70-year-old Family Doctor Suffers Stroke While Jailed for His Faith, Still Not Granted Medical Parole One Year Later

(Minghui.org) A 70-year-old family doctor had a stroke in March 2021 while serving a five-year term for practicing Falun Gong. His family repeatedly applied to have him released on medical parole, but the authorities still have not approved the request after more than a year.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Mr. Liu Guangyou, of Huanan County, Heilongjiang Province, was arrested on August 21, 2019 and had his Falun Gong books confiscated. His arrest was triggered by his writing letters to Zhang Lichen, the secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee, Chen Xuran, a judge for the Xiangyang District Court and Li Xiaolin, the head of the Domestic Security Office, urging them not to persecute another practitioner, Ms. Liu Chunjing (no relation), who was arrested on July 3, 2019. 

Mr. Liu and Ms. Liu were tried separately by the Xiangyang District Court on December 8, 2020. During their respective virtual hearings, their lawyers entered not guilty pleas for them. In late January 2021, judge Song Tao sentenced Mr. Liu to five years and Ms. Liu to four years. Both appealed with the Jiamusi City Intermediate Court, but the higher court ruled to uphold their original verdicts. 

While being held at the Huanan County Detention Center, Mr. Liu had a stroke in March 2021 and was hospitalized. Although judge Song and Li Xiaolin of the Domestic Security Office went to the hospital to check on his situation, they never agreed to approve his medical parole. 

Mr. Liu’s family later contacted the supervision division of the Xiangyang District Court and repeatedly requested to have him released on medical parole, but still to no avail. 

Kindhearted Doctor Persecuted for His Faith
Mr. Liu is a well-known family doctor in his town. Unlike other Chinese doctors who demand payment before offering treatments, Mr. Liu always treated his patients regardless of their financial situation.

Before he took up Falun Gong, Mr. Liu suffered from severe headaches. Even though he was a doctor himself, he was unable to cure his condition. The physical torment also caused him to have a bad temper. After learning Falun Gong, he enjoyed remarkable health improvement and became a much more considerate and patient person. Whenever he recalled the first time he read Zhuan Falun, the main text of Falun Gong, he was still very excited and grateful.

Prior to his latest sentencing, Mr. Liu and his daughter, Ms. Liu Yue (who doesn’t practice Falun Gong), were both arrested around July 2005. Their detention left the family’s 1.3-acre cabbage farm untended and resulted in over 50,000 yuan in financial losses. Meanwhile, the police extorted an additional 20,000 yuan from them.

Mr. Liu was arrested again and given one year of forced labor on December 30, 2008. The Suihua Forced Labor refused to admit him upon finding out that he had Hepatitis B.

Four years later, in February 2012, Mr. Liu was arrested once more and sentenced to three years by the Huanan County Court. When he returned home, his more than 40,000 yuan worth of Chinese herbs had become spoiled and his home had fallen into disrepair.

Perpetrators’ contact information:
Chen Lin (陈林), supervision division, Xiangyang District Court: [phone]Chang Cheng (常诚), supervision division, Xiangyang District Court: [phone]Song Tao (宋涛), judge, Xiangyang District Court: [phone], [phone]

(More perpetrators’ contact information is available in the original Chinese article.)

Related report:

Two Heilongjiang Residents Sentenced to Prison for Speaking Out for Their Faith in Falun Gong