(Minghui.org)
Name: Cui YachengChinese Name: 崔亚成Gender: MaleAge: 80City: ShizuishanProvince: Ningxia Hui Autonomous RegionOccupation: Former Economic and Trade Bureau deputy directorDate of Death: February 2016Date of Most Recent Arrest: December 2000Most Recent Place of Detention: Dawukou Lockup
Name: Hou XiufangChinese Name: 侯秀芳Gender: FemaleAge: 83City: ShizuishanProvince: Ningxia Hui Autonomous RegionOccupation: N/ADate of Death: October 2022Date of Most Recent Arrest: November 25, 2016Most Recent Place of Detention: N/A
It’s recently been confirmed by Minghui.org that an elderly couple in Shizuishan City, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region passed away in 2016 and 2022, respectively, due to mental distress from arrests and harassment for their faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Taking Up Falun Gong
Mr. Cui Yacheng, who was born on November 8, 1935, used to work as a deputy director at the Shizuishan City Economic and Trade Bureau. On the recommendation of a friend, he attended a Falun Gong lecture seminar on June 6, 1996 and took up the practice. Shortly after, his severe stomach problems and leg joint hyperplasia disappeared. He also took material pursuit lightly and was no longer upset when he didn’t receive a promotion at work.
After witnessing his changes, his wife, Ms. Hou Xiufang, who was born in 1939, also began to practice Falun Gong.
Passing Away Due to the Persecution
As the couple remained firm in their faith when the Chinese communist regime ordered the persecution in 1999, they were closely monitored by the police, who often came to harass them and ransack their home.
In December 2000, six officers from the Chaoyang Police Station searched their home and took away their Falun Gong books, informational materials and exercise music tapes. The couple was taken to the police station and interrogated. They were held at the Dawukou Lockup for five days. Less than twenty days after they were released, the police arrested them again. However, given the strong protest from their family to release the couple as the Chinese New Year was coming up, the police released them five days later.
Staff members from the Yongdong Road Residential Committee arranged people to monitor the couple outside of their home every day. To avoid the persecution, they moved to their hometown in Dalian City, Liaoning Province and stayed there for the next eight years, before moving to Yinchuan City, the capital of Ningxia.
On the evening of September 16, 2014, officers from the Jinfeng District Domestic Security Office and the Shanghai West Road Police Station in Yinchuan broke into the couple’s home. They videotaped every room and Ms. Hou, as well as recording her voice. The couple’s five Falun Gong books, informational materials, music player, two cellphones, and 17 phone sim cards were confiscated. The couple was interrogated after the raid. They moved back to nearby Shizuishan City shortly after.
Mr. Cui filed a criminal complaint in the second half of 2015 against Jiang Zemin, the former head of the communist regime who ordered the persecution in 1999. His complaint was intercepted by the police in Shizuishan City. They called his son several times to intimidate him. Mr. Cui was terrified and worried that his son would be implicated in the persecution. He developed a physical condition and passed away in early February 2016. He was 80.
Ms. Hou was arrested on November 30, 2016 by officers from the Qingshan Police Station, after being recorded distributing Falun Gong information in a neighborhood five days before. Her Falun Gong books and informational materials were confiscated.
While interrogating Ms. Hou at the police station, the officers forced her to sign the deposition record and her 10-day administrative detention notice. Due to her advanced age of 77, she was exempted from serving the detention and taken back home by her daughter. Both her daughter and son were harassed and intimidated by the police.
The director of the Dawukou District Domestic Security Office and officers from the Qingshan Police Station broke into Ms. Hou’s home again on February 24, 2017. They questioned her about where she’d been in the past few days, whether she travelled to Yinchuan, and what she did there. They accused her of “causing trouble,” without stating any specifics. They searched Ms. Hou’s residence, which she shared with her daughter, including her daughter’s room. Due to Ms. Hou’s strong protest, the police didn’t take away her Falun Gong books, but they did take a copy of Minghui Weekly.
During a mass arrests of local Falun Gong practitioners on May 10, 2018, Ms. Hou’s home was raided again.
The police and residential committee harassed her multiple times and ordered her to renounce Falun Gong during the “Zero-out” campaign in the second half of 2020. Ms. Hou was in deep fear and her health began to decline. She isolated herself and didn’t have much contact with others. She passed away in October 2022. She was 83.
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