Children Request Release of Mother from Prison after Their Father and Grandmother Pass Away

Ms. Xu Youqin, a practitioner from Shuangcheng City in Heilongjiang Province, was sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment. Her husband Mr. Zang Dianlong died as a result of persecution. Her mother-in-law found it hard taking care of Ms Xu's two children and under such huge mental and physical pressure, the mother-in-law passed away in mid-September 2008. Left alone with no one to care for them, the two children requested the authorities of the Heilongjiang Province Women's Prison to release their mother.

Ms. Xu Youqin, her husband Mr. Zang Dianlong and two children

Ms. Xu Youqin, about 40-years-old, lived near the railway station of Shuangcheng City. She was arrested in 2002 and sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment. She suffered all sorts of abuse in the Heilongjiang Province Women's Prison and her family was destroyed due to the persecution. According to other practitioners who suffered abuse in the Heilongjiang Province Women's Prison, Ms. Xu had bamboo strips inserted under her nails, she was shocked with the electric batons, tortured on a tiger bench¹ and forced to run under the scorching sun. She was soaked with cold water after fainting and forced to run again. Ms. Xu and other practitioners' trousers were removed and they were beaten with a plank and shoes, and then their wounds were soaked with salty water by the guards.

Ms. Xu Youqin used to have a complete family. Her husband Mr. Zang, their two sons and her mother-in-law all lived together. Before practising Falun Gong, her husband had developed leukaemia. The expense of the treatment and deposit would cost more than 100, 000 yuan², which was beyond their capacity to afford. At that time, her mother-in-law began to practise Falun Gong and experienced the power of the practice, and so the elderly lady urged her son to practise Falun Gong. With this encouragement Mr. Zang then began to practise Falun Gong with his mother. Two months later, he went to the Harbin City Hospital for a check-up and his illness had disappeared. He felt energetic, and the doctors were all shocked.

Mr. Zang's recovered from leukaemia without any treatment after practising Falun Gong. This news caused a stir in his workplace, the Shuangcheng City Grain Warehouse, and amongst his friends and relatives. As a result, many of them began to practise Falun Gong. His wife, and two sons also began to practise Falun Gong. The whole family lived a happy life.

After the Jiang Zemin, [former leader of China and instigator of the persecution] began to persecute Falun Gong in 1999, Ms. Xu and her husband went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong. They were arrested, but Mr. Zang managed to escape. Since the couple persisted in their belief steadfastly, they were seen as key people and monitored and harassed by Zhang Guofu, the deputy director of the Shuangcheng City Police Department, and police officer Jin Wanzhi (female).

On April 19th, 2002, the police launched another round of surveillance and arrests in Shuangcheng City. More than 700 anti-riot police officers were called in from Harbin City. They began a blanket arrest of the practitioners. In the arrest warrant, the police offered a 30,000 yuan reward for the arrest of Ms. Xu Youqin, 20,000 yuan for Mr. Zang Dianlong and 20,000 yuan for another practitioner, Ms. Tie Junying. The police also spread a false rumour on television that the three practitioners were criminals at large and killed people. At that time, most of bus stations, train stations and exits of the city were stationed with police officers to inspect passing vehicles. Some police officers and the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) agents tried hard to gain the awards. They took photos with them and walked into the crowds to compare. One officer found a person who looked like Ms. Xu and he followed her, broke into her home at night and arrested her. It turned out later that she was in fact not Ms. Xu.

Ms. Xu's sons used to study in the No. 4 Primary School of Shuangcheng City, and were dismissed for explaining the facts about Falun Gong. To avoid the siege and pursuit by police, Ms. Xu, her husband, and their two sons walked down a muddy road and arrived in Acheng City, which is about 50 km away from Shuangcheng City. Just a few months after they set up in Acheng City, Ms. Xu was arrested when she went outside. Afterwards, Zhang Guofu colluded with the police in Acheng City and the anti-riot team in Harbin City to surround the community where Ms. Xu lived on the afternoon of July 8th, 2002. The police officers broke in from the window. Mr. Zang was forced to jump from the sixth floor and died on the spot. Their two sons 14-year-old Zang Haoran and 12-year-old Zang Haotong, were handcuffed and brought to the office of the 425 special team in Harbin City, which was specifically set up for this case. After being detained in Harbin City for one month they were taken to the Wanjia Forced Labour Camp. They were detained at Wanjia for more than one month, becoming covered all over with scabies.

Ms. Xu was sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment and her two children were leading a hard life with their 70-years-old grandmother. The authorities of the prison prohibited family members from visiting Ms. Xu until two years later. On September 13th, 2004, her mother-in-law met with her for the first time. At that time she was extremely thin due to the abuse. Since she refused to put on prison clothing, all her clothes were burned. In March 2004, Ms. Xu and other practitioners were tortured with the "Big Hang Up" (see http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/11/17/54624.html for illustration).

Ms. Xu's mother-in-law overcame all sorts of difficulties in her life. She behaved according to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and treated people kindly; including the evildoers who caused her son's death. One time, she went to the police department to visit Zhang Guofu, who turned pale, fearing that she would try to get even with him. The elderly lady said, "I came to ask you to stop doing bad things. You caused my son's death because you were deceived by the CCP. As a Falun Gong practitioner, I treat everyone compassionately. So I came to urge you to quit the CCP. This is a way you can save yourself."

Under the CCP's long-term persecution, Ms. Xu's mother-in-law passed away in mid-September 2008. Her two children were left alone and have requested the authorities of the Heilongjiang Province Women's Prison to release their mother. We also call on international investigative organizations to look into this case, bring the evildoers to justice and unconditionally release all detained Falun Gong practitioners.

Note

1. "Tiger Bench": Prisoners are forced to sit on a small iron bench that is approximately 20 cm (6 inches) tall with their knees tied together. With their hands tied behind their backs or sometimes placed on their knees, they are forced to sit straight up and look straight ahead without movement for long periods of time.

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://minghui.org/mh/articles/2008/11/18/189959.html