(Minghui.org) Having suffered from a debilitating illness for four straight years, Ms. Peng Huaying was elated to see all her symptoms disappear shortly after she began to practice Falun Gong in 2008. She wanted to tell others that the Chinese Communist Party is wrong in persecuting the self-cultivation practice that transformed her life.
Her simple act, however, has landed her in police custody many times. Pressured by the local authorities, her workplace, Bazhong City Statistics Bureau, demoted and eventually fired her from the post of section chief in 2012. They also cut off her pension, despite her eligibility as a long-time employee.
Most recently Ms. Peng was arrested again in September 2014 after submitting a letter to an inspection team from the central government complaining about her persecution. Instead of addressing her concern, the team forwarded her complaint to the police, which set the wheels in motion to send her to a local prison.
Her father and lawyer went to various government agencies in November to request her release, but they have not been successful.
Upon learning of her imprisonment, the local community started working on securing her release. Thus far, 426 people have either pressed their fingerprints or signed their names on a petition requesting her release.
Ms. Peng's local community petitions for her release
Five local employers also stamped their company seals on the petition, showing their support.
Prior to her most recent arrest, Ms. Peng was once given one and a half years of forced labor back in 2011, but the labor camp refused to admit her after she failed the required medical examination.
Ms. Peng's mother passed away while she was in detention in 2012, the same year she lost her job. She had to live with her father and rely on his meager pension to get by after her release.
Having worked at the statistics bureau for more than 30 years, Ms. Peng won “Worker of the Year” awards numerous times. Her colleagues and friends are outraged that such a well-respected person was made to go through such an ordeal simply for her belief, and are seeking her immediate release.
