(Minghui.org)
Name: Lu ChunyangChinese Name: 鲁春杨Gender: MaleAge: 62City: SanheProvince: HebeiOccupation: office director at the Sanhe City Export CompanyDate of Death: January 15, 2025Date of Most Recent Arrest: September 25, 2002Most Recent Place of Detention: Langfang Brainwashing Center
Mr. Lu Chunyang
A Sanhe City, Hebei Province resident was stripped of his pension in 2022 for his faith in Falun Gong. Having previously endured decades of persecution for his faith, the loss of pension became the last straw that crushed Mr. Lu Chunyang. He had a stroke not long afterwards and died on January 15, 2025. He was 62.
Mr. Lu, formerly an office director for the Sanhe City Export Company, and his wife, Ms. Li Yonglian, who once taught at the Fourth Elementary School in Sanhe City, both took up Falun Gong in 1997. After the persecution began two years later, they were repeatedly targeted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
The couple went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong on July 20, 1999, the day the persecution officially started. They were arrested and driven to Baoding City, Hebei Province. They were kept outdoors under the scorching sun for a whole day. That night Mr. Lu was taken to his workplace and ordered to write statements to renounce Falun Gong. His wife was taken to a hotel before being moved to another hotel. Two days later, a city official ordered her to go on TV to smear Falun Gong. She refused and her school administrators warned her of “difficult days ahead” since she dared to challenge the city official. She was then brought to her school and held there without any communication with her family.
The couple and their daughter were sound asleep at 11 p.m. on September 23, 1999 when someone pounded on the door. Mr. Lu opened the door, only to see about eight officers from the Beicheng Police Station rush in. They confiscated the couple’s Falun Gong books and seized his wife. Ms. Li was held at the Sanhe City Detention Center for an unknown amount of time.
Ms. Li went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong in April 2000 and was arrested. She was taken back and held at the Sanhe City Detention Center. She went on a hunger strike in protest and was released seven days later after she became extremely weak. The police however arrested her again three days later and held her at the Beicheng Police Station. Mr. Lu sought her release and was beaten by chief Zhao Yongkang. After 38 days at the police station, Ms. Li was moved to her school and held there for another two weeks.
Ms. Li and Mr. Lu were both arrested at work on August 28, 2000 and had their home raided. Mr. Lu refused to sign the criminal detention notice, and deputy chief Zhang Shangli of the Sanhe City Police Department instructed several officers to press him down and twisted one of his hands behind his back to be cuffed to his other hand pulled over his shoulder from the front. He screamed in pain. They took Mr. Lu to the Dachang County Detention Center. The handcuffs cut into his flesh and it took the police a long time to remove the handcuffs. The injury marks on his wrists didn’t disappear until several months later. His wife was subjected to the same handcuff torture and her fingers were numb for several months afterward.
Mr. Lu was released 100 days later after his family was forced to pay 5,000 yuan. His wife was given three years of forced labor at the end of December 2000. The Tangshan Labor Camp twice declined to admit her after she was found to have heart disease and high blood pressure. The Dachang County Police Department demanded 9,000 yuan in exchange for her release. Mr. Lu only managed to pay 3,000 yuan and his wife was released after 129 days of detention. The Dachang County Detention Center additionally forced the couple to pay a total of 3,985 yuan to cover their living expenses while in detention.
Mr. Lu’s employer stopped his pay in September 2000 when he was still in detention. After he was released in mid-December 2000, they didn’t allow him to return to work and formally fired him in 2002. His wife lost her job in 2000. The authorities also slandered the couple on TV.
Mr. Lu went to Beijing to appeal for justice in December 2000 and was struck on the back by the Beijing police. He was then taken back and held at the Sanhe City Detention Center for six weeks. His wife was arrested in April 2001 after being reported for distributing Falun Gong informational materials. She was taken to the Sanhe City Detention Center. She went on a hunger strike in protest and became extremely weak. The guards released her on the seventh day.
Ms. Li was arrested in May 2001, while biking to another practitioner’s home. The police who had been shadowing her knocked her down and slapped her in the face. After Ms. Li was brought to the Beicheng Police Station, officer Ai Guangliang kicked her hard. She was then taken to the Sanhe City Detention Center. She went on a hunger strike and was force-fed for four straight days. Her teeth became loose and her clothes were torn during the brutal forced-feeding process. The back of her hands had bruises. The guards later took her to the hospital for IV drips.
After losing their jobs, the couple worked at an orchard to make a living. While working at the orchard on September 25, 2002, Mr. Lu was arrested by more than ten officers from the Beicheng Police Station. They arrived in several unmarked cars, with telescopes and walkie-talkies in hand. Two younger officers punched Mr. Lu in the head, resulting in a huge bump and subsequent headaches. He yelled, “The police are beating people!” They stuffed his mouth with sand and carried him to a minivan. He was not even allowed to put on his coat and shoes.
The police drove Mr. Lu to a hospital to get some medications for his head injury. It is unclear whether he was forced to pay the more than 600 yuan in medical expenses. He was found to have extremely high blood pressure (a systolic pressure reading of nearly 200 mmHg, when a normal range is 120 or lower). Regardless, the police carried him to the van and drove him to the Langfang Brainwashing Center after the checkup. He was held there for 20 days. His former employer, the Sanhe City Export Company, was ordered to pay the brainwashing center 8,000 yuan in exchange for his release.
Mr. Lu’s father was traumatized by his son’s persecution and fell ill. The older man was hospitalized several times and died in 2009. Mr. Lu’s mother developed dementia and required round-the-clock care. She died in 2015. Mr. Lu’s daughter grew up witnessing his parents’ persecution and her school performance declined as a result of the trauma.
The local street committee called Mr. Lu’s daughter on December 25, 2020 and demanded to know where her parents were staying, as they needed to inspect the natural gas pipes. The daughter refused to answer and hung up the phone. The next evening, Li Yongliang, the local village secretary, led three government employees, including one surnamed Xin, to Mr. Lu’s home. When one of them whipped out his cell phone to videotape the home, Mr. Lu’s wife stopped him.
Deputy chief Li Fengxue (badge number 123064) from the Nancheng Police Station brought four officers (badge numbers F00160, X00091, X00181, and X00832) to harass Mr. Lu at home on April 22, 2021. When Mr. Lu explained the illegality of the persecution, Li promised to learn more about relevant laws.
The harassments of Mr. Lu and his wife never stopped. The police and street committee showed up at least once a year, sometimes multiples times a year, attempting to force the couple to renounce Falun Gong.
In 2022, Sun Yong, director of the pension division of the Sanhe City Human Resources Department, reduced Mr. Lu and his wife’s years of service to zero, effectively resetting their pension amounts to zero. Mr. Lu was so devastated that he had a stroke not long afterwards. He never recovered and died on January 15, 2025.
Related Reports:
Over 300 Falun Gong Practitioners from Sanhe, Hebei Province Sue Jiang Zemin
Falun Gong Practitioners in Sanhe City, Hebei Province Are Severely Persecuted
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