(Minghui.org) It was recently learned that a 61-year-old woman in Mishan City, Heilongjiang Province had been sentenced to four and a half years for her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Ms. Lin Yongxia’s ordeal stemmed from an incident on March 26, 2021. Three officers went to her home that day to arrest her. She managed to escape and went into hiding. The police then began staking outside her home and those of her two sons and other relatives.
An eyewitness reported seeing her seized by police outside one of her sons’ apartment building a bit past 2 p.m. on February 28, 2023. The arresting officers next raided her home and confiscated her Falun Gong books and informational materials, as well as some other valuables.
The details of Ms. Lin’s indictment, trial, prison sentence, and detention location remain to be investigated.
Ms. Lin was previously arrested on the night of August 10, 2017, together with three other local practitioners, after they were reported for distributing Falun Gong informational materials. The arresting officers from the Bianfang Police Station next reported the arrests to its supervising agency, the Mishan City Domestic Security Office. Captains Wang Haiying and Li Gang soon arrived at the police station to interrogate and body search the four practitioners.
The police took the four practitioners to the Mishan City People’s Hospital for a physical examination the next morning. One practitioner escaped from the hospital, but Ms. Lin and two other practitioners were each detained for 15 days after the physical examination.
Taking up, Quitting, and Resuming Falun Gong Practice
Ms. Lin used to suffer from many diseases and have a short temper. In early 1999, she visited a friend, who said there was a book that may help her become less irritable. “A leopard never changes its spots. What book could possibly transform a person?” Out of curiosity, Ms. Lin read through the book, Zhuan Falun (main teachings of Falun Gong).
She was drawn to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance expounded upon in the book. She began to follow these principles in her life and soon recovered from her illnesses. When her husband threw a fit at her again, she was able to remain calm.
After the communist regime started to persecute Falun Gong in July 1999, the local police and officials pressured Ms. Lin to give up her belief. She caved in and saw her old illnesses relapse. She became weak and was unable to do some household chores. Her husband said she was faking illnesses to avoid helping around in the house. Their relationship started going downhill. They divorced soon after their older son got married. She was given custody of their younger son and her ex-husband got the family house.
Ms. Lin struggled to support herself and her younger son. Her illnesses worsened and she had a major surgery the year after her divorce. The pain was excruciating after the operation and the hospital she was in ran out of the pain medications she needed.
The patient who shared a hospital room with Ms. Lin had a sister who practiced Falun Gong. When the sister came for a visit, she suggested Ms. Lin try Falun Gong as it had great health benefits. Ms. Lin admitted that she actually practiced Falun Gong before but quit after the persecution began. Her fellow patient’s sister encouraged her not to be intimidated by the persecution and she thus decided to resume practicing Falun Gong.
Ms. Lin soon became healthy again and could even do some manual labor work that even a man would find difficult.
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