(Minghui.org) For practicing Falun Gong, two sisters in Chongqing were given labor camp terms. While the older sister survived the torture in custody, the younger sister passed away in 2015.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Zheng Tongyun, 78, took up Falun Gong in 1994, after suffering two decades of various ailments, including anemia, arrhythmia and severe migraine, which had developed after she suffered postpartum hemorrhage. Not long after she learned the Falun Gong exercises, she completely regained her health. Following in her footstep, Ms. Zheng’s younger sister, Ms. Zheng Qingyun, also began to practice Falun Gong two years later.
Persecution of the Older Sister
With the onset of the persecution, Ms. Zheng Tongyun felt compelled to tell people the facts about Falun Gong and to debunk the demonizing propaganda spread by the communist regime.
She was reported for hanging up banners and distributing flyers about Falun Gong in a village on October 15, 2001. Three days later, the police broke into her home and confiscated her Falun Gong books, a photo of Falun Gong’s founder, DVDs of Falun Gong lectures, an audio recorder and other personal items. She was first taken to the Annan Police Station and then transferred to the Banan District Detention Center, where she was held for 30 days.
On November 17, 2001, Ms. Zheng was given one year at the Maojiashan Women’s Forced Labor Camp, where she was forced to make rattan chairs and gloves, as well as packaging candies. The guards constantly forced her and other practitioners to take off all of their clothes and squat up and down, with the excuse of checking whether they carried Falun Gong lectures on them. Ms. Zheng was also forced to write “thought reports” on a weekly basis. After she was released, she was placed on strict surveillance for a year.
When Ms. Zheng’s husband had a heart condition and scheduled bypass surgery in Beijing in November 2007, the police didn’t allow her to accompany him.
Ms. Zheng Tongyun was arrested again at a bus station on November 15, 2010. After holding her at the Xipeng Police Station for three days, the police took her back home for a search. Her photo of Falun Gong’s founder, lecture audio tapes and 900 yuan in cash were confiscated.
She was given one year of forced labor after spending one month at the Huayan Detention Center. Due to her physical condition, she was rejected admission and released.
Days later in December 2010, the police attempted to arrest Ms. Zheng again and take her to a brainwashing center, but relented upon the strong protest of her family.
The police put Ms. Zheng on strict surveillance for three years and ordered her to write a thought report every month.
In July 2011, while Ms. Zheng stayed at her daughter’s place to help care for her grandson, the residential committee staff members forced her to return home and sign prepared statements to renounce Falun Gong.
As a result of the long-term harassment, Ms. Zheng’s husband becomes very nervous when their phone rings or someone knocks on the door.
Death of the Younger Sister
The younger sister, Ms. Zheng Qingyun, was arrested on November 16, 2010, also at a bus station. Officers from the Jiulongpo District Domestic Security Office confiscated her photo of Falun Gong’s founder, lecture DVDs, computer, printer, and a transportation card. She was given a year of forced labor after 30 days at the Jiulongpo District Detention Center.
At the Shaobao Women’s Forced Labor Camp, Ms. Zheng was forced to do intensive unpaid labor during the day and then watch propaganda videos attacking Falun Gong in the evening, as well as writing thought reports. The guards forced her to verbally abuse Falun Gong and its founder. They beat her if she refused to comply.
Similar to her older sister’s ordeal, the guards also forced her to take off her clothes in front of others and squat up and down, in order to check whether she had Falun Gong lectures on her person.
Shortly into her labor camp term, Ms. Zheng began to experience swelling in her legs, which caused her difficulty walking. Yet the guards still forced her to do the unpaid labor. They also forced her to take high blood pressure drugs and they put other unknown drugs into her food.
When she was released, Ms. Zheng Quingyun was unresponsive and had severe dizziness and tightness in her chest. She had systemic edema and was unable to bend her arms or legs. Walking was very difficult for her.
The residential committee staff members often harassed her over the phone. When they once came to her home to harass her, they were shocked to see how severe her condition was. Yet they still forced her son and daughter-in-law to monitor her daily life. Implicated in the persecution of his mother, Ms. Zheng’s son was denied promotion at work.
After enduring years of non-stop harassment, Ms. Zheng passed away on April 12, 2015. She was 62.
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