Ms.Yue Changzhi

(Clearwisdom.net) Sophie Xiao is one of the Hong Kong Falun Gong Association spokespersons. Her mother, Ms.Yue Changzhi, was illegally arrested in July 2003, and detained for six months. On December 17, 2003, she was sentenced by the Shijingshan district court of Beijing for four years on fabricated charges. The court conducted the trial without allowing a defense lawyer or family attendance. The whole trial only lasted a few minutes.

Ms. Yue Changzhi, age 64, is an electronics engineer and painter formerly with the Ministry of Aeronautics working in the Astronautics industry. Since July 20, 1999, because of her firm belief in Falun Gong, Ms. Yue Changzhi has been illegally arrested

a total of eight times and was put into a brainwashing class on two different occasions. In October 2000, she had no choice but to leave her home to avoid forced labor and has been homeless since then. When arrested in July 2003, she was falsely accused by the authorities of "damaging social order."

The labor union and security section of her former work place and the Yongdinglu police station of Haidian district have all participated directly in her persecution. During the past four years she has been detained many times, usually during holidays. This detention has lasted from several days to several weeks at a time. Ms.Yue was required not only to pay her living expenses for these periods, but also to pay the expenses of her captors.