Shaanxi Woman Faces Prison Sentence for Distributing Falun Gong Materials

(Minghui.org) A Yulin City, Shaanxi Province resident is facing prison sentence for distributing informational materials about Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since 1999.

Ms. Zhang Cuifang, who is in her 60s, was handing out the materials on August 1, 2022, when she gave a copy to a man, not knowing he was an official of the Yuyang District Political and Legal Affairs Committee (PLAC), an extra-judiciary agency tasked with overseeing the persecution.

The official, who was likely PLAC secretary Gao Hongwei, was infuriated about Ms. Zhang’s distributing materials, and reported her. The police soon raided Ms. Zhang’s home, confiscating all her Falun Gong books and several thousand yuan in cash printed with information about Falun Gong (as a way to raise awareness about the persecution due to strict information censorship in China.)

Before becoming the PLAC secretary, Gao served as the deputy Party secretary and political instructor of the Wubao County Police Department. He is a die-hard follower of the Chinese Communist Party.

Terrified by the police violence, Ms. Zhang’s husband, who doesn’t practice Falun Gong, didn’t dare to come home for many days.

After eight months of detention, Ms. Zhang appeared in Yuyang District Court on March 9, 2023. As she refused to answer any questions and stayed silent, the judge soon adjourned the session. According to an insider who had read her indictment, the prosecutor recommended a 4.5-year prison sentence for her.

Past Persecution

Ms. Zhang suffered tracheitis and hemiplegia after giving birth to her child, and medical treatments had minimal effects for her. After she took up Falun Gong in September 1998, she gradually regained health.

Ms. Zhang recalled, “Falun Gong gave me a second life and saved my family. My husband lost the ability to work due to gas poisoning. I thought about divorcing him, but because of Falun Gong’s teachings, I gave up the idea.”

Ms. Zhang has been targeted several times since the onset of the persecution for upholding her faith.

She was arrested in February 2013 for distributing Falun Gong materials. She was held at the Fugu County Detention Center for five days and had over 2,000 yuan paper currency printed with information about Falun Gong confiscated. Agents from the Fugu County 610 Office raided her home again in 2014 and took her Falun Gong books and informational materials.

Also because she had Falun Gong materials at home, Ms. Zhang was arrested again on July 31, 2017 and sentenced to 1.5 years in late 2017.

Perpetrators’ contact information:

Gao Hongwei (高宏炜), secretary of Yuyang District Political and Legal Affairs CommitteeShen Junchang (申军昌), director of Yuyang District Domestic Security Office: [phone]Zhang Shouhua (张守华), secretary of Yulin City District Political and Legal Affairs Committee: [phone]

(More perpetrators’ contact information is available in the original Chinese article.)