(Minghui.org)
Name: Zhang GuiqingChinese Name: 张贵清Gender: FemaleAge: 88City: NanchongProvince: SichuanOccupation: retired teacherDate of Death: October 29, 2021Date of Most Recent Arrest: N/AMost Recent Place of Detention: N/A
An 88-year-old retired teacher from Nanbu County, Sichuan Province died on October 29, 2021, five months after she was forced to live away from home to avoid harassment for her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Ms. Zhang Guiqing took up Falun Gong in 1996 and gradually recovered from her bronchial asthma, heart disease, gastric ulcer, glaucoma, and cataracts over the years. After the persecution began, the local authorities harassed her numerous times in an attempt to make her renounce her faith.
Eight people from the local street committee and other government agencies knocked on her door at around 11 a.m. on May 19, 2021. No one answered the door, and they talked to a neighbor of hers. The neighbor said that he knew nothing about her whereabouts. They then called Ms. Zhang’s family members. When no one picked up the phone, they left, only to return at around 6:30 that evening. The nanny who was cooking dinner for Ms. Zhang was terrified and took off without finishing her work that night.
Ms. Zhang could no longer cope with the harassment and lived away from home, only to die in displacement five months later.
Earlier Persecution of Ms. Zhang and Her Daughter
Ms. Zhang’s daughter, Ms. Zhang Linyue, joined her in practicing Falun Gong in 1997 and soon became illness-free too. The younger Ms. Zhang was a civil servant for years. She held various positions in the Nanchong City government, including deputy director of the Xicheng Community Office, deputy director of the Finance Bureau, and member of the Nanchong City CPPCC (Political Consultative Conference). Nanchong City oversees the two women’s hometown of Nanbu County.
The mother and daughter were targeted after the persecution began in 1999. Ms. Zhang Linyue was arrested in February 2011 and released on bail on September 11 that year. She received a letter from the Shunqing District Court in Nanchong City three days later, notifying her of her court date on October 11, 2011. She went into hiding to avoid further persecution, but was arrested again on September 28, 2014 while filing a grievance at the Sichuan Province Justice Bureau to protest the persecution. She stood trial on February 2, 2015 and was sentenced to three years on June 15 that year.
Ms. Zhang Guiqing filed a complaint against Jiang Zemin, the former Chinese dictator, for ordering the persecution of Falun Gong that resulted in her daughter’s sentencing and her own persecution. Several officers from the Nanbu County Domestic Security Office raided her home soon afterwards. They confiscated three Falun Gong books, and she condemned them for harassing law-abiding citizens.
Ms. Zhang Guiqing was having breakfast with some relatives a bit past 8 a.m. on October 3, 2019 when seven people broke in, including director Yu Xiaoyang and deputy director Qing Xing of the Shunqing District 610 Office, an officer from the Xinjian Police Station, secretary Wang of the Xinjian Street Committee Office, and director Huang of the Xihe Community Office. They demanded to know her daughter’s whereabouts and took pictures of her, her relatives, and her home.
Qing later approached her daughter and attempted, unsuccessfully, to pressure the latter to sign a statement promising to not go out and distribute Falun Gong materials.
Officer Yang of the Xinjian Police Station, secretary Wang, and director Huang returned in mid-December 2019 to harass Ms. Zhang. Yang searched the phone of her relatives, who happened to be visiting. He also demanded to get other family members’ contact information.
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