Yuan Shuqin - 袁淑琴
(Minghui.org) Ms. Yuan Shuqin was never able to recover from the physical and psychological damage that she sustained during a three-year imprisonment for refusing to give up her faith in Falun Gong. The former math teacher from Qingtongxia City, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, died in July 2015, about five years after her release. She was 58.
Irreparable Damage from Abuse in Prison
Ms. Yuan had been repeatedly detained since the Chinese communist regime launched the persecution of Falun Gong. She was sentenced to three years in prison following her last arrest on November 10, 2007.
The guards at Yinchuan Women's Prison subjected Ms. Yuan to various forms of abuse. She was forced to do hard labor for long hours and without pay. The guards also instigated inmates to beat her up on a regular basis.
In their attempts to make her renounce her faith, the guards forced her to read or watch materials slanderous to Falun Gong. To weaken her willpower, they also forbade her to talk to anyone or receive family visits.
As her scheduled release date approached, the guards threatened her with term extension if she still refused to write statements to give up Falun Gong. Eager to regain her freedom, she complied with the demand. Deep inside her heart, though, she knew all too well how much she had benefited from Falun Gong. The feeling of betrayal gnawed at her in her final years.
Returning to an Empty House
Ms. Yuan's release didn't bring her much respite, as the local authorities kept sending people to harass her at home. Her husband had long divorced her back in 2005 when she was being held in a detention center. Her twin sons, once her pride and joy, dared not visit her for fear of being implicated by the Chinese authorities.
Her school declined to reinstate her, essentially cutting off her livelihood. Lack of a steady income and medical care aggregated Ms. Yuan's already fragile condition. According to local practitioners who visited her, she often appeared mentally disoriented.
She developed edema in June 2015 and died one month later.
Falun Gong Rekindles Hope, Persecution Shatters Family
Ms. Yuan graduated from Wuzhong Normal University and worked as a math teacher at several regional schools during her tenure. Her husband Ji Yuxin worked at Qingtongxia City Court.
A full-time working mom with twin sons, Ms. Yuan developed many symptoms over the years and frequently complained about physical pains. Her health condition also strained her relationship with her husband, and at one point she even contemplated suicide.
She came across Falun Gong at the lowest point in her life. Her health quickly recovered afterwards, and she learned to be more considerate to others. She was able to enjoy a happy marriage again. Her two boys excelled in school, and were both admitted to their desired universities.
Ms. Yuan's happy life, however, was shattered when the persecution of Falun Gong began a few years after she picked up the practice.
Her husband was threatened with being fired from his job if he failed to keep an eye on his wife. As a result, he often beat Ms. Yuan in an effort to stop her from going out to tell people about Falun Gong.
He eventually divorced Ms. Yuan after she was arrested again in 2005. For a period of time, her own parents and siblings also distanced themselves from her.
The police pressured her school to demote her after her release. She was forced out of the classroom and made to work as a receptionist.
Her school completely turned against her following her last arrest in 2007. They refused to take her back upon her release in 2010, leaving her in poverty for the last five years of her life.
