(Minghui.org) A woman in Dalian City, Liaoning Province, is scheduled to be released on July 22, 2021, after serving a seven-year prison term for her faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Chen Yazhou, 47, was introduced to Falun Gong in 2004 by two of her clients. She had been going through some difficulty with her business back then and it was those two clients that helped her resolve the issue. Touched by their kindness, Ms. Chen became interested in Falun Gong and began to practice it.
Ms. Chen Yazhou
Rebuilding Family Relationships
After she started to practice Falun Gong, Ms. Chen changed. She became honest, kind, tolerant, and optimistic. She rebuilt her relationships with her family members, relatives, neighbors, and colleagues. Her mother-in-law told everyone how good she had become and that their relationship was no longer strained.
While Ms. Chen had never done any housework or eaten leftovers at her mother-in-law’s in the past, she helped her mother-in-law with housework whenever she visited her after she started practicing Falun Gong. Her sister-in-law no longer held a grudge against her. Her husband was happy to see her change, too. The couple stopped fighting and life at home became harmonious, peaceful, and happy.
Amazed by how she’d changed and the beauty of Falun Gong, some of her friends and neighbors took up the practice.
Ms. Chen once worked as a kindergarten teacher. The principal still remembered her after she left and always told people, “Falun Gong practitioners indeed do a good job!" Whoever she worked with knew that she was a Falun Gong practitioner and a good person. They were sad and upset to learn she was later persecuted.
Her mother-in-law defended her when her village Party secretary claimed that Ms. Chen’s arrest had brought shame upon the family. She said, “We didn't do anything shameful. We all have freedom of faith. My daughter-in-law is such a good person.”
Arrest and Imprisonment
Congzheng Street Police Station officers surrounded Ms. Chen's home on the morning of July 23, 2014. They ransacked it and confiscated her personal belongings, including computers, cell phones, and Falun Gong books.
Her child, a high school student, was also taken to the police station and interrogated. Implicated in the persecution, the child wasn’t allowed to take the college entrance exam.
Ms. Chen was sentenced to seven years by the Jinzhou District Court on April 16, 2015. She appealed to Dalian City Intermediate Court, which ruled to uphold the original verdict.
Ms. Chen was transferred to Liaoning Women's Prison on August 4, 2015. Her family was not allowed to visit her during the first month. Her husband fought hard for the right to visit and has been allowed to see her almost every month since.
Because Ms. Chen refused to renounce her faith, she was held in solitary confinement, handcuffed, forced to stand for long periods of time, exposed to extreme cold, and deprived of showers and sanitary napkins.
Her mother passed away while she was in prison and she was unable to see her one last time.
Her family misses her dearly and is counting down the days until July 22, 2021.
Related Report:
Dalian Woman Tortured at Liaoning Women's Prison for Not Renouncing Her Spiritual Belief
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