(Minghui.org) After spending 12 tormenting years in prison, Ms. Li Yushu returned to her home town of Amur in Heilongjiang Province in May 2014.
Just one week after being released from prison, half of her body suddenly turned numb and her entire body became swollen. She had to be rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment. This caused her to recall the final round of forced-feeding the day she was to be released from prison.
Ms. Li Yushu before undergoing persecution
Ms. Li, a week after her release. Half of her face, mouth, shoulder were deformed and she kept falling down
Ms. Li was emaciated upon returning home and a week later, her whole body became swollen
Hours before Ms. Li was to be released, on the morning of May 18, 2014, Heilongjiang Women's Prison in Harbin City subjected her to a final round of forced-feeding.
The prison officials had announced that they would not force-feed her on the day of her release. Even the guards on duty were surprised and wondered, “Wasn't it already decided not to force-feed her today?” The nurses who carried out the forced-feeding were also puzzled and said, “We were told there would be no more force-feeding. How come all of a sudden we have to force-feed her again?”
Ms. Li and her friends were also suspicious that something was wrong with the final round of force-feeding. They believe that there had to be some drugs in that last force-fed meal. These drugs damaged her body. There have been plenty of precedents of similar action against many Falun Gong practitioners.
Symptoms Surfaced Suddenly
On May 26, a week after her release from prison, Ms. Li suddenly could not stand up. She fell down every time she tried to stand and half of her body could not function normally. The left side of her face and mouth were distorted. She had to crawl to the bathroom, but didn't have the strength to climb into bed.
Officials from the Amur Forestry Department where Ms. Li worked had installed surveillance cameras in her home to monitor her around the clock. They could see her crawling on the floor to and from the bathroom.
Ms. Li's family and friends suggested that they take her to a hospital. Those who were stationed outside her home replied, “We cannot make this decision.” They reported to the higher authorities immediately. Officials at various higher levels saw Ms. Li's situation, yet they refused to give clear instructions.
Later, Ms. Li started shaking and trembling uncontrollably. She became paralyzed over half of her body. She was numb from her tongue to her chin. She could not hear or see clearly. Her whole body became swollen. It took two people to assist her in dressing, undressing, and carrying her to bed.
Ms. Li's swollen legs and feet
Scabs on Ms. Li's knees from falling to the ground
For 10 consecutive years out of her 12-year detention, Ms. Li was brutally force-fed three times a day. Each force-feeding pushed her to the verge of death. Her respiratory tract, nasal passages, and esophagus were scarred. They were so swollen that the feeding tubes could not be inserted into them. But the prison authorities continued to force-feed her, regardless of the danger to her life.
By now, it has been over a month since Ms. Li's return home. She could no longer swallow food, and it was difficult to even drink water. She has been taken to the hospital for emergency treatments. Her niece and her nearly 80-year-old brother are at the hospital taking care of her.
24-Hour Surveillance and Harassment
It took Ms. Li Yushu over 24 hours to get back to her hometown from the prison on May 19, 2014. She was surprised to find that prior to her release, officials from the Amur Forestry Department had installed nine cameras from the entrance of her building and the ground floor, all along the way to the second floor where she lives. Audio and video surveillance devices were installed in her apartment.
Ms. Li observed, “I didn't expect to be held in a small prison after leaving the large prison.”
All high level officials from the Amur Forestry Department were scheduled in different shifts to monitor her. Surveillance team personnel sat in vehicles parked in the front and the back of her building. Reports were filed and relayed to various levels of higher authorities.
People followed Ms. Li wherever she went. When she went to a practitioner's home, they followed her into the room. She said to them, “I have to study the Fa with her!” They replied, “You two go ahead and study, we will just wait here.” They sat there and watched. When she left, so did they.
One day, a friend came to visit Ms. Li. Ms. Li asked how the friend's family members were doing. When the friend went back home, she was surprised to learn from her husband that police had come and bragged about the whereabouts of family members on her mother's side. The officers had overheard the entire conversation between her and Ms. Li.
This kind of surveillance has placed a lot of pressure on Ms. Li's family and friends.
Local Practitioners Harassed
Prior to Ms. Li's release, the Amur Police started monitoring, harassing, and threatening local Falun Gong practitioners.
It is more than a day's train ride from Ms. Li's hometown of Amur to Harbin, where she was imprisoned. Afraid that practitioners would go to Harbin to greet Ms. Li, Zhou Weijun, director of the Amur Police Station, officer Wang Zhaohui, and others waited at the train station to intercept practitioners on May 16, 2014, the day of Ms. Li's release. They said, “Regardless of where you are going, no Falun Gong practitioners are allowed to get on the train today!” Practitioners Deng Shujie and Wang Xiuxia were spotted at the train station. Several police officers dragged them back home.
Practitioner Guo Fengying and her husband saw police vehicles driving back and forth outside their home on May 16, 2014.
Officers from the Changying Police Station went to practitioner Hou Fengmei's home and harassed her. They demanded to take photos, examined her identification card and then ransacked her home. The officers threatened that they would arrest her if they found Falun Dafa books or informational materials. Ms. Hou stopped them and asked for an explanation. They answered, “Because Li Yushu is coming home, and we heard that you study Falun Gong.”
No Salary for Fifteen Years; No Source of Income
Ms. Li Yushu has not received any salary from the Forestry Department since July 20, 1999.
When she was persecuted in Heilongjiang Women's Prison, officer Jia Wenjun stole her debit card and spent more than 10,000 yuan of her money. Her savings were all used up. She presently has no income at all.
When she was held in a labor camp, the police extorted 3,000 yuan from her husband for “fines.”
Family's Plight
Since Ms. Li's arrest and sentencing, her husband had, over the years, appealed to various departments on her behalf. He developed liver problems and was not able to get timely treatment. He passed away in the fall of 2013.
Her 90-year-old father-in-law has lost the eyesight in one eye. Her mother-in-law suffers from colorectal cancer. The elderly couple cannot take care of themselves.
Her sister-in-law, 79, took several train trips to visit Ms. Li in Heilongjiang Women's Prison in Harbin City. She was saddened each time.
An Outstanding Educator
Ms. Li Yushu, 64, was secretary of the Education Commission in the Amur Forestry Department, Heilongjiang Province. She was recognized for her hard work and outstanding achievements, and promoted from an ordinary teacher to principal director of the Education Commission, and then secretary of the Education Commission.
During the 15 years of the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) persecution of Falun Gong, Ms. Li was illegally arrested and detained several times. She was taken to the Shuanghe Labor Camp in Qiqihar City in 2000 to serve a one-year term of forced labor. After she was arrested again in May 2002, she was sentenced to 12 years in prison by the Jiagedaqi District Court.
In Heilongjiang Women's Prison, Ms. Li refused to give up her belief in Falun Dafa's principles of Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance. She was put in solitary confinement. For a long time, she was tied up, beaten and kicked. Her face was hit with a broom. She was tied to a ring on the ground, and endured other kinds of torture. She was subjected to punitive forced-feeding for a full decade, and became emaciated.
Related article: Ms. Li Yushu Brutally Tortured in Heilongjiang Women's Prison
