(Minghui.org)
Name: Xie ChangxiuChinese Name: 谢长秀Gender: FemaleAge: 86City: ShifangProvince: SichuanOccupation: N/ADate of Death: December 2024Date of Most Recent Arrest: September 30, 2020Most Recent Place of Detention: Pengzhou City Legal Education Center
An 86-year-old woman in Shifang City, Sichuan Province, died in December 2024, only months after she completed a three-year probation term for her faith in Falun Gong.
Ms. Xie Changxiu, born in 1938, was arrested on September 30, 2020, after a community worker who overheard her talking to a man about Falun Gong reported her to the police. Several uniformed officers, only one wearing the police badge, soon arrived to take her to the Luoshui Town Police Station.
After the interrogation, the police took Ms. Xie to the Dongyue Village government compound. No official was around, and they drove her home. Without showing any search warrant, they confiscated all of her Falun Gong books and informational materials, as well as her ID, over 1,000 yuan in cash, three cell phones, and two music players. No list of confiscated items was provided as required by law.
The police also raided Ms. Xie’s son’s home, which is right next door. They then brought her back to the police station for another round of interrogation. She refused to reveal the source of the confiscated Falun Gong materials. Officer Pan threatened to force-feed her a bowl of chili water.
Ms. Xie’s family was notified in the afternoon to pick her up. They thought she was released unconditionally but found out later that the police had put her on bail when they were ordered to pay a 1,000 yuan bail bond.
The Shifang City Court tried Ms. Xie on April 16, 2021, but did not allow her family to attend the hearing. She could not make out what the prosecutor and the judge were saying. It was unclear whether she had hearing issues or if the microphone did not work well.
Ms. Xie was sentenced to two years in prison with three years of probation to begin on April 16, 2021. She was also fined 1,000 yuan. Her family noted that her age was changed from 83 to 75 in the verdict.
From April 2021 to April 2024, the police harassed Ms. Xie at home once a month, ordering her to write a statement to renounce Falun Gong. Because she did not know how to write, the police texted the statement to her granddaughter’s phone and had the younger woman transcribe the words on her behalf.
On September 11, 2021, Ms. Xie was taken to the Pengzhou City Legal Education Center to attend an intensive brainwashing session aimed at forcing her to give up her spiritual belief. She was released that day.
The relentless pressure and harassment stopped in April 2024 when her three-year probation ended. She died eight months later.
Past Persecution
Ms. Xie took up Falun Gong in 2005 and recovered from her severe emphysema (a lung disease) and other ailments. She also became a more considerate person. She was hit by a truck in 2013 and did not seek compensation from the liable driver, even though her thigh bone was exposed during the accident. After two days of hospitalization, she asked to be discharged as she believed that Falun Gong would help her recover. One month later, her son hosted a party to thank family and friends for visiting his mother after her accident. The guests were shocked when they saw Ms. Xie, then 75, walk out of her bedroom on her own. They were in awe of Falun Gong’s miraculous healing power.
Ms. Xie’s personal experience solidified her faith in Falun Gong, and she used various opportunities to raise awareness of the persecution. The police targeted her repeatedly. Prior to her last persecution episode, her home was raided on the night of September 14, 2017, when ten other local Falun Gong practitioners were arrested during a police sweep. While she was not arrested, she was warned not to go out to gather with other practitioners.
The police also ordered her son, who worked out of town at the time, to return to Shifang to keep close watch of his mother. They threatened to jeopardize his daughter’s schooling and future jobs, as well as his mother’s pension.
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