(Minghui.org) A 62-year-old woman in Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province, finished serving five years in April 2023 to learn that she must pay back all retirement benefits issued during her three prison terms totaling 11 years and ten months. As Ms. Yan Jinghua had no money to pay back the “pension debt,” her local social security bureau suspended her retirement benefits.
Ms. Yan Jinghua
Ms. Yan has been repeatedly targeted for upholding her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999. She was sentenced to three years following her arrest on June 23, 2005, three years and ten months following her arrest on April 19, 2011, and five years following her arrest on April 3, 2018. She served all three terms in the Jiangxi Province Women’s Prison and suffered brutal torture each time.
While she was still in prison in October 2022, the Xihu District Court that convicted her garnished 20,000 yuan from her bank account to pay her court fine. Her family was never notified of the fund withdrawal and only found out about it when they went to the bank for some transactions. They also noticed later that her medical insurance was also stopped.
Ms. Yan was emaciated when she was released in April 2023. When her family accompanied her to the Nanchang City Social Insurance Bureau to inquire about her pension, they were told that an internal policy required social insurance bureaus across the county to claw back all pension benefits issued to those who were sentenced to prison after 1995. As Ms Yan’s three prison terms took place after 1995, she must pay back the retirement benefits issued to her during her 11 years and 10 months of imprisonment. [Ms. Yan was only 44 in 2005 when she was first arrested so she must have taken an early retirement.]
The Social Insurance Bureau claimed that Ms. Yan “owed” them a total of 137,397.14 yuan. Since she was unable to pay any of it, the Social Insurance Bureau suspended her pension and said they’d resume it when the “debt” was paid in full. Given her monthly pension of 2,395 yuan, it’d take more than 57 months (=137,397.14/2395) to pay back the “debt.” In other words, Ms. Yan would not have any pension income in the next 4.78 years (=57/12).
Taking Up Falun Gong
Ms. Yan had a horrific accident in her early teens. She was trapped under the locomotive of a train. Her sternum and leg bones were crushed, and she almost went blind in both eyes. She survived but never recovered. After she grew up and got married, she often had headaches, chest tightness, and severe insomnia, especially after she gave birth to her son. She was just skin and bones at one point. As if that was not enough, she and her husband divorced in 1993. She was completely lost as to what was the meaning and purpose of life.
Her fate changed in 1998 when she began to practice Falun Gong. In no time she experienced significant health improvement. She walked briskly as if treading on air and also experienced some of the extraordinary things mentioned in Falun Gong's teachings. Because of her positive experiences with Falun Gong, she never wavered in her faith after the persecution began in 1999.
Sentenced to 3 Years Following Arrest in 2005
On the evening of June 23, 2005, Li Tao, captain of the Xihu District Domestic Security Office, and a few of his officers jumped out of a car as soon as Ms. Yan returned home. They had been staking outside her home for hours. They snatched her key and broke in. They confiscated a desktop computer, a laser printer, an inkjet printer, more than ten boxes of printing paper, several Falun Gong books, and one thousand yuan in cash.
While being interrogated at the Xihu District Police Department, Ms. Yan refused to answer any questions and was tortured. Four officers cuffed her hands behind her back and pinned her on the ground, before shocking her with two high-voltage electric batons simultaneously. She heard cracking sounds from the batons and saw blue sparks. Her neck, back, and legs were shocked to the point that they became swollen and the skin cracked, with fluid dripping out.
The police later moved her to a detention center, where even a guard on duty was shocked by the burn injuries she sustained as a result of the electric shocks. It was torture every time Ms. Yan had to take off her clothes to shower because the skin and flesh on and around her wounds, which had been stuck to her clothes, would be ripped off, causing her wounds to bleed again. It took her many months to heal.
When a prosecutor came to the detention center to depose her, she testified against the police for torturing her during the interrogation. The prosecutor promised to pass her complaints to higher-ups and later twice returned the case to the police citing insufficient evidence. The police however resubmitted the case and got the prosecutor to indict her.
The Xihu District Court later sentenced her to three years and her appeal was rejected by the Nanchang City Intermediate Court.
Ms. Yan was admitted to the Jiangxi Province Women’s Prison in June 2006. Guards Luo Fuying, Ren Shuzhen, and Wang Juan instigated inmate Ren Guifang to supervise and torture Ms. Yan.
Ren Guifang didn’t allow Ms. Yan to sleep or give her enough food to eat. She also forced her to run intermittently from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. on one occasion. Another time Ren forced Ms. Yan to stand for several days in a row. Her legs became extremely swollen. In order to keep her awake, Ren applied some mineral oil to her eyes and forced her to watch anti-Falun Gong materials.
Ms. Yan was also not allowed to brush her teeth, wash her face, or use the restroom for long stretches of time. She once lost consciousness and collapsed on the ground.
Sentenced to 3 Years and 10 Months Following Arrest in 2011
Ms. Yan was arrested on April 19, 2011, by officers from the Nanchang City Domestic Security Office and its subordinate Xinjian County Domestic Security Office.
Ms. Yan refused to be taken away and during the struggle, all the buttons on her coat were yanked off by the police. They pinched her so hard that there were marks everywhere on her body. They eventually subdued her and put her in their cruiser.
After taking her to the Beijiao Police Station, the police confiscated her purse, which contained some cash and Falun Gong materials. Her home was raided shortly afterward, with her printer, Falun Gong books, and many other Falun Gong-related items confiscated.
A police captain interrogated Ms. Yan at the police station. She overheard a few officers talking among themselves that it was really unnecessary to torture an unarmed older woman like that.
The Xinjian County Court later sentenced Ms. Yan to four and a half years. She appealed and the Nanchang City Intermediate Court reduced the sentence to three years and ten months. She was again ordered to serve time at the Jiangxi Province Women’s Prison.
Sentenced to 5 Years Following Arrest in 2018
Ms. Yan and two other practitioners were putting up Falun Gong banners on the night of April 3, 2018, when a group of officers who had been following them surrounded them.
Ms. Yan escaped but was arrested ten days later as soon as she returned home. The police confiscated her Falun Gong books, music player, memory cards and other personal belongings.
The police took her to the Qingshanhu District Police Station. She refused to answer their questions and captain Zhao warned her she’d face consequences. She was moved to the Nanchang City First Detention Center that night.
Ms. Yan stood trial at the Xihu District Court on August 16, 2019, and was sentenced to five years and fined 20,000 yuan on September 19 that year. The court said the heavy sentence was partly because she was a “repeat offender” (who was previously sentenced within the last five years).
The Nanchang City Intermediate Court ruled on December 2, 2019, to uphold Ms. Yan’s verdict. She was admitted to Team Three of Division Six at the Jiangxi Province Women’s Prison on January 13, 2020, after spending 21 months in the detention center.
Instructor Luo Yao of Division Six and her subordinate, instructor Yue Ju of Team Three, ordered criminal Duan Jun to monitor Ms. Yan around the clock. Duan would determine how much food to give to her based on her “performance.” Duan sometimes deliberately gave very little food to Ms. Yan on the grounds she held firm to her faith.
Ms. Yan was forced to watch anti-Falun Gong materials every day and ordered to write thought reports and statements to renounce Falun Gong. At night, she was forced to stand until midnight. She was not allowed to brush her teeth and even had to ask for permission to drink water.
The guards later forced Ms. Yan to do hard labor without pay. Inmate Duan constantly scolded her, “Hurry up! Work faster! Why are you so slow?” At night, Ms. Yan was forced to study anti-Falun Gong materials again and write thought reports. She was not allowed to talk to others or she’d be verbally abused.
Ms. Chen Yulian and Ms. Chen Wen, two other practitioners in Nanchang, were also jailed in Team Three. Ms. Chen Yulian became ill after her food was laced with unknown drugs. Ms. Chen Wen was not allowed to wash herself or use bath tissue when using the restroom. She was once forced to stand outside with only a thin layer of clothes in the deep winter of 2021. She was later moved to another team, where she was monitored by inmates around the clock. She had to do hard labor during the day and study anti-Falun Gong materials at night until 11 p.m. She was also not allowed to purchase daily necessities.
Related reports:
Jiangxi Woman Set to Finish Five Years of Prison for Practicing Falun Gong
Two Jiangxi Residents Sentenced for Raising Awareness about Their Faith
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