(Minghui.org) Three residents in Huludao City, Liaoning Province, were arrested and had their homes raided on March 24, 2019, for distributing materials exposing the persecution of their faith in Falun Gong. At the time of this report, they are still illegally detained in Chaoyang City Detention Center, where they are awaiting trial after the Chaoyang County Procuratorate presented their case to the County Court.

Falun Gong is a mind and body cultivation system that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since 1999. Many of its practitioners have been arrested and detained for holding firm to their faith and raising awareness of the persecution. Their families have also suffered tremendously as their loved ones are being persecuted for exercising their constitutional right to freedom of belief.

As Mr. Hu Shaowei, Ms. Liu Ying, and Ms. Zhang Dongqing remain captive, their families are struggling.

Single Father's Arrest Devastates Teenage Daughter and Elderly Grandmother

Mr. Hu, 49, began practicing Falun Gong in 1998. Guided the principles of Falun Gong, Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, he was able to do well at work and earn his coworkers' respect. He was a loving father and took good care of his elderly mother.

After the persecution started, Mr. Hu was repeatedly arrested for refusing to renounce Falun Gong. Out of fear of being implicated, his wife divorced him when their daughter was just a teen. The young girl, who was an infant when her father was first arrested and put in a forced labor camp, was terrorized because the police constantly came to harass her father after he was released.

With her father's latest arrest, the now-18-year-old is struggling to take care of her grandmother, who is in her 80s and lives with her.

Disabled Husband Desperate for Wife’s Release

Ms. Liu, 55, recovered from anemia after she took up the practice of Falun Gong. She became kinder and more sincere, and her friends and family loved her.

Ms. Liu’s home was twice raided by the police since the persecution began. Her husband was so traumatized that he developed hypertension. He had a brain hemorrhage in his early 50s and almost died. He became slow and had trouble taking care of himself. Because he was unable to work, Ms. Liu became the sole bread winner.

Ms. Liu’s arrest has dealt a heavy blow to her family. Her husband became depressed. Their son, besides working, struggles to take care of his debilitated father and find time to visit his detained mother.

Widow's Family Worries about Her Being Tortured

After Ms. Zhang became a Falun Gong practitioner, she took even better care of her in-laws and helped out her friends as much as she could.

In the past 20 years since the persecution began, she had been repeatedly arrested for her faith.

Her husband’s health deteriorated because of the stress and fear. He eventually passed away. She continued to take care of her in-laws on her own until they passed away. Other family members have great respect for her.

Ms. Zhang's son, mother, who is in her 70s, and younger brother are worried that she may be being tortured.