Even after a Stroke, 74-year-old Woman Still Detained, Husband Persecuted to Death Years Ago

(Minghui.org) Ms. Wang Fengqing, 74, of Benxi City, Liaoning Province, used to have many health problems, including liver ascites, vasculitis, nephropathy, psoriasis, severe rheumatoid arthritis, and deformed and enlarged legs. All of these conditions completely disappeared after she practiced Falun Gong, a mind-body practice also known as Falun Dafa.

For telling people how she has benefited from it, Ms. Wang and her family were targeted by the Chinese Communist Party, which has been persecuting Falun Gong since July 1999.

On July 20, 2021, Ms. Wang was arrested at home by the deputy chief of Gongren Police Station Wang Qiye. She developed high blood pressure and had a stroke in custody, but the police refused to release her. They are now keeping her in the Benxi Chinese Medicine Hospital under close police surveillance.

Ms. Wang and her family have been repeatedly harassed for their belief and detained many times. Her husband Mr. Liu Yanheng was persecuted to death in 2008. Summarized below are the ordeals Ms. Wang and her family have suffered.

Previous Arrests

On January 5, 2001, Ms. Wang, her husband, and their son-in-law Mr. Fu Xiaodong were arrested and taken to a forced labor camp for having a photo of Falun Gong’s founder hanging in their home. Deng Zhongwei and Yang Yong were among the officers making the arrests.

On September 14, 2003, Ms. Wang was arrested and detained for distributing informational materials about Falun Gong.

On April 12, 2006, Ms. Wang and her husband were arrested by Benxi Police Department officers. Dozens of other practitioners were arrested at the same time. Her husband was released ten days later.

On April 1, 2020, Ms. Wang was arrested at the Zhuanshan Morning Market by officers from Gongren Police Station. Her son-in-law, then 48, was subsequently arrested at her home.

Husband Persecuted to Death

Ms. Wang’s husband Mr. Liu was arrested again on September 8, 2007. He was given a two-year term in the Benxi City Forced Labor Camp, where he was brutally tortured.

Mr. Liu Yanheng (Ms. Wang’s deceased husband)

Starting in October 2007, Mr. Liu’s health got worse day by day from being tortured. In particular, he had an intestinal hernia. He repeatedly asked to go to the hospital to have it treated. But guard Liu Shaoshi turned him down each and every time, even saying, “Your symptoms are really nothing. As I see it, the key is to fix your thoughts.” Liu Shaoshi did let Mr. Liu get checked out at the labor camp’s clinic. But the doctor there just took his blood pressure and did nothing else.

In January 2008, Mr. Liu started having trouble eating. He became weak and could barely walk. He was couldn’t do heavy labor, so he was assigned to deliver water to all the cells.

His health continued to get worse, and he lost a substantial amount of weight. The guards still denied him medical treatment. Guard Gao Wenzhong even ridiculed him when he asked to see a doctor. Guard Liu Shaoshi again said he didn’t have any serious issues that required a hospital visit.

Mr. Liu once talked about how local residents staged a protest, decrying the government’s unfair treatment. When guard Zheng Tao accused him of lying, Mr. Liu affirmed it was all true. He also didn’t hesitate to defend Falun Gong when the guards tried to smear the practice.

One morning in a brainwashing session, guard Guo Tieying slandered Falun Gong. Mr. Liu asked him why the Chinese Communist Party built so many temples if they did not believe in the divine. Guard Liu Shaoshi admitted that they had failed to fully “transform” Mr. Liu.

In March 2008, Mr. Liu deteriorated further and could no longer deliver water to the cells. He again asked guard Liu Shaoshi to go to the hospital, but the latter again directed him to the clinic, where the doctor didn’t even bother to take his blood pressure.

Mr. Liu complained about the stomach pains and asked the doctor if anything could be done to make him feel better. The doctor said that only surgery could fix the hernia but the clinic didn’t have the necessary equipment. Mr. Liu asked if it was possible that he suffered from other diseases as well. The doctor said that would require a comprehensive exam, but, again, they could not do it because of a lack of medical equipment.

Mr. Liu got weaker. In April 2008, he collapsed in the restroom. When he was helped back into his cell, he was in a lot of pain so other detained practitioners helped him to the clinic. Mr. Liu asked to be treated outside the labor camp. After finding out that Mr. Liu still had several months left to serve, two doctors looked at each other and said that they could not help. They advised Mr. Liu not to eat too much even though he only weighed about 66 pounds at that time.

In early May 2008, Mr. Liu could not swallow food and could only drink. He was so skinny and weak that he had to lie in bed the whole day. Guard Liu Shaoshi lied to other inmates that Mr. Liu was on a hunger strike.

Mr. Liu’s belly had begun to swell, but his limbs were skins and bones. His eye sockets were sunken and his face distorted. Fearing that he would die there, the labor camp released him on May 19, 2008. He passed away 20 days later on June 9.

Perpetrators’ contact information:
Wang Qiye (王岐野), deputy chief, Benxi City Gongren Police Station, [phone]Jin Shangjie (金上杰), president, Nanfen District Court: [phone]Ma Zhongwei (马忠伟), deputy attorney general, Nanfen District Procuratorate: [phone]