Gansu Man Dies after Years of Incarceration and Harassment

(Minghui.org)

Name: Gao JiyinChinese Name: 高吉银Gender: MaleAge: 50City: JinchangProvince: GansuOccupation: Store ownerDate of Death: December 29, 2022Date of Most Recent Arrest: May 9, 2012Most Recent Place of Detention: Jinchuan Lockup

Having endured years of incarceration and harassment for his faith in Falun Gong, Mr. Gao Jiyin died on December 29, 2022, at the age of 50. Even one month after his passing, the police called his family and asked them if he was staying at home or going out to talk to people about Falun Gong.

Mr. Gao from Jinchang City, Gansu Province, started to practice Falun Gong with his wife Ms. Wang Yuhong in 1996. Because they refused to renounce this ancient spiritual practice after the Chinese communist regime started the persecution in 1999, they were repeatedly arrested, incarcerated, tortured, and harassed.

Prison Sentences

Mr. Gao and Ms. Wang were arrested outside of their family-owned shop on the evening of October 15, 2004. In front of their five-year-old son, the police struck and kicked them. The boy was left at home by himself for days before a relative picked him up.

The Jinchuan District Court sentenced Mr. Gao to five years and Ms. Wang to three years in March 2005.

Mr. Gao was taken to Lanzhou Prison on July 20, 2005. Because he refused to write a statement to renounce Falun Gong that day, the guards instigated eight inmates to beat him. They broke one of his ribs, and the pain lasted three months.

Mr. Gao was transferred to Wuwei Prison on December 30, 2005, and then to Jiuquan Prison the next day. The guards in Jiuquan Prison deprived him of sleep, forced him to watch videos smearing Falun Gong, and ordered the inmates to beat him.

The inmates beat Mr. Gao in such a way that he was injured internally and nothing showed externally. Although he was only in his 30s, his hair turned gray and he suffered from insomnia and slow reactions. His fingers turned numb and he had persistent pain in his neck.

In Lanzhou Women’s Prison, Ms. Wang was held in solitary confinement, also because she refused to write a statement to renounce Falun Gong. There was no glass in the window of the cell, and the freezing wind often left Ms. Wang shivering, especially when she was forced to sit and bend over on a metal bench with her hands cuffed to the bench leg. She wasn’t allowed to use the restroom even when she was menstruating, and her pants were soaked with blood.

When Ms. Wang was hospitalized in November 2005, she was found to have tuberculosis. Her hemoglobin level was only half of the normal range. The doctor said she would have died if she’d landed in the hospital any later than she did.

After three weeks in the hospital, Ms. Wang was taken back to the prison, where the guards held meetings to criticize her and forced her to stand for long hours. Because of the abuse, her condition deteriorated, and she was hospitalized again. She was diagnosed with pleurisy and pleural adhesions. She was operated on without anesthesia, and the pain was excruciating. She had to have a tube inserted into her chest for 50 days to drain all the fluid.

Thinking that she would die soon, the prison released her on February 15, 2007. She resumed practicing Falun Gong and recovered.

Non-stop Harassment

The couple continued to face ongoing harassment after they were released. They were arrested again on May 9, 2012, and interrogated at the Jinchuan Road Police Station until midnight. Mr. Gao was taken to the Jinchuan Lockup and held for 15 days. Ms. Wang was detained in the Yongchang County Lockup for 10 days.

Several young men approached Mr. Gao when he was heading home from the store at 6 a.m. one day in 2017. One person held him in a chokehold, pushed him into a white car nearby, and took him to the Jinchuan Road Police Station.

Several officers showed up at Mr. Gao’s home at 8 a.m., one of them with a video camera on his shoulder. They attempted to open the door with the key they'd snatched from Mr. Gao. After his wife locked the door from the inside, the police called a locksmith and attempted to break in.

Having witnessed his parents being arrested several times, the couple’s 17-year-old son ran to the window of their fifth-floor apartment and called his neighbors for help. Only then did the police leave.

Mr. Gao was taking a nap on September 20, 2021, when a noise near the window woke him up. He stood up and saw a hand reaching inside to pull the curtain.

He looked out the window and saw two men standing in a jig lift, one of them taking photos of the inside of their apartment. At the same time, several people knocked on his door, shouting, “Gao Jiyin, we are from the community. Open the door! We know you are at home!”

Due to the long-term persecution, Mr. Gao began to have severe health issues. He became emaciated and passed away on December 29, 2022.

The police continued to harass his family after his death. They called his number (before his wife canceled his phone service) again on January 30, 2023, and asked if he was at home. When his wife told the police that he had passed away, they asked her when. She condemned the police for harassing the family.

The family’s neighbor later told Ms. Wang that the police had come days before when she was out. “They banged on your door like crazy. It was obvious they didn’t have any good intentions.”