78-year-old Woman Taken into Custody Faces Trial for Her Faith in Falun Gong

(Minghui.org) Having recovered from her decades-long headache through practicing Falun Gong, Ms. Zhao Longying held firm to her faith after the communist regime ordered the persecution of the mind-body practice in 1999.

Over the past two decades, the Yingtan City, Jiangxi Province, resident has faced constant harassment for upholding her faith. In December 2020 alone, she was harassed eight times. Her family was also implicated.

Hu Xiongping, the deputy village secretary, harassed Ms. Zhao at home on October 15, 2022, and took away her Falun Gong book. As Ms. Zhao went after him, trying to get her book back, Hu signaled the police to arrest her. She was brought to the police station in the township and had her fingerprints taken.

The police harassed Ms. Zhao again on October 17 and forcibly took her to the hospital for a physical examination. They claimed to be following up on her previous arrest months earlier, after she was recorded by a surveillance camera putting up information about Falun Gong. Due to the pandemic, the police didn’t detain her back then but now sought to prosecute her.

The mental distress caused Ms. Zhao to suffer dangerously high blood pressure. Yet the police still took her to the police station for interrogation and released her in the late afternoon. 

Ms. Zhao was harassed one more time on October 19 and ordered to sign her case document. She refused.

The Guixi City Procuratorate indicted Ms. Zhao in December 2022 and moved her case to the Guixi City Court. The authorities arranged for people to stay outside of her home to monitor her and prevent her from going out. She was taken into custody at the Yingtan City Detention Center on January 31, 2023.

Perpetrators’ contact information:

Xiao (肖), director, Yuehu District Police Department: [phone]Li Wanzeng (李万增), secretary of Lijia Village: [phone]Hu Xiongping (胡雄平), deputy village secretary: [phone]Li Chufeng (李初丰), village accountant: [phone]