(Minghui.org) Mr. Hao Wuzhong was finally allowed to meet with his wife on January 17, 2014, two years after he was first incarcerated.
Mr. Hao, a Falun Gong practitioner, has been detained in Shandong No. 1 Prison in the Binhai Development District in Weifang City for nearly two years. Initially, prison authorities adamantly refused to allow him any visitors. After a long period of negotiations, however, his wife was eventually allowed to see him.
Mr. Hao looked pale and thin. His wife learned that Mr. Hao had high blood pressure and his health was not stable. Mr. Hao asked his wife for a larger stipend to cover his expenses.
Abuse Harms Mr. Hao's Health
Mr. Hao and other practitioners began a hunger strike in July 2012, after inmates were directed to beat them. Political head Hu Wei ordered them to further abuse Mr. Hao and other practitioners.
Torture re-enactment: Brutal beatings
Mr. Hao developed severe hypertension and heart disease. The prison authorities were afraid that he would die in prison and admitted him to the police hospital for treatment.
His Wife Not Allowed to Visit Him
Mr. Hao's wife tried to visit him on January 19, 2013, but the prison sent her away, saying that Mr. Hao was in the hospital being treated for hypertension. When she tried to insist on seeing him, the guard threatened to detain her as well. Seeing that she was not intimidated, they pushed her out the door.
Mr. Hao's wife went to the prison again in May 2013 to visit him, but was told that he was in the hospital. She asked what was wrong and insisted on seeing him in person. The prison police just said Mr. Hao had several health problems and refused to let her see him.
Mr. Hao's wife has traveled many times to try to see her husband in prison during the past two years. Every time she suffered from motion sickness, and each time prison authorities sent her away in tears.
A Glimmer of Hope
She returned with a glimmer of hope this year around the Chinese New Year. With the help of kindhearted people, for the first time in almost two years she was eventually allowed to see her husband at the Jinan Police Hospital. She said that Mr. Hao looked very pale and thin.
Mr. Hao, 65, is retired from the Binhai Development District Baking Soda Plant in Weifang, Shangdong Province. He had suffered from numerous ailments before practicing Falun Gong, but regained his health shortly afterwards. Responsible and healthy, he was the sole financial support of his family.
When Mr. Hao was detained in 2009, his retirement pension was suspended. His wife tried to seem him in the Beihai Police Department multiple times regarding this issue, but was repeatedly rebuffed. With no source of income, the 60-year-old woman had to work in a restaurant to support herself and pay for Mr. Hao's expenses in prison.
Mr. Hao was detained twice between 1999 and 2013, and was harassed numerous times by his employer and officers from the Binhai Department. Hanting Court in Weifang City sentenced him to a nine-year prison term in 2009.
