(Minghui.org) A woman in Yueyang City, Hunan Province, has had her pension suspended since August 2023 for refusing to give up her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.

When Ms. Liu Bilian, in her 80s, talked to three women about Falun Gong this past July, they reported her to the police. Seven officers showed up and ordered her to reveal her name and address. They also attempted to get her into their cruiser. She refused to cooperate with them and urged them to stop participating in the persecution of Falun Gong. They then said they’d simply give her a ride home if she got into the vehicle. She knew they were trying to deceive her and refused to go with them. After about 30 minutes of standoff, the police left and Ms. Liu went home on her own.

Two weeks later, four police cars pulled into Ms. Liu’s son’s place of employment. They surrounded him and threatened to take his mother to a nursing home to attend a brainwashing session. His supervisor also threatened to fire him if he failed to get his mother to comply with the police. Cowering in fear, he signed a statement promising not to let his mother go out and raise awareness of the persecution of Falun Gong.

After returning to the home he shared with Ms. Liu, he begged her not to leave the house. He even took leaves of absence to watch her at home. Ms. Liu felt sorry for her son and agreed to stay put. She then started to ache all over and almost could not move. Her son was scared and said, “Mom, you can still go out [if that keeps you healthy and in good spirits].”

In August 2023, several officers from the Junshan District Police Department knocked on Ms. Liu’s door. Her son and daughter-in-law were not in that day, and she didn’t hear them knocking due to her age-related poor hearing, so the police left. They suspended Ms. Liu’s pension at the end of that month.