(Minghui.org) A 61-year-old woman in Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province, was sentenced to three years and two months because she practices Falun Gong, Minghui.org learned recently.
Ms. Zhao Xihua, born on October 29, 1964, was arrested on August 21, 2025. Over 20 other local Falun Gong practitioners were also seized on the same day.
The Daoli District Court heard Ms. Zhao’s case on April 23, 2026. It is unclear when the guilty verdict against her was issued or where she is being held.
Ms. Zhao was repeatedly targeted for her faith prior to her latest prison sentence.
Over Four Months of Detention in Brainwashing Center in 2001
Ms. Zhao was home washing her critically ill mother-in-law’s hair on January 17, 2001, when local government secretary Liu and street committee staffer Qu Botao came. They said they needed to have a talk with her. She went with them and was taken to a brainwashing center.
Because Ms. Zhao refused to renounce Falun Gong as they ordered she was tortured at the brainwashing center. Government officials Yan Shanli, Yu Zhanqi, Liu Yuhua and Zhou Dayong were among the perpetrators. They once forced her to bend down with her arms stretched behind her as high as possible for 6 hours. On another occasion, she was hung up with her feet off the ground. Other tortures she endured included being forced to sit on a bench or stand for long hours, as well as being deprived of sleep.
Ms. Zhao’s mother-in-law died three days after she was arrested. The authorities initially barred her from attending the funeral, and allowed her to go while monitoring her the entire time. She was taken back to the brainwashing center immediately after the funeral, and she was detained for more than four months. Her then nine-year-old daughter and her blind sister (who lived with her) struggled to care for themselves.
Two Years of Forced Labor (December 2001 – December 2003)
Ms. Zhao was arrested again on December 3, 2001, after an officer from the Shuangcheng City Police Department spotted her hanging up banners which had information about Falun Gong. She went on a hunger strike at the Shuangcheng City Detention Center and was released on bail when she became extremely weak.
A detention center guard and a police officer went to Ms. Zhao’s home one week later saying they would give her a physical exam. They took her straight to the detention center instead. In March 2002, detention center director Wang led two guards (one was Xu Jize and the other was surnamed Wang) and sent Ms. Zhao to the Wanjia Labor Camp to serve a two-year term.
The labor camp refused to admit Ms. Zhao due to her poor health but relented after director Wang bribed the labor camp director and doctor.
During her first week at the labor camp, Ms. Zhao was not allowed any contact with other detained Falun Gong practitioners. She was forced to attend brainwashing classes and ordered to renounce her faith. She was also made to stand from morning until midnight and was not allowed to use the restroom.
Guard Yao Fuchang also shocked Ms. Zhao and other practitioners with electric batons. Sometimes the practitioners were punched and kicked in the restroom where others couldn’t see them.
All the practitioners were transferred to Team Seven in the fall of 2002. For one whole month, captain Zhang Bo and seven guards forced the practitioners to sit on a small stool from 4 a.m. to 2 a.m. the next day. Ms. Zhao refused to put on an inmate’s uniform, and guard Zhou put her in solitary confinement and hung her up.
Another time Ms. Zhao again refused to write statements to renounce Falun Gong and guard Wang put her in solitary confinement. He tied up her two thumbs and hung her up with her feet off the ground. He also shocked her neck, face, and other parts of her body with electric batons.
Besides the physical torture, Ms. Zhao was also forced to do hard labor. She had extremely itchy scabies all over. She couldn’t close her eyes due to scabies and never had a good night of sleep during her detention.
Forced Into Displacement in 2024
The police went to Ms. Zhao’s home on December 23, 2024. She was not there. They confiscated her Falun Gong books and other valuables and took her husband to the Chengxu Police Station.
After forcing her husband to reveal her whereabouts, the police went to her daughter’s home. Her daughter, Ms. Xuan Shaojing, stood in front of the door and refused to let them in. The police then forced her father, who had been held at the police station for six hours, to talk to her on the phone. She still refused to budge, even after one of the officers pointed a gun at her forehead. The police left, only to arrest Ms. Xuan at work five days later and detain her on charges of “obstructing enforcement of the law.” Ms. Zhao was forced to live away from home for a while to avoid the persecution.
Related Reports:
Arrested in a Police Sweep, 65-Year-Old Heilongjiang Woman Gets 7.5 Years for Practicing Falun Gong
Reported in 2025: 4,803 Falun Gong Practitioners Arrested or Harassed for Their Faith
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