(Minghui.org) Ms. Chen Shumei, 64, was arrested in Jingyu County on November 1, 2017, for talking to people about Falun Gong (also known as Falun Dafa). She was officially placed under arrest on December 1, 2017. The warrant was issued by the Jingyu County Procuratorate. Ms. Chen is currently being held in the Baishan Detention Center.
Ms. Chen met a villager from her hometown when she was walking along a river in Jingyu County on November 1. They chatted, and then she resumed walking along the riverbank. Shortly afterward, plainclothes police stopped her and dragged her to a police car.
Seven police officers, led by Yu Xuejun, head of the Jingyu County Domestic Security Division, drove Ms. Chen to her home. Without providing a search warrant, they ransacked her home and confiscated several Dafa books, her cell phone, a laptop computer, and other personal belongings.
Ms. Chen was taken to the Baishan Detention Center and placed in criminal detention on November 15, 2017. The Jingyu County Procuratorate approved her arrest on December 1, 2017. Her family was not notified of her arrest or her criminal detention.
When her defense lawyer met with her on December 8, 2018, he learned that she had been officially arrested. The county Procuratorate staff told her lawyer that the case profile was still in the county police department for more supplementary investigation materials.
Practicing Falun Gong Changed Her Hard Life
Ms. Chen Shumei was born on September 28, 1953, in Pingdu County, Shandong Province. She worked at a garden supply store. In the late 1980s, her work unit was reformed, and she lost her job. In order to support herself, she started her own business and did labor jobs such as whitewashing walls.
Ms. Chen's health deteriorated, and she had to take a lot of painkillers every day, including hormone drugs, which eventually caused the necrosis of her femoral head (hip). She also had gastric ulcers and arthritis. She could not eat anything spicy and had to take stomach medicine every day.
Ms. Chen was under a lot of financial, physical, and mental pressure. She constantly worried whether she could get contracts, whether she could hire enough workers to fulfill the contracts, whether the jobs they did met the standard, whether the contractors were picky, and whether she had enough money to pay the workers.
After she started practicing Falun Gong in 1998, her stomach problems disappeared and she no longer needed to take any medicine. She changed from constantly being anxious and tense to being optimistic and kind.
Treating In-Laws Kindly
When Ms. Chen got married, her parents-in-law treated her badly. They looked down on her because her father was considered to be from a lower social class. Her mother-in-law often provoked arguments. Her father-in-law even kicked her abdomen when she was pregnant.
During the coldest part of winter, the young couple was forced to move out of her parents-in-law's house while Ms. Chen was still pregnant. She couldn't get over it and wept whenever she talked about that incident.
After she started to practice Falun Gong, she understood why many things happened. The principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance dissolved years of long-held resentment. Her mother-in-law had been bedridden for many years. Of all her brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, she was the only one who treated her in a considerate and kind manner.
When her own mother had a stroke, even though Ms. Chen had difficulty walking, she offered to take care of her full-time. Later, her two sisters joined her when their mother needed 24-hour care.
One night, it was her eldest sister's turn to take care of their mother. Because she didn't get up to help, their mother fell while using the restroom and her condition worsened. Ms. Chen was very angry at first, but she then remembered that she was a practitioner and should have compassion. She then took over watching their mother at night.
Ms. Chen has been taking care of her mother for 11 years now. Her mother is paralyzed, and bedridden. She can only move one hand and is unable to speak. Ms. Chen washes her face, brushes her teeth, feeds her, helps her use the toilet, and takes her outside.
One of her nephews recently said, “You are the hero of our family. You have been taking care of mom for more than ten years!”
Arrested Twice for Her Belief
Ms. Chen had been arrested twice. She was arrested in Beijing in 2001 when she wrote, “Falun Dafa is good!” on a wall at Tiananmen Square. She was detained in the Jingyu County Detention Center after she was brought home.
She was arrested again on February 4 or 5, 2002, at her home, by officers from the Baishan City Police Department. At that time, she lived at Hongqi Street, Baishan City. Her home was searched, and many Dafa books were taken. She was detained in the Baishan Detention Center for about four months.
