Jilin Woman Dies After Detention and Frequent Harassment for Her Faith

A resident of Songyuan City, Jilin Province developed hypertension and other symptoms while detained for nine months for practising Falun Gong. The authorities frequently harassed her after her release in January 2016. Her health never recovered and she passed away on May 14, 2020, at age 70.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is an ancient spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since 1999.

Ms. Wang Guozhen was arrested in April 2015. She developed dangerously high blood pressure while being held in the Songyuan City Detention Center. She was treated in the hospital for a month, before being transferred back to the detention centre. She was denied family visits during that time.

Ms. Wang was tried by Songyuan City Court on September 11, 2015 and sentenced to a three year prison term, with four years of probation.

After more than nine months of incommunicado detention, Ms. Wang was released in January 2016. She was very weak and had difficulty drinking or eating.

Nonetheless, the authorities continued persecuting her. From time to time, police officers and residential committee staff members harassed her at home. Her entire family was in a state of constant fear and distress.

Ms. Wang’s health never recovered and she often fell into a coma. After struggling with poor health for four years, she passed away.

Past Persecution
Ms. Wang used to work at the Honggang Oil Extraction Factory. She took up Falun Gong on January 3, 1996.

After the communist regime ordered the persecution in 1999, her workplace first monitored her around the clock, and then fired her.

Ms. Wang was arrested in April 2001. The police locked her in a chair for interrogation for three days. She was given one year of forced labour without due process, after one month of detention.

While serving time in Heizuzi Forced Labour Camp, she was subjected to intensive brainwashing aimed to force her to renounce her faith. The guards forced her to sit on a small stool from 5:00 a.m to 9:00 p.m., and later also forced her to do unpaid labour making crafts.