(Minghui.org) Ms. Jiang Jianzhong, 67, from Guiyang City, Guizhou Province, was sentenced to 4.5 years and fined 20,000 yuan in late July 2023 for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999. Her appeal was rejected.
Ms. Jiang was arrested as soon as she stepped out of her apartment at 6 p.m. on April 25, 2022. Xiong Yuanming, the chief of Sanjiang Police Station, his deputy chief Liao Zhong and officer Wu Changcai were staked out outside, and waited for her to come out. They handcuffed her and broke into her home. They spent the next four hours ransacking her place. The items they confiscated filled several big bags.
Ms. Jiang was interrogated at the Guiyang City Police Department Case Processing Center the next day. She later learned that an officer altered the written records of what she said during the interrogation, but it’s not clear what changes were made. Ms. Jiang was taken to a pandemic quarantine center on April 27. She was put on criminal detention on May 17 and her arrest was approved on June 24. The Nanming District Procuratorate indicted her on September 23, 2022 and moved her case to the Nanming District Court.
Ms. Jiang stood trial on June 7, 2023. She was represented by Li Yan of the Hengquan Law Firm. It’s not clear whether the lawyer was hired by Ms. Jiang or appointed by the court. Prosecutor Zhang Wei, presiding judge Yi Li, judges Ren Yuyuan and Liu Ying, judges’ assistant Li Xun and court clerk You (first name unknown) were also present during the trial.
The court announced the verdict against Ms. Jiang in late July 2023. She appealed to the Guiyang City Intermediate Court on August 4, 2023. Presiding judge Zou Li ruled to uphold the original verdict without holding a hearing. Ms. Jiang’s family learned about the court’s decision from her appeals lawyer on August 31.
Ms. Jiang was held in the Guiyang City No. 4 Detention Center as of early November 2023. Her family was not told where she is being detained.
Taking Up Falun Gong
Ms. Jiang took up Falun Gong in 1996 when she was 39. Her hyperthyroidism that tormented her for years disappeared not long afterward. Once a domineering woman, she became patient and considerate. When her husband threw a fit, instead of fighting back, she handled the situation calmly, which usually helped resolve the conflict quickly. Her husband’s temper also became better and their relationship became harmonious. Following her latest arrest in April 2022, her husband worked very hard to seek her release.
After the persecution began, Ms. Jiang was demoted from an office worker to the factory to remove burrs from metal parts. She was paid by the number of parts she processed. When the parts arrived at the factory, her co-workers competed to pick the best ones and some were even injured while fighting with each other. Ms. Jiang always waited and took the leftovers after others finished picking. She had to spend more time working on the parts, but was paid less.
In order to help her, Ms. Jiang’s supervisor reserved a batch of good-quality parts for her. She thanked him but suggested he share it with other coworkers. Her coworkers were touched by her kindness and they stopped fighting with each other. Since then, the factory changed its procedure to minimize the competition between workers. The workers also became more efficient in getting the job done. Some factory leaders commented that Falun Gong practitioners are indeed good people (several practitioners worked at the factory).
Multiple Prior Arrests
This isn’t the first time Ms. Jiang was targeted for her faith. She was previously detained three times at brainwashing centers. Her home was raided once.
While waiting outside of a prison to welcome a Falun Gong practitioner who was released in April 2016, Ms. Jiang was arrested by officers from the Xiaohe District Police Department and held at the Lannigou Brainwashing Center for more than three months.
During her detention, the so-called “teachers” talked to her every day and tried to persuade her to renounce Falun Gong. She said that she didn’t do anything wrong in trying to be a good person by practicing Falun Gong and refused to sign any statements.
Prior to that, Ms. Jiang was held at the same brainwashing center twice. Knowing that she wouldn’t yield to the brutality and violence, the authorities attempted to use “soft tactics” to transform her.
In early July 2016, Ms. Jiang’s husband and three other family members came to the brainwashing center and tried to persuade her to renounce Falun Gong. Knowing that they came under pressure from the authorities, Ms. Jiang explained that she would never submit to tyranny and abandon her spiritual belief. She said that the communist regime is persecuting law-abiding citizens like her simply for trying to be good people, and the persecution victimized both her and her family. The pressure and discrimination her loved ones face in society should never have happened either. She told her family that she didn’t want to stay in the brainwashing center, but she didn’t want give up her faith in order to be released.
After being detained for another month, she was released on August 11, 2016. She did not sign any statements.
Related Report:
Guizhou Woman Detained for Three Months and Counting for Her Faith
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