Non-practitioner: My Sister Died as a Result of Persecution - In Memory of My Sister Li Xuelian on the 100th Day after Her Death

By Li Xueyan

Today is the 100th day since my sister's death from persecution by the authorities. I write this article in memory of her.

I grew up in Heilongjiang Province. My father is sixty-four years old, my mother sixty. With his limited salary, my dad, a blue-collar worker, brought up my brother, my sister, and me. My sister Li Xuelian rented a counter in the Suihua shopping centre using money from the sale of her employee benefits and a loan. My brother and I work at the Sifangtai Granary. My dad is retired. Our family was not rich, but we had a peaceful, harmonious, and happy life.

April 27, 2002 was a black day that broke our peace and brought us one misfortune after another. On that day, two policemen told me that my sister was under arrest for practising Falun Gong. Shocked by the news, we couldn't believe that my sister had been arrested, because she was kind to everyone and always helped others with her kind heart. None of those who knew her believed she would be taken to jail.

After my sister's arrest I had to shuttle back and forth between two places to handle my sister's affairs. Her small business, just established a month before her arrest, was closed by the shopping centre on June 15, leaving us with only an inventory of several dozen out of season clothing items. She lost her business and livelihood. In addition, I needed to keep in contact with the police station and the detention centre to know her situation, and send her food, daily necessities, and money. What happened made me feel indignant and left me in the dark.

After her arrest, the police didn't give us any notice of the charges until forty-three days later, with a notice accusing her of "disturbing the public order." With no hearing, and no oral or written notice, my sister was sentenced to three years of forced labour, and was transferred to the Qiqihar Female Forced Labour Camp on August 27, 2002. After researching law books, I didn't find any category suitable for my sister's case. Based on which law or article did the authorities do this to my sister?

My sister was out of communication with us during the four months she was imprisoned in this detention centre for criminals, from April 27 through August 27, 2002.

In the Suihua Detention Centre, prisoners are classified into different levels. Hard beds for prisoners have no sheets, with a thin quilt that is humid, dirty, and mildewed. My sister saw the sun only three times in four months. If she got up to use the toilet at midnight, she would not find a bed to lie down on again. The two daily meals she ate were horrible - one bowl of thin gruel with two pieces of pickle for breakfast, and one bowl of potato soup mixed with dirt and a hard, sour, and gritty steamed roll for dinner. Prisoners have to pay 15 Yuan to the guards for a bowl of cold rice. Over a dozen prisoners shared the same cold water faucet for drinking and washing. With only an uncovered bucket for a toilet, you can't image the stench in the small, 20 square meter (about 200 square feet) cell. However, the richer prisoners and jailed officials have a completely different life in the detention centre. They live in a separate room with a TV set, soft bed and sofa, and they can order whatever meal they like. The police deliver it only if they pay for it - just like living in a luxury hotel.

Another misfortune hit my family right after my sister's arrest. On June 10, 2002 my mother broke her hip after a fall. After a simple medical treatment, she insisted on leaving the hospital, since we couldn't afford the medical costs. Our employer, the granary our family worked for, hadn't paid us salary for fourteen months. My mom took some medicine and used some folk preparations to make do. She hobbled around looking for a way to help get my sister out. My dad, awkward in speech, had to ask people for help from one place to another, but all of the efforts produced nothing.

The misfortune was not over yet. On October 20, my mother, who had just recovered from her broken hip, suddenly suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, right after she mailed money and daily necessities to my jailed sister. She passed away at 1:00 p.m., and my family was devastated. Before we recovered from grieving, the Qiqihar Female Forced Labour Camp sent us a message saying that my sister was very ill, with high blood pressure over 200. She suffered from dropsy of her leg and frequent urination. The authorities didn't want to see her die in the camp and wanted us to take her home. However, they refused to return the balance of 500 Yuan in her account, which was paid by us for her living expenses in the camp.

My sister returned home on January 20, 2003. When she heard that mom passed away after breaking her leg, her health became worse. After we sent her to Suihua Chinese medical hospital for an exam, the doctor confirmed that she suffered from uremia caused by malnutrition. The only way to save her life was to have a kidney transplant. However, after what had already happened, we were heavily in debt. How could we collect hundreds of thousands of Yuan? Our relatives and my sister's friends did their best, but it was still far from the huge amount needed. We had to let her take a conservative medical treatment at home in order to extend her life.

On April 30, 2003 the Suihua City Police Department and the "610 Office" (1) came to arrest my sister on an unwarranted charge, and were going to jail her in the city prison. Upon hearing this, I almost passed out, because she would definitely die there. Later a policeman told me the case would be settled if I paid their director 2,000 Yuan. To help my sister, I ran to my uncle's home, but he had only 1,500 Yuan to give me. With the intent of at least trying, I went to the "610 Office" and gave the money to the director in a small room. After counting the money, he let me take my sister home.

On our way home, my sister and I were crying. When my sister was jailed in the detention centre, I brought her daily necessities every week, but only saw her twice. Every time I had to pay the guard with money and gifts, otherwise he would not allow me to leave anything for her. Since I had no idea about the policy there, I just asked the guard to take care of it for me. Before leaving I was told to buy the warden some cigarettes or the necessities wouldn't be allowed pass through. Later I realized my sister received only a pair of slippers and some clothing. The guard not only ate the food, but even took the toilet tissue and the sanitary pads I left for her.

At 1:00 p.m. on December 21, 2003 my sister passed away. Before passing away, my sister told me, "China has so many unfair policies. You have experienced so many of them. You must help me to speak the truth and hold those perpetrators responsible."

It has been one hundred days since my sister died. Apart from the sorrow, I am full of indignation. My family members have been ruined or have died. However, those torturers, those guards, and those plunderers are communist party members, government functionaries, and officials. They claim Falun Gong practitioners are disturbing the public order, but my sister's case tells me that Jiang and his followers are genuinely jeopardizing the public order and destroying this country.

I call out to the people of the world. Please help those who need your attention, please don't let my sister's and mother's tragedies happen to others.

(1) "610 Office" is an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2004/4/14/72333.html