(Minghui.org)

Name: Jiang PingtianChinese Name: 蒋平田Gender: FemaleAge: 70City: Qidong CountyProvince: HunanOccupation: N/ADate of Death: December 10, 2022Date of Most Recent Arrest: August 7, 2020Most Recent Place of Detention: Hunan Province Women’s Prison

A Qidong County, Hunan Province resident struggled with declining health and passed away on December 10, 2022, ten months after she was released from serving her second prison sentence for her faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999. She was 70.

Ms. Jiang Pingtian was arrested on August 7, 2020, after being reported for distributing informational materials about Falun Gong. She was sentenced to 1.5 years at Hunan Province Women’s Prison and released on February 4, 2022. Prior to that, she was sentenced to 8 years in 2001 and had her term extended for six months because she held firm to her faith in Falun Gong.

Past Persecution

Ms. Jiang took up Falun Gong in 1998 and she credited the practice for improving her health.

In 2001, two years after the persecution started, she began to print informational materials at home to raise awareness about the persecution. The police confiscated her computer, printer, cellphone, and a large amount of cash. Her financial loss was over 100,000 yuan.

When Ms. Jiang moved to her son’s home in Dongguan City, Guangdong Province to avoid the persecution, the police followed her there. Her son was implicated and detained. Her daughter and son-in-law were also targeted, with the latter detained. Her son and son-in-law were extorted tens of thousands yuan.

Torture reenactment: being hung up

Ms. Jiang was arrested in October 2001 while printing materials at home. The police kept her hung up by the wrists from a door frame for nine days. Several officers took turns beating and kicking her. Her face, hands and body were covered with bruises.

Despite the cold temperature, the guards didn’t allow her to wear warm clothes and kept her hung up in a thin layer of clothes. Sometimes they let her down for a short break. She sat on the cold concrete floor, shivering in cold. Before long, the guards hung her up again and resumed the interrogation. She fainted from the beating several times.

The nine days of torture caused her to become emaciated and the handcuffs could no longer restrain her. The guards had to shackle her thin wrists with a pair of juvenile handcuffs.

The Qidong County Court later sentenced Ms. Jiang to eight years in Hunan Province Women’s Prison in Changsha City. As she refused to renounce Falun Gong, the authorities extended her term by six months.

Due to the torture in custody, Ms. Jiang developed stomach ulcers and hepatitis in 2009. She was unable to eat and became emaciated. The prison initially informed her husband, Mr. Guan Xingzhong, to take her home, but when he arrived at the prison, the guards changed their minds. She wasn’t released until November 2010.

While she was incarcerated, the police also constantly harassed her family. They broke in one night in 2007 and ransacked their home in the evening and the next morning when no one was around. When Ms. Jiang’s husband returned home, he was devastated to see everything in disarray. He rushed to report the incident to the village head, but passed out before he was able to open his mouth to talk. The village head rushed him to the hospital.

Several days later when Mr. Guan returned home to get money to pay for his medical care, he was shocked to discover that the 1,000 yuan that his son wired to him was gone. The police initially denied taking the money, but later acknowledged it when the villagers spoke up for Mr. Guan. Only 800 yuan was eventually returned.

The local police also extended the persecution to Ms. Jiang’s family members. Mr. Guan was once detained and interrogated for three days. Their son was brutally beaten. Their daughter was forced to live away from home to avoid further harassment. Their son-in-law was sentenced to five years for helping her print the materials.

Related reports:

Ms. Jiang Pingtian from Qidong County, Hunan Province Incarcerated for Eight and a Half Years, Her Family Persecuted As Well

Practitioner Ms. Jiang Pingtian Tortured and on the Verge of Death at Changsha Women's Prison