Sixty-Four-Year-Old Ms. Zhou Guilan from Suihua City, Heilongjiang Province Died As a Result of the Persecution

Name: Zhou Guilan
Gender: Female
Age: 64
Address: Suihua City, Heilongjiang Province
Occupation: Retired employee from Daxiu Factory, Linye
Date of Death: March 29th, 2012
Date of Most Recent Arrest: September 15th, 2011
Most Recent Place of Detention: Suihua City Detention Centre
City: Suihua
Province: Heilongjiang
Persecution Suffered: Detention

Ms. Zhou Guilan, 64, lived in Suihua City, Heilongjiang Province. After she began practising Falun Gong, her lung cancer disappeared. She told others the facts about Falun Gong and the persecution, and was subsequently arrested by local police. Manipulated by the Suihua Political and Judiciary Committee, Beilin District Court officials sentenced her to three and a half years in prison. Ms. Zhou appealed, accusing the Suihua 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong) of persecuting her. Her family hired a lawyer for her, but before the second trial hearing could be held, Ms. Zhou passed away on March 29th, 2012.

Ms. Zhou was a retired employee from the Daxiu Factory in Linye. She was divorced many years ago, and lived a difficult and harsh life. She developed several illnesses, such as high blood pressure, rheumatism and gallstones. Doctors said it would cost 400,000 yuan¹ to cure her rheumatism and gallstones. On top of that, she was later diagnosed with lung cancer by several hospitals. In desperation, she began practising Falun Gong in 2009. By following the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance to become a better person, and after several months of studying the Falun Gong teachings and doing the exercises, all of her illnesses disappeared.

Ms. Zhou experienced the power of Falun Gong firsthand, and after she recovered her health, she wanted to let more people know that Falun Gong is great.

As Ms. Zhou spoke with people about Falun Gong on the afternoon of February 12th, 2011, 610 Office agent Li Jianfei arrested and detained her for 12 days.

Ms. Zhou was arrested again on September 15th, 2011 as she spoke with people about Falun Gong. Wang Shubo and Li Jianfei from the Beilin District 610 Office participated in the arrest. They took her to the Suihua Detention Centre, and later she was sentenced to three and a half years in prison. She appealed.

Ms. Zhou's family hired a lawyer from Beijing to defend her in court. Her family earnestly reasoned with Judge Cui Hongyuan during the first trial and Judge Jiao Hongtao during the second trial, telling them how Ms. Zhou had suffered several stubborn diseases including lung cancer, but she completely recovered after practising Falun Gong. If they detained her for a long time and deprived her of right to practise Falun Gong, something unimaginable might happen. The two judges paid no attention to what they said.

Ms. Zhou developed symptoms of cerebral haemorrhage on March 22nd, 2012, and the detention centre officers did not offer her timely treatment. In order to avoid responsibility for her possible death, they contacted Ms. Zhou's family and released her on medical parole. Within seven days, Ms. Zhou passed away in the Suihua People's Hospital.

Note

1. "Yuan" is the Chinese currency; 500 yuan is equal to the average monthly income of an urban worker in China.