Two Hubei Women in Their 70s Detained for Over One Year for Their Faith

(Minghui.org) Two Huangshi City, Hubei Province, residents in their 70s have been detained for over a year for their faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999. They are still in detention at the time of writing.

Ms. Zhang Zehui, 73, was arrested at home on August 5, 2021, after the police deceived her into opening the door with the excuse that they were checking on her coronavirus test status. Her Falun Gong books and photo of Falun Gong’s founder were confiscated. 

Ms. Zhang Shufen, 75, was arrested at home on August 20, 2021. Her Falun Gong books and photo of Falun Gong’s founder were confiscated. The police first held her at a hotel and ordered her to renounce Falun Gong. As she refused, she was taken to the Huangshi City No. 1 Detention Center and has been held there since. 

Past Persecution of Ms. Zhang Zehui and Her Twin Sister Ms. Zhang Zelan

Ms. Zhang Zehui, a former employee of Wuhan Steel Company, and her twin sister, Ms. Zhang Zelan, both took up Falun Gong before the persecution started in 1999. 

Ms. Zhang Zelan went to Beijing to appeal for the right to practice Falun Gong in 2000 and was arrested. The police constantly monitored her daily life after she was taken back to Hubei. She was later arrested again and held in Shayang Forced Labor Camp until some time in 2002. The authorities withheld a portion of her pension and threatened to throw her into prison.

The two sisters were followed by the police in August 2006 when they went out to sell watermelons. The police stopped them, checked their bags, and arrested them. 

After a day at the police station, Ms. Zhang Zehui was released at midnight. But Ms. Zhang Zelan was taken to the Huangshi Detention Center in the evening and a week later, she was given two years at the Hubei Province Women’s Forced Labor Camp. 

When Ms. Zhang Zelan was released in July 2008, she told her family that as soon as she was admitted, the labor camp authorities tortured her to force her to write a statement to renounce Falun Gong. The guards often stepped on her face with their boots, causing her teeth to fall out and she had blood all over her face. Sometimes they shocked her in the mouth with electric batons. A guard once kicked her buttocks extremely hard. She became fecal incontinent since and has to wear a diaper all the time.

Ms. Zhang Zelan was arrested again in November 2010 and sent to a brainwashing center, where she was forced to give up Falun Gong and practice Buddhism, which she once practiced before. 

Ms. Zhang Zehui was arrested on December 11, 2014, after being reported by the residential committee. She was detained for ten days.

Past Persecution of Ms. Zhang Shufen

Ms. Zhang Shufen was a former employee of a printing and dyeing factory. After she was laid off, she struggled to make ends meet. She couldn’t afford to seek medical treatment after she became sick. Despite the family’s situation, her husband squandered money for entertainment.

In 1997, when Ms. Zhang hit rock bottom, a friend introduced Falun Gong to her. She took up the practice and soon regained her health and had a positive outlook on life. 

Because Ms. Zhang refused to renounce Falun Gong in the face of the persecution, she was arrested in April 2000 and held at a brainwashing center for ten days. 

The police raided her home on August 18, 2009, after she was reported for paying a utility fee the day before with money printed with information about Falun Gong (as a creative way to overcome the information censorship in China). A framed photo of Falun Gong’s founder was smashed. Her Falun Gong books, a purse, and around 300 yuan in cash were confiscated. 

Ms. Zhang was arrested again on September 11, 2012, after the police deceived her into opening the door by claiming to deliver a package. The officers held her arms behind her back and pushed her into a police car. She was taken to a brainwashing center located in a hotel. Before she was released on the 12th day, the police ransacked Ms. Zhang’s home and confiscated her Falun Gong books, a photo of Falun Gong’s founder, and 200 1-yuan paper bills printed with information about Falun Gong. 

The police deceived Ms. Zhang into opening the door again at 9 p.m. on April 15, 2014, by pretending to be her daughter’s friend dropping off something for her. Upon entering her home, they held her arms behind her back and pushed her against the sofa. They spent hours searching her home. Her Falun Gong books, photo of Falun Gong’s founder, laptop, cellphones, an electronic reader, and 600 yuan in cash were confiscated. Her arms were so bruised the next day that she couldn’t lift them. 

Ms. Zhang was arrested again on December 11, 2014, after being reported for talking to people about Falun Gong. She was held at the Fenglieshan Lockup for five days.

Related report:

Huangshi City, Hubei Province: Seven Arrested and One Harassed for Practicing Falun Gong