(Minghui.org) A 79-year-old retired hospital worker in Suining City, Sichuan Province completed a six-month prison term around December 2024 for her faith in Falun Gong, only to have her pension suspended in August 2025.
Ms. Zhao Yan received a phone call from the human resources department at her former employer, Suining City Third Hospital, on July 22, 2025. The caller said the Chuanshan District Social Security Bureau had notified the hospital that she should not have been issued retirement benefits during her six-month imprisonment and that she needed to return the funds.
The caller added that Ms. Zhao was only qualified for 40% of her previous pension amount after serving a prison term. He also demanded that she deliver a copy of her verdict to the hospital. Ms. Zhao told him that the Sichuan Province Women’s Prison took it from her and never returned it when she was released.
The hospital called Ms. Zhao again on July 28, 2025 and still demanded a copy of the verdict. She repeated that it was in the possession of the prison. That same day, the Social Security Bureau notified her to report to them. She did not go.
Li Yong, the person in charge of retirees’ benefits at the hospital, called Ms. Zhao on August 4, 2025 and urged her to report to the Social Security Bureau immediately. She replied that she was out and about and could not go.
The Social Security Bureau stopped Ms. Zhao’s pension in August 2025.
A woman surnamed Wu and a man surnamed Peng showed up at Ms. Zhao’s home after 9 a.m. on September 16, 2025. They introduced themselves as community workers and ordered her to sign several statements to renounce Falun Gong. She refused to comply and Peng threatened to deny her son’s low-income subsidy application. Ms. Zhao was not deterred and urged him and Wu to stop participating in the persecution of Falun Gong. They then left.
Details of Prison Sentence
Ms. Zhao’s latest prison sentence stemmed from a trip she made to Chengdu (the capital city of Sichuan Province) to visit her daughter. She was set to board a train to return home on November 17, 2023, but was seized at the Chengdu East Train Station that day, after security officers found flash drives and banknotes printed with Falun Gong messages in her luggage. They took her to the police station within the train station and interrogated her.
The police summoned Ms. Zhao’s daughter and ordered her to accompany them while they drove Ms. Zhao back to Suining City. The Chengdu police and their counterparts from the Jiefu Road Police Station in Suining raided Ms. Zhao’s home before they released her on bail.
Two uniformed female officers knocked on Ms. Zhao’s door after 10 a.m. on December 5, 2023. They said that they were instructed to check in on her. One of them whipped out a cell phone and began taking photos of Ms. Zhao.
The officers left but soon called Ms. Zhao’s son, warning him to keep an eye on his mother to make sure she did not go out to distribute Falun Gong informational materials. They also said they’d call him once every month.
The Chengdu police called Ms. Zhao’s daughter on December 11, 2023 and ordered her to come in and sign some paperwork.
Two male officers and two people from the Yanshi Street Committee in Chuanshan District, Suining City, including secretary Duan and her subordinate Zhang, harassed Ms. Zhao at her home on April 17, 2024. They forced her to give them her cell phone number and wifi password. They took photos of her router. They also called her son from time to time to ask about his mother’s situation.
The Chengdu police submitted Ms. Zhao’s case to the Chengdu Railroad Transportation Procuratorate, which soon proceeded to indict her. Her son received a phone call from the Chengdu Railroad Transportation Court on the evening of May 5, 2024, saying that his mother was set to stand trial the next day. The Chengdu police traveled to Suining the following morning and took Ms. Zhao to Chengdu to face a judge. She refused to plead guilty and the judge immediately ordered her sent to the Chengdu City Detention Center.
Ms. Zhao stood trial on June 21 and was sentenced to six months with a 2,000-yuan fine at the end of the hearing. She was admitted to the Sichuan Province Women’s Prison on July 25, 2024 and assigned to Division 3.
Prior to her latest sentencing, Ms. Zhao faced constant harassment from the local police over the years, and her husband lived in constant fear of the authorities. His lung disease continued to worsen, and he died in 2023.
Related Reports:
78-Year-Old Sichuan Woman Sentenced to Six Months for Practicing Falun Gong
78-Year-Old Sichuan Widow Indicted for Practicing Falun Gong
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