(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Yang Xu from Yibin, Sichuan Province, was illegally arrested again on October 25, 2011 and sentenced to one year of forced labor and an additional four years in prison.

Ms. Yang wrote a 4,000-word letter of appeal to the court and Domestic Security officers to clarify the truth about Falun Gong. However, the appeal was rejected three days later. On the afternoon of June 20, Cuipin District Court Prosecutor Liu Yang, Judge Tu Kaiying, Xiao Bichun, Presiding Judge Ye Hongjian (vice-president) and Secretary Yang Yingzhen opened a second trial against Ms. Yang. Only the secretary showed up at this so-called “trial.” A police officer announced the verdict.

Ms. Yang was an employee at the Sanjiang Machinery Factory in Yibin City. She recovered from several illnesses and became healthy after she started practicing Falun Gong in 1996. In addition, she became more peaceful and tolerant, and acts in a purely selfless manner. Before Dafa was persecuted, Ms. Yang got up before 6:00 a.m. every day, prepared breakfast for her family, and went to the local practice site. She introduced the practice to many people, who also benefited from Dafa. Ms. Yang once went to the countryside to introduce Dafa to residents in a remote village, but ran into a road that had collapsed. Ms. Yang didn’t hesitate however, and walked a nearly five-hour detour to reach her destination.

In July 1999, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started to persecute Falun Dafa. Ms. Yang went to Beijing to appeal for Dafa in 2000 but was arrested. She was then sent back to Sichuan Province after being held in a local detention center in Beijing. The police insisted on taking an airplane back and forced Dafa practitioners to pay for their plane tickets. They also confiscated over several thousand yuan from the practitioners. While on the plane, Ms. Yang made a banner with the words, “Falun Dafa is good.” When the plane arrived in Chengdu City, she opened the banner once she stepped out of the gate, showing the beauty and dignity of Dafa. This act caused a sensation in Sichuan Province.

CCP officials sent Ms. Yang to Nanmu Forced Labor Camp for one year. She was detained for over two years however. Officials reported that because she had refused to “transform,” they were “forced to use strong measures,” including a longer detention. The Dafa practitioners in the camp who persisted in practicing Falun Gong were brutally persecuted. They were often severely beaten and locked in a dark room. Each person was only allowed one bowl of water per day and the water was full of worms. On one New Year's Eve, Ms. Yang clarified the truth about Dafa to an inmate but was seen by a guard. On New Year's Day, the guards soaked Ms. Yang with water from head to toe and forced her to stand from morning until midnight.

In October 2002, CCP personnel manipulated the court to sentence Ms. Yang to a four-year prison term, claiming that she had a criminal record. She was detained in the Yangmahe Forced Labor Camp and later sent to the notorious Sichuan Province Women’s Prison to be persecuted further.

On August 1, 2008, Wang Fuli, minister of the Armed Security Department at Sanjiang Machinery Factory in Yibin City, and secretary Zeng Fanwen, together with Yibin City 610 Office agents, arrested retiree Li Jiazhen and Wu Zonglin and sent them to a brainwashing center in the Jinshajiang Hotel, Yibin City to be persecuted. On August 3, 2008, Wang and Zeng, with over ten police officers from the Yibin City 610 Office, went to harass Ms. Yang Xu at her home. Ms. Yang was forced to leave home, knowing that she would be arrested if she stayed.

On October 25, 2011, Ms. Yang was sent to a brainwashing center at the Yifei Senior Center in Caiba by the “Anti-Cult Office” of Yibin City. Ms. Yang completely negated the evil persecution, vowing never to give up practicing Falun Dafa. In early December 2011, she was detained in the Nanan Detention Center in Yibin City and has since been sentenced to four years in prison.

The illegal persecution of Falun Gong has deprived Ms. Yang and her family of their rightfully-earned livelihood. Her retirement benefits, which should have included her work experience from 1977, were significantly downgraded because she practiced Falun Gong. After being fired from her workplace due to the persecution, her years of service were only counted from 1992.

Personnel and departments directly involved in the persecution:
Yibin City Anti-cult Office: +86-831-8231990
Du Zhiping, Party secretary of the Politics and Law Committee in Yibin
Xie Minbin, Team leader of Yibin City National Security Division