Shandong Woman Dies in the Persecution of Falun Gong

(Minghui.org)

Name: Zhang Jing Chinese Name: 张静Gender: FemaleAge: 66City: JuyeProvince: ShandongOccupation: N/ADate of Death: February 2, 2023Date of Most Recent Arrest: November 27, 2018Most Recent Place of Detention: Heze City Detention Center

Shortly after Ms. Zhang Jing was arrested in 2018 for her faith in Falun Gong, she developed severe heart condition and almost died. In less than a year after she was released on bail, the local court sentenced her to 3.5 years and her appeal was also rejected by the higher court. 

Due to Ms. Zhang’s health condition, she wasn’t taken back into custody immediately to serve time. Since April 2020, her health further deteriorated and she was resuscitated several times. After struggling for three years, the Juye County, Shandong Province resident passed away on February 2, 2023. She was 66. 

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

Ms. Zhang’s latest ordeal stemmed from an arrest on November 9, 2017 for caring for another local Falun Gong practitioner who struggled with a medical condition. She held a hunger strike and was released three days later, without serving the 15-day detention given by the police.

The police attempted to arrest Ms. Zhang again on October 11, 2018, with the excuse that her detention the year before wasn’t enforced. While Ms. Zhang escaped the arrest as she wasn’t home when the police came, she was forced to live away from home since to hide from the police. 

While on the run, she wrote to the police and urged them to stop participating in the persecution. The police located her through the letter and arrested her on November 27, 2018. Her arrest was approved by the Juye County Procuratorate 20 days later. 

At the Heze City Detention Center, Ms. Zhang developed severe heart failure and systemic edema. Her family and lawyer repeatedly urged the Juye County Procuratorate to release her, but the prosecutor rejected them and moved her case to the Cao County Procuratorate. Although the Cao County Procuratorate released Ms. Zhang on bail on January 19, 2019, they didn’t dismiss her case and still indicted her.

The Cao County Court sentenced Ms. Zhang to 3.5 years with a 10,000-yuan fine. She appealed with the Heze City Intermediate Court, which ruled to uphold her original verdict. Due to Ms. Zhang’s health condition, the court didn’t order her to be taken to prison immediately.

The police harassed Ms. Zhang and ransacked her home in January 2020, after she was reported for talking to people about Falun Gong. In the next few months, her health quickly deteriorated and she was hospitalized in April 2020. Meanwhile, the police ordered the company she retired from to suspend her pension and medical insurance. Her children had to cover her 150,000 yuan medical cost in the next three years all on their own.

While Ms. Zhang was bedridden, Pang Xin, the former head of the Juye County Domestic Security Office, instructed the police to harass Ms. Zhang and her family, which infuriated her family.

Ms. Zhang passed away on the evening of February 2, 2023. 

Earlier Persecution

Ms. Zhang took up Falun Gong in 1998. She credited the practice for curing her myocarditis, arthritis and severe tonsillitis. Living by Falun Gong’s principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance, she changed her bad temper and mended her strained relationship with her mother-in-law. 

When the persecution started in 1999, she went to Beijing three times to appeal for Falun Gong. She was arrested each time and subjected to brutal beating while in police custody.

For writing a letter that clarified the facts about Falun Gong, Ms. Zhang was arrested in 2000 and detained for 18 days. She was arrested again on June 21, 2001 for attending a gathering of Falun Gong practitioners. The police gave her three years of forced labor, but she was rejected admission due to her health condition.

Perpetrators’ contact information:

Pang Xin (庞欣), former head of Juye County Domestic Security Office: [phone]Wang Jinzhan (王金战), chief of Nancheng Police Station: [phone]Zhangfeng Town Police Station: [phone]

Related report:

Shandong Province Woman Gets 3.5 Years for Her Faith