(Minghui.org) A 56-year-old woman in Huangchuan County, Henan Province was admitted to the Henan Province Women’s Prison in late April 2026 to re-serve a two-year term given in 2021 for her faith in Falun Gong. Her family was notified in late May that she had exhibited some symptoms and that the prison would take her to a hospital only if the family promised to cover her medical expenses.
Ms. Ding Zerong, born in 1970, credits Falun Gong for rekindling her hope in life. Her husband died of illness in July 1997, when she was only 27. In poor health, she struggled to care for their child alone. After she took up Falun Gong in the spring of 1998, all of her symptoms disappeared.
Ms. Ding held firm to her faith after the communist regime began persecuting Falun Gong in July 1999. She gave out a few Falun Gong flyers while shopping at the Huangchuan County Market on June 5, 2021. She was arrested by Beicheng Police Station officers and taken to the Huangchuan County Lockup. Thirteen days later she was transferred to the Xinyang City Detention Center. Xinyang oversees Huangchuan County. As she failed the required physical exam, she was released on bail.
The Huangchuan County Police Department later submitted Ms. Ding’s case to the Huangchuan County Procuratorate. After she was indicted, the Huangchuan County Court summoned her several times to sign her case documents. Officers from the Jiangji Village Police Station also harassed her at home multiple times at the court’s order. One day, a Procuratorate staffer slipped her indictment under her door. She noted that it was signed by Xu Shikun and Li Wei.
The police broke into Ms. Ding’s home at an unknown date shortly after and took her to the Xinyang City Detention Center. She was denied admission due to high blood pressure, but the police refused to release her and held her in the Huangchuan County Detention Center. Ms. Ding was later sentenced to two years and allowed to serve time at home. Details about her sentencing are unclear.
Ms. Ding’s prison term ended in March 2023, yet the authorities later decided that she must re-serve the expired sentence in prison. The police seized her on the street in August 2025 and took her to a hospital for a physical exam. She was found to be unfit for detention. They tried another hospital and the results indicated organ failure. She was again denied admission to the Huangchuan County Detention Center, and then released.
To avoid further persecution, Ms. Ding was forced to live away from home, only to be arrested by the bailiffs of the Huangchuan County Court on March 17, 2026. She was held in the Xinyang City Detention Center and transferred to the Henan Province Women’s Prison (located in Xinxiang City) in late April 2026. Her health declined in just one month, but the prison would not render her medical care unless her family promised to pay the bill.