Ms. Liu Fengyun Passes Away after Repeated Persecution

Like many Falun Gong practitioners in China, Ms. Liu Fengyun's family has been subjected to intense persecution by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) during the past 15 years.

Ms. Liu was detained a number of times, and sentenced to three years in prison. Her husband, Mr. Bai Ruisong, had also been sentenced to forced labour a number of times, and was subjected to many tortures at Jiutai Forced Labour Camp and the local detention centre. Their daughter, Bai He, had been persecuted since she was five years old. She was followed, threatened, detained, and sent to a school where she was closely monitored and forced to do odd chores.

Unable to take any more, Ms. Liu passed away on December 6th, 2014, at the age of 60.

Falun Gong Renewed Her

Ms. Liu Fengyun, from Dehui City, Jilin Province, had a severe form of chronic adrenal failure characterised by weight loss, muscle weakness, and vomiting blood. She went to Beijing to seek treatment, but was told by doctors that she was beyond help and would need to take medication for the rest of her life.

Fortunately she heard about Falun Gong while seeking treatment in Beijing. She started practising in March 1996, and within six months all of her symptoms disappeared, and she subsequently enjoyed good health.

Ms. Liu and her husband were very grateful to Falun Gong for renewing her life, and their neighbours also witnessed the miraculous power of Falun Gong.

However, their happiness was cut short when the brutal persecution was launched on July 20th, 1999, by the CCP. Like millions of others, her family was harassed ever since.

Parents Arrested, Young Daughter on Her Own

Police broke into the family's home in 2000, and violently arrested both Ms. Liu and her husband. Their five-year-old daughter was shaking with fear and kept calling out, Mom, Dad....” The police ignored her and took her parents away.

The neighbours were shocked to see what happened to the family. They felt sorry for the little girl, but were too scared to do anything, for fear of being persecuted themselves. Later a fellow Falun Gong practitioner brought the little girl to her home and took care of her.

When the police tracked the practitioner down, they threatened her, “Send the child away, or we'll arrest you, too.”

She replied firmly, “I'll never throw the child out, even if you arrest me.”

The police indeed arrested her, and charged her with “disturbing social order.”

Repeated Persecution

Ms. Liu's husband, Mr. Bai Ruisong, was sentenced to one year of forced labour for refusing to write a guarantee statement renouncing his belief.

Mr. Bai was once again arrested in October 2001, and sentenced to two years of forced labour.

Ms. Liu was also arrested and detained at the local police station until her relatives paid 1000 yuan¹ to bail her out.

To avoid further persecution, Ms. Liu left home with her little girl in 2002, and moved frequently.

More than 20 police officers broke into their rental unit on December 14th, 2004, without a warrant. They beat Mr. Bai (who was back home by then) and took all their valuables, including four mobile phones and over 1500 yuan in cash. Their 11-year-old daughter was terrified. The entire family was taken to the police department and not given anything to eat or drink for two days and a night.

Ms. Liu and her daughter were later released, but her husband was sentenced to two more years of forced labour.

On July 9th, 2006, police officers from Dehui City and the Changchun Police Department surrounded the unit where Ms. Liu and her daughter were living on East 5th Street, in Yongching Village. They broke in through the windows and arrested Ms. Liu and her daughter. They were interrogated until after midnight.

Ms. Liu was secretly tried by the Dehui City Court in early November 2006. Her family was not notified of the trial. The court sentenced her to three years in prison and sent her to Heizuizi Women's Prison in Jilin Province on February 4th, 2007. Her family was not notified until the next day.

Meanwhile, her 12-year-old daughter was sent to a very strict school, where she was forced to do chores.

After Ms. Liu's husband Mr. Bai was released in July 2006, the police continued to harass him.

When he returned home, he withdrew his daughter from the school and enrolled her in a regular primary school. He took her to school by bicycle every day, and often went to visit his wife in jail. They lived a difficult life.

Ms. Liu Passed Away as a Result of Unrelenting Persecution

Ms. Liu was very weak when she was released from jail. Due to being mistreated in jail, she became hunchbacked, developing a large lump, four or five centimetres in size, on her back. She couldn't do anything and stayed home all the time. She recovered a bit after practising the Falun Gong exercises, but the police arrested her again.

Officers from Changchun Police Department and the Domestic Security Division of the Dehui Police Department broke into Ms. Liu's home at around 6:30 p.m. on September 25th, 2009, and arrested her for the fifth time. The police also took her Falun Gong books and a computer. She shouted “Falun Gong is good” and “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good” as she was dragged away.

Ms. Liu went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution. She subsequently started to vomit and run a high fever. To avoid being held responsible for her condition, the police extorted 500 yuan from her family and told them to take her home. Harassment of the family continued however.

At around 3:00 p.m. on December 5th, 2013, seven or eight officers followed a practitioner to their home and arrested the couple and two other practitioners. They also confiscated two printers, four computers, and other personal belongings.

Ms. Liu was released home on “bail” fifteen days later, because she was very weak and could not eat. Her husband was also released on “bail” six weeks later after the police extorted over 10,000 yuan from his relatives.

Fifteen years of constant persecution and harassment took a toll on Ms. Liu's health. Unable to endure any more, she passed away on December 6th, 2014.

Note

1. "Yuan" is the Chinese currency; 500 yuan is equal to the average monthly income of an urban worker in China.