Wu Zhaolan - 吴召兰
(Minghui.org) A 62-year-old woman died on February 1, 2018, after years of being persecuted for her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice based on the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
Ms. Wu Zhaolan, a resident in Boluo Village, Majing Town, Shifang City, had been repeatedly arrested since the Chinese communist regime launched the persecution of Falun Gong in July 1999.
She served three terms of forced labor for almost six years between January 2000 and December 2009. She was arrested a few more times after she finished her last forced labor term.
When Ms. Wu was not in detention, she was periodically harassed at home. Less than five months before her death, two officers were stationed outside her home for a whole day to prevent her from going outside.
Three Forced Labor Terms
Ms. Wu was arrested in January 2000 for going to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong. Yin Liang, then-chief of Majing Town Police Department, and Yang Rengui, then-head of Boluo Village, interrogated her at the police department. Yin whipped her with a belt, leaving bruises all over her body. She was taken to Shifang City Detention Center the following day. Not long afterward, she was taken to Zizhong Women's Forced Labor Camp and wasn't released until October 2002.
Ms. Wu was arrested again in February 2003 and given a three-year forced labor camp term. She was released ahead of time, in October 2005.
Ms. Wu was working on May 29, 2008, when Li Yong (then-head of Shifang City Domestic Security Office) and an officer surnamed Yang showed up and arrested her. They took her to the Shifang Lockup that afternoon and transferred her to Shifang Detention Center on June 9. Two days later she was sent to Zizhong Women's Labor Camp.
During the first two weeks of Ms. Wu's third forced labor term, she was forced to sit on a small bench from 6 a.m. to midnight every day. She held firm to her faith, and the labor camp guards changed tactics and forced her to do hard labor without pay instead. She had to work from 7 a.m. to midnight, with only a couple of hours of meal breaks in between.
Ms. Wu was also subjected to frequent corporal punishment. Her term was extended by 23 days and she wasn't released until December 21, 2009.
Repeated Arrests and Harassment Preceded Her Death
Ms. Wu went out of town on the ninth day of her release, December 30, 2009. Deng Youpeng, a village official, soon showed up and asked her brother where she went. Such surveillance of Ms. Wu continued until her death.
Her local village was hit with an earthquake, and residents were each given 10 yuan for disaster relief every day during the recovery and rebuilding phase. Ms. Wu, however, didn't get a penny. She talked to the village officials and was told to file an application first. She put in the paperwork but got no relief funds. She also didn't get any help to repair her house as other villagers did.
Ms. Wu later moved to Deyang City to do odd jobs and take care of her disabled mother-in-law. Deyang police harassed her many times.
On June 21, 2011, Luo Dequan and Su Wanmin, director and deputy director of No. 11 Office of Chengnan Street Committee in Deyang City, and a few other officials went to her workplace. One woman grabbed Ms. Wu and wanted to know if she'd write a statement to renounce Falun Gong. Ms. Wu said she hadn't, and the woman dragged her to a waiting car. They took her to a brainwashing center and kept her there for more than a month.
Ms. Wu was talking to an elderly man about Falun Gong on August 3, 2016, when two agents from Yinfeng Town Police Station spotted her. They followed her to a farmers' market and demanded to see her ID. She didn't have hers with her, and they snatched her bag. They arrested her after finding Falun Gong informational materials in the bag. She refused to disclose her name during the interrogation.
The police later called in two plainclothes agents, who recognized Ms. Wu and took her to the Shifang City Police Department. She was given a physical exam and kept in detention for 15 days.
Several officers from the Majing Town Police Department showed up at Ms. Wu's home on March 13, 2017. She was not in, so they asked her family if she still practiced Falun Gong. They refused to answer, and the police left. The police chief returned days later to check on Ms. Wu.
Majing police officers arrested eight local practitioners on September 14, 2017. They also targeted Ms. Wu but didn't take her into custody after noticing she was taking care of her 2-year-old grandson. They still kept two agents outside her home for a whole day, during which time she wasn't allowed to go out.
