Five Falun Gong Practitioners in Their Seventies Passed Away Due to the Persecution

Ms. Xu Jinglan, 73 years old, was from Tianjin City. She started practising Falun Gong in 1997 and recovered from various illnesses. After the persecution started on July 20, 1999, the local 610 Office (1) and the police searched Ms. Xu's home on many occasions. They put her under surveillance and harassed her frequently. However, Ms. Xu continued to practise Falun Gong. On February 27, 2000, she and her family participated in a Falun Gong experience-sharing gathering. All eight family members, including Ms. Xu, were detained and fined 7,000 yuan (2). Later, Ms. Xu's second son and daughter were sent to forced labour camps. Ms. Xu was devastated by the continued persecution. On September 5, 2004, she suffered a heart attack and passed away.

Ms. Chen Xianglan, 77 years old, was retired from the Mining Administration Bureau of Tiefa City, Liaoning Province. She started practising Falun Gong in 1997. In October 1999, Ms. Chen went to Beijing to appeal for justice for Falun Gong and was sent back to Tiefa City. She was detained for one month before she was sent to a brainwashing centre. The officers pressured Ms. Chen to write a guarantee statement (3) by not allowing her to sleep or go home. Later she was fined and her home ransacked. The police threatened Ms. Chen and kept her under surveillance. When they sent her daughter to a forced labour camp for the second time, Ms. Chen suffered terribly. She lost her eyesight, and her old illness came back. She died in August 2001.

Mr. Yang Yide, 73 years old, was retired from the Neijiang City Electricity Bureau in Sichuan Province. In 1996, Mr. Yang and his wife started practising Falun Gong. After doing the exercises, Mr. Yang recovered from work-related injuries. Since July 20, 1999, Mr. Yang's wife has appealed for justice for Falun Gong and handed out leaflets exposing the persecution many times. Because of that, she has been detained, and sent to a forced labour camp and forced brainwashing centres on many occasions. The police also extorted money from her, as much as several tens of thousands of yuan. In addition, Mr. Yang's work unit, the local 610 Office and the police frequently harassed and threatened him. Their home was ransacked several times. On October 4, 2004, Mr. Yang suffered a stroke and passed away.

Mr. Meng Guanglu, 74 years old, was retired from the Shenghe District Procurator Office of Shengyang City, Liaoning Province. In February 2000, Mr. Meng went to Beijing to appeal for the right to practise Falun Gong and was arrested. He was later released due to old age. After he returned home, he was continuously harassed by various agencies. During the Chinese New Year of 2001, the local 610 Office attempted to send Mr. Meng to a forced brainwashing centre and only stopped after they had extorted 5,000 yuan from his family. Between 2000 and 2002, Mr. Meng's two daughters and their husbands (all Falun Gong practitioners) were sent to forced labour camps or forced brainwashing centres. Some were sent back due to health issues and some were able to escape and became homeless to avoid further persecution. Mr. Meng was left at home with two grandchildren. He was devastated and put under extreme pressure. He developed intestinal cancer and died on September 12, 2002.

Mr. He Futai, around 70 years old, was a retired teacher from Yunfu City, Guangdong Province. Since July 20, 1999, the police have constantly threatened and harassed him. Mr. He died in December of 2003.

Note:

(1) "The 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.

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

(3) "Guarantee Statement": A statement to declare that one is remorseful for practising Falun Gong and guarantees not to practise Falun Gong again, not to go to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong, and never again associate with any Falun Dafa practitioners.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2005/4/8/99158.html