Victims: Mr. Xin Baodong's family. Mr. Xin Baodong and his wife, Ms. Gao Shuying, are residents of Juyang Town, Sanhe City, Hebei Province. They have two high school-aged children Xin Ran and Xin Fei, and an eighty-year-old father. Mr. Xin’s mother passed away in 2003.

The family of Mr. Xin Baodong and Ms. Gao Shuying have been constantly persecuted since the suppression of Falun Dafa began on July 20, 1999. Mr. Xin and Ms. Gao have been repeatedly detained by the police of Juyang Town and Sanhe City. They both have suffered tremendously from torture. In the spring of 2000, terrorized by police harassment, Mr. Xin 's mother was sent to Sanhe City Hospital. The police went to the hospital to forcibly take away Mr. Xin and Ms. Gao, who were taking care of Xin’s mother, and sent them to the city detention center, while Xin's mother suffered neglect and became paralyzed.

At the end of November 2000, Mr. Xin was sentenced without cause to one year of forced labor. At the Wanzhuang Labor Camp, Langfang City, he was forced to work 16-20 hours daily, and was physically and mentally tortured.

While Mr. Xin was at Wanzhuang Labor Camp, his wife, Ms. Gao, was sent to a detention center. She protested the detention through a hunger strike and was released several days later in critical condition.

At the end of 2001, Mr. Xin was released. In the spring of 2002, not long after he returned home, he was arrested again and detained at the police station. He was often beaten by the police. Once, after Mr. Xin was beaten to the ground, he was wrapped in a cotton blanket and kicked by over ten criminals. Another time, ten criminals grabbed onto his body, lifted him up and threw him down repeatedly. The beating over several days caused severe internal injuries to Mr. Xin, and he could not help but utter muffled sounds, having great difficulty breathing. The perpetrator said: "The Falun Gong practitioner intended to make trouble. Pay close attention. If he makes any sound again, just give his head a good kick." As soon as Mr. Xin fell asleep, he was kicked and woken up. He was never allowed to rest. By the ninth day, after a dozen perpetrators beat and kicked him, Mr. Xin could no longer stand up. The prison police were afraid that he would die and did not dare to take responsibility. They sent him to the city hospital for treatment. Because Mr. Xin suffered eight broken ribs and he was in critical condition, the hospital refused to admit him. He was later transferred to a hospital in Beijing. Several policemen were sent to the hospital to monitor the treatment, and they forbade disclosure of any news.

When Ms. Gao learned that her husband had been severely injured, she went to the detention center and demanded an explanation. The police did not dare to admit any fault and denied all of her enquiries. At the hospital, Mr. Xin refused to cooperate with the doctors unless his wife was notified. The police had to send Ms. Gao to the hospital. After seeing her husband in critical condition with huge bruises all over his body, she took pictures of him in front of everyone as evidence of the police brutality. The police seized her camera and destroyed the film.

Many people spread the news around the city: "The police are so ruthless!" "Eight ribs broken in nine days." Because the police arrested Mr. Xin without reason and seriously harmed him, they were forced to pay all medical expenses and an additional thirty thousand yuan to Mr. Xin as compensation. Mr. Xin was released unconditionally.

Early in 2003, police began harassing Mr. Xin and Ms. Gao again. The couple could no longer stand such harassment and were forced to leave home. The police mobilized a great deal of manpower attempting to arrest them again. They also harassed their relatives, friends and neighbors. They even employed a long-term surveillance technique, with plain-clothes police officers watching through binoculars nearby their home. These tactics greatly frustrated the neighbors. Several months later, the police failed to realize their purpose, so they posted a notice listing the couple as "wanted" and offered a reward.

During these years that the couple has been persecuted, the small store from which the family made a living was often closed. The family's income was seriously affected and they led a very difficult life. Mr. Xin's eighty-year-old father cannot take care of himself, and on July 22, 2003, his mother passed away under the enormous pressure.

By October 1, 2003, although the children of Mr. Xin and Ms. Gao, Xin Ran and Xin Fei, were accepted into Sanhe First High School, the authorities of the education committee and First High School used all means to stop them from attending school because their parents practice Falun Gong.

On the morning of July 21, 2005, Sanhe City police, together with Ma Zhixing from the Juyang town police substation, broke into the home of Mr. Xin and Ms. Gao and forcefully took them away. Mr. Xin escaped by jumping out of the vehicle, while Ms. Gao Shuying was detained in Sanhe City Detention Center. Mr. Xin's eighty-year-old father and two children were once again placed in dire circumstances. When the two high school-aged children, Xin Ran and Xin Fei, went to the police station to ask for their parents, the policemen said that they had not arrested them. The police then illegally detained the children. The current situation of the children is unknown.

Type = Case,Violence Against Families; Type = Case,Violence Against Children; Location = Hebei