(Minghui.org) A Chaoyang City, Liaoning Province resident was recently taken to the Shenyang Women’s Prison to serve a two-year term for practicing Falun Gong, a mind-body discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Liu Xiufen was arrested around July 2021, shortly after she was released from serving five years for suing former head of the communist regime for ordering the persecution. Details about her recent sentencing remain to be investigated.
Prior to Ms. Liu’s two prison terms, she also served three labor camp terms for a total of over seven years. The police constantly harassed her when she wasn’t detained.
Ms. Liu, who is nearly 70 years old, began practicing Falun Gong in 1996. Her family was supportive at the time. After the persecution started, she went to Beijing to appeal and was arrested. She was taken to the notorious Masanjia Forced Labor Camp in Liaoning Province, where she was held for a year and forced to do unpaid labor.
As she refused to renounce her faith, her force labor term was extended for another year. She was released in 2001, only to be harassed by the police a month later. When she refused to give up practicing Falun Gong, the police gave her another two years of forced labor. The Masanjia Forced Labor Camp then extended her term for another three months when she still refused to renounce Falun Gong.
Ms. Liu was finally released again on January 17, 2003. She went to Beijing to appeal again, and was arrested and taken back to Chaoyang City. This time, she was given three years in Masanjia Forced Labor Camp.
Ms. Liu’s repeated incarcerations dealt her son a heavy blow. While she was serving time, he picked up many bad habits and was sentenced to prison. Her husband, hopeless of the family’s future, sold off a piece of their land. He squandered the money and later died of cancer.
Ms. Liu went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong one more time on May 18, 2007, six months after she was released, only to be arrested again.
Shortly after she returned home, she started repairing the road for the residents. At that time, the road was bumpy and not made from cement, thus accidents often happened. Everyone, the young and old, was grateful that Ms. Liu repaired the road.
For ten years, regardless of the weather, Ms. Liu continued to repair the road. To thank her, the residents offered her food and vegetables, but she declined. Later the residents secretly put the food, including rice, noodles, and cooking oil, in her tricycle.
Ignoring her contribution to the community, the police arrested Ms. Liu every time when a political meeting was going to be held in Beijing, as they were trying to prevent her from going to Beijing to appeal again. Sometimes she was held in a nursing home.
The 610 Office in Chaoyang City instructed the police to arrest practitioners on November 9, 2015, upon finding out that they had filed criminal complaints against Jiang Zemin, the former head of the Chinese Communist Party who ordered the persecution. More than 200 practitioners were arrested, nearly 100 were detained, and over 50 were sentenced, with the longest prison term being 12 years. Ms. Liu was sentenced to 5 years.
After Ms. Liu was released, she had no place to stay, as her land was sold off without her knowledge while she was imprisoned. She could only stay in a small house that was left behind by her cousin, who had died of an accident.
Woman Who Once Repaired a Road for Free Persecuted for Upholding Her Faith