70-Year-Old Jilin Woman Tried for Her Faith in Falun Gong

(Minghui.org) A 70-year-old resident of Yushu City, Jilin Province, was tried at her home via video conference on June 21, 2024.

Ms. Zhang Shuhua was initially arrested on the morning of August 12, 2022, by several plainclothes officers, for her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999. She was released after 3 o’clock that afternoon, only to be arrested again weeks later on August 30 and taken to the Changchun City Fourth Detention Center. The Yushu City Procuratorate decided not to issue a formal arrest of her and ordered her to pay 2,000 yuan before releasing her. The money was later returned to her.

The Yushu City Procuratorate summoned Ms. Zhang on October 26, 2022 and arrested her upon her arrival. She developed some symptoms in detention and was released on bail in early 2023.

The Dehui City Procuratorate later took over the case and issued a formal arrest warrant of Ms. Zhang around September 1, 2023. Both Dehui and Yushu are under the administration of Changchun (the capital city of Jilin Province).

The Yushu City Police Department was tasked with monitoring Ms. Zhang. They later took her for a physical examination and she was deemed unfit for detention. The local detention center refused to admit her.

Ms. Zhang was arrested at around 7 p.m. on December 23, 2023, after the police alleged that a surveillance camera recorded her and another local Falun Gong practitioner, Ms. Liu Guilan, distributing Falun Gong informational materials at a residential area.

The local lockup declined to admit Ms. Zhang after she failed the required physical examination. The arresting officers from the Zhengyang Police Station released her on bail but kept Ms. Liu at the lockup for 13 days before transferring her to a local detention center on January 5, 2024. Ms. Liu remains in detention and her case status is unclear.

Captain Yan Guohui and deputy captain Yang Shucai of the Yushu City Police Department visited Ms. Zhang at home on January 5, 2024 and notified her that she had been formally put on bail pending trial.

Yan and Yang came again at 8 a.m. on June 21, 2024 to help conduct a virtual hearing of Ms. Zhang’s case. The virtual hearing was due to the fact that Ms. Zhang had failed the required physical examination multiple times and that she suffered severe head, arm, and leg injuries after taking a fall days prior to the hearing. Instead of allowing her time to recover, the Dehui City Court decided to go ahead with a virtual hearing.

During the hearing, the court played a few video clips that showed the back of a woman. The judge asked Ms. Zhang to confirm it was her and she said no.

While it was totally legal to distribute Falun Gong informational materials, Ms. Zhang and Ms. Liu did not do so at the said residential area during the said time as alleged by the police. Ms. Zhang condemned the court for pursuing prosecution of her following her initial arrest on August 12, 2022 simply for her faith in Falun Gong.

Given One Year of Forced Labor in 2000

This is not the first time that Ms. Zhang has been targeted for her faith. She was previously arrested a few more times and served one year in a labor camp.

Ms. Zhang was arrested on September 29, 1999 and detained for 60 days. She was forced to pay 1,868 yuan before being released. After another arrest on February 25, 2000, she was detained for 35 days before being given one year of forced labor.

Ms. Zhang was initially assigned to Team Six of the Heizuizi Labor Camp in Changchun City. She was forced to get up at 4 a.m. to run laps every day. After that, she was made to sit motionless on a small stool during the day to watch anti-Falun Gong videos. She was only given three bathroom breaks and she must seek permission before she could go. One night a guard surnamed Hou was on duty and he did not allow her to use the restroom at all. As soon as she got up, Hou shocked her with electric batons and still said no to her restroom request. She couldn’t hold it any longer and ended up urinating in the basin used to wash her face.

Ms. Zhang later joined all other Falun Gong practitioners held in Team Six in starting a group hunger strike. On the fifth day, the guards gathered the practitioners in a room and shocked them with electric batons before force-feeding them salt water. The guards pried open the practitioners’ mouths and inserted tubes into their stomachs.

At night, the guards stripped the practitioners naked and had them stand by the open windows. It was February and very cold at night. The inmates watching the practitioners all had winter coats on. The practitioners were forced to stand a whole night before returning to their cells.

There were also nights when the guards tied the practitioners up in their beds or had them squat for a whole night.

Ms. Zhang was later moved to Team One and ordered to do hard labor from 4 a.m. to past 11 p.m. every day. She struggled to finish her quota.

Two More Arrests

Ms. Zhang was arrested again on December 30, 2004 and detained for 15 days. The authorities also extorted 2,000 yuan from her.

The Yushu City Court held a hearing of a Falun Gong practitioner on June 13, 2017. Ms. Zhang and two other practitioners went there to show their support for the practitioner on trial. The police arrested them and took them to the Huachang Police Station for interrogation. The three practitioners were each given ten days of detention but were released at 10 o’clock that night after they urged the police to not persecute Falun Gong practitioners.