Testimony of sister Ren Daoyun—-Does not the deposit slip of 40,000 yuan found in your house belong to the church? Were your house build by foreigners or by the church?

China Aid Association
Ren Daoyun
My name is Ren Daoyun. I am female and Han Chinese. I was born on the 22nd of May 1952. I live in Zaoyang city, Hubei province. I became a Christian in 1992 because of an illness.
On the 1st of August 2005 two foreign teachers and some brothers and sisters came to my house. We were happy and excited that we could host two foreign missionaries.
On the 2nd of August at around nine in the morning, while we were preparing for the morning’s meeting, there was a knock on the door. My little daughter without any thought opened the door. Several strange men immediately stormed in. I asked, “Who are you?” “Police, don’t move!” They straightway wanted to go upstairs. I quickly went to block the way upstairs, asking for identification and a search warrant. Then one man grabbed me by the hair and pushed to the side, saying, “I am head of Lutouzhen Police Station.” They went upstairs and handcuffed one of the teachers. He was still without shoes. They forced him into a car outside. Afterwards about twenty or thirty police from Zaoyang Police Station arrived at my house. They first took away the two teachers and a sister. Then they also took me and tens of brothers and sisters to the Police Station. Without any search warrant they came and searched my house. They took 3,400 yuan (1,100 yuan was for my grandson’s New Year money), a 40,000 bank deposit slip, a telephone, and more than 1000 Christian books. They even wanted to take away our five little pet birds but left them when they discovered bank deposit slip. My house was ransacked and in a complete mess. The surprised neighbors said that it seemed that my house had been burgled.
At midday on the 2nd of August we were taken to Zaoyang’s No 2 Detention Centre. On the 3rd of August Qiu Yunfei called us from our cells. When I asked him why he treated us so harshly, he immediately hit me very severely in the face and yelled at me, “Old women!”  He took me to the interrogation room and with Xiao Li questioned me. They asked me who contacted these people to come to my house. Trusting in the Lord, I was not afraid. The Lord also gave me the words to say. Qiu Yunfei once more hit me in the face, twice one the left and twice on the right side. My mouth was split open and my face swelled up. He also put my right thumb in a cuff and pulled me around by the hand for more than half an hour, not allowing me to sit down. They said, “You can believe in Buddhism, Daoism, or Islam, but we don’t allow you to follow the South China Christian Church.”
On the 4th of August after breakfast Qiu Yunfei with Xiao Li interrogated me again. “Does not the deposit slip of 40,000 yuan found in your house belong to the church? Were your house build by foreigners or by the church?” They are threatened to confiscate my house. I said that my house was build through the hard earned money of my daughters. They just laughed at me. Qui Yunfei then hit me in the face again several times and burned my mouth with his cigarette butt. He said that the next day he will pull out my eyelashes. He also took off his shoe and hit me with it in the face. It was so painful that I nearly fainted. Even until today the left side of my face is without feeling and my jaw bone is wobbly. A little later he grabbed me by the hair and pulled me to the floor and then trampled on my ankle bones with his feet. He forced me to stand up and used cuffs to cuff my fingers. At midday he dragged me around with the cuffs like a person leading an ox to make fun of me. He dragged me to the door of the dinning room and cuffed me to it. After he had lunch he had his afternoon nap. Then he took me and cuffed me to the door of the meeting room until after four. Only then did they continue to question me. I thank the Lord who continued to enable and strengthen me. I only felt sorry that I was not a good host and caused trouble to the two teachers and brothers and sisters. I cried with sadness when I thought about it. The other brothers and sisters who were imprisoned with me tried to comfort me by saying that I was not to blame. I just needed to go through the current ordeal that the Lord has allowed to happen by faith. 
On the 9th of August Zhang Xujin, Qiu Yunfei, and Lei Youxin came to interrogate me. They forcibly made finger prints on two blank pieces of paper. I was very worried as I did not know what scheme they were up to. I with 10 other brothers and sisters were held in detention for another 15 days until the 23 of August.
When we asked for a detention certificate they refused to give us any documentation. I also don’t know what crime they attached to my name.
In the morning of the 13th of August while were all sitting on our wooden beds in our cell, Qiu Yunfei, Lei Youxin, and Xiao Li called out ten brothers and sisters. They said that they could be released after signing their names. Only I was left.
In the morning of the 17th of August my husband came to Zaoyang Police Station looking for Zhang Xujin to inquire about my wellbeing. Zhang just said that he first needed to bring 10,000 yuan. By that afternoon my husband had collected 8000 yuan and gave it to Zhang. When he asked for a receipt he was refused. I also was not released.
On the morning of the 24th of August the limit of my detention period expired according to the government’s detention policy. But I was still not released. I then started to go on a hunger strike in protest. It was only on the 27th of August that they agreed to release me. When my family came to pick me up, Xiao Li again demanded money. My daughter not having any choice paid another 2000 yuan. When she wanted a receipt, none was given.
So, because I hosted Christians in my house I was detained for 25 days. And only after I lost 10,000 yuan through blackmail and received many physical injuries, I limped out of the detention centre.
                                           Ren Daoyun (given by oral account)
                                            1 September 2005