Shaanxi Couple Transferred to Prison to Serve Lengthy Terms for Their Faith
(Minghui.org) It’s recently confirmed by Minghui.org that a married couple in Wugong County, Xi’an City, Shaanxi Province, were transferred to two different prisons in the province to serve lengthy terms for practicing Falun Gong, a mind-body discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Mr. Wang Pingchua, 47, was admitted to the Weinan Prison on September 26, 2022, to serve a nine-year term and his wife Ms. Zhao Xijuan, 45, was taken to the Shaanxi Province Women’s Prison in January 2023 to serve a seven-year term.
Mr. Wang Pingchuan and Ms. Zhao Xijuan.
The couple was arrested on June 5, 2020, after being reported weeks earlier for putting up stickers about Falun Gong at a bus station. They were indicted by the Yanta District Procuratorate on October 20 and stood trial at the Yanta District Court on December 4, 2020.
The couple pleaded not guilty. Mr. Wang testified in his own defense. He said that Falun Gong teaches people to be kind and considerate. Both he and Ms. Zhao refused to answer other questions, yet the judge took their silence as saying “Yes” to the allegations against them.
The judge sentenced Mr. Wang to nine years with a 30,000-yuan fine and Ms. Zhao to seven years with a 20,000-yuan fine on December 16, 2021. Both of them appealed with the Xi’an City Intermediate Court, which ruled to uphold their original verdicts.
Past Persecution of Mr. Wang
Since the persecution started in 1999, Mr. Wang has been given two labor camp terms and subjected to relentless torture, which almost took his life.
Mr. Wang was first arrested on July 27, 2001, and interrogated for a day. The police hit him on the head with rubber sticks and his head swelled as a result. His feet also swelled and he could no longer fit into his shoes. He was taken to the Zhouzhi County Detention Center two days later and forced to weave carpet. His family was extorted 5,000 yuan when they picked him up 40 days later. During his detention, the police also raided Mr. Wang’s home and confiscated his Falun Gong books.
The police attempted to arrest Mr. Wang again in November 2001, in order to prevent him from going to Beijing to appeal. Although he escaped the arrest, he was forced to live away from home to hide from the police.
In January 2002, Mr. Wang was arrested by the police in Baoji City, about 65 miles from Wugong County. He was taken to the Wugong County Detention Center and frequently interrogated and intimidated.
Mr. Wang was given a two-year term at the Zaozihe Forced Labor Camp in Baoji on March 22, 2002. The police also raided his home and threatened his family.
The labor camp guards deprived Mr. Wang of sleep, forced him to stand for long hours, beat him, and ordered him to work without pay. He was also forced to attend regular brainwashing sessions.
Although Mr. Wang was released ahead of time on October 2, 2003, the authorities never stopped harassing him.
Upon finding out that Mr. Wang left home to work out of town, the local police harassed his family two more times, in May 2004 and May 2005, respectively.
Mr. Wang was arrested on May 2, 2007, and taken to the Wugong County Lockup. His Falun Gong books, Falun Gong lecture audio tapes, one cellphone and 100 yuan in cash were confiscated. The police interrogated him several times. Meanwhile, the police followed his wife the day after his arrest when she went out.
After 20 days of detention, Mr. Wang was given another two-year term at the Zaozihe Forced Labor Camp. Wang Chongyong, the head of Wugong County Lockup, personally took Mr. Wang to the labor camp.
During his second labor camp term, Mr. Wang was again deprived of sleep, beaten, and forced to stand for long hours. He was also forced to work without pay and subjected to brainwashing. He held a hunger strike to protest and was force-fed. He was on the verge of death only 50 days into his term. Fearing that he might die there, the authorities ordered his family to pick him up.
As he recovered a bit weeks later, he lived away from home to avoid further persecution. When the authorities found out, they threatened his family and monitored the family’s phone calls, in order to find out his whereabouts. The police also harassed the family during major holidays or anniversaries related to Falun Gong.
When Mr. Wang’s sister came to visit from Guangdong Province in June 2008, He Hui, the head of Wugong County 610 Office, thought Mr. Wang came back and ordered the police to ransack his home.
The police broke into Mr. Wang’s home again on September 16, 2009, when his parents were at home by themselves. The police took away one Falun Gong book, a photo of Falun Gong’s founder, and an mp3 player. Mr. Wang’s mother, Ms. Liu Yulian, who also practiced Falun Gong, was forced to write a statement to renounce her faith.
Ms. Liu was arrested on November 8, 2009. and forced to attend a brainwashing session.
The police raided Mr. Wang’s home two more times, first in October 2010 and then on May 12, 2015. Ms. Liu’s Falun Gong books and a Falun Gong-themed painting on the wall were taken away.
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Shaanxi Couple’s Appeal of Lengthy Wrongful Sentences Rejected