68-Year-Old Hubei Woman Tried for Practicing Falun Gong—Sent to Drug Rehabilitation Center to Await Verdict

(Minghui.org) A 68-year-old woman in Jiayu County, Hubei Province, was taken to a drug rehabilitation center after she appeared in court on May 28, 2025 for her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.

The drug rehabilitation center is located in Wenquan District, Xianning City (which oversees Jiayu County), and has several signs at its entrance. One reads its formal name, “Wuhan Wuzhong Psychiatric Hospital and Xianning Town Jitang Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital Drug Rehabilitation Medical Consortium.” Another sign states, “This consortium was approved by the Hubei Provincial Health Commission and is registered with the Hubei Provincial Narcotics Control Commission. It is the official drug rehabilitation center of the Xianning City Police Department and the Xian’an District Police Department.” A third sign lists the consortium’s phone number: 86-715-8811187.

According to insiders, the Wuzhong Psychiatric Hospital, located in Hubei’s capital city of Wuhan, was founded in 1985 and is a national-level second-tier, non-profit, specialized hospital. Its treatment of mental illness is mainly based on Western medicine intervention of neurotransmitters. The Jitang Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital in Xianning Town specializes in treating rheumatic patients.

It is unclear what “treatments” would be given to Ms. Chen, who has no mental illness or rheumatic diseases. She does not do drugs either. Her only “offense” is her firm belief in Falun Gong, for which she was arrested at home on April 2, 2025, and tried on May 28 by the Jiayu County Court.

Prior to her latest persecution, Ms. Chen was arrested and had her home raided multiple times. Her husband divorced her and her son drowned on July 29, 2001, while she was in detention for her faith. Falun Gong gave her the hope to carry on but she faced non-stop persecution in the years that followed.

Given 1.5 Years of Forced Labor in 2001

Ms. Chen was arrested in May 2001, for talking to people about Falun Gong. She was taken to the Jiayu County Detention Center and later transferred to the Shizishan Drug Rehabilitation Center in Wuhan to serve a 1.5-year forced labor term.

After her son drowned on July 29, 2001, her family went to seek her release and learned that she had been admitted to the drug rehabilitation center more than one month prior, without their knowledge. Her loved ones drove to the drug rehabilitation center and pleaded for her release so she could see her son one last time. Their request was turned down.

Ms. Chen was subjected to various forms of abuse at the drug rehabilitation center, including beatings, solitary confinement, forced labor, strip searches, and verbal humiliation. She was moved to the Shayang Labor Camp a few months later.

Held in Brainwashing Center for Three Months in 2012

On February 29, 2012, a large number of agents from the Jiayu County610 Office, police department, local police stations, town government, county government and village committee broke into Ms. Chen’s home. She was not in, and they left after raiding her home.

Months later while visiting her sister, Ms. Chen was arrested by chief Wan Hui and officer Liu Guohe from the Xinjie Town Police Station. They took her to the Jiayu County Detention Center. About two weeks later, she was moved to the “Hubei Province Legal Education Center” (a brainwashing center in disguise, located in Wuhan).

Ms. Chen was subjected to beatings, slapping, toxic drug injections, and brutal force-feeding. When she was released three months later, she looked dull, struggled to eat, and had trouble falling asleep. Only through doing Falun Gong exercises was she gradually able to recover.

Kept at Same Brainwashing Center for Two Months in 2013

Police chief Wan and officer Liu, along with Chen Mingbao (head of the 610 Office), Chen Keping, and Sun Zongwen, pried open the door of Ms. Chen’s sister’s home (also a Falun Gong practitioner) on March 27, 2013. Ms. Chen, who was visiting, urged them to stop, and was arrested.

After about two weeks at the Jiayu County Detention Center, Ms. Chen was taken to the same brainwashing center in Wuhan.

Ms. Chen yelled “Falun Dafa is good” on her way to the brainwashing center. After she arrived, a group of young men stuffed her mouth with towels and dragged her into a cell. In the beginning, they used soft tactics attempting to make her give up her belief. They gave her a copy of Zhuan Falun, the main text of Falun Gong, to read, in order to win her trust. As she appeared more and more energetic after reading the book, they took it away and began to force her to stand for long hours each day.

Ms. Chen became too tired from standing all morning one day and sat down when others went to eat lunch. Bao Aihua, a former Falun Gong practitioner who went against the practice, reported her to team lead Liu Cheng.

Liu soon arrived and grabbed Ms. Chen’s hair, slapped her in the face, and punched her hard. Her ears bled as a result. Liu ordered her to attend “studies” the next day. She refused, and he had several people carry her to the study room. She used all her strength trying to get away and they put her down on the ground. A woman captain surnamed Xu then stomped on Ms. Chen’s face and mouth with her high-heels, rendering Ms. Chen unable to move.

At one point during her struggle, Ms. Chen’s upper body was completely exposed after the buttons on her clothes fell off. A male Falun Gong practitioner heard her screams from his room and rushed outside to stop her from being dragged away. The group of people then turned to target him. It is unclear what torture he suffered that day for standing up for Ms. Chen.

Liu later grabbed Ms. Chen’s hand to press her fingerprints on a statement which she was not allowed to read. Bao verbally abused her and forced her to watch videos slandering Falun Gong every day. Bao even forced her to press her fingerprints before allowing her to use the restroom.

Ms. Chen went on a hunger strike in protest, and was injected with toxic drugs. She felt extremely cold when the liquid drug went inside her body and she had to put on several extra layers of clothing.

Ms. Chen was later force-fed, after which her nose became swollen and bled for several days. She was eventually released two months later upon her family’s strong request. Like the first time, she again looked like a different person and exhibited the same symptoms. The 610 Office and street committee nonetheless kept harassing her at home. Whenever she was not in, they harassed her relatives.

Third Detention at Same Brainwashing Center in 2015

Ms. Chen was arrested on June 13, 2015 and taken to the Yuyue Town Police Station. After an overnight interrogation, she was moved to the Jiayu County Detention Center. Her family again went to seek her release. Although they guards claimed that she would be released 15 days later, they transferred her to the brainwashing center in Wuhan on June 16, 2015, where she was held for more than one month before being released.

Sentenced to Three Years in 2016

Ms. Chen was arrested again around mid-2016 and taken to the Chibi City Detention Center, but was denied admission due to high blood pressure. Officer Huang Binhong from the Jiayu County Police Department, and the 610 Office agent, instead put her in the Jiayu County Detention Center.

The Jiayu County Court tried Ms. Chen on September 6, 2016, and only her two brothers were allowed to attend the hearing. The rest of the courtroom was occupied by government officials, 610 Office agents, and police officers.

Ms. Chen’s lawyer entered a not guilty plea for her, and she also testified in her own defense. After the hearing, she was held at a hotel with a woman monitoring her around the clock. More than a dozen other people also stayed around to monitor her. There were three metal gates placed in the hallway to prevent others from getting close.

The court sentenced Ms. Chen to a three-year prison term on November 26, 2016, without holding an open sentencing hearing. She was then admitted to the Hubei Province Women’s Prison.

Brief Detention Episodes

Besides her three-year prison sentence and three brainwashing center detentions, Ms. Chen was also arrested a few other times and detained briefly.

Ms. Chen was arrested on November 23, 2007, when she went to the Jiayu County Police Department to seek the release of Ms. Wang Jinyan, who had been given two years of forced labor for practicing Falun Gong. Ms. Chen was detained for five days.

While putting up Falun Gong flyers at midnight on March 3, 2008, Ms. Chen was arrested and put on criminal detention at the Jiayu County Detention Center. Director Zhong and guard Wang Xia beat her when she refused to have her photos taken. They pulled her hair hard, and Wang also kicked her with her high-heels. When Wang became exhausted from kicking, she stomped on Ms. Chen and later put unknown drugs in Ms. Chen’s drinks.

When Ms. Chen refused to be transferred to the brainwashing center in Wuhan, Wang, director Xie, instructor Li, Sun Zongwen, Shu Dingjiao, and a driver, savagely beat her. Shu cuffed her hands behind her back and stuffed socks into her mouth before taping it up. He dared Ms. Chen, saying, “Who will testify that I beat you?” Ms. Chen was released after a brief detention.

Year 2009 saw Ms. Chen being held at the Jiayu County Detention Center for 15 days. Upon learning the police attempt to send her to the brainwashing center on June 10, 2014, she went into hiding and lived away from home for a while. She was arrested not long after returning home, on March 21, 2015. The police accused her of distributing Falun Gong flyers months before, during the Chinese New Year holiday season.

Ms. Chen was deceived into reporting to the Xinjie Town Police Station around September 2024. The police snatched her key and raided her home. They confiscated her Falun Gong books and a portrait of Falun Gong’s founder. They also called in SWAT officers to try to take her away in handcuffs. Her sister, who was visiting, strongly protested and the police left without arresting Ms. Chen.

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Hubei Woman Secretly Sentenced and Sent to Prison for Her Faith