Zhou Shujie - 周淑杰
Chinese name:
周淑杰
Gender:
Female
Age:
66
City:
Jiamusi
Province:
Heilongjiang
Occupation:
Accountant
Date of Death:
May 9, 2020
Date of Most Recent Arrest:
December 17, 2014
Most recent place of detention:
Case Description:
Ms. Zhou Shujie, a former accountant in Jiamusi City, Heilongjiang Province, passed away on May 9, 2020, enduring two decades of persecution for her faith in Falun Gong. She was 66.NNMs. Zhou was first arrested on July 22, 1999, when she went to Beijing to appeal for the right to practice Falun Gong. The police took her back to Jiamusi and detained her for 45 days. Her family paid 2,000 yuan in bail and 730 yuan for her meals in the local detention center.NNThe authorities monitored Ms. Zhou’s daily life after she was released. The police followed her when she went out and tapped her home phone. Staff members of her residential committee also harassed her at home frequently.NNMs. Zhou was arrested the second time while putting up information about Falun Gong on August 23, 2001. The police wanted to send her to a forced labor camp for three years but relented after her brother sought justice for her. Although Ms. Zhou was released a day later, her family had 3,000 yuan extorted from them by the police.NNMs. Zhou escaped a mass arrest in Jiamusi on April 20, 2002, and was forced to go into hiding afterward. Unable to find her, the police harassed her husband and daughter. When her husband confronted the police over the persecution, they arrested him and restrained him on a metal interrogation chair for over ten hours. Only after he suffered a heart condition did they release him. The police continued to monitor him to find Ms. Zhou. They also harassed Ms. Zhou’s sister and their father, who was in his 80s. NNMs. Zhou’s daughter was only a third-grader in 2002, and she struggled to care for herself when her father went out to work. Because of the police harassment, their other family members didn’t dare to take her in. NNMs. Zhou’s husband was later laid off by his employer. The social security office denied his low-income subsidy application, unless he told them where Ms. Zhou was.NNAfter Ms. Zhou returned home, the social security office suspended her pension starting in April 2011, with the excuse that she refused to renounce Falun Gong. NNMs. Zhou was arrested for the third time on December 17, 2014, while she was on her way to attend a court hearing of other Falun Gong practitioners. The police searched her and checked her ID. NNYears of persecution took a toll on Ms. Zhou’s health. She developed a medical condition in 2020 and passed away on May 9.
Related articles:
https://en.minghui.org/html/articles/2020/7/20/185953.html
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