Ms. Lu Aicui, a Kind Elderly Woman, Passes Away Due to the Persecution

Ms. Lu Aicui, my uncle's wife, was a kind older woman who was known to have a big heart. Her home was in Xiasan Village, Xinzhuang Town, Laiwu City, Shandong Province.

She used to always suffer from very poor health. When she was 13 years old, she developed a disease that caused her to have to drink a lot of water every day to keep from being thirsty and having heartburn. When her heartburn became unbearable, she had to put a towel soaked with cold water on her chest, but the towel would be warm and dry in a moment.

Later on , Ms. Lu began to experience two more problems. The first one was a painful lump on the back of her hand, very close to a bone. It was so painful that she could not use that hand to hold anything. The other problem was a tumour-like growth that appeared on the side of her nose. Every time that she carelessly scraped or bumped it, it would bleed, and it was very difficult to stop the bleeding. Even doctors could not help her. My uncle seemed to be tired all the time, and he wasn't in very good health either.

In 1997, Ms. Lu began practising Falun Gong. The growths on the back of her hand and the side of her nose miraculously disappeared. She said that she did not feel thirsty all the time and did not need to drink that much water any more. After these wonderful changes, the whole family was very content.

But since 1999, when the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started its persecution of Falun Gong, life has become different. Hou Qingsan, a police officer from Xinzhuang Police Station, always sent some of his men to my uncle's home to harass them. They finally forced my uncle and his wife to write guarantee statements, saying that they would give up practising Falun Gong, and to hand in all their Falun Gong books. My uncle, who has had to live through almost every political movement that the Chinese communist regime has subjected the Chinese people to, was so scared that he gave all his books to the police and didn't dare to practise any more. His wife was also scared and at a loss by what had suddenly happened to them. Later on, she was told that her son and her daughter, who were both were working in another place, had also run into the same terrible situation. She became depressed as she worried about her children's safety and she could not understand why the government wanted to repress Falun Gong, a practice that had given not only her, but thousands of other people, a healthy body and a healthy mind. After this, the peaceful and happy expression that always appeared on her face before disappeared.

One day in the winter of 2000, the people from Panxi Mine Security Section broke into my uncle's home looking for their son, because they could not find him anywhere. Learning that the authorities might be searching for him, Ms. Lu rushed to her son's home. But when she got there, he had already left. Because she was worried about him, she waited in his home. That night, around midnight, Liu Sheng, a man from the Panxi Mine Security Section, took several people to her son's home. They climbed into the backyard, broke the door down, and rushed into the room. Their scoundrel behaviour scared Ms. Lu so much that she shook uncontrollably.

Ms. Lu's son has been subjected to torture since the CCP started persecuting Falun Gong. He has been taken into detention, fined, and even been under residential surveillance after being released. He was not even allowed to leave the mine where he works and had to report when he went in to work and when he got off from work. He was paid only 120 yuan per month. When he and his brother-in- law tried to go to Beijing to appeal for justice for Falun Gong, they were arrested and brought back by the Panxi Mine Security Section. Then they were sent to Laiwu Detention Centre. In the detention centre, they were badly tortured. San Ge's brother-in-law was so severely beaten that he nearly died, and his entire body was covered with black bruises. His sister was also jailed in the detention centre.

One day, Ms. Lu's son went to her home to visit her after he had been released on bail. He stayed there overnight. At midnight they were woken up by knocking on the door. It was the people from the Panxi Mine. They came and took the son away again.

Ms. Lu's son-in-law was sentenced to forced labour, and her daughter was terrified because of her husband's imprisonment. She could not bear the stress any more and became mentally traumatized. Ms. Lu brought her daughter to her house, so that she could look after her. But shortly after that, her daughter was also taken away and sent to a labour camp. Having her daughter arrested also was like the straw that broke the camel's back. Ms. Lu collapsed. She cried almost every day. Despite all this, she still had to take care of her grandson, who is a student in Laiyang. Because of the stress from all these hardships, Ms. Lu's old illnesses returned. She was always breathless. Whenever she heard the wail of a police siren, she would began shaking.

One year later, the police allowed Ms. Lu's daughter to be released on bail from the labour camp for medical treatment. She had been so badly tortured that she was nothing more than skin and bones. She could only lie in bed, nearly every breath her last one. Nevertheless, the police still came to the door to harass her from time to time. Her illnesses became worse. Every time her asthma symptoms broke out, she almost choked to death.

Even though Ms. Lu had been suffering so much herself, she still did not forget to tell others to be good people, and to let others know that virtue is always rewarded. No matter who had problems, she would help them as she had always done.

But finally, because of her illnesses and all the stress, Lu Aicui passed away. Her death has left everyone in her village heartbroken. Many people came to her funeral, upset that the CCP's persecution has caused such a good person to leave us so early.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.cc/mh/articles/2008/7/4/181449.html