Two Hubei Residents Sentenced to Prison for Their Faith in Falun Gong

(Minghui.org) Two Wuhan City, Hubei Province residents were sentenced to prison on August 8, 2022 for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Ms. Luo Yuanying, 63, was sentenced to seven years with a 7,000-yuan fine. Ms. Huang Hongwei, 61, was given three and a half years with a 4,000-yuan fine. Both practitioners are now appealing the verdicts.

Ms. Luo and Ms. Huang were arrested on February 22, 2021 after being reported for talking to people about Falun Gong. They were first given 15 days of administrative detention and then transferred to the Wuhan City No.1 Detention Center for criminal detention. The Jianghan District Procuratorate approved their arrests on April 3, 2021 and later transferred their cases to the Hanyang District Procuratorate, which indicted them in June 2021. The Hanyang District Court held two joint hearings in 2022, on May 31 and June 17, respectively, before handing down the verdicts on August 8.

In recent years, the Hanyang District Procuratorate and Hanyang District Court have been designated to handle Falun Gong cases in Wuhan to speed up the sentencing process, after more and more judges and prosecutors became aware of the persecution and refused to participate in it.

Past Persecution of Ms. Huang

Ms. Huang is a retired employee of Wuhan Grand Pharmaceutical Factory. Before she took up Falun Gong in 1996, she struggled with many ailments, such as neck problems and vertigo, and had to take sick leave on a regular basis. Soon after learning Falun Gong, she recovered and was full of energy.

Ms. Huang was arrested in March 2000 and held at the Etouwan Brainwashing Center for over three months.

Ms. Huang went to Beijing to appeal for the right to practice Falun Gong in November 2001 and was arrested. She was given 1.5 years at the Daxing Women’s Forced Labor Camp in Beijing. The guards deprived her of sleep, forced her to do unpaid labor and sit on a small stool without moving for long hours. In addition to the physical torture, several inmates constantly smeared Falun Gong in front of her and ordered her to renounce the practice.

Ms. Huang was arrested again on December 28, 2012 after being reported for talking to people about Falun Gong. After 15 days at the Erzhigou No.1 Lockup, she was taken to the Etouwan Brainwashing Center again by the 610 Office.

Past Persecution of Ms. Luo

Ms. Luo developed many conditions, including migraines, frozen shoulder and stomach problems, after giving birth to her son in 1985. She was a frequent visitor to the hospital and had a lot of physical therapy, chiropractic therapy, and acupuncture. Nothing really helped alleviated her conditions, though. After taking up Falun Gong in July 1996, she fully recovered in two months.

After the communist regime ordered the persecution in July 1999, Ms. Luo went to Beijing three times to appeal for the right to practice Falun Gong. For upholding her faith, she was also removed from her position as a cashier for the Qiaokou District Administration for Industry and Commerce, and transferred to a residential property management center. She was later forced into early retirement and not allowed to go back to work.

Ms. Luo once recalled the torture she suffered at various detention facilities and brainwashing centers (Wuhan is notorious for holding brainwashing centers to persecute Falun Gong practitioners), but the time of each detention wasn’t clear.

Below are her own accounts.

Wuhan City No. 1 Detention Center

My hands were chained for four months, until the cuffs were rusted. The guards had to use soap and a hammer to open it. Because I did the Falun Gong exercises, they handcuffed me behind my back for three days, rendering me unable to eat or lie down to sleep. Also because of doing the exercises another time, I was hung up by my wrists for three days, with my feet barely touching the ground. When I refused to recite the detention center rule, I was forced to stand for two days without sleep. The guards also beat me and verbally abused me during the time.

The guards took away my clothes, as I refused to wear the detainees’ uniform. For four months, I wore a short dress and only had one pair of underwear. The 150 yuan that my family mailed me was also confiscated.

I once demanded guard Lu remove the handcuffs. He ordered two detainees to beat me instead. When I held a hunger strike to protest the persecution, they beat me and injected me with unknown drugs.

In addition to the torture, I was also forced to work for long hours without pay.

Hewan Forced Labor Camp

During the four months I was held at the Hewan Forced Labor Camp, I was force fed, monitored by inmates around the clock and not allowed to talk to anyone. The guards deprived me of sleep and restroom use. The inmates were instigated by them to beat me and verbally abuse me all day long. Sometimes I had to do forced labor and worked extended hours until 10 p.m.

Huangpi Brainwashing Center

I was also forced to do hard labor at the Huangpi Brainwashing Center, including digging trenches and carrying soil and stones when it was 40°C (104 °F) outdoors.

Danshuichi Brainwashing Center

I was beaten, slapped in the face and handcuffed by the police and brainwashing center staff members. They once forced me to stand facing the wall for six days without sleep.

Etouwan Brainwashing Center

The guards at Etouwan Brainwashing Center held me in solitary confinement and forced me to watch videos smearing Falun Gong at maximum volume.

Tangxunhu Brainwashing Center

In the winter, I was forced to squat on one leg for extended hours. My feet became numb and my calf became black and blue due to lack of blood circulation. The guards sometimes kicked my hands while wearing leather boots, leaving my hands swollen and numb.

Sometimes the guards worked in groups to torture me. Two male guards once held me by my hands and feet and stuffed me under a small table and then sat on it, while making fun of me. Another time, two male guards hit hard on my head. They took turns beating me. I was dizzy and had difficulty breathing. Six guards once worked together, trying to force me to sign a statement to renounce Falun Gong. They dragged me on and off from the table to the ground. Some held me against the table, some sat on my back, and others held my legs or hands. One person tried to insert the pen into my fists and force me to sign it. As I struggled, my side was injured.

I couldn’t remember how many times I was forced to stand in the corner of a room, beaten by them, and slapped in the face. They beat me any time I refused to cooperate with them. The torture could last all day long, from 8 a.m. to midnight. Sometimes I was deprived of sleep as well. It’s common for me to have swollen and red eyes, as well as a bruised face. I was also hung up by my wrists at least five times.

Related report:

Two Hubei Residents Taken to Brainwashing Center After 15-day Detention