Shaanxi Woman Dies After Repeated Harassment for Her Faith

(Minghui.org)

Chinese name: 赵秀兰Gender: FemaleAge: 75City: HanzhongProvince: ShaanxiOccupation: NoneDate of Death: October 22, 2021Date of Most Recent Arrest: April 26, 2021Most Recent Place of Detention: Chengdong Police Station

After Ms. Zhao Xiulan’s husband died of fear a few years ago after witnessing the repeated arrests and harassment she had suffered for practicing Falun Gong, Ms. Zhao herself died on October 22, 2021, as a result of the 22-year-long persecution of her faith. She was 75.

Ms. Zhao, of Mian County, Shaanxi Province, took up Falun Gong in 1997, when a doctor predicted she had only one year left due to her brain tumor and bladder cancer. Only a week after she learned Falun Gong, her symptoms disappeared.

After the Chinese Communist Party launched the persecution two years later, Ms. Zhao was targeted for not renouncing her faith. She was arrested on March 8, 2012, for urging Wang Guilin, the deputy head of Mian County Police Department, not to persecute Falun Gong. The police interrogated her for seven hours and threatened to give her two years of forced labor when they released her in the evening.

The police attempted to take Ms. Zhao back into custody on March 17, but she wasn’t home when they came. She was forced to live away from home since then to avoid the persecution.

Ms. Zhao was arrested again on April 29, 2013, and interrogated at the Chengxi Police Station. She was released two hours later.

While dining outside on March 16, 2017, Ms. Zhao talked to another customer about Falun Gong, who turned out to be a police officer. The police arrested her in the afternoon and interrogated her for over nine hours, while holding her in a metal chair in a room without heating. She was released at around 10 p.m.

Ms. Zhao was arrested two more times, on May 3 and June 20, 2018, respectively, and released hours later both times.

Two plainclothes officers from the Chengdong Police Station attempted to arrest her on July 10, 2018, but relented due to her family’s resistance.

The police returned on July 13 and July 17, 2018. As Ms. Zhao refused to open the door, they harassed her neighbor.

Ms. Zhao’s next arrest was on April 26, 2021. As soon as she left home, she was dragged into a police car by officers on the lookout for her. The police forced her to go through a series of physical examinations, including a blood test. They then took her to the Mian County Procuratorate and tried to pursue prosecution of her for talking to people about Falun Gong two years earlier.

The police released Ms. Zhao in the early evening after forcing two staff members of her residential committee to sign certain documents for her.

Ms. Zhao’s family noticed three cars parked outside their home at 7 a.m. on April 29. Two hours later, an officer knocked on the door, but her family pretended that no one was home. At around 10 a.m., Ms. Zhao’s family looked out to see whether the police had left. They were instead noticed by the police, who returned to knock on their door. They still refused to open the door. The police left and came back at 3 p.m. and again the next day.

The police harassed Ms. Zhao a few more times, on June 9, 10 and 16, respectively. As she refused to open the door, the police tried to collect information about her from her neighbor.