Two Decades of Persecution, One Shattered Family (Part 2)

(Minghui.org) (Continued from Part 1)

A Shattered Family

Ms. Jiang’s two decades of ordeal started as soon as the communist regime ordered the persecution in 1999. The authorities didn’t only constantly monitor her life, but also forced her to resign from her position at the New Age Mall. Her wage was garnished as well. 

In total, she has been arbitrarily arrested seven times, put through brainwashing twice, detained twice, forced to leave her hometown and became a fugitive for two years. She was given three years of forced labor in 2004 and three years in prison in 2017.

The persecution against Ms. Jiang brought tremendous pressure on her husband and son, especially when the police showed up randomly to harass them. Her husband and son lived in constant fear that Ms. Jiang would get arrested anytime. Worry and fear became part of their lives. 

Ms. Jiang’s son Mr. Zhao Xiaodong was only a fifth-grader in 2001. As soon as she got home one day in August, the boy told her, “Mom. Hurry! Leave now! Police officers, seven or eight of them came looking for you!” Her husband was also very nervous and told her to leave quickly. 

Ms. Jiang left home to avoid being arrested, only to remain on the run for the next two years. In order to look for her, the police closely monitored her husband, son and other relatives and harassed them more than a dozen times during that time.

The police later found out about Ms. Jiang’s location and after following her for months, they arrested her in April 2003. Ms. Jiang was detained and put through a brainwashing class organized by the local 610 Office where she was abused and mistreated. She escaped 58 days later. 

However, in less than a year and a half, Ms. Jiang was arrested again in October 2004 and subjected to another round of brainwashing. Her three-year forced labor term came a month later in November 2004. 

By that time, her son, Mr. Zhao Xiaodong, was already in eighth grade. With his mom gone, his grades declined dramatically. Mr. Zhao was often home alone since his father had to work. The once outgoing boy grew more and more introverted. He told his father a few times in tears that he didn’t want to go to school anymore. Ms. Jiang’s husband took care of the home and their young son all by himself. He shouldered the financial pressure and faced family and friends’ sarcastic and hurtful remarks.

Mr. Zhao was a junior in high school when Ms. Jiang was released in July 2007. Zhao didn’t have the tender love and care of his mother for five out of the six years from 5th to 11th grade. Missing her and worrying about her became part of the boy’s life. His childhood was tinged with sadness. Now in his adolescence, Mr. Zhao saw no joy in life. He suffered from loneliness, anxiety, and low self-esteem.

Mr. Zhao didn’t perform well in the national college placement exams at the end of his senior year and decided to go to Korea for college. Living in a free country didn’t ease his worries and anxiety. He called often to check on Ms. Jiang and see how she was doing. 

When Ms. Jiang visited him in Korea, they went for a stroll near Mr. Zhao’s school. As they walked together, Zhao all of a sudden grabbed Ms. Jiang and asked suspiciously, “What have you done? Tell me!” Seeing Falun Gong practitioners clarifying the truth at the airport also made Zhao very uneasy. He was nervous and constantly looked around. His odd behavior concerned Ms. Jiang.

Mr. Zhao’s mental health continued to decline until his family had to bring him back from Korea in 2014. He seemed depressed and rarely talked to anyone. He had a negative outlook on life and was not motivated to do anything. To escape reality, he played video games all day. Ms. Jiang’s husband hated to see his son like this—he often cursed and even hit him. In turn, Zhao became easily irritated and lost his temper quickly. Only when he spent time with Ms. Jiang, did he seemed to be fine.

Ms. Jiang’s husband was at a loss. He knew that Falun Dafa is a good practice but he didn’t dare to practice it because of the persecution. Desperately needing a channel to release pressure, he turned violent and began to physically and verbally abuse Ms. Jiang and their son.

After being reported to the police by a villager in Jujia Village of Guozhuang Township in April 2017, Mr. Jiang was arrested by officers from the Guozhuang Police Station. Li Jianghua, the deputy police chief, Liu Jie of the Domestic Security Office, and Guo Yucheng from the 610 Office led the ransack of Ms. Jiang’s home. They turned the place upside down and confiscated her personal belongings. 

Ms. Jiang’s husband and son were intimidated and threatened. Mr. Zhao was overly excited and shouted to the crowd that gathered, “My mom will be back soon!” When Ms. Jiang did not return as Zhao expected, he became distraught and cut off one of his fingers. 

Besides working to support the family and petitioning at different agencies for Ms. Jiang’s release, her husband also had to take care of their mentally-ill son. Friends and family were hostile and made nasty comments. He grew exhausted mentally and physically. Having to send his son back to the psychiatric hospital seemed to have been the last straw that crushed this man who was once strong and optimistic. He committed suicide on the fourth day of the Chinese New Year, only 42 days before Ms. Jiang’s release in April 2020.

Force-fed in the Qingdao No. 2 Detention Center

The night after she was arrested on April 11, 2017, Ms. Jiang was held in a small room at the Guozhuang Police Station and monitored by two officers. Deputy chief Li Jianhua lied to her, “Tomorrow your family will take you home.”

Ms. Jiang didn’t sleep, eat, or drink that night. She was sick to her stomach and threw up. The deputy chief and a few others took her to the South Village Hospital the next morning for a physical examination before taking her back to the police station. Two policemen tried to get her to leave her fingerprint the next day. When Ms. Jiang didn’t cooperate, they grabbed her hand and pressed her finger on the paperwork. Ms. Jiang’s knuckle became swollen.

Ms. Jiang was taken to the Qingdao No. 2 Detention Center in Pudong Township that afternoon by the deputy chief and two other officers, one male and one female. While getting a physical examination, Deputy Chief Li followed Ms. Jiang closely and didn’t step away for a second. He seemed to be very pleased after getting her admitted to the detention center, “I will send the case file to the procuratorate in a week and get an arrest warrant issued.” Ms. Jiang realized that it was Li’s plan all along. She advised him not to commit wrongdoing but Li couldn’t care less—he was happy that he was about to get a promotion.

Ms. Jiang was placed in a cell behind six metal doors. As soon as she got there, six inmates pinned her down, stripped her naked, and put the inmate’s uniform on her. When she didn’t want to get her hair cut short, six inmates carried her to the barber. To protest such mistreatment, Ms. Jiang went on a three-day hunger strike. She was verbally abused and threatened, and her cellmates were implicated. When instructor Wang Yufang turned off the TV and took away everybody’s right to purchase daily necessities at the store, her cellmates attacked her and tried to force her to eat. 

When her case reached the procuratorate, Ms. Jiang was summoned and told to sign the interrogation record. She explained that she was not guilty and refused to sign the paperwork. A female prosecutor told the detention center guards, “She refuses to sign the paperwork. You should release her.” A female guard responded, “Don’t they [Falun Gong practitioners] all refuse to sign?” Ms. Jiang was taken back to her cell.

Ms. Jiang was sentenced to three years in prison in October 2017. She appealed the decision and went on a three-day hunger strike. On the fourth day, guard Du Yunge took her to the hospital where she was force-fed. Several staff members, including a male worker, held her down while the feeding tube was inserted and pulled out, back and forth, nine times. The tube poked into her lung a few times and caused bleeding. Regardless, the force-feeding continued. 

Ms. Jiang couldn’t breathe and felt as if she was dying. The force-feeding was repeated again in the afternoon. While Ms. Jiang was on a hunger strike, inmate Lin Ning, who was convicted of economic offenses, often kicked her. 

After almost nine months at the detention center, Ms. Jiang was transferred in January 2018 to the Shandong Women’s Prison in Jinan City.

(To be continued.)

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