Jiangs” are striving for justice, just as he did until the last moments of his life.