(Minghui.org) A 78-year-old mother in Junan County, Shandong Province was dealt another blow while she is seeking the release of her third daughter, who is serving three-and-half years for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual practice being persecuted by China's communist regime.
Ms. Song Yuzhen's three other daughters were recently arrested over the course of two days. Though two of them were later released, her oldest daughter remains in detention.
Ms. Song and her four daughters practice Falun Gong, for which they have been repeatedly arrested during the past 16 years. Unable to stand the pressure from the authorities, her only son, who once loved the women in his family dearly, now treats them as an enemy. Their neighbors also stay away from the family, not wanting to get into trouble with the authorities.
Arrest of Three Daughters
The police arrested the two oldest daughters, Ms. Liu Xia and Ms. Liu Huaifeng, on November 17, for telling people why the persecution of Falun Gong lacks legal basis. This is Ms. Liu Xia's 8th arrest since the persecution started in 1999. She is still detained in the Chonggou Detention Center, Linyi City.
Ms. Liu Huaifeng was tortured and became ill while in police custody. She was released the same day. As she went home, she hemorrhaged and went into a shock twice that day.
The next day, the police arrested the youngest daughter Ms. Liu Huaihua while she was teaching at a nursery school. She was released 10 days later after the police extorted money from her husband.
Mother Tells of Arrests, Detentions, Brainwashing
Ms. Song took up the practice of Falun Gong in 1997 and recovered from all her illnesses, including arthritis, heart disease and inflammation of the gallbladder. After her four daughters witnessed their mother's recovery, they became practitioners as well. They were subjected to a never-ending persecution. Below is Ms. Song's personal account of what happened to her and her daughters.
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Stripped and Body Searched
Since Jiang Zemin, the former dictator, launched the persecution in 1999, I have been illegally arrested, detained, and taken for brainwashing on many occasions. At one time, I was also forced to live away from home to avoid further arrests.
I went to Beijing with my two oldest daughters, Ms. Liu Xia and Ms. Liu Huaifeng, and several practitioners in November 1999 to petition for the right to practice Falun Gong. We were arrested and detained for 27 days. I was not only stripped and body searched during that detention, but also tortured and forced to do slave labor.
The police arrested and took me and three of my daughters to a brainwashing center in January 2001. They threatened to bury me alive and grabbed my head and slammed it against the wall. The police viciously beat my daughters' head, palms, and soles. They claimed that if tortured this way, we would die and the coroners would not be able to tell how we died. They kept beating Ms. Liu Xia until she was bleeding from her head, mouth, nose and eyes and almost died.
My third daughter, Ms. Liu Li, was arrested in January 2014 and detained for six months before she was tried in court. After two hearings, she was sentenced to three-and-half years in Nanjing Prison.
Oldest Daughter Arrested Eight Times
Among all of us, my oldest daughter Ms. Liu Xia suffered the most. She was arrested a total of eight times, including the latest arrest.
The police took her from the elementary school where she worked and locked her up in the Junan County Detention Center in December 2001. She went on a hunger strike to protest her detention, and was force fed for several days.
She was arrested and given three years of forced labor in January 2002. During her detention, she was denied the chance to sit for the certification test to become a formal teacher. After she was released, the authorities prevented her from working as a teacher.
After my third daughter and another practitioner were arrested in 2014, my two oldest daughters petitioned to the public for their release. The police broke into our house five times at night within 20 days to terrorize me. Ms. Liu Xia and Ms. Liu Huaifeng were detained for two weeks.
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