Mum, When Can You Come Home?

Ms. Ma Chunli from Jiamusi City, Heilongjiang Province, was almost paralyzed, but after starting to practise Falun Gong, she could not only stand up again, she could also do light housework. She and her son Zhao Xin lived together. They often relied on their relatives for support. On March 17th, 2001, Ms. Ma was arrested by officers of the Jiadong Police Station and sent to a forced labour camp for two years. Her son, Zhao Xin, accompanied by Falun Gong practitioners Tong Yaqin, Zhao Guiying and others, went to the police station to ask for the release of Ms. Ma; however,they were detained and beaten. Tong Yaqin was also sent to a forced labour camp for one year . Zhou Guiying, Sun Libin and Zhang Shuying were detained in the Jiamusi Detention Centre, where they were persecuted. It is believed that Ms. Ma is again paralyzed due to abuse suffered in the forced labour camp and she can no longer take care of herself.

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The following is from Zhao Xin, Ma Chunli's son:

My name is Zhao Xin, and I am 18 years old. I have not been able to sleep for many days because of the anxiety and anger I feel about my situation. It is a very difficult situation for me and I do not know what to do. This is by far the biggest difficulty I have ever had to endure and I am very puzzled, so I decided to write this article and hope that kind-hearted friends can help me to overcome this difficulty.

When I was seven years old, my mum and dad divorced. My mum took care of me by herself, and we were poor. At that time, my mum had to work very hard to make money while taking care of me. Because of her unhappy marriage, painful illness and hard work, I seldom saw my mum smile. When I was young, I misbehaved. My mum was often disappointed in me because of my misbehaviour and my bad grades in school. She had a bad temper at that time. I often became the victim when she was not happy. One time, my mum hit me so hard with a belt that she broke the belt. At that time I wished I could grow up fast and leave my unhappy home.

When I was 13, my mum's illness recurred. She could not get out of bed. Watching my mum in pain and facing the problem of survival, I became more introverted, and stress built up deep in my heart. I often cried myself to sleep under my duvet at night.

One day, a friend of my mum's gave her a book to read and told her that this book would teach her how to practise Falun Gong, and if she followed the book, her illness could be cured. I looked at it. It was called Zhuan Falun. I was very scared and angry because many times my school had organized students to watch TV programmes that slandered Falun Gong and sign petitions against Falun Gong. Our textbooks slandered Falun Gong. I was very worried that my mum would be taken away by police if she practised. Then there would be no one to take care of me. But I could not stop her, since she was in such bad shape. Every day coming home from school, I would worry whether mum would have some trouble. I was carefully watching over her every day.

I was surprised to see that my mum became healthier not long after she started to practise Falun Gong. What surprised me the most was that my mum's bad temper was gone. When I did not do something well, my mum not only didn't beat me, but she also patiently told me the principles of Truth-Compassion-Forbearance, and taught me how to do it right. I was quite happy to see her become healthy, and especially that I no longer had to worry about her beating me if I did something wrong.

Later, my mum became very nice and often thought of others before herself. In order to support my education, we rented a place in a dormitory. My mum had two jobs. One was to clean the hallways and toilets in a nearby building. Although the job only paid 300 yuan¹ a month, my mum was doing her best and she was willing to help others. The neighbours all liked her. (After she was arrested, our neighbours all went to the police station to testify that she was a good person.) Since then, I have a completely new understanding of Falun Gong.

After my mum practised Falun Gong, she asked me to discipline myself according to Truth-Compassion-Forbearance. Although I said yes, I did not take it seriously but gradually those principles have influenced me. There was a male student at the high school who often bullied me. I told my good friends about it, and one day, a bunch of my friends arranged with me to give the bully a good lesson after school. My friends told me I only needed to kick him once and they would take care of the rest. At that moment, I remembered my mum telling me to follow Truth-Compassion-Forbearance, so I did not do it. Later I was very happy that I didn't, because it could have caused a big problem.

One day, I came home from school and saw a big mess in the house. My mum was breathing very heavily. I asked her anxiously what had happened. She told me that the police took her to the Jiadong Police Station. They did not find any money on her or in her house and they cursed her for being poor. Seeing my mum's condition and appearing like she had a heart attack, the police dragged her to the side of the road and left her there. Later, a kind hearted person got a taxi and she was able to get home. Since then, I have felt very unsafe. I worry every day that something bad will happen to me, and my scores at school have become worse and worse.

What I was worried about finally happened. At around 10 a.m. on March 17th, 2001 policeman Sun Lei from the Jiadong Police Station and two other policemen came to our home. Without any search warrant, they took our computer and mum's Falun Gong books and other things. At that time they took my mum away and she was sent to the Jiamusi Detention Centre, even without an arrest warrant. Without a trial, any legal proceedings or notification to the family, my mum was sent to Harbin City Drug Rehab Centre for two years. My mum's friend went to the detention centre to visit her. She was told that my mum was not there and had been sent to a forced labour camp.

On the second day after my mum's arrest, her friend, Tong Yaqin and our neighbour went to the Jiadong Police Station to ask why my mum was arrested and to try and secure her release. But Feng Kaidong, the Director of the Jiadong Police Station, instead detained Tong Yaqing.

Later, I went to the Jiadong Police Station myself to ask Feng Kaidong for information about my mum. He threatened me and asked policeman Sun Lei to write something on a piece of paper and he forced me to sign it. One day in March, auntie Tong's 80-year-old mother went to the police station to ask about her daughter. Feng Kaidong was very rude to her and she had to leave without an answer. When she was back at home, Feng Kaidong and another policeman stormed into her house after she opened the door and ransacked her home. Auntie Tong herself was then sent to Harbin City Drug Rehab Centre for one year.

My aunt who lives in another city came to the police station to ask about my mother's situation. Feng Kaidong threatened to arrest her. I asked a lawyer about the situation and he said that he needed to have the "forced labour judgment document." before he could do anything. He said there should be six copies: one copy for the person herself, and one copy for the family members. I went to the police station to ask for the document. They told me: "You do not have the right to see it. Only lawyers have the right to see it." A moment later they said that the "forced labour judgment document" was sent to the Harbin City Drug Rehab Centre and that it could be returned to me after signing.

Several days earlier, I had received a phone call from the labour camp. They told me that my mum's illnesses had returned. She is now paralyzed. They asked the police station to pick her up. Although I did not want to face the police again, I still went there for my mum. But they said they did not receive any notice and rebuked me. At that time, I felt extreme pain in my heart. I could not eat or sleep. I was asked to talk to Feng Kaidong by the aunties who care about my mum. I really did not want to face those rude and hostile police. Some of the aunties wanted to go with me. In the beginning I did not agree because I was afraid that they would also be arrested just like my mum and auntie Tong. They told me that policemen are also human and that if we told them the family situation, it should not be a problem and I reluctantly agreed.

On the morning of June 22nd, I went to the police station with Zhao Guiyang. Feng Kaidong said he was busy in the morning and asked us to come back in the afternoon after 2 p.m. In the afternoon, auntie Zhao and I arrived at the police station on time. In the beginning we explained to Feng Kaidong the difficult family situation, and hoped that the problem could be resolved. Director Feng Kaidong did not say anything and tried to change the topic. Policeman Zheng Qingcheng entered the room and cursed us. They said they could not take care of this problem and that we should talk to the City Secretary of Politics and Justice. We calmly told them that it was illegal to arrest my mum. They started to curse us, and told us we could sue them. Later policeman Lu Jinglong entered the room. He said something very bad to us without even knowing or asking anything about the situation.

Although those police treated us badly, we still patiently explained the truth to them. Feng Kaidong did not reply. After 40 minutes, Lu Zhiying, Sun Libin and Zhang Shuying did not know what happened and entered the police station. They wanted to help to explain the truth. When Zheng Qingcheng saw them, he said: "You are not asking for release. So many people have come. You came here to demonstrate." We saw that the problem would not be solved, and they wanted to arrest us. As we started to leave, policemen ran down the stairs ahead of us. We found the iron gate was locked and we could not leave. They had already started to arrest us. Zhen Qingcheng grabbed Sun Libin and pushed her against the wall. Other policemen pushed us back into the Director's office and forced us to sit down. However, we did not cooperate. They then pushed me onto the sofa, but I stood up again. Lu Jinglong and Liu Dehui then beat me, and forced me back onto the sofa. I was injured and there were two bloody marks on my neck. I saw one auntie go to the toilet to make a phone call, but the police arrested her, too.

Soon after, police from the Dongfen Police Branch Bureau arrived. Some time later, Sun Lei ordered me to go to his office. He locked the door and "educated" me. During our conversation, I heard police beating others. Two aunties screamed: "Help! Help! The police are beating us."

After a while, Feng Kaidong called Sun Lei out. I heard one of the aunties throw up due to the beating. I felt very bad that I could not help her. Later I ran out of the police station, but Zhao Guiying, Sun Libin, Lu Zhiying and Zhang Shuying were detained in the Jiamusi Detention Centre.

I had already lost my mum, and now I had lost those kind hearted aunties who had helped me. I have lost the income to even survive, and live in extreme fear, worry and hopelessness.

Please stretch out your hands and save my mother. Let my mum and other innocent women come back to their relatives and their homes. I and their children all wish for a happy home again!

I will remember all the people who tried to help. I will try my best to return their kindness. I believe eventually the truth about Falun Gong will be known by everyone. All your kind actions will be recorded in history. Your future will be good. Although my mum has not come home, your righteous actions have given me strength, and have encouraged me to awaken others' conscience and righteousness using my voice and strong will. I will get back my mother and those kind hearted ladies.

Note

1. "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/2010/7/5/226461.html