(Minghui.org) Many families across China are able to enjoy holidays together, but a family of three in Dongrulai Village, Mengyin Town, Mengyin County, Shandong Province will never be reunited again to spend time together.
Because of the persecution of their shared faith in Falun Gong, the mother died at age 47 on August 19, 2015 and the father passed away six years later on June 19, 2021. He was in his 60s. Their only surviving daughter is now serving a seven-year term for upholding her faith.
A Hopeless Home Saved by Falun Gong
Mr. Sun Pinjin and his wife, Ms. Yu Zaihai, were farmers. The couple suffered from several diseases, and their daughter, Ms. Sun Yujiao, was sickly since birth. The family lived a poor and stressful life. Their neighbors often heard loud quarrels from their home.
When the family started practicing Falun Gong in 1997, their illnesses disappeared. By following the principles of “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance,” Ms. Yu changed her bad temper and the family became filled with joy.
The couple introduced Falun Gong to their relatives and friends. Having witnessed the changes in them, many relatives took up the practice as well.
Injustice
Having benefitted from the practice, the couple decided to speak out when the Chinese communist regime ordered the nationwide persecution of Falun Gong in July 1999.
Ms. Yu and a few other practitioners in her village went to Beijing on December 10, 1999 to appeal for the right to practice Falun Gong. They were arrested and held at the No. 2 Police Division in Mengyin County. The police also confiscated the only 540 yuan Ms. Yu had. Two days later, she was transferred to the Mengyin Detention Center and held there for a month. She was required to report weekly to the police station after being released.
While she was detained, Gong Pibao, the secretary of the Mengyin Town Political and Legal Affairs Committee, and Zhang Zhijian, chief of the No. 2 Police Division, ransacked her home. They confiscated her freezer, television, and all other valuables. Gong later said during a brainwashing session of the local practitioners that they didn’t even leave behind the half bag of laundry detergent when they raided her home.
All local practitioners who had gone to Beijing to appeal were arrested and taken to the brainwashing center shortly after. The authorities initially allowed them to go home after the brainwashing sessions but later began to torture them, as they refused to give up Falun Gong.
The practitioners, including Ms. Yu and her husband, were made to sit under the burning sun for long periods of time. The police also made them sit on the concrete floor, with their hands touching their toes, or bend over at a 90-degree angle while standing, with their hands touching the floor.
Mr. Sun was beaten the most severely. After knocking him down, two officers stepped on his head and held him down. There was a large, hard swelling on his arm from the beating.
Torture illustration: Beatings
On July 2, 2000, Ms. Yu was detained in the 610 Office located in the Mengyin County Professional College. One night, a guard beat her after he got drunk. He forced her to squat in a ditch and beat her. The guard and a few others pulled her up, kicking and stomping on her head and neck. They battered her face until her nose, mouth, and ears were bleeding. Her face was so swollen that she could not open her eyes. She did not recover for two weeks. The police denied that her injuries were caused by the beating, but blamed the lack of sunshine in her cell for her injuries. A week later her eyes started hurting and she was released shortly after.
An officer from the 610 Office and another police officer entered Ms. Yu’s house on October 20, 2000, and took her to the No. 2 Police Division. Officer Wang Wei kicked her as she refused to cooperate with the interrogation. With three kicks, her collarbone was broken, causing extreme pain. Wang said to her, “We’re not worried that you refused to answer our questions now. We’ve got numerous ways to make you talk. Wait until we shock you with electronic batons! You’ll for sure give in then!”
She was transferred to the county 610 Office nine days later. She had a headache but was forced to raise her hands in the air and stand for two mornings, with her face against the wall. She was released on November 18, 2000, after 19 days at the county 610 Office.
No Longer a Safe Home
Ms. Yu and another practitioner Ms. Zhang Aijun went to Beijing on January 6, 2001 to appeal again. At Tiananmen Square, they unfurled a banner that read “Falun Dafa Is Good.” The police arrested them and took them to Tiananmen Square Detention Center. They were later transferred to the No. 2 Police Division in Mengyin County. Six days later, she was taken to Mengyin County Detention Center, where she was held for 28 days. She was released after the Chinese New Year.
On February 11, 2001, the authorities went to Ms. Yu’s mother’s home to look for her and did not find her. They came again on February 14 and expressed the intention to take her to the 610 Office. She escaped from the bathroom.
The police scaled the fence that night and broke into her home. They brutally beat Mr. Sun. To prevent him from shouting due to the pain, they took him to the police station to continue beating him. They also attempted to force him to help them find Ms. Yu. He also managed to escape.
The police came and arrested Ms. Yu as soon as she returned home two months later. She was handcuffed and taken to the Shandong Province Women’s First Forced Labor Camp to serve a three-year term. But due to her poor health, the labor camp refused to accept her. She was released 13 days later.
Endless Persecution
The couple was reported on February 3, 2002, while making banners with information about Falun Gong. Thanks to information from an insider, they managed to escape before the police came to arrest them. The police ransacked their home and took away a Falun Gong book.
To avoid further persecution, the couple was forced to live away from home. Their young daughter had to stay with Ms. Yu’s parents, who were in their 70s.
Mr. Sun was arrested on March 12, 2003, in Xintai County while distributing Falun Gong materials. He was transferred to the Mengyin Detention Center and was eventually sentenced to five years at Weifang Prison.
Ms. Yu was also arrested on January 31, 2004, in her rental place, while printing Falun Gong books. The other practitioner staying with her, Ms. Wang Fucheng, went into shock after being beaten by the police.
Ms. Yu was also tortured. Her legs were stabbed with needles. She was injected with unknown drugs, hit with a rubber truncheon, and hit on her head with handcuffs. She suffered headaches, chest pain, and had bruises and numbness all over her body. The doctor said her lower legs atrophied and she could become paralyzed if her condition continued to deteriorate.
The police released her ten days later, after failing to extort money from her family.
A Family That can Never be Reunited
After returning home, Ms. Yu still faced non-stop harassment. After escaping another arrest on May 25, 2004, she was forced to live away from home for the next eleven years. The police tried to find out about her whereabouts through her parents and parents-in-law by pretending to be Falun Gong practitioners, but they were not fooled.
Ms. Yu developed severe sickness symptoms while on the run. She passed away on August 19, 2015. She was just 47 years old.
Ms. Yu’s passing dealt Mr. Sun a heavy blow. Nonetheless, instead of giving up Falun Gong in exchange for a normal life, he and his daughter upheld their faith and still worked hard to expose the persecution.
Ms. Sun Yujiao, the couple’s daughter in her 30s, and Mr. Sun were arrested on June 10 and 18, 2021, respectively. Some of their personal belongings were confiscated.
Only a day after Mr. Sun’s arrest, his family was informed that he had died. His two brothers and a sister-in-law were summoned to a local hospital at 2:30 p.m. on June 19, 2021, to verify his identity. They said that dozens of officers surrounded and intimidated them, which deeply traumatized them.
The 610 Office personnel claimed that Mr. Sun committed suicide by jumping off a building. The police cordoned off the scene and did not allow anyone to get close.
When his family saw Mr. Sun’s body at the Mengyin County Funeral Home, he was leaking brain fluid, one of his eyeballs was missing, and his abdomen and half of his head were sunken. The police refused to allow his family to order an autopsy.
To cover up the case, the authorities arranged for the police to closely monitor Mr. Sun’s brothers and his father-in-law. They weren’t allowed to hire a lawyer, appeal the case, or contact any Falun Gong practitioners. They weren’t even allowed to discuss the compensation for Mr. Sun’s death with others. Police officers also patrolled Mr. Sun’s village, terrifying the villagers as well.
On June 26, 2021, the authorities forced Mr. Sun’s family to have his body cremated, leaving the real cause of his death a permanent mystery. He was in his 60s.
Eight months after Mr. Sun’s death, Ms. Sun was sentenced to seven years at the Shandong Province Women’s Prison.
Related reports:
Shandong Man Dies One Day After Arrest, Body Forcibly Cremated Eight Days Later
Having Lost His Wife to the Persecution of Their Faith, Shandong Man Dies One Day After Arrest
Husband Illegally Sentenced to Five Years in Prison, Wife Destitute and Homeless
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