(Minghui.org) A 60-year-old woman in Nanchong City, Sichuan Province is facing trial for her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Ms. Zhang Xiuzhen was arrested on December 28, 2025 while distributing Falun Gong informational materials. She was issued a formal arrest warrant by the Jialing District Procuratorate and had her case forwarded to the Jialing District Court on April 1, 2026. She is currently held at the Jialing District Supervision Center.
This is not the first time that Ms. Zhang has been targeted for her faith, which she credits for curing her colon cancer and giving her life back. She was previously arrested multiple times. Her husband was unable to cope and divorced her.
Sentenced to One Year in 2016
Ms. Zhang and another practitioner, Ms. Huang Dagui, were arrested on April 24, 2016, after a village head named Zhang Chunlai reported them for distributing Falun Gong materials in his village. Deputy village secretary Wang Fang then instructed Zhang and two other officials, including Jiang Jidong and Qing Dongping, to seize the two practitioners.
Ms. Zhang and Ms. Huang were later released on bail. They were convicted at an unknown time, with Ms. Zhang given one and a half years with a 3,000-yuan fine, and Ms. Huang one year. Ms. Zhang was admitted to the Sichuan Province Women’s Prison in February 2017 and released on October 23, 2017.
Detained for 14 Days in 2019
Four officers harassed Ms. Zhang at home after 8 p.m. on March 1, 2019. Two of them videotaped her with their body cameras. On September 21 of that year, she was arrested again and given 14 days of administration detention.
Home Raided Many Times in 2020
A woman knocked on the door after 6 p.m. on February 8, 2020. Ms. Zhang thought it was a friend and opened the door. Three officers from the Gaoping District Domestic Security Office, including captain Li Yunmei, deputy captain Chen Zhoujun, and officer Yuan Fangfang, barged in.
The police confiscated over 40 Falun Gong books, a portrait of Falun Gong’s founder, calendars bearing Falun Gong messages, and door decorations from Ms. Zhang’s home. Chen also flashed two letters and alleged that Ms. Zhang wrote them to urge people to stop persecuting Falun Gong practitioners.
After a brief interrogation, Ms. Zhang was released on bail that night. The police however frequently summoned her and ordered her to sign their fabricated evidence against her. They later raided her home many more times.
Sentenced to Two Years in 2021
Ms. Zhang was arrested again on January 17, 2021, and put in the Nanchong City Detention Center. The guards there took her pictures and collected her fingerprints and toe-prints upon admission. They also ordered her to memorize the detention center rules in three days. She refused to comply and was forced to stand for long hours during the day.
Since there were far more inmates than available beds, the inmates had to take turns sleeping. Ms. Zhang could only sleep three or four hours a night.
Once the guards ordered Ms. Zhang to recite the rules again. She said no and was barred from purchasing snacks. For three days, she was only given rice without any vegetables or proteins. She also had to do night duty for one whole week. She became very weak, dizzy, and head-heavy.
A local court sentenced Ms. Zhang to two years with a 2,000-yuan fine at an unknown time. She was admitted to the Sichuan Province Women’s Prison on December 22, 2021. She was put in solitary confinement upon admission and monitored by two inmates, Yang Dongmei and Yu Kaisui, around the clock.
Ms. Zhang was forced to wear the inmate uniform, and had to say that she was a criminal before being allowed to use the restroom. She was also made to read and watch materials slandering Falun Gong every day. She refused to write thought reports or renounce her faith, and was often forced to stand or sit on a small stool from around 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day.
Yang and Yu also did not allow Ms. Zhang to wash herself every day in the summer. She once spotted the two inmates put unknown drugs into her food. She was still forced to eat it. Her memory soon declined, and she became absent-minded.
After she was released in January 2023, Ms. Zhang still faced constant harassment from the local village officials. They also intimidated her family members.
Related Reports:Two Practitioners from Nanchong City Sentenced to Prison
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