Five Elderly Falun Gong Practitioners Passed Away Due to the Persecution

(Clearwisdom.net) Ms. Xu Jinglan, 73 years old, was from Xiaotian Village, Baigutun Township, Wuqing District of Tianjin City. She started practicing Falun Gong in 1997 and recovered from various illnesses. After the persecution started on July 20, 1999, the local 610 Office and the police searched Ms. Xu's home on many occasions. They put her under surveillance and harassed her frequently. However, Ms. Xu continued to practice Falun Gong. On February 27, 2000, she and her family participated in a Falun Gong experience-sharing gathering. All eight family members, including Ms. Xu, were detained and fined 7,000 yuan. Later, Ms. Xu's second son and daughter were sent to forced labor camps. Ms. Xu was devastated by the continued persecution. On September 5, 2004, she suffered a heart attack and passed away.

Ms. Chen Xianglan, 77 years old, was a retiree from the Mining Administration Bureau of Tiefa City, Liaoning Province. She started practicing Falun Gong in 1997. In October 1999, Ms. Chen went to Beijing to appeal for justice for Falun Gong and was sent back to Tiefa City. She was detained for one month before she was sent to a brainwashing center. The officers pressured Ms. Chen to write a guarantee statement by not allowing her to sleep or go home. Later she was fined and her home ransacked. The police threatened Ms. Chen and kept her under surveillance. When they sent her daughter to a forced labor camp for the second time, Ms. Chen suffered terribly. She lost her eyesight, and her old illness came back. She died in August 2001.

Mr. Yang Yide, 73 years old, was a retiree from the Neijiang City Electricity Bureau in Sichuan Province. In 1996, Mr. Yang and his wife started practicing Falun Gong. After doing the exercises, Mr. Yang recovered from work-related injuries. Since July 20, 1999, Mr. Yang's wife has appealed for justice for Falun Gong and handed out truth-clarification materials many times. Because of that, she has been illegally detained, and sent to a forced labor camp and forced brainwashing centers on many occasions. The police also extorted money from her, as much as several tens of thousands of yuan. In addition, Mr. Yang's work unit, the local 610 Office and the police frequently harassed and threatened him. Their home was ransacked several times. On October 4, 2004, Mr. Yang suffered a stroke and passed away.

Mr. Meng Guanglu, 74 years old, was a retiree from the Shenghe District Procurator Office of Shengyang City, Liaoning Province. In February 2000, Mr. Meng went to Beijing to appeal for the right to practice Falun Gong and was arrested. He was later released due to old age. After he returned home, he was continuously harassed by various agencies. During the Chinese New Year of 2001, the local 610 Office attempted to send Mr. Meng to a forced brainwashing center and only stopped after they had extorted 5,000 yuan from his family. Between 2000 and 2002, Mr. Meng's two daughters and their husbands (all Falun Gong practitioners) were sent to forced labor camps or forced brainwashing centers. Some were sent back due to health issues and some were able to escape and became homeless to avoid further persecution. Mr. Meng was left at home with two grandchildren. He was devastated and put under extreme pressure. He developed intestinal cancer and died on September 12, 2002.

Mr. He Futai, around 70 years old, was a retired teacher from Hekou Township, Yunfu City, Guangdong Province. Since July 20, 1999, the police (officer Lin Zebuo and others) from the Hekou Police Station) have constantly threatened and harassed him. Mr. He died in December of 2003.
Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2005/4/8/99158.html

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