(Minghui.org) A Changchun City, Jilin Province resident has been detained for over a month for her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999. Ms. Yu Aili's bedridden husband is now struggling to care for himself. 

A group of police officers broke into Ms. Yu’s home around 6 a.m. on July 15, 2020. They searched every corner of her home and confiscated her over 90 Falun Gong books, a few cellphones, two laptops, flash-drives, and several media players. The Falun Gong poster and photo of its founder on her wall were also taken down. 

Two officers returned to Ms. Yu’s home to interrogate her husband in the afternoon, only to find that he was in a confused state and wasn’t able to answer any questions. When the police went back to the police station, however, they lied to Ms. Yu that her husband had confessed everything, especially the practitioners she had contacts with. Ms. Yu still refused to cooperate in the interrogation. 

The police attempted to send Ms. Yu to the Weizigou Detention Center, but the guards rejected her admission three times in two days. The police became furious and attempted to drag Ms. Yu to a dark corner to beat her. She quickly ran to a bright spot where people could see her and avoided the beating, but the police managed to force the detention center guards to accept Ms. Yu.

After five days of detention, the police forced Ms. Yu to test for coronavirus before transferring her to the Changchun City No.4 Detention Center on July 21. Due to the harsh living environment, Ms. Yu is now suffering from swollen legs and rectal bleeding. She is now facing prosecution after the Chaoyang District Procuratorate approved her arrest on July 31. 

From Domestic Violence Victim to Caregiver

Before Ms. Yu took up Falun Gong, her husband often beat and verbally abused her. She often fought back and later divorced him. 

After Ms. Yu took up Falun Gong, she reminded herself to live by its principles of “Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance.” She learned to think about things from other people’s perspectives and became more considerate. She often visited her former mother-in-law and bought clothes and food for her. 

Her ex-husband later suffered a stroke and had a craniotomy. Ms. Yu remarried him to take care of him, even after he had become paralyzed. Because of his physical suffering, he was in a bad mood and often lost his temper and yelled at Ms. Yu. Meanwhile, he also demanded to have different dishes for each meal. He would throw things around when he wasn’t satisfied with the food. Ms. Yu would then try to improve the meal, until he ate it. 

Because of his complications from the stroke, he often twitched and collapsed to the ground. It always took a lot of effort for Ms. Yu to pull him up and help him go back to the bed. He also suffered high blood pressure and his mental state worsened over time. 

Persecution of Mother and Sister

Ms. Yu wasn’t the only one who has been targeted for her faith in her family. Both her mother, Ms. Liang Deqin, and her sister, Ms. Yu Aiji, also practice Falun Gong. The elderly Ms. Liang was arrested and had her home ransacked in 2015 for filing a criminal complaint against former communist regime leader Jiang Zemin for ordering the persecution. 

After Ms. Liang was released from Shanyou Detention Center, she was traumatized by the persecution. Whenever she heard footsteps in the hallway or a knock on the door loudly, she would be terrified and collapse to the ground. 

Ms. Yu Aiji was sentenced to three years on January 21, 2016. Her father suffered a stroke after learning about her sentencing and passed away. Only one week later, her husband divorced her to avoid being implicated in the persecution and he took sole possession of all of their property. Ms. Yu was dealt another blow when her workplace came to the prison and informed her that she had been fired, not long after her divorce. 

Ms. Yu began to suffer depression and remains withdrawn after she was released. She is unable to interact with people or work.