Yanqing District, Beijing: Three Women Sentenced for Practicing Falun Gong, Three More Face Prosecution

(Minghui.org) Minghui.org recently confirmed that three residents of the Yanqing District in Beijing were sentenced to from two to five years in 2020 for practicing Falun Gong. Three others are facing prosecution for their shared faith following their arrests in 2021.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Three Sentenced

Ms. Hu Xiaolu was arrested in May 2020. She was held in the Changping District Detention Center and later sentenced to two years.

Ms. Xu Wanxiang, in her 50s, and Ms. Pan Xiuqin were first arrested around October 2020 and released on bail after 15 days of detention. Baiquan Police Station officers later submitted their cases to the procuratorate and arrested them again in early December 2020.

Both women were held in the Changping District Detention Center. Ms. Xu was sentenced to five years and Ms. Pan to three years. Ms. Xu’s prison term left her father, in his 80s, in deep despair. He has difficulty walking and relied on Ms. Xu to take care of him.

All three practitioners have been admitted to Beijing Women’s Prison. Further details about their cases aren’t clear.

This isn’t the first time that Ms. Hu has been sentenced. She was given two years by the Yanqing District Court on December 12, 2016. She appealed the verdict, but the outcome isn’t clear.

Three Face Prosecution

Ms. Yang Jinxiang (also known as Yang Jinxia or Yang Jingxia), 58, was arrested on June 27, 2021. In the Changping District Detention Center, Ms. Yang has been on a hunger strike since November 2021 to protest the persecution and was force-fed. The guards put her on IV drips between February 11 and 15 and began to force-feed her again since February 15. Her husband, Mr. Han Shimin, was arrested with her. It’s not clear whether Mr. Han is still detained.

Ms. Wu Fangling, who was arrested on the same day as Ms. Yang, is also being held in the Changping District Detention Center. It’s reported that she is also planning to go on a hunger strike to protest the persecution.

The third practitioner being held in the Changping District Detention Center is Ms. Zhao Liuji, in her 60s. It’s not clear when she was arrested. Ms. Zhao was previously arrested in 2018 for talking to people about Falun Gong and sentenced to two years in Beijing Women’s Prison.