Woman Suffers Stroke While Being Pursued for Her Faith—Dies Less than Two Years after Returning Home

After four years of wandering about and moving from place to place to avoid being persecuted for her faith, Ms. Tan Yinzhen returned home in 2017 after suffering a stroke and unable to live by herself any longer.

Ms. Tan, a Falun Gong practitioner in Yingkou City, Liaoning Province, lost all of her mobility shortly after returning home, and had to rely on her husband to provide in-home care.

Despite her physical condition, the authorities kept harassing Ms. Tan. Her health continued to decline and she passed away on April 11, 2019, at age 67.

Below is an excerpt from a letter that Ms. Tan wrote in 2013 to document the persecution she suffered.

Persecuted for Practising Falun Gong
I began practising Falun Gong in August 1996. Many of my ailments soon disappeared and I was able to work again. This filled our family with happiness and harmony.

But after the communist regime ordered the persecution of Falun Gong on July 20, 1999, the local police kept persecuting me.

I was arrested three times by officers from Xishi Police Station. Each time I was taken to the police station and interrogated from 3:00 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.

The staff from the neighbourhood committee also took turns harassing me.

I was arrested again at a friend’s home on the evening of August 24, 2011. After 15 days in the police station, I was taken to Fushun Brainwashing Centre. I was released after 17 days of intensive brainwashing, but the police refused to return all the belongings they had confiscated from my home.

Forced to Live Away from Home
A woman knocked on my door at around 10:00 a.m. on September 28, 2012, and told me to open the door. I ignored her, and several people banged on the door. They shouted that they were the police and would break down my door if I didn't open it.

While they were trying to break in, I opened the door for them. Around eight officers came in. One of them was holding a metal bar. Two officers restrained me.

I asked them what they were doing there. They said it was an order from the city police department to arrest me that day. They brought out the search and arrest warrants and told me to sign them.

I refused to comply. I said that I practised Falun Gong to improve my health, that I followed the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance in my daily life, and that I had not violated any laws.

They refused to listen and searched my home. My Falun Gong books, computer, and printer were confiscated. I was taken to the Wutaizi Police Station wearing my slippers, because I wasn't allowed to change clothes.

I refused to sign any forms. I kept telling the police that I had not violated any laws and my freedom of belief should be protected by the law.

At around 4:00 p.m., Jiang Mingfu, head of the Xishi District Domestic Security Division, along with police officers, took me to a detention centre. After I was denied entry due to having high blood pressure of 130/210, they let me go home.

The Xishi Procuratorate called my husband on January 8, 2013 and told that I appear to sign an indictment form the next day. From then on, police officers and staff members from the Procuratorate and Domestic Security Division kept calling and harassing us. They threatened my husband that they would put me on the wanted list and arrest me if I still refused to sign the form.

They arranged for people to monitor us, our phone line, and my husband's cell phone 24/7. We had no freedom.

The constant harassment caused my family tremendous mental pressure. I didn’t want them to be implicated in the persecution, so I decided to leave home and hide from the police. I lived by myself and suffered many hardships.”