(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioner Ms. He Yingtao from Xiapu County, Fujian Province, has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for 13 years. She was given a two-year prison term and twice forced to leave home and become destitute for a year. Her practitioner husband, Mr. Zheng Xidi, was given a three-year sentence while he was critically ill. He passed away in late 2009. The following is Ms. He’s personal account of the persecution that they suffered.

Mr. Zheng Xidi

My name is He Yingtao, and I am 62 years old. I used to have a happy family. My husband, Zheng Xidi, worked in a law enforcement agency. We have a son and a daughter. After July 1999, we were brutally persecuted, and my husband eventually passed away after prolonged imprisonment and torture.

Zheng Xidi’s Illnesses Cured After He Practiced Falun Gong

Before practicing Falun Gong, both my husband and I were nicknamed “medicine pots.” He worked in a law enforcement agency for half of his life. When he reached his fifties, he had developed heart and kidney disease, gallstones, and suffered a stroke. He was on disability, was hospitalized in 1992, and spent large amount of government money on his medical expenses.

Like my husband, I also suffered from a variety of diseases, including headaches and severe rhinitis, and I almost became blind due to bleeding below my eyelids.

In the spring of 1998, a friend of mine introduced me to Dafa. We brought home a copy of Zhuan Falun, and I found the more I read, the better I felt. My head stopped hurting, and I became more energetic and full of optimism.

Gradually my husband became healthier and healthier, and it looked as if he had never suffered from any diseases at all. He was full of energy and eliminated his hot temper and the bad habits that he had learned at work. Together we studied the Fa regularly, cultivated our xinxing, and strictly followed Master’s teachings. In less than six months, our diseases had all been cured.

Government Persecutes Falun Gong, Husband Placed On Disciplinary Leave, Benefits Withheld

Jiang’s regime began to persecute Falun Gong in July 1999. We both clarified the truth in our community, told people about our personal experiences, and exposed the lies that the CCP propagated. In August 2000, Gao Guosheng from the local police department told my husband that being a member of the CCP prohibited him from cultivating in Dafa. He also accused my husband of “disrupting the social order” and issued him a warning warrant. After July 20, 1999, the Xiapu County 610 Office and the local police department often came to our home on sensitive dates. They also illegally searched our residence and told us that we couldn't leave. Officers monitored our whereabouts and followed us whenever we went outside.

Husband Detained for Clarifying the Truth

When my husband clarified the truth and distributed pamphlets in July 2001, he was arrested and incarcerated in a detention center for a month. An officer frequently interrogated him and tried to force him to denounce Dafa by physically assaulting him. After being detained for 18 days, my husband began to develop high blood pressure. To shirk responsibility, the center released him on bail for medical treatment.

Detained In a Brainwashing Center

The police and officials from the neighborhood association put me in a brainwashing center in October 2001. The guards followed me everywhere, even when I had to use the restroom. I was prohibited from talking to other Falun Gong practitioners, and was not allowed to contact my family. The center forced me to watch and read materials that slandered Falun Gong. They also pressured me to sign the three statements.

I refused to be “transformed.” The head of the brainwashing center, Lin Xiaoxian, sat on my bed every night to keep me from sleeping and pressured me to write statements denouncing Falun Dafa. I was persecuted in the center for three months.

Forced to Become Destitute and Homeless

After the Chinese New Year in 2002, the evildoers from the Xiapu 610 Office spread the news that they planned to establish a local brainwashing center. Afterwards, they intensified their persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. To avoid being arrested again, an elderly practitioner and I were forced to become homeless. During that time, the lawless officers often went to my home to harass my family, and they threatened my husband and our child. My husband’s prior diseases had already recurred due to the torture that he suffered. Since I was destitute for over six months, he had no one to take care of him and the stress eventually caused him to suffer a stroke.

Husband and Wife Arrested and Given Prison Terms

A gang of Xiapu County police officers, led by Ou Xiaomin, broke into our house on the evening of May 7, 2003, and arrested both my husband and me. My husband was first incarcerated in the Criminal Police Brigade in Sansha, where his hands were cuffed behind his back onto an iron gate. He was deprived of sleep and interrogated for three days and nights. He was then transferred to Xiaopu Detention Center.

By then, he was in critical condition and was unable to lie down. He stood up around the clock, and his hands trembled. The inmates kicked him repeatedly. Within only a few months, my husband was skin and bones.

In February 2004, the Xiapu 610 Office collaborated with the local court, and I was given a two-year sentence and my husband a three-year sentence. I attempted to appeal and was denied, and my two-year sentence ended up being delayed for three years.

My husband was already 65, and his condition was worsening every day. In the second half of 2004, the 610 Office ordered the detention center to transfer him to Longyan Prison. The prison, however, refused to accept him since he was in very fragile condition physically. The guards brought him back to Xiapu Detention Center and detained him there for a few more months. The center authorities finally released him when they saw that he was dying.

Police Climb Over Wall Into Our Yard to Arrest My Husband

The head of the detention center and a dozen officers from Songcheng Police Department climbed over a wall from our neighbor’s side and entered our yard at around 10:00 p.m. on September 15, 2005. They attempted to arrest both of us. I protested, so they didn't dare to touch me. They began to harass my husband, however, knowing that he had already been tortured and was critically ill. They ignored his condition and arrested him anyway. My husband was detained once again in the harsh environment of a detention center. He was not released until May 2006, after serving a full term.

Husband Passes Away

Since he lived in fear for so long and was under the constant heavy pressure of threats, torture, beatings, and verbal abuse, he suffered a severe stroke and could not move half of his body. He lost control of his bowels, his eyes were lifeless, and he could not speak clearly.

In addition, the police department withheld my husband’s pension in the second half of 2008, and they also confiscated our housing provident fund, which was tens of thousands of yuan. We were then in desperate circumstances without any source of income. My husband was bedridden for three years and finally passed away on September 11, 2009.

Becoming Destitute and Homeless Once Again

On the morning of February 13, 2012, 610 Office head Liu Chengjian brought officers Lin Huiwen and Zhan Changyin from Songcheng Police Department to ransack our home. They took Master’s portrait, two Dafa books, a phone book, exercise music CDs, and other personal belongings.

The officers once again tried to arrest me in late February 2012. I was forced to become destitute and homeless and did not return home until September 2012.