(Minghui.org) An 84-year-old man in Mengyin County, Shandong Province, was admitted to the Shandong Province Prison on March 26, 2025, to serve a four-year term for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Mr. Yang Yudong’s conviction stemmed from his initial arrest around late January 2025, when he distributed Falun Gong informational materials. The arresting officers from the Jiuzhai Township Police Station released him on bail that afternoon. They broke into his home the next day to ask where he was. His wife said he had gone to a local fair. The police went to the fair and arrested him again. After he was released on bail a few days later, he went into hiding to avoid further persecution.
Mr. Yang returned home around March 13, 2025, only to be arrested by plainclothes officers who were monitoring his home. In less than two weeks, he was sentenced to four years and admitted to the Shandong Province Prison on March 26.
This is not the first time Mr. Yang has been targeted for his faith, which he credits for freeing him from the hatred he had for government officials who seized his orchard illegally.
Drops Lawsuit After Learning Falun Gong
Mr. Yang was known to locals in Yangjialinzi Village as the “Iron Man” as he spent eight years growing an 80-mu (about 13 acres) chestnut orchard in the barren mountains.
In 1991, the village head, Yang Wanfu, and the village secretary, Yang Yugui, seized Mr. Yang’s orchard without a valid reason and split it between themselves.
While the village owned the mountains, the contract Mr. Yang signed with the government stipulated that he had the right to use the land. The contract was valid, so he filed a lawsuit against the officials. The higher-ups instructed the Mengyin County government to resolve the matter as soon as possible. The county delegated the issue to the Jiuzhai Township, which, in turn, instructed Yangjialinzi Village to return 41 mu of the orchard to Mr. Yang.
The village only returned 39 mu. As for the remaining 41 mu, along with more than 3,000 fruit trees, the township offered 5 yuan per tree as compensation to Mr. Yang. But the village bribed the township, which then said it only needed to compensate him for 843 trees. He refused to accept the offer and turned to the township. The village again bribed the township. Gong Pixuan, the township political and legal affairs secretary, led a group of thugs to talk to Mr. Yang. Gong said in front of many villagers that the village would offer to compensate Mr. Yang for 960 trees. When he refused, a thug kicked him down from behind.
Mr. Yang kept the lawsuit going. Six years passed, and still nothing was resolved. The injustice not only consumed his life but also ruined his health. He developed hyperviscosity (thickened blood causing dizziness and other symptoms) in 1997. His sons-in-law gave him a copy of Zhuan Falun (the main teachings of Falun Gong). Just ten days after he read the book, his hyperviscosity disappeared. His tracheitis and gastritis, which had bothered him for nearly 50 years, were also gone. He understood that everything happens for a reason and no longer resented the village officials who seized his orchard. He dropped the case against them and was at peace.
Repeatedly Persecuted for His Faith
Shortly after the persecution of Falun Gong began in July 1999, the two village officials who seized Mr. Yang’s orchard ordered him to pay them in 4,400 yuan within three days.
In January 2000, Mr. Yang went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong and was arrested and taken to the Mengyin County Police Department. Then-chief Liu Changbo from the Jiuzhai Township Police Station seized all the cash he had on him and took him to the township police station. Mr. Yang was brutally beaten and forced to sit on a pile of snow outside. After he was taken inside, he was made to sit on the cold cement floor with the windows wide open. The police also forced Mr. Yang to sit on a portrait of the founder of Faun Gong. He was then beaten and forced to stand in military poses.
In April 2001, several people from the township government broke into his home. He was not there. To avoid being persecuted, he went into hiding. The police searched his home once every few days.
In 2002, the newly-appointed 610 Office head Ju Peng suspected Mr. Yang’s cousin of harboring him and arrested the cousin, who was interrogated with torture. Ju also arrested Mr. Yang’s sister and detained her for over ten days. The village officials seized his land and orchard but accused him of owing the government money. They forced him to pay over 4,000 yuan. With no land to farm or grow fruit on, his son and daughter had to sell fruit in Mengyin County to make a living.
The police arrested Mr. Yang’s son in September 2002 and ordered him to find his father. When he couldn’t locate his father, he was ordered to pay 10,000 yuan. He didn’t have the money and was kept in detention. The police next arrested Mr. Yang’s wife and three daughters. After more than two months, their relatives and friends managed to collect 5,000 yuan to get his wife and children released.
In early December 2006, Mr. Yang, while still in hiding, was involved in a car accident and was rushed to a hospital. The hospital reported him to police after finding out that he was a Falun Gong practitioner. Officers from the Tanbu Town Police Station arrested him and took him to the Linyi City Brainwashing Center. His nearly 2,000 yuan in cash and cell phone which were seized by the police and doctors.
Mr. Yang was given three years of forced labor in 2007 and taken to the Wangcun Forced Labor Camp. He was forced to sit on a small stool for over ten hours a day. Inmate Cai Shutao, who was instructed to watch him, made him walk in front while he followed Mr. Yang. He kicked off Mr. Yang’s shoes on purpose. When Yang tried to adjust his shoes, Cai punched and kicked him. When Mr. Yang asked for water and a haircut, Cai beat him again and said he had no say over the way he was treated.
Guards Liu Lin and Zheng once took Mr. Yang to a washroom and stripped off his winter coat, then kicked him repeatedly before hanging him up for over 20 hours.
The long-term torture damaged Mr. Yang’s health and he developed severe symptoms. Only then did the police agree to release him, but not before they forced his family to pay 1,000 yuan.
Mr. Yang was arrested again in February 2009. He was harassed at home on August 26, 2010, and June 30, 2015, the second time involving about ten officers. The police arrested him on March 2, 2020, and released him a few days later. He was arrested in 2024 and later released.
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