Former Bank Vice President and His Family Persecuted by the Communist Regime

Mr. Cheng Jiagui, who is 76 years old this year, is a former Vice President of China Construction Bank's Anlu City Branch in Hubei Province. All five members of his family suffered from severe illnesses, and Falun Gong saved their lives. They conducted themselves according to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and strove to be responsible, good citizens. However, they were brutally persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Whole Family Gains a New Life After Practising Falun Gong

Sixteen years ago, everyone in Cheng Jiagui's family had a life-threatening illness. Cheng Jiagui himself had hardening of the coronary arteries and suffered a heart attack. His blood pressure was very high and he could have died at any time. His wife, Yan Qiongbo, suffered from terminal stomach cancer and heart failure. His daughter, Cheng Xuli, had a collapsed lung (pneumothorax), and her lung tube had ruptured, which is a hard to treat condition with a very high death rate. His son, Cheng Zipeng, suffered from bleeding kidneys for 13 years. His daughter-in-law Huang Tiee had hepatitis and heart disease. The whole family struggled with their illnesses and did not have one peaceful day.

In 1996, Falun Gong was introduced to Anlu City, and daughter Cheng Xuli was the first member of the family to practice. Within a few weeks after beginning the practice, her illnesses miraculously disappeared. When Yan Qiongbo saw how her daughter had regained her health through practising Falun Gong, she also wanted to try it. In less than a week, she also experienced a miracle and recovered from her terminal stage stomach cancer. When Cheng Jiagui witnessed his wife's recovery, he began to practise Falun Gong, too. Within a week, the illnesses which plagued him for over a decade vanished. His son and daughter-in-law witnessed the miraculous effects of Falun Gong and also started to practise. Through practising Falun Gong, everyone in the family became healthy and their bodies were light and free of illness.

Innocent People Are Persecuted

On July 20th, 1999, the CCP began to persecute Falun Gong. On October 11th, 2000, Cheng Jiagui and his family of five went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong. Four of them did the exercises at Tiananmen Square, while his daughter Cheng Xuli described their miraculous experiences to tourists. People understood that Falun Gong is a beneficial practice, and they were so moved that they applauded. More and more people gathered to listen to the family's story. Police officers and plainclothes officers surrounded the family and arrested them. One officer kicked Huang Tiee, and another officer punched the elderly Cheng Jiagui. The family was shoved into a car and locked up in the Tiananmen Square Police Department. Later, the Anlu City 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong), the Domestic Security Division, Fucheng police station and the Anlu branch of China Construction Bank dispatched people to escort the family back to Anlu City in handcuffs. They were detained at Sili Detention Centre. Cheng Jiagui was detained for 45 days, his wife was detained for 39 days, his daughter and son were detained 25 days and his daughter-in-law was detained 50 days. Anlu Police Department extorted 12,000 yuan¹ from the family before they were released.

Elderly Cheng Jiagui Subjected to Persecution

Since 1999, after the CCP started to persecute Falun Gong, even though he had already retired, leaders at the bank forced Cheng Jiagui to report to the security section every morning at 8 a.m. This went on for three years. The bank held back Cheng Jiagui's salary for eight months. His son Cheng Zipeng was fired from his job at the bank. As a result, the whole family depended on Mr. Cheng Jiagui's and his wife's pension to survive.

On February 20th, 2003, Anlu City party secretary Ho Maoshu led four police officers to Cheng Jiagui's house and threatened them, in an attempt to stop the couple from practising Falun Gong. When Cheng Jiagui refused to comply, Hu Maoshu flew into a rage. He ordered officers Chen Xinyun, Zeng Jingchao, and Huang Jianxin to monitor the whole family for long periods of time. At one point, these officers went to Cheng's house every day. They ransacked his house, took away Falun Gong books, and forbade them from doing the exercises or contacting other practitioners. As a result, the elderly couple lived in fear and terror every day.

On March 29th2003, at 8:30 a.m., Wang Hongsheng from the Anlu Branch Bank sent two security section officers to Cheng's house. They lied, claiming that bank officials wanted to speak to Cheng and tricked him into getting inside the car. Upon arriving at the bank, Cheng Jiagui was taken to a brainwashing facility in Hubei Province. At the brainwashing centre, two armed police officers treated him like a convict. They pushed and dragged him inside the building. Cheng went on a hunger strike to protest against the detention. When his blood pressure became very high, they sent him back home, afraid that he would die in their custody.

Persecution Suffered by Mr. Cheng's Wife

Mr. Cheng's wife, Yan Qiongbo, is 78 years old this year. Before she retired, she was a doctor. On January 10th, 2002, police officer Chen Yidong from Anlu Police Department went to ransack Cheng's house. He took away their Falun Gong books and arrested Yan Qiongbo. She was taken to Anlu Detention Centre, where she went on a hunger strike to protest against the arrest. Afraid that they would be held accountable for her death, the officers sent her home five days later.

Persecution Suffered by Daughter Cheng Xuli

Before she started to practise Falun Gong, Cheng's daughter Cheng Xuli had conflicts with some of her colleagues. After she began practising, she became very amicable and kind, and took on heavy work assignments without complaint.

In 2001, Cheng Xuli was detained at Hexi brainwashing centre in Aulu City for over two months. In 2004, she left home and went from place to place for eight months to avoid persecution. In 2008, she went to visit her daughter in Hangzhou City. While giving out Falun Gong flyers in Hangzhou, she was arrested and subsequently sentenced to seven and a half years of imprisonment. Currently she is detained in the No. 6 ward in Hangzhou Women's Prison. Cheng Xuli's husband, Qin Jinping, was traumatized by the persecution and passed away in August 2011.

The Persecution Suffered by the Son and the Daughter-in-law

Cheng Jiagui's son Cheng Zipeng was sent to a forced labour camp for one and a half years in 2001. In 2008, he was again sentenced to four years of imprisonment. Currently, he is detained at Fanjiatai Prison in Shayang. He is due to be released in July of this year.

Cheng Zipeng's wife Huang Tiee was detained four times. In August 2002, she was forced to leave home and go from place to place for 17 months.

Note

1. "Yuan" is the Chinese currency; 500 yuan is equal to the average monthly income of an urban worker in China.