First Targeted in 2003, Heilongjiang Woman Sentenced to Eight Years Over Two Decades Later

(Minghui.org) A Mudanjiang City, Heilongjiang Province resident was sentenced to eight years in prison for her faith in Falun Gong, and is to be admitted to prison in August 2025.

Ms. Sun Guixiang was arrested in Dongning City (which is under the administration of Mudanjiang) on March 27, 2025. Officer Sun (no relation), from the Aimin District Police Department in Mudanjiang, notified her family the next day that she had been taken to the Mudanjiang City Detention Center.

The Aimin District Court tried Ms. Sun on April 2, 2025. Ms. Sun testified in her own defense and refused to admit guilt or sign the court proceedings. Her family was not given any official update of her case status after the trial, and only learned of her prison sentence from her when they visited her at the detention center on June 4, 2025.

According to insiders, the latest prosecution of Ms. Sun was two plus decades in the making on the part of the authorities. They first targeted her in 2003 and never really “closed the case” as promised.

Held in Psychiatric Hospital for Nearly 8 Months in 2003-2004

Officers from the Huoju Police Department broke into Ms. Sun’s home at around 7 p.m. on October 3, 2003 and arrested her, her husband, and son. Her home was raided, and her computer, a watch worth over 1,400 yuan, and more than 700 yuan in cash was confiscated.

Ms. Sun’s son was held in a metal cage for five days before being released. Her husband was detained for 50 days.

The police interrogated Ms. Sun for seven days, during which time she was cuffed to a heating pipe day and night. The police also arranged people to monitor her when she used the restroom. Officer Cui ordered her to report on other Falun Gong practitioners every day, but she refused to comply. He then tried to drive a wedge between her and her family.

Ms. Sun suspected that the food provided to her was laced with unknown drugs, as she suddenly wailed one day and couldn’t stop. She felt muddle-headed and dazed. The police then put her in a psychiatric hospital. She was given some unknown injections and lost consciousness. After she came to, she learned that three or four days had passed. She was forced to take daily medications and held in a room by herself.

After more than five months of detention at the hospital, Ms. Sun was moved to a detention center. Her family used connections to get her released two months later.

The day of her release, Li Changqing, head of the Mudanjiang 610 Office, ordered her back into custody, as she had an “illness.” The police thus put her back in the same psychiatric hospital, where she was given injections for more than two months. Her family entrusted a friend to talk to Li, who demanded a large bribe before finally agreeing to release Ms. Sun on bail, after she underwent a psychiatric evaluation at her own expense (more than 5,000 yuan).

Ms. Sun was forced to live away from home after her release. The long-term involuntary drug administration and relentless persecution caused significant damage to her health. She vomited blood frequently and was rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment many times.

Extorted of Over 200,000 Yuan in Two Years

The Aimin District Court, the Aimin District Police Department, and the Mudanjiang 610 Office extorted over 200,000 yuan from Ms. Sun’s family from October 2003 to late 2005, using various excuses. In particular, the Aimin District Court ordered Ms. Sun to pay a 5,000 yuan “bail bond” in November 2005 before demanding another 5,000 yuan shortly afterwards.

Seized at Son’s Wedding in 2017 Before Latest Arrest

A clerk from the Aimin District Court called Ms. Sun one day between 2012 and 2014 (exact time unknown), notifying her of an upcoming court date. She hired a lawyer to represent her. The lawyer went to the court to inquire about her case. He waited for a long time before someone finally received him. That person said there was no case against Ms. Sun at all.

However, three officers seized Ms. Sun at her son’s wedding on December 3, 2017, and took her to the police hospital for a required physical examination. She was found to have open pulmonary tuberculosis and denied admission to the detention center. The police then released her.

The Aimin District Court forced Ms. Sun to undergo another psychiatric evaluation on February 22, 2018, at her own expense (2,600 yuan). After the report was released, the court took it away. It is unclear whether she was allowed to read the report herself.

Judge Jiang Bingbing called Ms. Sun in late July 2023, ordering her to report to the court to “close her case.” It is unclear whether she went.

The police arrested Ms. Sun on March 27, 2025. She stood trial on April 2 and was sentenced to eight years in prison by the Aimin District Court soon afterwards.