(Minghui.org) A woman from Guyuan City, Ningxia Province, was arrested on September 27, 2019, shortly after she returned home from three years of moving frequently to avoid being persecuted for her faith in Falun Gong.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a mind-body improvement discipline that has been suppressed by the Chinese Communist Party since 1999.
Eleven police officers broke into Ms. Zhang Junqin’s home on the morning of September 27, 2019. They tried to force her to sign a guarantee statement to renounce Falun Gong, but she refused. The police arrested her and confiscated her son's laptop and other Falun Gong-related belongings.
Ms. Zhang, 50, is being held in Longde County Detention Center. It was reported that the Ningxia Domestic Security Division ordered her arrest.
Forced to Leave Home
Ms. Zhang’s latest arrest came shortly after she returned home after three years of living away to hide from the police.
In June 2015, Ms. Zhang filed a criminal compliant against Jiang Zemin, the former head of the communist regime, with the Supreme People’s Court for initiating the persecution of Falun Gong in 1999.
Instead of addressing her complaint, the highest court returned it to the local Domestic Security Division a month later.
Three police officers took Ms. Zhang to the local police station on August 13, 2015. They beat her and slapped her in the face for ten minutes.
Although the police released Ms. Zhang later that day, they attempted to arrest her again a year later. To avoid further persecution, Ms. Zhang lived away from home.
Twenty-one Months of Forced Labor
Ms. Zhang began to practice Falun Gong in 1997. She regained her health and became a better person by following Falun Gong’s principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance.
She was arrested in September 2001 for practicing Falun Gong and sent to Ningxia Province Women’s Forced Labor Camp in November 2001 for 18 months.
To pressure her to renounce her faith, she was required to attend brainwashing sessions. She had to watch videos that defamed Falun Gong every day. When she refused to follow orders, she was beaten, made to stand for long periods of time, and deprived of sleep.
Ms. Zhang was forced to work long hours every day. Sometimes she had to get up at 5:00 a.m. Her buttocks festered due to having to sit still on a small stool for long periods of time and her fingers and hands hurt so much that she was unable to sleep. When she couldn’t finish her quota, she was beaten and deprived of sleep and family visits.
When it was close to her release date, the labor camp guards extended her term for three months, claiming that she did not finish her work quota. She was released in May 2003.
Family Broken Apart
Ms. Zhang’s family was also implicated and faced tremendous pressure and fear.
The police went to her husband’s workplace and ordered him to force Ms. Zhang to give up her faith. They threatened to have him fired if he didn’t comply. To avoid being implicated, he divorced Ms. Zhang in March 2012.
Ms. Zhang’s son found a job in another province after he graduated from college and didn’t visit her for several years.
Ms. Zhang’s younger sister, who doesn’t practice Falun Gong, was once harassed and had her home ransacked for buying a train ticket for her. She and other relatives avoided keeping in touch with Ms. Zhang after that.
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