(Minghui.org) Having served years for her faith in Falun Gong, a 67-year-old woman in Kunming City, Yunnan Province was recently forced to return 39,000 yuan of her pension money by the local Social Security Bureau.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Liu Cuixian was arrested on December 20, 2012 for distributing Falun Gong materials. She was later sentenced to eight years and subjected to involuntary drug administration at Yunnan Province No. 2 Prison. Her mother passed away during her imprisonment and she wasn’t allowed to see her one last time.
Ms. Liu was released two years ahead of time on October 20, 2018.
Starting in August 2020, the authorities suspended Ms. Liu’s pension, citing a new policy that Falun Gong practitioners imprisoned for their faith aren’t entitled to any retirement benefits.
On January 15, 2021, the Xishan District Social Security Bureau ordered Ms. Liu to return the 113,786.43 yuan she had received during her prison term.
As Ms. Liu refused to comply, she received another call on August 30 and was ordered to pay 39,000 yuan right away, otherwise her home would be sealed by the police.
Two days later, officers from the Social Security Bureau, local police station and residential committee broke into Ms. Liu’s home and forced her to transfer 39,000 yuan to the Social Security Bureau’s bank account by the end of next day.
Terrified by the officers and fearing being evicted from her own home, Ms. Liu transferred the money.
It’s not clear whether the authorities are continuing to pressure Ms. Liu to pay back the remaining funds.
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