(Minghui.org) Two residents of Dujiangyan City, Sichuan Province, were arrested on July 25, 2023, while talking to people about the Chinese Communist Party’s ongoing persecution of their faith, Falun Gong.

The arresting officers from the Xingfu Town Police Station interrogated them at a case processing center before taking them to the Anqing Detention Center located in Pi County in the same province.

Ms. Li Mengjun, 72 and a retired paper mill worker, was sentenced to three and a half years in prison on August 20, 2024, by a court in Dujiangyan City. It’s unclear when she will be transferred to prison. She previously served a 7.5-year prison term (between 2010 and 2018) for practicing Falun Gong.

The case status of Ms. Li Xia, 59, a former salesperson, is unknown. Her family has not been given any updates. She is still held at the detention center and also suffered prior persecution for her faith.

Ms. Li Xia credits Falun Gong for resolving her joint pains and heart palpitations. She was arrested in November 2001 and detained for one month, during which time her middle-school aged son had to fend for himself. After another arrest on March 8, 2008, Ms. Li was given one year of forced labor at the Nanmusi Women’s Labor Camp. Because she held firm to her faith, her term was extended, with her detained for a total of 444 days. Due to the brutal torture she suffered, she became severely near-sighted.

The police raided Ms. Li’s home on August 9, 2022, but did not arrest her. Hours later, Bao Xiaomu, an agent from the local 610 Office, led a group of people to do a quick checkup of her. Bao said if Ms. Li was deemed healthy, she’d be given a COVID-19 shot.

Ms. Li was found to have high blood pressure. Bao then asked her to sign a waiver form which he claimed said, “I bear responsibility for not getting the vaccine shot.” She signed it.

Bao next used the signed form to cover another piece of paper, leaving only a corner and asking Ms. Li to sign it. Near-sighted due to her previous torture at the labor camp, Ms. Li couldn’t see clearly what was written on the second piece of paper. She thought it was a carbon copy of the waiver form she just signed so she also signed the second piece of paper.

As soon as Ms. Li signed, Bao grabbed the second piece of paper and said, “You signed! You are no longer a Falun Gong practitioner!” Ms. Li immediately realized that it was a statement for her to renounce Falun Gong. She condemned Bao for deceiving her and said that she was nullifying her signature. Bao said Ms. Li should thank them instead because without the signature she’d be held at a brainwashing center for one month and have to pay 19,000 yuan for her living expenses.