(Minghui.org) A 66-year-old Tianjin resident was transferred to the Tianjin Women’s Prison in early April 2024, to serve time for her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Five officers, including Liu Lei of the Ruijing Police Station, Liu Chunming of the Jiarongli Police Station, and three others from the Beichen Police Department, arrested Ms. Wang Lihua at home around 9 a.m. on February 13, 2020. They said she had been reported for spreading information about Falun Gong. Her Falun Gong books, portrait of Falun Gong’s founder, and computer were confiscated.
Ms. Wang was released that evening but was arrested again on April 21 for interrogation. The officers returned twice more, on July 2 and July 10, and took her to the Beichen District Procuratorate to be questioned by the prosecutor.
Ms. Wang stood trial at the Beichen District Court on May 7, 2021. She recounted at the hearing how practicing Falun Gong helped her regain hope after her husband and son died within two years of each other. Its teachings also helped her better handle the conflicts among her extended family. Having benefited from it so much, she hoped to let more people know about the goodness of Falun Gong and the illegality of the persecution imposed on its practitioners.
The prosecutor accused Ms. Wang of “undermining law enforcement,” which is the standard pretext used by the authorities to imprison Falun Gong practitioners. The prosecution evidence against her included a painting with information about Falun Gong and some banknotes with information about Falun Gong printed on them (as a way to spread information given the strict censorship in China).
Ms. Wang asked how having a painting at home or having those banknotes violated the law or obstructed law enforcement. Her two lawyers entered a not guilty plea for her. The judge interrupted her lawyers several times, but they were able to finish reading the defense statement.
After waiting two years, the judge sentenced Ms. Wang to one year with a 10,000-yuan fine in September 2023. She appealed to the Tianjin Second Intermediate Court, which ruled to uphold the original verdict. She was transferred to prison in early April 2024.
Tianjin Woman Tried for Practicing Falun Gong That Lifted Her Out of Family Sorrow