Former Member of the Chinese Communist Party Persecuted for His Faith in Falun Gong

(Minghui.org) For upholding his faith in Falun Gong, an 80-year-old Chongqing resident has been repeatedly arrested, harassed, and had his pension withheld.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Mr. Chen Fengming, a retired employee of a coal and electricity company, took up Falun Gong in August 1996. Many of his ailments, including hepatitis, chronic gastritis, and joint pain, disappeared.

After the onset of the persecution, the local authorities banned the practitioners from having group Fa study or exercises. They strictly monitored members of the Chinese Communist Party and prohibited them from attending any Falun Gong-related activities.

Being a Party member himself, Mr. Chen was often monitored and reprimanded for practicing Falun Gong. He later applied to quit the Party and was approved in October 2002.

For protesting the persecution, Mr. Chen was arrested on March 30, 2004. After one month at the Qijiang Detention Center, he was given one year at the Xishanping Forced Labor Camp.

The labor camp guards arranged for four inmates to monitor each practitioner. For those practitioners who refused to renounce Falun Gong, the inmates would withhold half of their food and prohibit them from drinking water.

The practitioners were also forced to sit on a small stool. They had to place their hands behind their backs while keeping their head and body straight. There were three sitting sessions, from 7 to 9 a.m., 1 to 3 p.m., and 10 p.m. to 12 a.m. If they moved a bit, the inmates kicked them and denied them their showers.

The four inmates monitoring Mr. Chen took turns watching him around the clock. When he used the restroom, he had to press his forehead against the wall. If he snored during sleep, the inmates would beat him with their shoes or hit him on the forehead.

Mr. Chen was also forced to attend two brainwashing sessions each week. The inmates beat him if he lowered his head and didn’t watch the propaganda video.

Mr. Chen was arrested again in June 2018 for delivering homemade Falun Gong materials to another practitioner. The police confiscated his computer, printer, Falun Gong books, and other materials he printed at home. He was deprived of sleep and food while being held at the Anwen Police Station. He was transferred to the Qijiang Detention Center the next day.

Mr. Chen was later sentenced to two years at Yongchuan Prison and fined 2,000 yuan. The guards also arranged for the inmates to monitor him and read materials slandering Falun Gong to him every day. He was deprived of sleep as well and not allowed to buy daily necessities as he refused to renounce Falun Gong.

After Mr. Chen was released, he found the authorities withheld his pension, which also included the scheduled benefit increase during the two-year term. Meanwhile, the authorities ordered him to keep his cell phone on around the clock, in order for them to monitor his phone calls and track his location. He and his children received harassing phone calls from unknown people from time to time.