Xu Quanyou (pseudonym Li Jie), male, was born on May 7, 1961 and was from Bozhou City in Anhui Province; he joined The Church of Almighty God (CAG) in July 2012. In December 2012 he was arrested by CCP police while spreading the gospel and his record was kept on file. After his release the police continued to pursue him for years, leading him to suffer extreme depression. On July 6, 2018, he committed suicide by drowning himself in a river.
December 11, 2012, Xu Quanyou and nine other Christians were sharing the gospel in Maji Town, Mengcheng County, Anhui Province when they were arrested by six or seven officers with the Maji Town Police Station. They were released on bail the following day. The officers warned Xu Quanyou that if he didn’t stop believing in Almighty God he’d be arrested again and would end up being sentenced to prison. He and his wife went on the run and stayed on the run for years in order to evade the police’s arrest.
One morning around 11:00 in September 2017 just as Xu Quanyou and his wife were returning home, two plainclothes officers and one township cadre were right on their heels. One officer said to Xu, “Today we finally found you. We’ve come so many times looking for you, but your village secretary always says you’re not at home.” They forced him to fingerprint a blank piece of paper, and then left.
On both November 1 and November 14, 2017, Lixin County police officers went to his home to arrest Xu Quanyou several times and unable to find him, proceeded to search both his and his daughter’s home, and took his wife to the police station for questioning. They issued this threat: “The day Xu Quanyou comes home is the day he goes to jail!”
Pursued by the police, Xu Quanyou and his wife went to the home of a relative living in another area to hide out. While there they stayed inside all the time, never daring to go outside and walk around. Suffering, Xu Quanyou said, “We just believe in Almighty God. We haven’t broken any laws but the police always want to arrest me. I’m living a life on edge, of constant fear. How can I go on like this? What if the police do find us here?”
On June 11, 2018, Xu Quanyou and his wife went back to their region to hide in another relative’s home where they learned that the police had been tirelessly searching for them. This was very depressing and frustrating to them. From then on Xu Quanyou would frequently sit there and stare into space, or pace back and forth inside or outside, sadly saying that the police were going to arrest him and he didn’t want to go on living.
July 6, 2018, Xu Quanyou committed suicide by jumping into a river—he could no longer bear the CCP’s relentless pursuit.
After his death, many nearby fellow villagers expressed shock that such a wonderful person would be pushed to the point of death by the CCP just because of his faith. However, the CCP did not let up in their persecution of his family members. After Xu Quanyou was driven to suicide the police still went to seek his wife at home twice, forcing her to continue her life on the run at nearly 60 years of age, unable to return home.
