(Minghui.org) Ms. Zhou Yuzhen, 71, from Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province, was sentenced to four and a half years for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Ms. Zhou was arrested by officers from the Baoan Police Station on April 30, 2024, while she distributed information about Falun Gong. The Guta District Domestic Security Division submitted her case to the Linghai City Procuratorate, which indicted her. She stood trial at the Linghai City Court at an unknown date and was convicted. Linghai is under the administration of Jinzhou City and has been designated to handle Falun Gong cases in the region.
Ms. Zhou is currently held at the Jinzhou City Women’s Detention Center. Prior to her latest persecution, she was previously arrested multiple times for upholding her faith. She was detained at the Masanjia Labor Camp from May 2004 to January 2006 and served two four-year prison terms (July 2013 – July 2017 and September 2019 – September 2023). She endured horrific torture during each of her detentions. See the related reports for details of her past persecution.
Ms. Zhou got into an altercation with someone at a market in 2001. The other person scratched her face while she bit the person’s hand. Ms. Zhou was detained in the Jinzhou City Detention Center for refusing to pay her fines. However, the experience started a new chapter in her life.
She had many health problems, including tendonitis, tenosynovitis and arthritis. She took herbal medicine for months and used all kinds of herbal medicinal patches. She was depressed and did not understand the purpose of life.
Ms. Zhou met five Falun Gong practitioners in the detention center. She could feel their peaceful mindsets from their behavior. They had no complaints or hatred, and were compassionate and kindhearted in the face of the abuse and violence directed at them. Ms. Zhou was deeply moved. Three days later, she told the practitioners that the first thing she planned to do after she got out was to look for a copy of Falun Gong’s main book, Zhuan Falun. While in the detention center, she started to learn the exercises, and learned a lot from the practitioners.
Thirteen days later, assisted by her sister and brother-in-law, Ms. Zhou paid the fines to the person she hurt and was released. She wasted no time looking for a practitioner in her area to find a copy of Zhuan Falun. On October 18, 2001, she found a practitioner and got a copy of Zhuan Falun, and she said it was the most unforgettable day in her life.
From then on, Ms. Zhou conducted herself according to the principles outlined in Zhuan Falun. When things did not go smoothly, she did not blame anyone. She also works hard to change her longstanding notions and eliminate her negative mentality, and strove to be a good person. Her health improved greatly after she started practicing.
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