Older Sichuan Practitioner Mr. Liu Xueming Dies after Nine Years of Repeated Incarceration and Abuse

Name: Liu Xueming
Gender: Male
Age: 57
Address: Qilong Village (Originally Fenghuang Village), Puxing Town, Xinjin County, Chengdu City, Sichuan Province
Occupation: Farmer
Date of Death: February 11th, 2012
Date of Most Recent Arrest: September 2002
Most Recent Place of Detention: Wumaping Prison
City: Chengdu
Province: Sichuan
Persecution Suffered: Forced labour, brainwashing, beatings, imprisonment, torture, extortion, home ransacked, interrogation, detention

Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Liu Xueming from Xinjin County, Sichuan Province passed away on February 11th, 2012 at age 57. Mr. Liu’s death was the result of long-term persecution by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). After suffering through nine years of repeated incarceration and harassment, the Liu family is devastated.

To add insult to injury, Puxing Township official Chen Jilin and several police officers even came to Liu Xueming’s funeral and tried to arrest his daughter, who left home a decade ago to avoid police harassment.

After Mr. Liu, his wife and daughter began to practise Falun Gong, their moral standard improved; they were known by their neighbours as kind and unselfish people. Their health had greatly improved. They felt very fortunate to have learned Falun Gong.

After the CCP began to persecute Falun Gong in 1999, life for this ordinary peasant family turned upside down.

Repeated Detention

On July 22nd, 1999, officer Wang Jianjun and a group of others from Puxing Police Station barged into Liu Xueming’s house. After a search, they confiscated all Falun Gong books from the family.

The Liu family went to Beijing to appeal for justice in January 2000. They were arrested by the police.

In June 2000, the Liu couple and their daughter were arrested for practising Falun Gong exercises outdoors. During the month long detention, Puxing Police Station head Feng Zemin and other officers ransacked their home. During that day, several dozen people arrived with trucks. They looted all valuables from the house. Even all the fish in the family’s fish ponds were harvested and sold.

In September 2000, police head Nie Zongjian arrested Liu’s daughter and detained her for one month. Within the next few days, the police ransacked their home three more times.

Nie Zongjian and others came to Liu’s house again at midnight on October 1st, 2000 to arrest the Liu couple. They were detained at the police station for a week.

Whole family sent to labour camp

Mr. Liu, his wife and their daughter went to Beijing again to appeal in December 2000. They were arrested, and the police violently assaulted the daughter. After nearly one hour of beatings, she was badly wounded with bruises and lacerations covering her face and body. The police also confiscated all their money and valuable possessions.

After Xinjin County police brought the family back from Beijing, they sent them to labour camps. Mr. Liu was sent to Mianyang Xinhua Labour Camp for a year. His wife and daughter were sent to Zizhong Women’s Labour Camp; the mother received an 18-month sentence; the daughter got one year.

While in the labour camp, Mr. Liu was often physically assaulted, harassed and banned from talking. He once went on a hunger strike to protest the mistreatment. Drug addicts watched his daughter 24 hours a day; she suffered a variety of tortures. For several months, she was forced to stand while facing a wall for extended hours every day. She was not allowed to talk and was forced to watch programmes that slandered Falun Gong.

All three of them were released in 2002.

Mr. Liu Sentenced to Seven Years

In September 2002, Puxing Police Station head Wen Jianguo led a group of officers and some township officials to Liu’s house. After ransacking the home, they took away the parents, while the daughter escaped and has been in hiding ever since.

Mr. Liu suffered very severe torture while being interrogated for nine days (and nights). He later was sentenced to seven years in jail and sent to Zigong Prison. When he first arrived, he was constrained in a death bed for more than 40 days. He almost died from the torture.

After a short time, Liu’s weight dropped to 40 kg from 65 kg. He was sent to a strictly controlled unit and forced to do slave labour. Every day, he had to carry over 100 kg of coal on his shoulder up a hill, for 10 hours. He was not allowed to take a break. His health quickly deteriorated, and he began to experience severe hypertension.

After two years of imprisonment, Mr. Liu was transferred to Wumaping Prison. Upon arrival, the prison found out about his hypertension and sent him to the prison hospital. Instead of treating his condition, the hospital subjected him to various physical and psychological abuses. His condition continued to decline and the hospital staff thought he was going to die. They issued a critical-condition notice in order to avoid responsibility. The doctors told Mr. Liu’s wife to demand his release. But the prison refused. Mr. Liu ended up serving the whole seven-year term.

Forced Out of Home Again

After he returned home, Mr. Liu resumed Falun Gong practice. Soon, his condition miraculously improved.

But in April 2011, Puxing Township official Chen Jilin planned to send the couple to Chengdu Legal Education Centre (a brainwashing facility). They came to Mr. Liu’s house at night to arrest them, but failed to find the couple. They broke into the empty house and looted it.

The couple were forced to abandon their home and went into hiding.

The long-term harassment and pressure was simply too much for Mr. Liu. He went into a coma on February 1st, 2012, and after nine day’s of intensive care, the doctors told the family there was no hope. They took him home on February 10th. He died in the early morning on February 11th.

Responsible parties:
Xinjin County Police Department
Xinjin 610 Office head, Wang Feng: 86-13982162615
Xinjin County Puxing Town General Office, Director Chen Jilin: 86-13982162718

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2012/2/28/253601.html