(Minghui.org) An 85-year-old woman in Linshui County, Sichuan Province was arrested on September 11, 2025, for her faith in Falun Gong.
Ms. Tang Sulan took up Falun Gong in 1997. After witnessing how she recovered from many ailments, her husband, three children, and one of their spouses also began to practice Falun Gong. After the Chinese Communist Party ordered the persecution in 1999, the family were all targeted for not renouncing their faith. Ms. Tang’s husband, son, and son-in-law passed away as a result of the persecution. Her grandson, who didn’t practice Falun Gong, grew up in fear witnessing the repeated arrests, harassment and detention of his parents and other family members. He died from severe mental distress when he was only 21.
Ms. Tang went to Beijing to appeal for the right to practice Falun Gong in October 1999. She was arrested, taken back to Sichuan, and detained at the Linshui County Detention Center. The police hung an insulting poster board from her neck and paraded her through the streets to humiliate her.
Ms. Tang was arrested again in July 2000 for passing out Falun Gong flyers. She was sentenced to four years by the Linshui County Court and subjected to physical and mental torture while serving time at the Yangmahe Prison.
When her term expired, the police didn’t release Ms. Tang, but took her to the Dingping Town Police Station. There, they told her about her son’s death, yet they didn’t allow her to cry. The next morning, Ms. Tang was transferred to the Huaying City Brainwashing Center. After she was released one month later, the police continued to harass her, ransack her home, and take photos of her against her will.
Ms. Tang was arrested another time on July 25, 2014, when she was having a birthday party at home. The police raided her place and took her to the Huaying City Detention Center. She was sentenced to two and a half years on October 27, 2016.
Ms. Tang was arrested with her daughter, Ms. Cao Xueqin, and another practitioner, Ms. Zhong Dongsheng, on July 8, 2025. Ms. Tang and Ms. Zhong were released in the evening and Ms. Cao was released the next day. The police raided Ms. Cao’s home and confiscated dozens of Falun Gong books, an electronic reader, and two broken computers.
Ms. Tang was arrested again on September 11, 2025, and taken to the Huaying City Detention Center. Her arrest was approved soon after. The police indicated that they had been monitoring her for a long time before the arrest.
Ms. Tang’s husband, Mr. Cao Zhirong, was arrested in March 2001, for distributing Falun Gong informational materials. He was sentenced to three years and was released on the verge of death. Due to continued police harassment, his health kept declining over the years. He died in 2012, at the age of 79.
The couple’s oldest son, Mr. Cao Ping, was arrested on May 28, 2001 and sentenced to four years on May 8, 2002. He suffered brutal torture at the Deyang Prison. He was released on June 28, 2003 and died nine days later on July 7. He was 39 and was survived by his wife and two children, aged 11 and 14.
Ms. Tang’s second son, Mr. Cao Jiguang, was arrested in 2002 and sentenced to five years. He was brutally tortured at the Deyang Prison. His sister, Ms. Cao Xueqin, was given a three-year term at the Nanmusi Women’s Forced Labor Camp in August 2002. Ms. Cao’s husband, Mr. Zhang Ji’an, was arrested in January 2002 and given a two-year labor camp term.
Mr. Zhang was injected with toxic drugs at the Xishanping Forced Labor Camp and died in early 2008. Their son, Mr. Zhang Pei, was harassed while in high school and was later expelled. When the police attempted to arrest Ms. Tang in 2006, the teen tried to stop the police and was beaten. The mental pressure of the persecution took a heavy toll on his health, and he died when he was only 21 years old.
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