Family Tragedy - Father, Mother and Son Died as a Result of Persecution

Falun Dafa practitioner Xu Weidong, from Jilin City, went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong in September 2000 and was unlawfully sentenced to 3 years in a labour camp. At Huanxiling Forced Labour Camp, Jilin City, he was severely tortured. He was released when he was on the brink of death in October 2001. Mr. Xu was mentally disoriented and unable to take care of himself since his release, and he died on December 19, 2004. Xu Weidong's mother, Xia Guiqin, died on August 29, 2004 due to the relentless torture she suffered for practising Falun Gong. His father also died due to the trauma of the persecution, harassment and grief. Xu Weidong's son, Xu Shuai, and other family members are devastated by the loss of their loved ones.

Practitioner Xu Weidong died on December 29, 2004.

Mr. Xu Weidong was born in 1967, and used to live in Jilin City. He graduated from middle school and was a worker at the Jilin Alcohol Factory. Since the business was not doing well, he was laid off in 1997, and was only paid the minimum insured income of 165 yuan every month for two years.

Xu Weidong's mother, Xia Guiqin, died on August 29, 2004, due to torture.

Xu Weidong's son, Xu Shuai

Xu Weidong and his mother, Xia Guiqin, started going to the practice site to do the Falun Gong exercises and study the Falun Dafa teachings in the summer of 1996. On July 19, 1999, upon hearing that several Falun Gong contact persons in other cities were arrested, Xu Weidong and Xia Guiqin decided to go to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong with many other practitioners. However, they were intercepted by policemen when their train got to Shenyang City.

On September 28, 2000, Xu Weidong and his mother went to Beijing again to appeal for Falun Gong with other practitioners. They were unlawfully arrested in a practitioner's house in Fengtai District. Xu Weidong was sentenced to 3 years in a labour camp, and was jailed in the 4th Division of Huanxiling Labor Camp, Jilin City. To protest the unlawful detention and the brutal torture Falun Gong practitioners suffered in the labour camp, Xu Weidong went on a hunger strike several times. He was brutally tortured in the 4th Division brainwashing group and the 2nd Division. He suffered greatly in the labour camp. The guards beat him with several electric batons, trying to force him to "reform." However, Mr. Xu was very steadfast and did not give in. Once, he was force-fed so brutally that he lost consciousness for half an hour, and was sent to hospital.

In order to "reform" Falun Gong practitioners, the labour camp barbarically tortured the steadfast practitioners. The guards in the 2nd Division ordered criminals to torture Falun Gong practitioners. They forced practitioners to sit in a row on a bed. The first one in the line had to sit with his knees against the wall, and the person behind him had to sit with his knees tightly against the lower back of the one in front of him, and so on. If the formation was not tight enough, the criminals would kick practitioners in the lower back with great force. This torture and the kicks to the lower back caused severe pain and serious damage to the kidneys. All of the steadfast practitioners had to suffer this torture for more than 15 hours every day. Many practitioners could not walk after the torture, and Xu Weidong was injured so badly that he became mentally disoriented.

In the 4th Division, to protest term extensions that were given some practitioners, Xu Weidong and other practitioners went on a hunger strike and they were violently beaten by the director of the labour camp, guards and criminal inmates. They were beaten with several electric batons. Xu Weidong's injuries were so severe that his body didn't recover even after several days. The most seriously injured practitioners were sent to the hospital for rescue.

In the 2nd Division, to protest the unlawful detention and the brutal torture Falun Gong practitioners suffered in the labour camp, Xu Weidong went on hunger strikes several times. He was tortured by division head and criminal inmates. Criminal inmate Wen Jifu was ordered by Xu Xuequan to beat Xu Weidong often. Wen Jifu forcibly pulled him down from the bed. He usually tortured Xu Weidong by stepping on him and kicking his ribs. Xu Xuequan beat Xu Weidong with electric batons every time he went on a hunger strike.

In October 2001, in order to avoid their responsibility, the labour camp released the dying Xu Weidong. Due to the long-term torture, Xu Weidong was seriously injured both physically and mentally. After his release, he was mentally disoriented and unable to talk or take care of himself. He eventually passed away on December 29, 2004.

When Xu Weidong and his mother were jailed, his father had gone to the detention centre asking for their release. His father died due to the trauma, harassment and grief caused by the persecution of his family. His mother, Xia Guiqin, died on August 29, 2004 due to the relentless torture she suffered simply for upholding her belief in Falun Gong.

Contact information for Huanxiling Labour Camp, Jilin City:
(Country Code 86, Area Code 432; do not dial area code for mobile phone numbers)

Director, Yang Guangde: 13364405001, 2021709 (work), 13304419777 (mobile ) 2022323 (home)
Political Director, Chen Tianshu: 13364405002 (work mobile ), 13321508555 (mobile ), 4838858 (home)
Deputy Director, Yan Rongman: 13364405000 (work mobile ), 2037391 (work), 13331613867 (mobile ), 2031388 (home)

Chinese version available at http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2005/3/1/96406.html