Grandparents Die After Repeated Torture, Father Arrested Time and Again, Son Left at Home all Alone -- Practitioners' Family Tragedy in Hebei Province

1. Unlawful Arrests, Torture and Unjust Prison Terms

When the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Jiang Zemin's , [former leader of China and instigator of the persecution] gang began their unlawful persecution of Falun Gong on July 20th, 1999, Yan Haidong and his parents went to Beijing to exercise their constitutional right to appeal to the State Appeals Office. As soon as they arrived at Tiananmen Square, the police arrested them by force and took them to the Tiananmen Square Police Station where they lured Yan to tell their home address. Next the police transferred them to Baoding City's Beijing Office. The police from Laishui County violently beat them up when they picked them up. They took Yan and his family to Laishui County's CCP School. As soon as they got out of the car, they were beaten up by hired thugs with clubs, belts and boots. Their faces became swollen beyond recognition and their bodies were covered with blood and bruises. Afterwards, they were locked in an old shack surrounded by tall weeds taller than an adult man. At night, they were forced to sleep on the ground. They were given meagre rations twice a day. In addition, they were forced to work as slaves during the day. They were also subjected to beatings and torture with bamboo sticks, clubs, belts, and whips made of telephone wire. The thugs even burned them with lit cigarettes. The thugs also forced them to watch video propaganda against Falun Gong. All practitioners there constantly faced physical and mental torment.

A month later, the local 610 Office¹ and CCP officials demanded 4,000 yuan² plus 10 yuan per day for food from each practitioner. Practitioners' families were required to produce a written guarantee statement³ on their behalf before they were released. They knew Yan Haidong was too poor to produce the ransom because there was no one at home but his six-year-old son. Where would they come up with 12,000 yuan in ransom for the three of them? It was an astronomical amount of money for an average farmer's family! Nevertheless, they forced Yan Haidong's mother Qin Sumin to return home and borrow money to pay the ransom. When officials saw that she could only come up with 800 yuan, they locked her up in Laishui County Detention Centre. She went on a hunger strike as a non-violent means to protest the unlawful persecution before she was transferred to another local detention centre.

Qin Sumin was made to work as a slave in the day and stood guard in front of her prison cell at night. On December 27th, 2000, they paraded her on the streets to humiliate her. In fact, they paraded a total of 28 Falun Gong practitioners on the streets that day. After 30 days of incarceration, a group of officials, led by Sun Guijie (male), unlawfully sentenced Qin Sumin to two years in Baoding Forced Labour Camp. Because her blood pressure went up to 240, she was transferred back to the detention centre. She was not released until her blood pressure went up to 280 and was unable to walk. Finally, she was released on January 28th, 2001.

2. Yan Haidong's Parents Die After Repeated Torture and Persecution

While Yan's mother was imprisoned, his father was taken from the CCP School to Yi'an Town where he continued to be incarcerated. Yan and his father were forced to sweep a courtyard in town. Everyday they were under watch. The hired thugs often threatened and beat up Yan and his father. Yan's father was repeatedly beaten up, which caused him insufferable pain in the head. But officials from Yi'an Town continued to demand ransom from Yan's father. When Yan's father became mentally confused due to constant torture, the officials took him back home and forced him to sell all the food in storage at the a rock bottom price of 800 yuan. The officials took the money and released them.

When Yan and his parents were released, it was already the end of the Chinese New Year Festival. They didn't have any money or food left at home. On New Year's Day, a kindhearted neighbour spared them some food. The day after Yan's father returned home, he passed away. Later, Yan's mother passed away after constantly facing harassments, imprisonment and threats of the officials from the village and Yi'an Town government. Now only Yan and his son remain.

3. Repeated Arrests

In the spring of 2001, the police from Yi'an Town arrested Yan Haidong again. About eight policemen surrounded Yan. They removed his belt and trousers and started to beat him up until his lower body was bruised purple. They tried to make Yan confess where he obtained Falun Gong leaflets exposing the persecution from. The police from Yi'an Town always beat up Falun Gong practitioners in private to avoid any witnesses. All the practitioners arrested this time were forced to give the police from 1,200 to 1,300 yuan in ransom except Yan Haidong, who could not produce the money. With the help of fellow practitioners, Yan escaped from the police's custody. When they found Yan had escaped, they sent out search teams. That night all the roads out of Nangaoluo Village were guarded. Every man on the search team was equipped with a stun baton. Li Laotie, Mayor of Laishui County, ordered the men to beat up Yan Haidong if they found him and told them it was okay to beat him to death.

At around noon on May 30th, 2007, Zhen Zhanjiang, Deputy Head of Yi'an Town Police Station of Laishui County, Hebei Province, Xia Xuefeng, Secretary of Yi'an Town Discipline Committee, and about five policemen broke into the home of Yan Haidong. They ransacked the place and left nothing unturned. They stole his Falun Gong books, a set of lectures on CDs, a mobile phone and an MP4 player. Next they dragged and pulled Yan Haidong to the police station.

At around 7:00 p.m. that day, the police saw satellite dish coding instructions on Yan's telephone book, so they went to his home again. At the time there was no one at home. The police used the excuse that Yan practised Falun Gong to justify their stealing a 21-inch TV, two satellite dishes, two satellite receiver boxes, a DVD player, a pair of stereo speakers and a CD player. Gao Yanxin, Deputy Chief of Yi'an Police Station, did not return the items they stole from Yan Haidong. Instead, he extorted 5,000 yuan from Yan Haidong.

On August 28th, 2007, CCP officials and police from the local "610" Office in Yi'an Town broke in Yan's home and arrested him again. They unlawfully took him into custody. The main culprits in the arrest include Wang Fucai (male), Head of the "610" Office and a CCP official, as well as Dai Chunjie and Dong Honghao from the local Public Security Bureau (PSB).

That noon when Yan Haidong's child returned home, he could not find his father. It was not until afternoon when Yan Haidong's younger sister received a phone call and learned that Yan Haidong had been put into Laishui County Detention Centre. Yan's parents have already been persecuted to death. Now Yan's child is left home alone, relying on a neighbour to look after him.

Yan Haidong, in his 30's, is a Falun Gong practitioner from Gaoluo Village, Yi'an Town, Laishui County. He has benefited physically and mentally from practising Falun Gong. He and his family led a very happy, harmonious life. Yan's mother became healthy again after she started to practise Falun Gong.

Note

1. "The 610 office" is an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems.

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

3. "Guarantee Statement": A statement to declare that one is remorseful for practising Falun Gong and guarantees not to practise Falun Gong again, not to go to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong, and never again associate with any Falun Dafa practitioners.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2007/9/9/162361.html