Persecution Suffered by Ms. Yuan Xiangfan Before Her Death in 2003

Name: Yuan Xiangfan
Gender: Female
Age: 37
Address: East Chengguan Street, Chengguan City, Ruyang County, Henan Province
Occupation: Actress
Date of Death: August 9th, 2003
Date of Most Recent Arrest: January 30th, 2001
Most Recent Place of Detention: Shibalihe Women's Forced Labour Camp
City: Zhengzhou
Province: Henan
Persecution Suffered: Torture, forced labour, imprisonment, beatings, force-feedings, detention

Ms. Yuan Xiangfan started to practise Falun Gong during the spring of 1997. When the persecution started in 1999, she went to Beijing to let people know the facts about the practice. She was sent to a detention centre, brainwashing centre and a centre for the homeless, by the municipal law bureau and security bureau in Ruyang County. During this period of time, agents from the 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong), policemen and inmates tortured her severely. She was forced to kneel or stand on one leg for long periods of time. She also had her hands and feet shackled to a chair for five days. When she drank, ate, slept or used the toilet, they still kept the shackles on her. The same people also threatened Ms. Yuan's husband, a teacher, and pressured him to divorce her, which he eventually did. Ms. Yuan Xiangfan was later released and allowed to return home.

On January 30th, 2001, Li Baoxian, director of the political security section, informed Ms. Yuan that she had to go to the county security bureau office. When she arrived, she was taken to the Women's Forced Labour Camp in Shibalihe, where she was severely beaten by drug addicts and other inmates. They grabbed her head and smashed it against the wall. Ms. Yuan was tortured every day, and had numerous wounds on her body. When she went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution, she was force-fed by over half a dozen people numerous times over a three-month period. Her front teeth were badly damaged from being pried open, and her legs became paralyzed. After 10 days of being close to dying, some of her relatives were able to collect her from the labour camp and take her home.

Ms. Yuan Xiangfan died on August 9th, 2003, after being severely tortured for two years. At the time of her death, her two daughters were both under the age of 18.

Ms. Yuan Xiangfan's father, mother, brother, sister-in-law and some of her other relatives practise Falun Gong and have all been detained or sent to forced labour camps at some point. Her brother and sister-in-law were once teachers, but they were fired from their jobs because of their belief.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2011/2/10/236094.html