(Minghui.org) A 68-year-old woman in Panzhihua City, Sichuan Province, completed a 1.5-year prison term in January 2026, Minghui.org learned recently.
Ms. Chen Heqiong, who retired from the Renhe District Silk Company, took up Falun Gong in November 1997 and recovered from enteritis, anemia, chronic dizziness, and fatigue. After the communist regime started persecuting Falun Gong in July 1999, she held firm to her faith and was repeatedly targeted. She was previously sentenced to seven and a half years in 2004 and another 14 months after she was arrested in 2017.
Her latest prison sentence stemmed from an incident that happened at around 7 p.m. on July 19, 2024, when she was reported for distributing Falun Gong informational materials. She managed to escape arrest at the time. Chief Qi Xueyun from the Renhe District Police Station led three officers and raided her home the next evening.
More than one hour later, the police confiscated the following items: a flyer with the headline, “Falun Gong Is Not Illegal in China,” a 2019 Minghui calendar which had information about Falun Gong, and a letter Ms. Chen wrote to her sister in 2015 but never mailed (she shared her experience of practicing Falun Gong in the letter).
Before they left, the police ripped off the 2024 Minghui calendar on her door.
Ms. Chen couldn’t find her ID and bank card the next day. She went to the police station to ask about them. Chief Qi refused to see her, but notified her at 8 a.m. on July 23, 2024, to pick up the two items. She went. But instead of returning her belongings, the police took her to another building without any explanation. She decided to leave. She had only walked 100 yards when chief Qi and three officers charged at her and grabbed her hands. They dragged her all the way to the building.
Ms. Chen refused to answer any questions during the interrogation. She was later sentenced to one and a half years and fined 3,000 yuan. The court that sentenced her garnished the fine from her retirement account. On March 12, 2025, she was admitted to the Sichuan Province Women’s Prison, a place notorious for torturing jailed Falun Gong practitioners. See the related reports for details.
When Ms. Chen refused to watch videos that slandered Falun Gong, inmate Liu Wenzhen punched her in the chest and slammed her against a metal bed. She reminded Liu that the surveillance camera was rolling, and Liu replied, “So what?!” The guards never disciplined Liu.
The guards also ordered Ms. Chen to report to them by saying, “Criminal Chen requests to use the restroom.” She said she was not a criminal, so she was denied restroom use. She soiled her pants as a result.
Ms. Chen was later forced to do hard labor for 12 hours a day. She had to stand for hours at night whenever she failed to finish her quota.
After she was released in January 2026, Ms. Chen learned that her former employer suspended her pension during her prison term, totaling nearly 45,000 yuan.
Related Reports:
Once Imprisoned for 7.5 Years, Sichuan Woman Prosecuted Again for Her Faith
Trial Postponed, Woman Casts Doubt on Prosecutor’s Delay Tactic
Atrocious Behaviors of Policemen at the Panzhihua City Public Security Bureau in Sichun Province
More About the Persecution of Falun Gong Practitioners in Sichuan Province Women's Prison
Exposing the Torture of Falun Gong Practitioners in Sichuan Province Women’s Prison
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