73-Year-Old Hebei Woman Taken Back into Custody

(Minghui.org) Ms. Fan Shuyin, 73, from the Jingxiu District in Baoding City, Hebei Province, was taken back into custody on August 23, 2023, after being out on bail for more than one year.

Ms. Fan was arrested three times in 2022 for telling people how the Chinese Communist Party persecutes her faith, Falun Gong. She was given one-year bail after her third arrest on July 27, 2022.

The Gaoyang County Court in Baoding City issued an order to take her back into custody, and the Lianchi District Police Department in the same city carried out the order on August 23, 2023. Ms. Fan is currently held in the Baoding City Detention Center.

Details of Arrests in 2022

Ms. Fan was arrested on February 18, 2022, after she was reported for talking to people about Falun Gong at a fair in Wuyao Township, Lianchi District. The Wuyao Township Police Station officers arrested her and forced her to fingerprint and sign some unidentified paperwork. They released her hours later.

Four officers, including Wang Li, broke into Ms. Fan’s home shortly after 10 a.m. on March 27, 2022, and took her to the Wuyao Township Police Station. They searched her and found her house key. While she was held in the police station, another group of officers took the key, went to her home, and searched it.

That afternoon, an officer ordered her to sign about five different forms. She refused to comply and ripped two of them. The officer snatched back the remaining three forms.

Officer Wang then came and said, “We’ll send you back to your local Mianfang Police Station in your home district of Jingxiu. They are supposed to be in charge of your case, not us here in Lianchi District.” The Mianfang Police Station, however, refused to accept Ms. Fan’s case when Wang brought the forms to them.

Wang took Ms. Fan back to the Wuyao Township Police Station and released her after 7 p.m. that day. Ms. Fan returned home to a big mess. The police thoroughly ransacked her home and confiscated her printer and computer. They even tore down the decorative couplet on her door.

Wang and six other officers from the Wuyao Township Police Station and the Mianfang Police Station broke into Ms. Fan’s home on July 27, 2022. They ordered her to go with them and sign some paperwork.

She refused to comply and tightly held the staircase railings. During the standoff, her neighbors in the apartment building all came out to see what the commotion was about. They loudly criticized the police for persecuting her.

Wang promised to send her back as soon as she went with them to sign the paperwork. One neighbor then advised Ms. Fan to go with the police since she’d be back soon.

Ms. Fan complied with the police and was driven to the Gaoyang County Procuratorate. Prosecutor Yao Suling questioned her and asked if she distributed Falun Gong informational materials.

Before Yao finished her deposition of Ms. Fan, Wang came in and asked two other officers to take her outside. Wang then had a conversation with Yao and they decided to give Ms. Fan one-year bail. She was released later that day, only to be taken back into custody on August 23, 2023.

Taking up Falun Gong

Ms. Fan is well-known among her extended family members and neighbors as a filial daughter-in-law and a caring wife. Her husband had a stroke in 2005 and was in and out of the hospital numerous times throughout the next ten years before he died. Ms. Fan took meticulous care of him for a decade without any complaint. Prior to her husband's illness, Ms. Fan cared for her mother-in-law, who also had stroke complications, for ten years before she passed away.

Ms. Fan said she would not have had the stamina and the strength to care for her late husband and mother-in-law for so many years if she did not practice Falun Gong, which she credits for restoring her health and teaching her to be a good person.

After giving birth to her daughter, Ms. Fan developed numerous complications, including severe insomnia, poor kidneys, irregular heartbeat, cervical spine problems, sciatica, and lack of physical strength. She tried various medical treatments, folk remedies, and qigong, but her illnesses worsened. Her employer, Baoding No. 2 Machine Tool Factory, put her on long-term disability benefits as a result.

Ms. Fan met a friend in August 1996 and was surprised to see her in such good spirits. Her friend also used to suffer from poor health, so Ms. Fan asked what her secret was. The woman said she practiced Falun Gong and urged Ms. Fan to try practicing.

Her friend invited Ms. Fan to accompany her to a local Falun Gong exercise site the next morning and she decided to take up the practice.

All her illnesses soon disappeared. Reading Falun Gong books also enabled her to understand the meaning of life and the importance of being a good person.

She asked to be taken off disability benefits and asked to go back to work. Her employer agreed after confirming she had indeed become healthy.

Ms. Fan and her husband, who worked at the local textile factory, didn’t make much money. They had to support their young daughter and elderly parents. Her good health saved the family medical expenses, which in turn enabled them to live a better life.

Caring for a Dominant Mother-in-law

Ms. Fan’s mother-in-law Yun (alias) raised four sons and two daughters. According to Chinese custom, the sons are responsible for taking care of their parents. After Yun had a stroke, her four sons took turns caring for her for one month at their respective homes.

Her oldest son lived in a sixth-floor apartment unit in Tianjin. There was no elevator and it was very difficult to walk up and down six flights of stairs. Yun became irritable and often lashed out at her son. She complained and said she felt like she lived in a prison. When she moved out she said she did not want to come back.

When it was her second son’s turn, he was struggling with poor health himself, so he made an arrangement with Ms. Fan’s husband (Yun’s third son). Yun would live with her third son’s family, and her second son would visit and help care for her. Once her second son was a bit slow in getting her water, and she threw the cup of water at his face. Her son was upset and gradually stopped visiting her.

Ms. Fan observed all this and realized it was not easy for Yun. She worked hard to raise six children when she was young, but she now suffered tremendously from her illnesses. Ms. Fan wheeled her around outside or placed her near a window. Yun was very happy and watched the people and cars pass by.

Yun broke her leg while living with her fourth son, but the doctors refused to reset the bone given her advanced age and stroke complications. Her fourth son and his wife just had a baby and he struggled to care for the newborn and his mother. Even though Yun could not move, she was still very dominant and harsh. She constantly scolded her son and daughter-in-law. Sometimes her daughter-in-law left and went to her parents’ home to avoid facing Yun. She also complained about Yun to Ms. Fan.

Ms. Fan discussed the situation with her husband and the couple decided to have Yun live with them for the rest of her life. They moved her in even before her one-month rotation at her youngest son’s home ended.

Yun’s three other sons hired aides to help care for Yun at Ms. Fan’s home. Yun was so picky and rude that no aide could stand to work for her for long. Eventually Ms. Fan became her main caregiver during the last ten years of her life.