(Minghui.org)
Name: Zhou HuiminChinese Name: 周会敏Gender: FemaleAge: 62City: DalianProvince: LiaoningOccupation: Ceramics shop ownerDate of Death: May 8, 2024Date of Most Recent Arrest: July 19, 2013Most Recent Place of Detention: Liaoning Province Women’s Prison
A Dalian City, Liaoning Province, resident faced continued harassment after she barely survived serving a 3.5-year term for her faith in Falun Gong. Her health kept deteriorating over the years. She passed away on May 8, 2024. She was 62.
Since the Chinese Communist Party began to persecute Falun Gong in 1999, Ms. Zhou Huimin, the owner of a ceramics shop, was repeatedly arrested and harassed for upholding her faith. Below is a recap of the persecution she suffered over the years.
Detention in 2008
For talking to people about the persecution of Falun Gong, Ms. Zhou was arrested at her shop on the afternoon of September 23, 2008, by Dafangshen Police Station officers. Her daughter and a sales associate were also arrested. She was detained at the Yaojia Detention Center for an unknown length of time.
Detention in 2011
Ms. Zhou was visiting a friend on July 19, 2011, when seven plainclothes officers suddenly burst in. Without showing their IDs, they ordered Ms. Zhou to produce her ID. She refused to comply. The police searched her friend’s home and then handcuffed and dragged Ms. Zhou to the car.
When Ms. Zhou asked why she was being arrested, one officer flashed his ID in front of her but kept his name covered. “If you are police officers, why don’t you wear your uniforms and tell me your names? What are you hiding?” They responded that it was fine for them to do whatever they wanted.
Ms. Zhou tried to explain that the persecution didn’t have any legal basis and urged them not to follow the communist regime in doing evil. The police said nothing.
At the Guangming Police Station, Ms. Zhou refused to get out of the car and shouted, “Falun Dafa is good!” The police grabbed her neck, covered her mouth, and dragged her all the way upstairs.
She told the officer who came to interrogate her how her health and character improved after practicing Falun Gong. Another officer took a picture of Falun Gong’s founder and ordered her to step on it. She firmly refused. She also refused to cooperate when they attempted to take her photo and collect her fingerprints. They grabbed her by her hair and squeezed her fingers.
Around 5 p.m., the police carried Ms. Zhou into the police car and headed to the Dalian City Detention Center. An officer hit her on the head and slapped her with his shoe when she tried to take her case document from another officer.
Ms. Zhou felt dizzy when she was being subjected to the required physical exam at the detention center. The police admitted that it was because they’d hit her. One officer added, “I will not only beat you, I will also torment you.”
Ms. Zhou was detained for a month. The marks from the tight handcuffs were still very dark when she was released.
Sentenced to 3.5 Years Following an Arrest in 2013
While Ms. Zhou was caring for her newborn granddaughter at home on July 18, 2013, the police broke in and arrested her. They asked her if she still practiced Falun Gong. She tried to clarify the facts to them, but they refused to listen and took her away. She was later sentenced to 3.5 years and admitted to the Liaoning Province Women’s Prison on April 1, 2014.
Ms. Zhou was tortured and forced to work without pay in the prison. She developed many ailments as a result, including an irregular heart beat, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
Continued Harassment Following Prison Release
On April 18 and 20, 2017, only a few months after Ms. Zhou was released, Guangming Police Station officers harassed her and her family twice over the phone. On April 21, they harassed her for the third time at home and cut off her Internet cable.
The police also tracked down Ms. Zhou’s family members several times without her knowledge and ordered them to sign statements to renounce Falun Gong on her behalf. It’s not clear if they complied.
Due to non-stop harassment, Ms. Zhou’s health further deteriorated over the years. She eventually passed away on the evening of May 8, 2024.
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