(Minghui.org) A resident of Qingdao City, Shandong Province, was sentenced to five years in prison in June 2021, for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since 1999.
Ms. Xue Lianxia was first arrested in November 2020 and later released on bail. She was found to have high blood pressure, kidney cysts, uterine fibroids, and other conditions when she was taken back into custody in June 2021. She told her lawyer when he visited her that she was having stomach and back pain.
Ms. Xue’s arrest and incarceration has brought endless pain to her family. Her husband, who often went out of town to do business, has frowned and sighed every day since her arrest. Their daughter, a single mom who moved in with them after a divorce, was worried about her health and lost a lot of weight. Her five-year-old granddaughter, whom she has been taking care of for the past few years, was sad and missed her very much.
Arrested for Distributing Falun Gong Materials
Ms. Xue was reported to the police on November 6, 2020 for distributing informational materials about Falun Gong in a residential area. Officers from the Dazhushan Police Station located her address through surveillance video.
When Ms. Xue went out three days later, she found she was being followed by a plainclothes officer. The officer also stayed in her apartment building to monitor her. The police attempted to trick her into opening the door at 9 p.m. on November 10 by claiming needing to examine her heater at her home. When she refused to let them in, they forcibly broke in the next morning and confiscated more than 100 copies of Falun Gong materials. She was released the next day after her daughter paid 5,000 yuan in bail bond.
Ms. Xue received a call from the Huangdao District Procuratorate on May 14, 2021. She was told that the police had submitted her case to them, and they were planning to indict her. The prosecutor called her again three days later on May 17 and summoned her to their office.
Ms. Xue went to the Procuratorate on May 18. A young prosecutor took her to a temporary office in the garage and asked her to sign a pile of case documents. Ms. Xue refused to comply, saying that she hadn’t violated any law. A senior prosecutor then came and ordered her to sign the case documents, insisting that Ms. Xue had broken the law.
When Ms. Xue tried to tell them the facts about Falun Gong, they said to her, “Don’t talk to us about such things. It is the same whether you sign it or not. If you sign it, your term can be reduced by two years.” In the end, Ms. Xue did not sign the documents and was allowed to return home.
Ms. Xue received a call from Yinzhu Police Station on the morning of May 19, saying that they would come to chat with her in the afternoon. Four people, including police and residential committee staff, arrived and tried to persuade her to sign some documents. Ms. Xue told them how she benefited from practicing Falun Gong, and the officers left ten minutes later.
Ms. Xue was summoned to the Huangdao District Court on June 9. The prosecutor told her to sign her case documents again. Ms. Xue still refused to comply. He was very angry and ordered her to return the next day. He also said that a hearing was scheduled for June 21 and she would be notified by phone. Ms. Xue didn’t return to the court the next day.
Sentenced to Five Years
Ms. Xue did not show up at the courtroom on June 21 for the hearing. A court staff member called her and shouted at her, “Why didn’t you come to the court in the morning? You have come here several times and still haven’t signed the case documents. What do you have in mind? You have to come to the court at 2 p.m. this afternoon. If you don’t come, we will come to arrest you.”
Ms. Xue prepared a defense statement herself and went to the court in the afternoon without an attorney. She tried to clarify the truth to them, but they did not allow her to talk.
Ms. Xue never returned home after she went to the court. Her family later found out that she had been taken to the Dazhushan Police Station that day and put on a 14-day quarantine. She refused to sign her arrest warrant. The police then made her daughter sign it for her.
Ms. Xue was forced to take a physical exam and the results suggested that she had hypertension, renal cysts, and uterine fibroids. Despite her poor health, she was held in custody and later transferred to the Pudong Detention Center.
Ms. Xue’s daughter called a court clerk to inquire about her case and learned that she was sentenced to five years and fined 8,000 yuan. Her family appealed with Qingdao Intermediate People’s Court, which ruled to uphold her original verdict on September 27. She was transferred to Jinan Women’s Prison on January 5, 2022.
Past Persecution
Ms. Xue suffered from poor health before she started practicing Falun Gong. She often took medicines, and there was always an unpleasant smell of Chinese medicines in the house. Her menstruation stopped at the age of 29. Her mother died of the same disease at age 48. She had sought medical treatment at various hospitals and also tried a variety of western and Chinese medicines, but none worked.
She was later told of the healing power of Falun Gong and decided to give it a try. She was surprised to have her period back after practicing for about one month.
Practicing Falun Gong also enabled Ms. Xue to improve her temperament. She has good relationships with her relatives, friends, and neighbors. She also takes good care of her family members, and the whole family has lived in harmony.
After the communist regime started to persecute Falun Gong, Ms. Xue’s peaceful life came to a stop.
Ms. Xue was arrested in 2000 and taken to the police station. Not wanting to be sentenced, she jumped out of the window from the second floor. She fractured her lumbar vertebra, and her left ribs were badly deformed. She was taken to the hospital, and the doctor determined that she would be paralyzed for life. The police thus let her go home.
Ms. Xue did not get treatment at the hospital, but recovered by practicing Falun Gong.
Ms. Xue was reported and arrested again in 2010. When the police took her for a physical examination, the doctor found that she had uterine fibroids about five inches in size, which would cause severe anemia, and her life might be in danger at any time. The detention center thus refused to accept her. She returned home and resumed practicing Falun Gong. Although she has since remained healthy, her condition relapsed following her latest arrest due to the mental distress.
Perpetrators’ contact information:
Ou Xiaobin (欧晓斌), judge, Qingdao Huangdao District Court: +86-18563901861Yin Chengmiao (尹成淼), clerk of Qingdao Huangdao District Court: +86-18563901868Cong Rixin (丛日新): presiding judge, Qingdao Intermediate People Court, +86-532-83099188
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