Name: Li Huijuan (李慧娟)
Gender: Female
Age: 40s
Address: Hongyun Bookstore, Zaoshi, Leiyang City, Hunan Province
Occupation: Owner of Hongyun Bookstore
Most Recent Date of Detention: May 2009
Most Recent Place of Detention: Baimalong Forced Labor Camp in Zhuzhou City (株洲白马垅劳教所)
City: Zhuzhou
Province: Hunan
Persecution suffered: Illegal Detention
(Clearwisdom.net) Hongyun Bookstore, a small business, is near the No. 4 High School in Leiyang City, Hunan Province. The owner, Ms. Li Huijuan, was a beautiful, warm, and kind person. All her neighbors knew that she practiced Falun Gong. Many of them learned the facts about the practice from her and understood that Falun Gong actually teaches one to be a better person.
During her childhood, regime officials classified her family "rightist," so they were looked down upon in society and encountered hardships. Her mother died suddenly in 1984 when Ms. Li was still in high school, and her father became bankrupt. She gave up applying for university and started making a living to take care of her younger brothers and sisters. She sold Popsicles in the street, did odd jobs, or ran a small booth. As long as it allowed her to make ends meet, she would have done any honest job.
Ms. Li became very ill in 1991, but she could not afford to pay the medical costs and stayed in bed, waiting to die. Her father brought a man to her that knew Chinese traditional medicine. Desperate, Ms. Li promised to marry him if he could cure her. The man, ten years older than she, did help her recover, and she married him. They had a son, but 10 years after his birth the marriage ended in divorce, and she became a single mother.
Ms. Li was depressed and saw no hope at all until she learned Falun Gong, bringing about a life change. A practitioner neighbor told her about it in 2002 and gave her the book Zhuan Falun. She read the book several times and began the practice. Soon after, the chronic illnesses she had suffered from for years were gone and she became healthy. Her personality also changed, and she became optimistic.
Because of practicing Falun Gong Ms. Li returned to her original, kind nature. She was prepared to close the store on a dark day when she saw a middle aged man still reading a book in the store. Chatting with him, she discovered that he had missed the bus home and had no place to stay. She offered to let him to spend the night at her store. The man accepted and left the next morning. He appreciated her kindness.
Falun Gong brought her new hope. Because she believed that everyone who has pre-relationship with Falun Gong should benefit from the practice, she told others about Falun Gong, using her personal cultivation experiences. She reminded them, "Falun Dafa is good! Falun Dafa is the righteous Fa! The CCP fabricates the propaganda on television."
For years, she told anyone who came into her bookstore the facts about Falun Gong. Most of them were ordinary people, but some were government officials or army officials. Regardless of their occupations, most would agree with what she said and tell her that, before they met her, they did not know that Falun Gong was so good. Of course, there were also those who, although they agreed that the practice was good, cautioned her that, in view of the current situation, she should not "go against the CCP."
Ms. Li patiently explained that Falun Gong is cultivation, that practitioners are not against the CCP, and that practitioners do not get involved in politics. Due to her continued efforts, more people began to understand the truth, and some wanted to read Zhuan Falun. By reading the book they understood that the practice taught one to be a better person and do things according to the principles Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. If everyone did things according to Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, the society would be peaceful and tranquil, and we would not need the police. Observing that each and every being she encountered began to understand the truth, Ms. Li felt a sense of joy.
More and more people visited her store, but someone who still had a misunderstanding about Falun Gong reported her to the police. From then on Ms. Li was on the official black list and became a target of persecution for the National Security and 610 Office, whose agents frequently visited her bookstore. She was not afraid and shared her cultivation experiences with them.
When 610 Office agents threatened to arrest her in 2005, she stayed out of town for a week to avoid arrest. She eventually came to the conclusion that she had not done anything wrong or committed any crime, so there was no reason for her to be arrested and she returned home.
From then on, strangers frequently showed up at her store, often wearing dark glasses. They looked around suspiciously and searched through her things without her permission. Some pretended to be reading a book but searched all around and even went into her bedroom in the store. One day she confronted a man, who then showed his 610 Office agent ID badge. The 610 Office personnel had kept her under surveillance for years. Besides being monitored, she was threatened. Because the 610 Office people came frequently to harass her, her business took a downturn and it was difficult to carry on.
Ms. Li was arrested on August 3, 2008, as she distributed Falun Gong materials in the Hongwei industrial district. She was detained for two months and released after having 4,000 yuan extorted from her. She could no longer carry on with her business and had to close her bookstore. She ran a small booth to sell the leftover books to earn a meager income, but the 610 Office agents still did not leave her alone, showing up frequently to interfere with her business.
Ms. Li was arrested again the evening of May 9, 2009. Her paralyzed father has been left bedridden at home without anyone to care for him. Her elderly ex-husband lives on a tiny pension and can barely take care of himself. Her son, in the eighth grade, is all on his own.
Ms. Li was held at the local detention center for three months, during which time her relatives went to the 610 Office, the Domestic Security Office, the Legal System Office in Leiyang City, and the Hengyang Regional Legal System Office to ask for her release. None of the officials contacted would admit responsibility for her case. Ms. Li was eventually transferred to Baimalong Forced Labor Camp in Zhuzhou City, Hunan Province.
September 2, 2009
