Tortured to Disability, 80-year-old Woman Dies Four Years Later

An 80-year-old woman passed away in October 2019, four years after she became incapacitated after being tortured for practising Falun Gong.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Ms. Meng Xianrong, a resident of Suiling County, Heilongjiang Province, was arrested at home at 3:00 a.m. on July 16, 2015. The police attempted to drag her downstairs. When she resisted the arrest, one of the officers shouted, “Tie her up if she refuses to move!”

The officers tied up her arms and legs and carried her downstairs into the police car. They kept her tied up for an entire day in the basement of the Zhenbei Police Station.

Several officers stayed at her home and searched the place. Her 83-year-old sister, Ms. Meng Zhaohua, also a Falun Gong practitioner and mother of a U.S. resident, happened to be visiting her and was also arrested.

By the time the police finally loosened the rope after transferring Ms. Meng Xianrong to the local detention centre, her legs had become severely swollen and she had lost the ability to walk or stand. She had to crawl or be carried by the inmates in her cell when she needed to use the restroom.

The officers interrogated her repeatedly, day and night. She was carried to the interrogation room on their backs each time.

Ms. Meng was tried on January 26, 2016 and later sentenced to a 3.5-year prison term. She was released on medical parole due to her physical condition.

The police never stopped monitoring her during her parole. Her health continued to decline and she passed away in October 2019.

Because Ms. Meng hosted a study group for local Falun Gong practitioners before the communist regime ordered the persecution in 1999, she was considered a key target, subjected to constant harassment, and arrested multiple times in the past 20 years.