(Minghui.org)
Name: Zhou GaiqingChinese Name: 周改清Gender: FemaleAge: 80City: AnshanProvince: LiaoningOccupation: N/ADate of Death: December 16, 2022Date of Most Recent Arrest: July 21, 2014Most Recent Place of Detention: Liaoning Province Women’s Prison
Ms. Zhou Gaiqing was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison following her arrest in 2014 for her faith in Falun Gong. Despite her advanced age (73 at the time), the guards forced her to work long hours without pay. The torture and intensive labor took a toll on her health. She was dealt another blow when the authorities suspended her pension after she was released. She passed away on December 16, 2022. She was 80.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Zhou, of Anshan City, Liaoning Province, was arrested at home on July 21, 2014. Also arrested were her son Mr. Meng Xiangjun, who shared the residence with her, her daughter Ms. Meng Yanli and another practitioner, Ms. Sun Jinjun. Ms. Meng and Ms. Sun happened to be visiting her at the time. Ms. Zhou’s over 20,000 yuan in cash and Mr. Meng’s 56,000 yuan in cash were confiscated.
At the Yongle Police Station, the police restrained Ms. Meng in a metal interrogation chair. They choked her, grabbed her hair and hit her head against the back of the chair. They also squeezed her right hand and stepped on her left hand and feet. Her hands and feet were swollen as a result. Another officer slapped her in the face with a shoe. She lost her hearing right away. The police also trampled on Ms. Sun’s fingers.
The four practitioners were taken to a detention center the next day. Ms. Meng was released on August 2, 2014. She was devastated to find that her home had also been ransacked.
Ms. Zhou and Mr. Meng stood trial at the Tiexi District Court on January 22, 2015. The prosecutor didn’t present any prosecution evidence during the hearing. The two defense lawyers pointed out that the police violated the law by breaking into Ms. Zhou’s private residence without a search warrant. The nearly 80,000 yuan taken from the mother and son wasn’t on the list of confiscated items.
Both Ms. Zhou and Mr. Meng were later sentenced to 3.5 years. Ms. Zhou was forced to work more than ten hours at the Second Ward of Liaoning Province Women’s Prison. Her spine was severely deformed and she had trouble walking as a result of the abuse she experienced.
After Ms. Zhou was released, the authorities suspended her pension and ordered her to return the payments she received during her prison term. Although the authorities claimed that a new policy ruled that retirees aren’t entitled to any retirement benefits while serving time, the Chinese labor law has no such stipulation.
Ms. Zhou succumbed to the physical, mental and financial distress, and passed away on December 16, 2022.
Ms. Sun, on the other hand, suffered a mental breakdown due to torture sustained in the detention center. The court still held a hearing of her case on August 14, 2015 and sentenced her to three years on December 26, 2015.