Retired Teacher Seeks Justice Over Suspended Pension for Her Faith in Falun Gong

(Minghui.org) A Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province resident has had her pension suspended since December 2019. The authorities also demanded she return the pension she has received between July 2014 and November 2019.

Ms. Zhu Qiuling, a 64-year-old retired middle school teacher, was targeted for her faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999. 

Ms. Zhu was sentenced to five years in 2009. During her term, the authorities suspended her pension. After she was released in July 2014, her school resumed her pension payments. The Social Security Office in Wuzhong District, however, suspended her pension again since December 2019 and demanded that she return the 302,859.10 yuan she has received since her prison release. 

To seek justice, Ms. Zhu hired a lawyer and filed an administrative lawsuit against the Wuzhong Social Security Office in December 2019, demanding reconsideration of the suspension of her pension. When the lawsuit didn’t move forward, Ms. Zhu filed another administrative litigation in April 2021, demanding the court to review the legality of the Social Security Office’s decision to suspend her pension. The Gusu District Court accepted her case and scheduled a hearing for July 15, 2021. It’s not clear whether the judge has made a decision on her case.

Below is Ms. Zhu’s account of why she practices Falun Gong and details of her pension suspension.

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Taking Up Falun Gong

I suffered hemorrhaging during labor at the age of 27. Although both my daughter and I survived, I developed many symptoms afterwards. I often felt weak, dizzy-headed and had tightness in my chest. My left breast was in constant pain and leaked fluid. The doctor said I had breast cancer, but none of the hospitals I went to could provide effective treatment.

When my daughter was six, my husband had an affair and we divorced. I got custody of my daughter and my ex-husband refused to pay child support. The hardship of life and physical torment from the ailments sent me into depresssion.

In March 1998, I came across Falun Gong. The principles discussed in the book Zhuan Falun (the main text of Falun Gong) broadened my heart. This was what I had been looking for in my life. It’s beautiful and close to my heart. I understood the meaning of life. I was determined to live by Falun Gong’s principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance and strive to be a good person.

From living a positive life and doing the Falun Gong exercises, all of my physical symptoms disappeared. With good health, I devoted more time to my teaching and was recognized by the school leadership. After I retired in July 2007 after 30 years of service, the school re-hired me and I worked there for another year.

Persecuted for Upholding My Faith

After the communist regime ordered the persecution, I went to Beijing to appeal for the right to practice Falun Gong in 2000. I was arrested and detained for 15 days after coming back. After that, I was arrested a few more times and held in the local brainwashing center. 

In July 2009, I was sentenced to five years by the Wuzhong District Court. I was subjected to non-stop physical and mental torture while serving time at the Nantong Women’s Prison.

Pension Suspended

After the social security bureau began to suspend my pension again in December 2019, they also urged my school to force me to return the money I had received after being released. 

My school kept calling me since. Initially, they said the demand was from the Wuzhong District Education Bureau. Then it changed to the Wuzhong District Political and Legal Affairs Committee (an extra-judiciary agency tasked with overseeing the persecution). Later, they told me that the decision was from the provincial leadership. 

When the social security office first suspended my pension, I went to the office to inquire about the situation. The manager Xu Wei said they made the decision based on a new policy. But when I asked to see the policy, he said it’s a classified file and refused to give it to me.

I found Xu again a few days later and asked to see the policy. This time, he showed it to me on his computer. The filed was titled “Notice on Wage Handling of Institutional Workers Who Have Been Subjected to Compulsory Measures and Administrative or Criminal Punishment.” The file was dated 2012 and was issued by the Central Organization Department, Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and Supervision Department. 

I asked for a hard copy of the file, but Xu refused to do so and asked me to contact the human resources department. I went there, only to be re-directed to the education bureau. I then went to the education bureau, which said they weren’t aware of my case and asked me to consult my school. 

When I finally went to my school to inquire about the case, after spending six months running around, they showed me a notice to suspend my pension, which was issued by Xu Wei of the social security office in December 2019.

Perpetrators’ contact information:
Zheng Qilei (郑琪磊), director of Wuzhong Social Security OfficeXu Wei (徐玮), manager of Wuzhong Social Security Office: [phone]Gu Guoping (顾国平), lawyer of the Lixin Law Firm: [phone]

Related reports:

Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province: 14 Falun Gong Practitioners Detained for Over a Month

Ms. Zhu Qiuling Sentenced to Prison; Mr. Chen Yinru Awaiting Trial