(Minghui.org) Ms. Tian Xiaohong, a Falun Gong practitioner living in Japan, returned to China for a family visit in February 2019. She was arrested on April 1 and is now facing trial. Her husband, a Japanese citizen, recently passed away while she was being held in China. Her family and friends are urging for her immediate release so that she could go back to Japan to take care of the funeral and related legal matters.
Ms. Tian, 49, is a native of Longshan County, Hunan Province. She had a successful hair salon while in China. She moved to Mie Prefecture of Japan more than ten years ago after marrying a Japanese citizen. Not long after she arrived in Japan, she was injured in a car accident and lost consciousness for over a day. She suffered from numerous complications, including chronic headaches.
She later learned Falun Gong, a meditation system based on the principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since July 1999. She became healthy and her headaches vanished. Having benefited so much from Falun Gong, she was always eager to share her story with others and let them know that Falun Gong was nothing like what the CCP depicted in its hate propaganda.
Before her trip back to China in February this year, Ms. Tian mailed a box of Falun Gong materials to her hometown, hoping to distribute them to local villagers when she got there. The shipment was intercepted by Longshan County police, who began to monitor her after she returned to her hometown to prepare for and attend her daughter's wedding. Officers from Tongche Police Station arrested her on April 1. The last communication she had with Japanese practitioners was 9 p.m. on April 1.
Her husband suddenly passed away recently, and there are many legal issues for her to take care of. Her family and friends in Japan are unable to reach her or her family members in China. Her sister’s phone number is out of service, and her brother’s phone is always off.
The police haven't disclosed Ms. Tian's whereabouts, and her family suspects that she may be held at the Xiangxi Detention Center. Her mother, who is in her 70s, has not been told of Ms. Tian's arrest, as the family feared she may not take the news well given her age and health.
