(Minghui.org)

Name: Liu XiufenChinese Name: 刘秀芬Gender: FemaleAge: UnknownCity: TianjinProvince: N/AOccupation: UnknownDate of Death: April 10, 2024Date of Most Recent Arrest: N/AMost Recent Place of Detention: N/A

An elderly woman in Jinghai District, Tianjin, died on April 10, 2024, not long after the local police harassed her at home and demanded to know whether she still practiced Falun Gong and whether she intended to keep seeking justice for her late son, who died in 2018 after being driven to mental illness during his five-year prison term.

Ms. Liu Xiufen took up Falun Gong, a mind-body practice based on the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, in 1997 and soon recovered from her heart disease, varicose veins, and leg pain. She remained firm in her faith after the Chinese Communist Party launched a nationwide campaign against Falun Gong two years later. Witnessing how cheerful and energetic she had become, her son, Mr. Ren Dongsheng, and his wife, Ms. Zhang Liqin, also began practicing Falun Gong in 2003, despite the ongoing persecution.

Mr. Ren soon recovered from his rheumatoid arthritis, and Ms. Zhang recovered from leukemia, neck problems, and heart disease. The couple’s son, who had became withdrawn because of his parents’ illnesses, became a happy boy again.

Mr. Ren Dongsheng and his wife Zhang Liqin

Because of their faith in Falun Gong, Mr. Ren was arrested on March 8, 2006 and sentenced to five years in the Binhai Prison. He was brutally tortured and also given unknown drugs. The prison revoked his family visits during the last eight months of his prison term. Upon Ms. Liu’s protest, the prison showed her a video clip of her son. He was seen to be agitated and behaved abnormal. He was set to be released on March 7, 2011 but taken straight to a brainwashing center that day and held for one more week. When Ms. Liu went to pick him up, she was shocked and heartbroken to see a psychotic man. 

Mr. Ren after he became psychotic in detention

Ms. Liu’s world collapsed. At the time, her daughter-in-law Ms. Zhang was still serving a seven-year term for practicing Falun Gong. 

Mr. Ren remained psychotic in his final years. He suffered from hallucinations most of the time. Whenever there was a thunderstorm, he’d stand in in the rain screaming. He also ran away numerous times in the middle of the night and would not return for a few days. When he did come back, he was filthy and agitated. 

When someone mentioned the police in passing, he appeared terrified and murmured to himself, “I’ve got to run; otherwise they’d catch me.” He would then flee his home and stayed outside for a few days. He also often woke up from nightmares and yelled, “I am not afraid of you!”

In the rare moments when he was mentally alert, Mr. Ren said, “The prison guards and inmates threatened to beat me to death if I did not renounce my faith.”

After Ms. Zhang was released on February 11, 2016, she and Ms. Liu worked together and managed to pinpoint the eight prison guards who were primarily responsible for torturing and drugging Mr. Ren, resulting in his mental collapse. 

They filed complaints against the perpetrators with various government agencies, but to no avail. Ms. Zhang was even detained for 35 days for her efforts. In 2017 Ms. Liu submitted her complaints to the Tianjin First Intermediate Court and the Tianjin Superior Court, but her case was dismissed on the grounds that the two-year statute of limitation had passed.

Mr. Ren died at 2 a.m. on September 12, 2018, two weeks before the Mid-Autumn Festival, one of the most important holidays in China. Even after his passing, the local authorities kept harassing Ms. Zhang and Ms. Liu. 

The repeated harassment took a toll on Ms. Liu’s health and she became bedridden. But the police still would not spare her. They broke into her home one day and demanded to have a talk with her. She died not long afterwards, on April 10, 2024.

For details of Mr. Ren’s torture and resultant psychosis, as well as his wife’s efforts to seek justice for him, see the related reports below. 

Related Reports:

Husband Dies 7 Years After Being Driven Insane While in Custody, Wife Continues Fight to Seek Justice

Wife Arrested Again for Seeking Justice for Husband Who Suffered Mental Collapse in Prison

Ren Dongsheng Suffers Mental Breakdown after Being Given Unknown Drug, His Wife Still in Prison

Persecution in Gangbei Prison Leaves Falun Gong Practitioner Mr. Ren Dongsheng Mentally Disoriented

Ms. Zhang Liqin Sentenced to Seven and a Half Years in Prison, Brutally Abused and Tortured

3,628 Falun Gong Practitioners Arrested or Harassed for Their Faith in the First Half of 2018