The Persecution of a Family: Husband Tortured to Death, Wife Forced Into Homelessness and Imprisoned, Children Harassed (Photo)

Ms. Liu Yumin's husband Mr. Wu Yanshui died on May 20th, 2001 as a result of persecution. Immediately after his death, authorities from the Laishui county government demolished her house to widen Dongda Street.

With the house demolished, Ms. Liu Yumin and her two young children became homeless, having to go from one place to another.

During these desperate times, policemen from the Laishui County Public Security Bureau in Hebei Province, with policeman Dai Chunjie as their leader, hunted for Ms. Liu and her two children everywhere. One night in 2002, the police climbed the wall, crossed the courtyard, pried a window open and broke into the temporary housing of Ms. Liu and the children. Ms. Liu Yumin didn't even have time to put on her shoes when the police broke in and arrested her. Her little girl wailed and screamed in protest, but the police grabbed her and shouted, "If you scream one more time, we will take you too!"

Their father died because of torture and their mother was now arrested. The little boy and girl had to quit school and find jobs. The boy was hired at a store in Beijing. When the police from Laishui County Public Security Bureau found out about it, they pressured the store owner to fire the young boy. The owner complied and fired him. Now the boy had no income. The girl worked in a hair salon, but the police found out about that too. They often went to harass the girl at the hair salon, putting her under a lot of pressure. Since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) persecution Falun Gong on July 20th, 1999, the two children have been living in fear. For seven years, the young girl has been reluctant to go home. She was afraid of sleeping alone at home. She was frightened when she heard someone knocking on the door. She was also frightened to see any car parked in front of her home.

On July 26th, 2006, Ms. Liu Yumin, who had only recently returned home, was arrested by policeman Dai Chunjie from Laishui County Public Security Bureau's Political and Security Division, head of the local "610" Office¹ Wang Fucai, and a group of policemen.

1. Ms. Liu Yumin Was at Death's Door After the First Round of Torture

Ms. Liu Yumin was a schoolteacher in Dongguan Village, Laishui County. She won the Excellent Teacher of the Year award several times and was well known as a virtuous wife and nurturing mother. After getting into middle age, she suffered from headaches, insomnia, cerebral ischemia [lack of oxygen to the brain], stomach disease, arthritis and heart disease. She sought medical treatment everywhere, but nothing helped. On her worst days, she collapsed and went into shock. Her ailments prevented her from holding down a job. In 1996, she started practising Falun Gong. As she continued to study Falun Gong's teachings, practise the Falun Gong exercises and live by Falun Gong's principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance, all the ailments were cured without any medical treatment. Falun Gong gave her a new lease on life. She went back to school and worked very diligently. Her family, upon seeing this, also began to practise Falun Gong. The entire family was living a happy life.

Since July 20th, 1999, the CCP and Jiang Zemin's gang have been madly persecuting Falun Gong and Falun Gong practitioners. In April 2000, policeman Dai Chunjie arrested Ms. Liu Yumin because she persisted in practising the Falun Gong exercises on a public square. She was imprisoned in the Laishui County Detention Centre. On April 7th, 2000, she was transferred to a large forced brainwashing centre in the Laishui County CCP School. The centre was operated by Mr. Sun Guijie, Mr. Zhang Haili, Mr. Liu Yaohua, Mr. Li Zenglin, Mr. Dai Chunjie, as well as the local Procuratorate and People's Court. Mr. Cui Jikun used to be Deputy Head of the Laishui County People's Court. Cui Jikun ordered policemen to tie her up. Cui Jikun stood with his hands on his waist and stared fiercely at Ms. Liu Yumin. He shouted, "Will you practise Falun Gong?" Ms. Liu replied, "I will." Cui Jikun slapped her and shouted in rage, "Drag her to the basement! I don't believe I cannot make you renounce Falun Gong."

They dragged Ms. Liu Yumin to an old basement and forced her to kneel down. They tied her arms behind her back with a length of rope and pulled it upwards. In the past, many Falun Gong practitioners' arms were fractured or became permanently paralysed as a result of this torture. The pain was excruciating and the torture usually lasted many hours or days. This went on from noon to about 8:00 p.m. Finally her arms were released. She was brought upstairs and thrown on a long bench. She looked frighteningly pale. Her hair was dishevelled and covered with dust. Her eyes were tightly shut. Her lips were dry, cracked and bleeding.

Because Ms. Liu went into a state of semi-consciousness for a sustained period of time, Sun Guijie and other policemen released her after extorting 2,200 yuan² from her family. After a few months, there were still dark purple bruises on her hip and thighs and the severely bruised skin was as tight as a drum.

2. Her Husband Mr. Wu Yanshui Tortured to Death

Ms. Liu Yumin's husband Mr. Wu Yanshui was also a Falun Gong practitioner. Because he refused to give up practising Falun Gong, Dongguan Village Mayor Mr. Wu Shangrong, Deputy Town Mayor Mr. Wang Jinlong and Deputy Secretary Mr. Meng Xiaochun summoned Mr. Wu Yanshi to the town offices under false pretences. They imprisoned Mr. Wu on September 28th, 2000. After extorting 2,000 yuan from him, they transferred him to a detention centre. On December 27th, 2000, they hung signs on Mr. Wu Yanshui's front and back and paraded him through the streets to insult and humiliate him. Next he was transferred to another detention centre. There he suffered psychological torture, physical abuse and long hours of forced labour. He was on the verge of physical and mental collapse.

Mr. Wu Yanshui

Mr. Wu Yanshui was a tall and well-built man. After four months of torture, he became very ill. Under the circumstances, Ms. Liu Yumin repeatedly went to the Public Security Bureau, demanding them to release her husband immediately for medical treatment. But Dai Chunjie told her, "I am about to transfer him to a forced labour camp." Secretary of the Disciplinary Committee Mr. Sun Guijie said, "We don't release Falun Gong practitioners like him for any reason." Secretary of the Political and Legal Committee Mr. Liu Yaohua even demanded a 20,000-yuan ransom.

Mr. Wu Yanshui's physical condition worsened. On March 30th, 2001, the police saw that Mr. Wu was really dying, so they finally agreed to release him. However, they extorted 5,000 yuan as a fine before the release. Wu Yanshui had lost the ability to walk. His entire body was swollen. His legs were numb and paralysed. He could no longer see. He couldn't eat and his heart was failing. He also suffered incontinence. Although Mr. Wu Yanshui was released, they did not stop the persecution. The police from the township government and the village committee often broke into Wu's family's home and harassed them. Mr. Wu Yanshui died on May 20th, 2001. His little girl kept pulling on the doctor's hand and cried. "Please save my daddy! I am still a child. I can't live without my daddy!"

3. Their House Was Demolished; Ms. Liu Yumin Was at Death's Door Repeatedly As a Result of Torture

After Mr. Wu Yanshui's death, Laishui County began to widen the roads and demolished his home.

Although Mr. Wu Yanshui's wife and children had become homeless, Laishui Public Security Bureau, Laishui County Education Bureau, and the Laishui Town Education Committee did not stop their persecution against Ms. Liu Yumin. Instead, they escalated their persecution. They arrested her at her temporary residence without any valid legal cause or a warrant. They climbed the wall and jumped into the house from a window they had broken. When they took away Ms. Liu Yumin from her two young children, they didn't give her a chance to even properly dress. She was taken away barefoot and in her underwear in the middle of the night. The two young children were alone with no one to look after or provide for them. They didn't release her until she was dying. She was so emaciated that even close acquaintances couldn't recognise her.

Such an illegal arrest, imprisonment and torture took place a few times after Ms. Liu Yumin's husband passed away. Each time they didn't release her until she was dying. After Ms. Liu Yumin was released in July 2003, she still had to lean on another person when she walked. But shortly after her release, her daughter told her secretly that there were people watching her outside her home. She had no choice but to become homeless again, and went into hiding to avoid further persecution.

While she was away, her children suffered much harassment. The police often went to their home and harassed the children. The police would climb the wall, cross the courtyard, pry open a window and enter the house. The police ransacked their home and scattered their clothes and personal belongings around and even in the courtyard. The police claimed they were looking for the entrance of the basement, if there actually was one. The police would put the boy's arms behind his back and press his body against the ground to prevent him from talking or moving. With no one providing for them, the two children had no choice but to try to find a job. After the police knew about their jobs, the police went to the children's workplaces to ask for their mother's whereabouts. The boy's boss fired him due to pressure from the police.

Their relatives also suffered from the police's threats. Thugs from Laishui County Education Bureau and Laishui County Political and Security Division threatened to have Ms. Liu Yumin's niece fired from her work if she did not try to locate Ms. Liu Yumin. The niece gave in to the police's threat and went to many relatives' homes to look for Ms. Liu Yumin. The police tapped into all of Ms. Liu Yumin's close relatives' telephones and contacted all the relatives she had approached. The police also broke into Ms. Liu Yumin's two younger sisters' homes, putting them under a lot of pressure and refusing to let them live in peace.

4. Ms. Liu Yumin Arrested and Imprisoned Again

At around 1:00 p.m. of July 26th, 2006, about a dozen plainclothes policemen pried open the door of Ms. Liu Yumin's home. They looted a notebook computer and Falun Gong flyers. Dai Chunjie from the Political and Security Division and Wang Fucai from the 610 Office hurried to the scene to arrest Ms. Liu Yumin. She had just returned home to her children after having been on the run from the police. Unfortunately, she fell again into the hands of the police. Mr. Zhao Xiliang and Ms. Cao Xiaoling were also arrested. On July 27th, 2006, Mr. Zhao Xiliang's wife Ms. Liu Jinhua and her two granddaughters went to the Public Security Bureau to ask the police to release Mr. Zhao Xiliang, but the police beat them and detained them for 15, 6 and 7 days respectively. More details are yet to be collected.

Ms. Liu Yumin is now imprisoned in Laishui County Detention Centre.

Mr. Wang Fucai, Chairman of Laishui County "610" Office: 86-312-4532190 (Office), 86-312-4526973 (Home), 86-13932231936 (Mobile)

Mr. Sun Jinbo, Secretary of Laishui County: 86-312-4527588, 86-13503228995 (Mobile)

Mr. Suo Baogui, Vice Secretary of the Political and Legal Committee: 86-312-4530536, 86-312-2323726 (Home), 86-13803262256 (Mobile)

Mr. Tian Qingzhu, Mayor of Laishui County: 86-312-4522880 (Office), 86-312-5028038 (Home), 86-13313028988 (Cell)

Detention Centre: 86-312-4523534

Chengguan Police Station: 86-312-4522225

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.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2006/8/1/134481.html