(Minghui.org) Ms. Li Zhuxiu's family hasn't received any updates about her since she was arrested at home on February 27, 2019 for her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

The 69-year-old resident of Kunming City, Yunnan Province began to practice Falun Gong in 1997. She credits the practice for curing her kidney stones and stomach problems, as well as enabling her to become a calmer person and a better worker.

Ms. Li has been repeatedly targeted for her faith after the persecution of Falun Gong began almost two decades ago.

She was first arrested on June 29, 2002, after being found by the police for having Falun Gong books. She was kept at Wuhua Detention Center for 45 days. She was forced to do manual labor all day long and not allowed to sleep if she failed to finish her daily quota. The guards sometimes forced her to squat and stand up hundreds of times a day as a physical punishment.

Her workplace, a cement factory, told the police that she was an exemplary worker and that they were willing to pay the bail bond for her. The police, however, sent her straight to Yunnan Women's Labor Camp with a 1.5-year term.

Many of her previous physical problems recurred as a result of the persecution at the labor camp. She had trouble falling asleep and was very weak.

Her family initially didn't allow her to do the Falun Gong exercises after she was released. But they later relented after seeing her health continue to deteriorate. After resuming practicing Falun Gong, her health recovered.

Ms. Li was arrested again on May 4, 2012. She was sentenced to three years in prison after 1.5 years of detention. While imprisoned at Yunnan No. 2 Women's Prison, she was forced to sit on a small stool for long hours and not allowed to purchase toilet paper, as a punishment for not giving up her faith. The guards constantly forced her to watch materials slandering Falun Gong and attempted to coerce her into writing statements to renounce her faith.