A Falun Gong Practitioner Recounts about the Torture of Ms. Zhang Yueqin, Who Died at 78 After Serving Two Prison Terms Totaling 8.5 Years
(Minghui.org) Ms. Zhang Yueqin, of Tangshan City, Hebei Province, died at 78 on April 10, 2024, after succumbing to the health damages she sustained as a result of torture during her two prison terms (July 2008 – July 2013 and April 2017 – October 2020) for her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Ms. Zhang Yueqin
Ms. Zhang was brutally tortured during both prison terms. After she was released from her second prison term in October 2020, she recounted what she had endured to her family. They noted that her legs shook involuntarily and she had a hard time organizing her speech. She said that the guards at the Hebei Province Women’s Prison put unknown drugs into her food. She struggled with declining mental health in her final years. She also had difficulty eating and often vomited, as well as having loose bowels, resulting in significant weight loss.
Upon learning of her death on April 10, 2024, a Falun Gong practitioner who was once jailed together with her during her first prison term recounted how the prison abuse ruined her health. Below is the practitioner’s personal account.
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I first met Ms. Zhang Yueqin around 2010 or 2011, when we were both jailed at Division Six of the Hebei Province Women’s Prison [for our faith in Falun Gong]. She was already in her 60s at the time, but her skin was delicate and glowing. She was also in good health. She was energetic and walked briskly. Whenever we were ordered to do chores, she always volunteered to do more and she did it fast and well. She soon won the respect and affection of everyone. She was polite too and always wore a smile on her face.
It was summer at the time and the prison guards ordered us to work without taking any naps. Ms. Zhang lay down on the floor to nap one day and a guard reprimanded her. She said that everyone had a right to nap per prison rules. The guard then left her alone.
The prison later established a strict management team to target steadfast Falun Gong practitioners. Ms. Zhang was put in a solitary confinement cell and I did not see or hear about her for several months.
When I finally saw Ms. Zhang again after she was let out of solitary confinement, I was shocked to see a completely different person. She was catatonic and looked dull and dazed. There was no longer any smile on her face. She did not respond when I tried to talk to her. It pained my heart to see her frail figure, thin and lonely.
I later learned from an inmate on duty who guarded Wu Hongxia instructed inmates Zhou Anshu and Li Na to slap Ms. Zhang in the face and prick her with needles while she was held in the solitary confinement cell. Zhou told me later that, “Wu ordered us to beat [Ms. Zhang] and we had no choice but to do it.”
Zhou also revealed that when it was her turn to watch Ms. Zhang in the solitary confinement cell, the guards deprived Ms. Zhang of sleep for four nights in a row. She lost consciousness as a result and Zhou was terrified to see it happen.
The guards referred to Ms. Zhang as “mentally ill” after that. I too had experienced various forms of torture and was on the verge of death a few times. Numerous times I felt that I was almost driven insane when being ordered repeatedly to renounce my faith. While it’s easier to describe corporal punishment, the mental torment of Falun Gong practitioners is beyond words. Only those who experienced it could understand the intense pressure and deep agony involved.
The news of Ms. Zhang’s passing reminded me of what she looked like when I first met her. It’s saddening that such an upbeat and kind woman perished at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party.
Related Reports:
The Persecution of Tangshan Falun Gong Practitioners Continued in 2018
Married Couple in Hebei Jailed Again for Their Faith
Ms. Zhang Yueqin Severely Tortured at Hebei Women's Prison
Victims' Family Members Sue the Police for Stealing 600,000 Yuan in Cash
650,000 Yuan in Cash Taken after Mrs. Zhang Yueqin and Four Members of herFamily Detained in Lubei Police Department in Tangshan City