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Heilongjiang Woman Still Monitored after Serving Time for Her Faith

May 5, 2020 |   By a Minghui correspondent in Heilongjiang Province, China

(Minghui.org) A Suihua City, Heilongjiang Province, woman who just finished serving a year and a half in prison for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999, is now being monitored.

On the day of Ms. Song Hongwei’s scheduled release on April 9, 2020, agents from the 610 Office, an extralegal agency created specifically to persecute Falun Gong, took her from the Heilongjiang Women's Prison to her local residential committee, which was ordered to monitor Ms. Song. 

The police also demanded that Ms. Song turn in her ID and wait for them to make her a new one. Ms. Song suspected that the police wanted to flag her ID for more advanced surveillance. It’s not clear whether she complied.

Ms. Song is suffering serious health issues after a year and half of abuse in prison. She is very weak and has pain and scabies all over her body. She also suffers from a neuro disorder that prevents her from sensing whether she's done using the restroom. She suspects the abuse, such as beatings and starvation, she suffered while in custody caused her medical problems.

Ms. Song was arrested on October 10, 2018, for seeking the release of her husband, Mr. Yang Chuanhou, who was arrested a week earlier, along with four other Falun Gong practitioners, for distributing informational materials about Falun Gong. 

Ms. Gao Jinshu, who went with Ms. Song to the police station, was also arrested.

The seven practitioners appeared in Anda City Court on May 14, 2019, and were sentenced to prison ten days later.

Mr. Yang, Ms. Wang Fang, Ms. Bai Xia, Ms. Wang Fuhua, and Ms. Zhao Tingting were each sentenced to two years. 

Ms. Song was given a year and a half and Ms. Gao, one year. Ms. Gao was released from Harbin Women's Prison on February 16, 2020, after the authorities extended her term by four months. Ms. Song was released two months later, though she is still under surveillance.

The other five practitioners are still serving time at the time of writing.

Related reports:

Seven Falun Gong Practitioners Sent to Prison After Appeals Court Upholds Their Wrongful Convictions

Appeals Court Reverses Decision to Assign Trial Court Judge to Hear Appeal of Own Cases

Seven Heilongjiang Province Residents, Including One with a Severe Medical Condition, Sentenced for Their Faith in Falun Gong

Suihua, Heilongjiang Province: Eight Arrested in One Week for Their Faith, Seven Facing Trial