(Minghui.org) A 64-year-old Tianjin resident serving time for her faith in Falun Gong was recently denied medical parole, despite the fact that she had developed breast cancer and is very weak.
Ms. Shao Shuwen was arrested on April 25, 2019 for raising awareness about the persecution of Falun Gong started by the Chinese Communist Party in 1999. She was sentenced to six years by the Beichen District Court and taken to the Tianjin Women’s Prison in December 2020.
Because Ms. Shao refused to renounce Falun Gong, she was subjected to horrific torture and denied family visitation. The mental and physical distress destroyed her health and contributed to the cancer development. Her family is calling for her immediate release.
Past Persecution
This isn’t the first time that Ms. Shao has been targeted for practicing Falun Gong, which she credits for curing her depression and heart disease. Her husband died in the early 1990s when their daughter was only 5, but her good health enabled her to raise her daughter alone.
In early 2001, she was summoned to the police station, where she was arrested and then taken to the local detention center. Without due process, she was given 1.5 years in Banqiao Women’s Forced Labor Camp.
The labor camp guards denied her family visits and prohibited her from talking to anyone. They also deprived her of many daily necessities, including toilet paper and sanitary napkins.
Ms. Shao was forced to do unpaid labor, sometimes making seat cushions and paper boxes overnight. When she wasn’t working, the guards forced her to sit on a small stool for long hours without moving as they read articles slandering Falun Gong to her and ordered her to write thought reports.
Because she remained firm in her faith in Falun Gong, the guards sometimes forced her to stand overnight or bombarded her with verbal abuse and propaganda overnight.
Her daughter was in middle school at that time. Without Ms. Sao to care for her at home, she went from a commuter student to a boarder and borrowed money from her relatives to cover her living expenses.
Ms. Shao was released in July 2002, only to be arrested again on April 14, 2004, after being reported for raising awareness about the persecution.
When her daughter returned home from school, she was so terrified to see her raided home in a mess that she didn’t dare to stay at home by herself. She then stayed in various places, bouncing between her neighbors and relatives. Due to the mental stress and irregular living arrangements, she failed the college entrance exam and began to do odd jobs to support herself.
At the same time, Ms. Shao held a hunger strike to protest the persecution. The guards force-fed her and caused severe stomach bleeding, which almost took her life.
Ms. Shao was held in the detention center until December 2004 when she was transferred to the Tianjin Women’s Prison after she was sentenced to two years.
Related report:
After 3.5 Years of Incarceration, Tianjin Woman Gets 6 More Years for Her Faith
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