(Minghui.org)
Name: Liu YunxiangChinese Name: 刘运祥Gender: MaleAge: 75City: HailinProvince: HeilongjiangOccupation: Product developmentDate of Death: October 2022Date of Most Recent Arrest: July 2022Most Recent Place of Detention: Hailin City Detention Center
It has been recently confirmed by Minghui.org that Mr. Liu Yunxiang, of Hailin City, Heilongjiang Province, died in Hailin City Detention Center in mid-October 2022, three months after he was arrested for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Mr. Liu was arrested in a police sweep on July 11, 2022. Another fourteen practitioners were also arrested in the early morning of the same day and had their homes ransacked. His wife doesn’t know about his death yet and still longs for his return. Details about his death aren’t known at the time of writing.
Mr. Liu used to work on product development before he was laid off in 1995. He bought a tricycle and made a living by offering rides. Years of hard work took a toll on his health, especially on his joints. In addition to cervical bone hyperplasia, lumbar disc herniation, and rheumatoid arthritis, he also struggled with tracheitis and frequent fever.
During a hospital visit, a doctor recommended he practice Falun Gong. He joined a practice site in March 1997 and soon regained health.
After the communist regime ordered the persecution in 1999, Mr. Liu was repeatedly arrested and sentenced to four years in 2010 for upholding his faith.
He was first arrested in 2000 when he went to Beijing to appeal for the right to practice Falun Gong. After he was taken back to Hailin, the local police kept coming to harass him.
For putting up Falun Gong posters and distributing booklets, Mr. Liu was arrested again in 2006 and detained for 15 days. His home was also ransacked.
His next arrest was on May 21, 2010, after the police broke into his home by scaling the wall. His Falun Gong books, computers, printer, DVD burner, laminator, paper cutter, and blank discs were confiscated. Even the tea that his son bought him wasn’t spared.
Prosecutors Ma Jinqun and Zeng Hongyan of Hailin City Procuratorate indicted Mr. Liu on August 16, 2010. He was charged with “undermining law enforcement with a cult organization,” the standard pretext used to criminalize Falun Gong.
Mr. Liu appeared in Hailin City Court on September 23. He argued that he didn’t violate any law in practicing Falun Gong, but judges Bi Xu, Liu Lijun and Jiang Xinkun didn’t allow him to talk. They went through the formalities of the trial before sentencing him to four years.
Yang Danpei, the political secretary of Mudanjiang City Domestic Security Office, went to the local detention center in October 2010 and attempted to force Mr. Liu to provide information about other Falun Gong practitioners. As he refused to comply, Yang threatened him, saying, “You such an old and stubborn man! We will straighten you out in Mudanjiang Prison!”
After the Mudanjiang City Intermediate Court rejected Mr. Liu’s appeal and ruled to uphold his original verdict, he was transferred to the Mudanjiang Prison on January 26, 2011.
In the prison, murderers serving life sentences were instigated by the guards to torture Falun Gong practitioners in exchange for term reduction. Some were awarded for their “excellent performance” in torturing Mr. Liu.
Mr. Liu couldn’t remember how many days he was beaten, deprived of sleep, or forced to stand from morning to evening. His legs were constantly swollen due to the long hours of standing. In addition, the inmates also forced him to take unknown drugs, as well as pouring cold water over him and then opening the window to freeze him.
The torture caused Mr. Liu systemic pain and impaired the blood circulation in his legs, which turned black. He also began to have difficulty talking.
Because Mr. Liu filed a criminal complaint against Jiang Zemin, the former head of the communist regime who ordered the persecution, he was arrested again on November 3, 2015, and held at the Hailin City Detention Center for 15 days.