(Clearwisdom.net) Falun Dafa practitioner Liu Shengzhu's home in Weifang City of Shandong Province was forcibly taken away for several years, with the windows sealed and doors barricaded. The family of three was not allowed to go back to their own home and had to live a life of homelessness.

The sealed courtyard door

Liu Shengzhu and Li Xiumei's home

Since the brutal persecution of Falun Gong started in July 1999, many practitioners went to appeal in Beijing. In response, the local authorities set up many check points in order to stop practitioners from traveling. In order to safely get to Beijing and say a few fair words for Master and Dafa, Liu Shengzhu and Li Xiumei took their 3-year-old son, and rode a motorbike to Beijing to avoid the check points. After they were in Beijing for eight days, the three were arrested, sent back to the local authorities and detained at the local police station. Afterwards, the police illegally searched their home and released them after two days.

After they returned home, the local police and the Youai Village Committee assigned someone to watch and follow the couple, and restrict their personal freedom. They were followed even when they went shopping at the market.

One day at the end of October 1999, the head of Youai Village Jiang Weidong came to Liu Shengzhu's home and told them, "We received a notice that the Central Government is going to criticize you people publicly on TV. You are not allowed to go anywhere from now on." That night, village authorities sent a car to the alley near their home. Several people sat in the car watching them. The family left when the people sent to monitor them were not paying attention. The next morning, the police discovered what happened, and they put locks on every door of the couple's home and sealed it off.

One day in November 1999, the family went to see the head of the village, trying to get their home back. As soon as they approached the entrance of the Village Committee compound, the head of the village Jiang Weidong took three people with him, went straight to Liu Shengzhu and beat him up. The three people surrounded Liu Shengzhu. One punched him on the side of the head, while another kicked his lower abdomen. While they beat him, they yelled, "You'll die here today." They didn't stop until they were exhausted. The crowd of villagers who were looking on tried to get Liu Shengzhu to leave quickly, but the thugs did not let up. They dragged Liu Shengzhu into a room while shouting, "We'll beat you to death." However, Liu Shengzhu escaped later when they were not paying attention.

After finding out that Jiang Weidong and others had beaten her husband, Li Xiumei wanted to reason with the Party Secretary of the Village. They didn't bother to talk to her, and they wouldn't even let her enter the Village Committee compound. She questioned Jiang Weidong, "Are you amenable to reasoning? Why did you knowingly violate the law?" Jiang Weidong answered, "Today you have nothing to reason with, I am the reason! We have sold your house for 50,000 yuan. We spent 30,000 yuan to look for you in Beijing and 20,000 yuan on the expenses for watching you from July to October. You no longer have a house. From today on, your family does not belong to our village." After he said that, Jiang Weidong threw Li Xiumei out and said, "You can go anywhere you'd like to file a lawsuit, I am not scared!"

The same afternoon, Jiang Weidong brought people with him and sealed the courtyard door and the door of the adjoining hair salon where Li Xiumei made a living. The 128-square meter, two-story residence was thus taken away. After this, Liu Shenzhu's family had to go from place to place.

Because he chose to uphold his belief of "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance" and expose the persecution of Falun Gong, Liu Shengzhu has been repeatedly arrested. Just in 2000, he was arrested three times and taken to the detention center. Because Liu Shengzhu refused to cooperate with the guards there, they kicked him in the stomach and instigated criminal inmates to beat him. After one month of torture, Liu Shengzhu was emaciated and had trouble even just walking.

On October 15, 2006, on his way from Yantai to Weifang, Liu Shengzhu was arrested by officers from the National Security Bureau and later detained at the Weifang Detention Center. He suffered brutal torture there. At the end of May 2007, the Weicheng District Court illegally brought Liu Shengzhu and two other Falun Dafa practitioners to trial.

Li Xiumei has also suffered persecution. In 2000, she was arrested and taken to Dongguan Police Station in Kuiwen District, where she was detained for one day and one night. In 2003, she was again arrested by the Beigong Police Station and robbed of 600 yuan in cash.

On the night of October 15, 2006, after they arrested Liu Shengzhu, the police went to his home again and took Li Xiumei and her ten-year-old son. Although they released the child at around midnight of the same night, they took away every valuable in the house. They took about 20,000 yuan in cash, a car, a computer and two printers. The police even took the child's study materials, alarm clock and the coins that he had been saving.

After being detained for one month, Liu Xiumei was sentenced to two years of labor "re-education," to be implemented outside the labor camp, by the Weifang government.

Li Xiumei's mother is 82 years old this year, and Liu Shengzhu's parents are both over seventy years old. They can't look after the child. Li Xiumei and her son are having a very difficult time because all of their possessions and money have been taken away. They live off the little money that Li Xiumei makes from selling pancakes. The ten-year-old son has to subsist mainly on instant noodles.