(Minghui.org)

Name: Wang HuaiChinese Name: 王怀Gender: MaleAge: UnknownCity: ZhangjiakouProvince: HebeiOccupation: car trading company employeeDate of Death: March 9, 2024Date of Most Recent Arrest: January 2, 2001Most Recent Place of Detention: Baoding City Prison

A resident of Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province, died on March 9, 2024, two days after he was harassed again by the authorities for his faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.

Mr. Wang Huai, a former employee of the Zhangjiakou Automobile Trading Company, took up Falun Gong in 1995. His passing capped his decades of suffering for upholding his faith. He was sentenced to 7 years following his arrest on January 2, 2001. He was brutally tortured and lost almost all of his teeth. His family was only allowed to see him twice during his lengthy imprisonment. 

After he was released a few months early in September 2007, the local police and community workers kept him under close surveillance and harassed him at home from time to time, especially around politically sensitive dates. The authorities also stripped him of his right to pension benefits when he reached the retirement age 15 years ago. His wife’s meager pension (2,000 yuan per month) was the sole income source for them.

At around 3:30 p.m. on March 7, 2024, an officer from the Hongqilou Police Station and two community workers showed up at Ms. Wang’s home. The male community worker videotaped the home and Mr. Wang’s wife stopped him. The female community worker yelled, “We came here today because someone had reported you guys for distributing Falun Gong informational materials.” But she refused to reveal the identity of the alleged tipster. Mr. Wang urged them to stop persecuting law-abiding citizens like him. The two community workers and the police officer then left.

The latest harassment was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Mr. Wang, who never recovered from the injuries and health damage he sustained during his imprisonment, died two days later. 

Earlier Persecution of Mr. Wang and His Wife

Mr. Wang’s wife, Ms. Liu Xiumei, also practices Falun Gong. The couple became key targets after the persecution began in July 1999.

Mr. Wang Sentenced to 3 Years with 4 Years Probation in December 1999

More than 40 people from the Hongqilou Police Station and the local community office, broke into Mr. Wang’s home at around 10 p.m. on August 30, 1999, while he and 27 other practitioners were studying Falun Gong teachings together. It was unclear whether Ms. Liu was home that night.

Then-chief Yan Zhiyou and then deputy chief Ma Fuwei of the Qiaodong District Police Department, which oversaw the Hongqilou Police Station, were behind the group arrest. Yan and Ma reported the case to their supervising agency, the Zhangjiakou City Police Department, and ordered their subordinates to interrogate the arrested practitioners.

The practitioners were taken to two different brainwashing centers after the interrogation. Most of them were released days later, but the remaining eleven practitioners remained in detention, including Mr. Wang.

Mr. Wang’s employer fired him on December 10, 1999. The Qiaoxi District Court sentenced him to three years with four years probation at the end of that year. He was ordered to report to the Hongqilou Police Station every month during his probation.

Mr. Wang Sentenced to 7 Years in Prison, Wife Given 1 Year of Forced Labor

Mr. Wang and his wife were arrested at home on January 2, 2001, by more than twenty officers from the Hongqiliu Police Station. An officer handcuffed Mr. Wang and kicked the handcuffs, causing severe bleeding and bruises on his wrists. 

The police confiscated the couple’s Falun Gong books and other valuables. When Mr. Wang refused to go with them, they wrapped his head with a bedsheet and dragged him downstairs. 

The couple was taken to the Qiaodong District Police Department and interrogated for 24 hours straight. They were restrained on a bench and not allowed to sleep.

Ms. Liu was transferred to the Shisanli Detention Center in Zhangjiakou City on January 2, 2001. She was released on a 3,000-yuan bail one month later, only to be taken back into custody on April 14, 2001 and taken to the Xuanhua Detention Center the next day. She went on a hunger strike in protest for 20 days. The Hongqilou Police Station gave her one year of forced labor on July 17, 2001 and transferred her to the Gaoyang Labor Camp that day. 

Mr. Wang was transferred to the Xuanhua Detention Center around January 5, 2001. The guards tortured him and did not allow him to freely use the money his family had deposited to his commissary account. The head inmate forced him to sleep on the floor every night, but the guards did not even bat an eye. 

During a routine body search in mid-June 2001, guard Li Quan found on Mr. Wang’s person an article written by the founder of Falun Gong. He called in more than twenty guards to beat Mr. Wang. After that, he twisted Mr. Wang’s one hand behind the back to be cuffed together with the other hand pulled over the shoulder. 

Li intentionally used a handcuff designed for female inmates on Mr. Wang. The smaller size made the brutal torture even more unbearable. Mr. Wang was handcuffed like this for nearly one month, during which time he had to rely on his cellmates to help take care of his daily needs. His arms were badly injured after the prolonged period of being handcuffed. Li finally removed the handcuffs after a cellmate reported his injuries. By then the handcuff had cut deep into his flesh and it took almost two hours to remove it. He could not move his arms and his skin was broken, which oozed pus. Even after the wounds healed later, there were still uneven marks on his arms.

The Qiaodong District Court sentenced Mr. Wang to seven years on July 17, 2001 and he was transferred to the Shalingzi Prison in Zhangjiakou City. Four days later, he was transferred to the Baoding City Prison, where he served the remainder of his term.

The Baoding City Prison established a task force in 2005 to specifically target Mr. Wang and a few other steadfast practitioners. The guards held him in solitary confinement for long periods of time. Several times he was almost beaten to death. Only in his 50s at the time, he lost almost all of his teeth as a result of the beating and other forms of torture. 

Related Reports:

Mr. Wang Huai from Hebei Province Has Been Imprisoned for Seven Years

Falun Dafa Practitioners Illegally Sentenced in Qiaodong Court, Zhangjiakao City, Hebei Province