Shaanxi Woman Dies at 53 in the Persecution of Her Faith

(Minghui.org)

Name: Fang LitingChinese Name: 方立婷Gender: FemaleAge: 53City: Xi’anProvince: ShaanxiOccupation: ArtistDate of Death: January 19, 2023Date of Most Recent Arrest: September 3, 2002Most Recent Place of Detention: Shaanxi Province Women’s Prison

After the Chinese Communist Party began to persecute Falun Gong, an ancient spiritual discipline, in 1999, Ms. Fang Liting and her family were subjected to arrests, incarceration and torture. The long term mental distress took a toll on her health. The Xi’an City, Shaanxi Province resident passed away on January 19, 2023. She was 53.

Ms. Fang, a graduate of Xi’an Academy of Fine Arts, took up Falun Gong before the persecution began. Her father-in-law, Mr. Yang Hengqing, the vice president of Xi’an University of Science and Technology, her mother-in-law, Ms. Long Aiqin, a retired university employee, as well as her brother-in-law, Mr. Yang Zhaojun, also practice Falun Gong. 

In the fall of 2000, Ms. Fang went to Beijing to appeal for the right to practice Falun Gong. She managed to escape after being arrested. Upon returning to Xi’an, she and other local practitioners established sites to print informational materials about Falun Gong on a large scale, in order to raise awareness about the persecution.

During a police sweep aimed to destroy the material printing sites, Ms. Fang’s parents-in-law were arrested on August 31, 2002, three days before her arrest. Both her home and her mother’s home were ransacked. Her computer, printer, Falun Gong books and materials were confiscated.

In the police station, the police hung her up by the wrists and interrogated her. She and 30 other practitioners were later transferred to the Lanjiatan Drug Rehab Center and held in solitary confinement, with one hour of free time each day. After three months of detention, she and other practitioners held a hunger strike to protest the persecution. 

Torture reenactment: Hung up 

In late 2002, Ms. Fang and other practitioners were transferred to the Xi’an City Brainwashing Center. The guards arranged two staff members to monitor her around the clock and forced her and the other practitioners to watch propaganda videos smearing Falun Gong. 

Ms. Fang’s arrest was approved on February 11, 2003 and she was later held in various facilities, including Xi’an Detention Center, Yanta Detention Center, and Hu County Detention Center. 

On May 28, 2003, the Hu County Court sentenced her to four years and her father-in-law to seven years. 

In Shaanxi Province Women’s Prison, Ms. Fang was subjected to intensive forced labor and starved. The inmates tortured her at will and often ordered her to write statements to renounce Falun Gong. Her sentencing dealt a heavy blow to her father and he passed away shortly after. Her three-year-old daughter developed myocarditis while she was imprisoned.

The four years of imprisonment also took a toll on Ms. Fang’s health and she suffered severe damage to her kidneys. 

Shortly after she was released in 2006, her brother-in-law was arrested and later sentenced to ten years. 

On August 23, 2015, Ms. Fang filed a criminal complaint against Jiang Zemin, the former head of the communist regime who ordered the persecution. In retaliation, the police kept harassing her since. The harassment further intensified during the “Zero-out” campaign in 2021 and 2022, in which the authorities attempted to force all Falun Gong practitioners to renounce their faith. 

The mental distress brought tremendous pressure to Ms. Fang and her family. Her health quickly declined and her kidneys failed. She eventually passed away on January 19, 2023.