(Minghui.org) After two of her family members were persecuted to death in less than two years for practicing Falun Gong, a Yinan County, Shandong Province resident is facing indictment for upholding the same faith.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party.
Ms. Wang Xiai was arrested on January 5, 2020, at her son’s home in Linyi City, about 30 miles away from Yinan. She was sent to Hedong District Detention Center in Linyi on the same day.
On February 11, the police approved her arrest and submitted her case to Yinan County Procuratorate.
After the prosecutor returned the case to the police for further investigation, Ms. Wang’s family went to Yiwen Town Police Station to inquire about her case.
A director surnamed Gao told them that Ms. Wang was arrested for practicing Falun Gong. Gao also said that he was expecting the prosecutor to indict Ms. Wang and forward her case to the court in late April.
Multiple Prior Arrests
Ms. Wang took up Falun Gong in late 1998. She credits the practice for curing her many ailments and helping her to become more peaceful and considerate. Living by Falun Gong’s principles, “Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance,” also helped her improve her strained relationship with her mother-in-law.
After the communist regime ordered the persecution of Falun Gong, Ms. Wang went to Beijing to appeal for the right to practice her faith in late 2000, only to be arrested halfway and extorted 5,000 yuan.
She was arrested again in the winter of 2008 and held in Linyi City Brainwashing Center for a month.
In 2016, she was arrested one more time for giving out calendars with information about Falun Gong and detained for two weeks.
Latest Arrest Likely Due to Police’s Attempt to Silence Her Over Deaths of Two Family Members
When Ms. Wang was most recently arrested on January 5, 2020, the police again claimed that they targeted her only because she practices Falun Gong. Her family, however, suspects that the authorities were trying to silence her regarding the mysterious deaths of her two family members.
On November 7, 2017, Ms. Xing Ximei, mother-in-law of Ms. Wang’s son, was arrested at a local fair, after being reported for distributing materials about Falun Gong.
Ms. Xing’s family was not informed of her arrest and detention until two days later, when several officers, including the police chief, suddenly showed up and demanded that the family pay 410 yuan for her medical examination and 3,000 yuan for her bail.
When the family refused to pay, the police took them to the Linyi City People’s Hospital, where they saw Ms. Xing being resuscitated. Half of her body was paralyzed, and her abdomen was swollen. She was incoherent and only answered, “They are hurting me” when her family asked what happened. Seeing this, the police gave the family 3,000 yuan and left quickly.
Ms. Xing passed away on November 20, 2017. She was diagnosed with a stroke and pneumonia, but she was totally healthy on the day of her arrest. Afterward, the police confiscated her medical records and ordered the local village government to give her family 25,000 yuan in compensation.
When Ms. Xing's daughter (who is Ms. Wang's daughter-in-law) went to the police station to ask for an explanation for her mother's death, the police promised to compensate the family. However, the promise was never fulfilled.
Suspected of helping Ms. Xing's family to file a lawsuit against Yinan County Police Department, Ms. Li Changfang and three other Falun Gong practitioners were arrested in August and October 2018.
Ms. Li, a sister-in-law of Ms. Wang's, was sentenced to 2.5 years on March 27, 2019.
While being held at Linyi City Detention Center, Ms. Li began to experience a stomachache in June 2019. The pain later spread to her back and legs.
Shortly after Ms. Li was hospitalized on July 6, a group of doctors operated on her without her family’s consent. She remained in a coma after the surgery and her eyes were taped shut all the time. The doctors claimed that she had complications in her liver and kidney and they put her on a dialysis machine.
Ms. Li passed away on July 12, after the authorities took her off oxygen when her family was not around.
The authorities confiscated Ms. Li’s body and made several attempts to force her husband, Mr. Wang Xijie, to sign the consent form to cremate her body.
After Mr. Wang refused to comply, the police arrested his son at least four times around October 2019, but the younger Mr. Wang also refused to comply.
The elder Mr. Wang was later forced to live away from home to hide from the police. The authorities turned to his family and harassed his sisters, including Ms. Wang.
Mr. Wang was arrested on February 17 at a local Falun Gong practitioner’s home. More details about his situation remain to be investigated.
Related reports:
Husband Arrested for Refusing to Give Consent to Have Wife’s Body Cremated
Four Falun Gong Practitioners in Shandong Tried for Their Faith
Linyi City, Shandong Province: 34 Falun Gong Practitioners Still Incarcerated for Their Faith
Shandong Woman Dies 13 Days After Being Arrested for Her Faith
Shandong Falun Gong Practitioners Targeted in Communist Regime's Gang Crackdown Campaign
