(Minghui.org) Mr. Guo Yunqing, his wife Ms. Du Hongfang, and their son Mr. Guo Fengqing of Jilin City, Jilin Province, used to be a happy family. But since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began the persecution of the couple’s faith in Falun Gong in 1999, the husband was arrested multiple times and sentenced to 14 years following his latest arrest in 2007, his wife became paralyzed after being jailed and tortured for eight years, and their son was forced out of school and faced discrimination everywhere he went.
Ms. Du Hongfang and her 12-year-old son
Mr. Guo Yunqing in Guam in 1998
In a latest blow, in June or July 2020, the couple was informed by the Jilin City Human Resources and Security Bureau that their pensions were suspended.
Mr. Guo Yunqing’s Years of Persecution
Mr. Guo Yunqing was born in 1957. He worked at the headquarters of the Jilin Province Metallurgical Construction Company. He started to practice Falun Gong in January 1998 when he was working in Guam, a U.S. territory.
Appeals in Beijing
When the persecution began in July 1999, Mr. Guo went to speak out for Falun Gong on Tiananmen Square in Beijing on July 22, 1999.
When he went to Beijing again on October 10, 1999, he was arrested by officers from the Beijing Sanjianfang Police Station and the Jilin Police Department. He was taken back to Jilin City and detained for 15 days in the Yanjiang Street Police Station.
Mr. Guo went to Beijing for a third time in November 1999 but was stopped on the street because people were not allowed to appeal. As soon as he returned home, he was arrested and taken to the Jilin City No. 3 Detention Center. A month later, in the middle of December, he was officially arrested, charged with “undermining implementation of the law,” a standard pretext the authorities use to frame Falun Gong practitioners, and transferred to the Jilin City No. 1 Detention Center. He was released four months later in March 2000.
On October 1, 2000, Mr. Guo participated in a peaceful demonstration on Tiananmen Square with a large banner that said “Falun Dafa is good.” Dozens of police officers brutally kicked him and one hit him on the head with the butt of his pistol. He bled profusely and passed out. To avoid legal liability, the police dumped him in a remote location.
Arrested for Distributing Informational Materials
Mr. Guo was arrested by Wenmiao Police Station officers from the Changyi District Police Department on October 28, 2000, when he was handing out Falun Gong information. He was handcuffed to a heating pipe and his ankles and fingers were pulled back and forth for as long as 30 minutes at a time. The officers put hot mustard paste in his eyes, nose, and mouth. It was so painful that he passed out. He was confined in a damp isolation room in the Changyi District Police Department overnight.
He was then detained in the Jilin City house of detention for 14 days before being taken to the Jilin City No. 3 Detention Center. He was later sent to a forced labor camp for one year.
In Huanxiling Forced Labor Camp, Mr. Guo was subjected to brainwashing and torture. Because he resisted, he was transferred to Liaoyuan Forced Labor Camp for more severe treatment on March 27, 2001. He was released on October 27, 2001.
Sentenced to Three Years in Prison
Mr. Guo went out to distribute CDs with information about Falun Gong on May 2, 2003. He was arrested by Changyi District Police Department officers, who had been lying in wait for him. To find out where he got the CDs, the police tied him to a metal chair in the police department, punched and kicked him in the chest and knees, gagged him with a towel, and put hot mustard paste inside his nose. They also put four plastic bags over his head and covered his eyes. He almost suffocated.
On May 22, 2003, Mr. Guo was given three years of forced labor and taken to Yinmahe Forced Labor Camp on June 30. Because he had already been tortured, he now had heart disease, fractured ribs, and other ailments. The camp refused to accept him. The police kept him in detention for one more month and released him on July 2 for him to “serve time at home.”
Tortured in Gongzhuling Prison
Mr. Guo's latest arrest occurred on March 14, 2007, when his wife and son were also arrested. Changyi Police Department officers tortured him until he passed out several times and was then unable to walk.
The Changyi District Court sentenced Mr. Guo to 14 years in prison on July 10 without the knowledge of his family. He was admitted to Gongzhuling Prison.
Mr. Guo was tortured repeatedly and injected with unknown drugs multiple times.
In May 2012, he was put in the Intensive Training Team to be “transformed.” On the first day, Mr. Guo was shocked with electric batons for over an hour. That night he was tied in a spread-eagle position to four metal rings fixed to the floor. The guards rolled up a mattress under his fractured back, making the pain more unbearable. To increase his suffering, they also poked his eyes and nose, stepped on and twisted his fingers, slapped his face with a shoe, and kicked the insides of his thighs and ribs.
After 11 years of persecution, Mr. Guo was a physical and mental wreck. He was in critical condition and had to have bile duct surgery at the Changchun City Medical University hospital. He was released on April 24, 2019.
Wife Tortured in Prison
Mr. Guo Yunqing's wife, Ms. Du Hongfang, 58, started to practice Falun Gong in April 1999. She was arrested seven times for refusing to give it up, the last time in July 2008. After being held in the Jilin City Detention Center, she was later sentenced to 8 years in Heizuizi Women's Prison. In an article in June 2018, Ms. Du recounted the brutal torture she was subjected to. Just how badly she was injured can be seen from the pictures below.
Cheerful and healthy Ms. Du Hongfang
Ms. Du after the persecution
Arrested for Appealing
Ms. Du went to Beijing to speak out for Falun Gong the first time on July 22, 1999, and came home safely. She went to Beijing again in October but was arrested as soon as she checked in to the hotel in Beijing. Jilin Police Department officers took her home by train the following day. They confiscated more than 500 yuan from her and detained her for 15 days.
In November, Ms. Du went to Beijing again with her husband. Both were arrested when they returned to Jilin. She was held in a brainwashing center for over three weeks and her husband was held in the Jilin No. 1 Detention Center for four months. After Ms. Du was released, the police continued to harass her, forcing her to live away from home to avoid the police. In order to find her, the police harassed her sister and brother. Her son, who was just nine years old, struggled to take care of himself when both of his parents were being persecuted.
Ms. Du was arrested at a fellow practitioner's home in 2000 and held in a detention center for over 30 days. She was starved and forced to squat near a wall for more than 14 hours because she refused to memorize the detention center rules.
In February 2000, Ms. Du took the train to Beijing again. She was intercepted at Fushun Station and taken back to the Jilin City Detention Center. The director ordered criminal inmates to beat her. She went on a hunger strike to protest for over three weeks and was force-fed two times a day. She was later given one year of forced labor.
Tortured in Heizuizi Women's Forced Labor Camp
Ms. Du was transferred to the No. 4 Team at Heizuizi Women's Forced Labor Camp on March 2, 2000. The next day, she was shocked with electric batons and beaten by inmates for doing the Falun Gong exercises in the morning. Following the torture, she was forced to do heavy work for more than 14 hours.
On April 28, Ms. Du was handcuffed to a bed and shocked with an electric baton for doing the Falun Gong exercises. She was also slapped in the face and verbally abused for refusing to give up her faith. She went on a hunger strike and was force-fed. The guard pried open her mouth with a metal tool and injured her mouth. A rubber feeding tube was inserted into her stomach. The saltwater they fed her caused burning pain in her stomach and she kept vomiting.
On May 13, all Falun Gong practitioners in the No. 4 Team went on a hunger strike. Ms. Du was tied to a bed and force-fed by an inmate while a guard shocked her with an electric baton all over her body. The current was so strong that her body literally bounced up every time she was shocked. She fainted and almost died.
On November 1, the guard ordered Ms. Du to write a statement to renounce Falun Gong. She refused to betray her faith. The guard then locked her in an isolation room with her hands tied to the door handles. Her hands developed blisters and swelled. The room was filthy and mice crawled all over her.
After 13 days in the isolation room, Ms. Du was on the verge of a mental breakdown. Her hands were so swollen that she couldn’t make a fist. Because she did not give up her faith, her term was extended by nine months, making the total time she was incarcerated over 600 days. She was released on January 22, 2002.
Second Labor Camp Term
On June 18, 2002, Ms. Du was arrested again. The police wanted to know where she'd gotten her Falun Gong materials, so they tied her to a metal chair and covered her head with a plastic bag. She almost blacked out. Her heart was racing and her face turned blue. The police repeated the torture several times and interrogated her until past 8 p.m.
Ms. Du was given another two years of forced labor and taken to Heizuizi Women's Forced Labor Camp on June 24. When the prison was showing the video about the Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation hoax to demonize Falun Gong in July, Ms. Du refused to watch and said, “Falun Dafa is good. The self-immolation is a hoax.” As a result, she was beaten and shocked with electric batons. The guard also force-fed her with unknown drugs.
To force Ms. Du to “transform,” the collaborators didn’t let her sleep and forced her to watch videos and read books that slandered Falun Gong day and night. In her monthly thought report, she resisted the persecution by writing facts about the persecution. In many cases, the guards attempted to force her to sign a prepared statement renouncing Falun Gong. When she refused, they grabbed her hands and pressed her fingerprints on it.
Entire Family Arrested
On March 14, 2007, Ms. Du, her husband Mr. Guo, and their son were all arrested together. She and their son were detained in the Jilin City House of Detention. She went on a hunger strike to protest the illegal arrest and was brutally force-fed.
A guard said to her, “I could cause your death in a few days.” Ms. Du responded, “I know everything you could do. But if I die, the world will know in a few days that it’s you who tortured me to death.” She and her son were later released on bail.
After their release, the police did not stop harassing Ms. Du. They searched for her everywhere, forcing her and her 12-year-old son to move away.
Incapacitated after Being Tortured in Jilin Women's Prison
Ms. Du was arrested again in 2008 and sentenced to eight years in prison. In the Jilin Province Women's Prison, the guards employed various means of torture, including isolation, hanging her up, long hours of standing, and sleep deprivation, all to try to force Ms. Du to give up her belief. The torture left the originally healthy woman mentally traumatized.
To make Ms. Du “transform,” the guards made her sit on a small stool motionlessly from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. They put a water bottle on the edge of the small stool, which would fall off if she moved at all. The guards kicked her when the bottle fell. At one time, the guards didn’t let her use the restroom for two days. The torture lasted for more than three months, leaving her with back pain and a lack of feeling in her legs for a long time.
The guards didn’t let Ms. Du talk unless she first verbally abused the founder of Falun Gong.
On one occasion, Ms. Du was forced to stand from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. When inmates tried to insert a book with a photo of Falun Gong’s founder into her crotch, Ms. Du struggled to stop them and passed out. As soon as she was conscious, the inmates accused her of faking, grabbed her head, and slammed it against a wall. The blow caused her to lose control of her bladder.
After suffering such inhuman treatment and torture, Ms. Du, who was originally kind and healthy, almost collapsed mentally and had symptoms of a stroke. Even when she was in this condition, the prison still did not release her and sent her to the hospital for “treatment.” When Ms. Du finished serving her term and was released on July 3, 2016, she was incapacitated.
Now, Ms. Du has lost feeling in her hands, feet, and legs. She drools and cannot talk. She is incontinent and has to wear a diaper.
The family was harassed frequently by the police and residential committee staff. They lived away from home for a period of time in May 2020.
Ms. Du fell and caused strains in her thighs in August 2020. She was unable to straighten her legs and it’s becoming increasingly difficult for Mr. Guo to help her turn over in bed.
Son Discriminated Against and Traumatized
The couple’s son, Mr. Guo Fengqing, was born on April 7, 1990. He started to practice Falun Gong with his mother on April 25, 1999. He attended elementary school for three years, until his parents were detained. He then was no longer allowed to attend school.
Ms. Du and her son
When his parents were detained after July 20, 1999, Guo Fengqing was just 9 at the time, and there was no one left to take care of him. He lived like a vagabond and was no longer allowed to attend school. Constantly bullied and humiliated in the community, the boy was severely traumatized.
His family was torn apart when all three of them were arrested on March 4, 2007. His father Mr. Guo Yunqin was sentenced to 14 years in prison on July 10. He and his mother Ms. Du were detained in the Jilin City House of Detention and then released on bail. They went hiding to avoid arrest again.
Because his parents were persecuted for so long, Mr. Guo Fengqing gave up the practice for fear of being arrested again. Now, at the age of 30, he does odd jobs for a living.
Pensions Suspended
From 1999 to 2007, the authorities extorted over 5,000 yuan from Mr. Guo and Ms. Du. Because the police have now confiscated more than 100,000 yuan from them, the couple is destitute.
The social security bureau stopped Mr. Guo’s pension in June 2020 and Ms. Du’s in July. The authorities said that for those who serve time in prison, their years of employment before 1987 wouldn’t be counted into their pension, and for their employment after 1987, the years they spent in prison would be deducted.
Mr. Guo started to work in 1976 and Ms. Du in 1986. They served 11 years and eight years in prison, respectively, thus Mr. Guo got credit for working only 25 years and Ms. Du for only 9 years by the new calculation. With so little left after the deductions, the authorities simply suspended their pension payments.
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