(Minghui.org) Ms. Bai Liyan, a resident in Bin County, Heilongjiang Province, was scheduled to appear in court on May 23, 2019, for not renouncing her faith in Falun Gong.
Prior to her latest arrest, she lost her job as a bank accountant for her faith and her only child died at 21 after he was traumatized by his mother's repeated arrests and developed cancer.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline with three core values of Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance. It has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999 due to its immense popularity and revival of traditional cultures and morality.
Ms. Bai Liyan
Ms. Bai, 59, was targeted during a mass arrest of Falun Gong practitioners on November 9, 2018, in Harbin and Daqing, two cities in Heilongjiang Province. Another 24 practitioners in Bin County, Harbin City were arrested on the same day. The total practitioners arrested were 119.
A group of five officers broke into Ms. Bai's home at 6:00 a.m. The officers arrested her upon checking her ID. Another ten officers came shortly after. They videotaped and ransacked her home for four hours. Her computer, printer, cellphone and Falun Gong books were confiscated.
Ms. Bai was sent to Harbin City No.2 Detention Center that evening and has been held there since.
Her 91-year-mother fell sick after her arrest. Her 97-year-old father also faces tremendous pressure now.
Bin County Procuratorate approved Ms. Bai's arrest on November 20, 2018. Her case was submitted to the procuratorate on January 16, 2019. Nine days later, the Bin County Procuratorate transferred her case to Yilan County Procuratorate, which then returned it to the police for insufficient evidence on March 14, 2019.
After the police re-submitted Ms. Bai's case, Yilan County Procuratorate forwarded it to Yilan County Court in early May.
When Ms. Bai's family called judge Zhang Anke in mid-May about her case, judge Zhang exploded, “How did you know my phone number?” he asked. He said they had received her case and would schedule a hearing soon.
Ms. Bai's family received the court's notice on May 20 of her hearing on May 23. They were also asked to inform her lawyer of the hearing.
Persecution of Mother Devastates Young Son
Ms. Bai began to practice Falun Gong in 1995 and soon experienced significant health improvement. Her skin no longer itches after being exposed to sunlight, and her headache and insomnia also disappeared.
She also credits the practice for helping her to improve her character. She used to work at a bank as an accountant. She was very competitive and often demanded things to go her way. She became much more tolerant and broadminded after living by Falun Gong's principles. She got along well with her colleagues, friends and family members.
After the communist regime ordered the persecution of Falun Gong in 1999, Ms. Bai traveled to Beijing in May 2000 to appeal for her faith. She was arrested, sent back home and detained at Bin County Detention Center for more than 30 days. Her family was forced to pay more than 2,000 yuan for the traveling cost of people who arrested her.
Ms. Bai was arrested again at home in June 2002 and then given two years of forced labor. She served time at Wanjia Forced Labor Camp.
With escalated persecution, she was forced to take a buyout offer shortly afterward as her manager feared being implicated by her.
The constant harassment and labor camp detention of Ms. Bai was too much for her teenage son to handle. He developed depression. In November 2002, five months after his mother's arrest, he was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer, which is a rare type of cancer behind the nose.
Ms. Bai was released earlier, in January 2003, so she could take care of her son, who succumbed to his condition and passed away in September 2005.
Related report:
119 Falun Gong Practitioners Arrested in Two Heilongjiang Province Cities in One Day
