Elderly Falun Gong Practitioner Wang Diansong Died after Arrest in Weihai, Shandong Province

Ms. Wang Diansong, 68, and Ms. Qi Mei were hanging banners exposing the persecution of Falun Gong near Weihai Professional School, in Chucun Village, Weihai, Shandong Province, on May 12th, 2012, when police surrounded them. It was later learned that Ms. Wang Diansong died that night, and Ms. Qi Mei was injured, and is still being held in detention.

According to an eyewitness, at around 10:00 p.m. on May 12th, near Weihai Professional School, three police cars surrounded the two women. A policewoman was trying to resuscitate a lady lying on the ground, while another lady stood nearby. There were also two students standing nearby. The police dispersed the crowd when the ambulance arrived. It was later reported that Chucun Hospital had admitted two women, but one died. Upon further inquiry, the hospital staff stated that they were warned not to talk about the incident.

After May 12th, 2012, local police officers sneaked into a housing complex. They had a picture of the Falun Gong practitioner who was being detained and wanted local practitioners to identify her. The officers also revealed facts about the practitioner who had died on the scene.

It was confirmed the Falun Gong practitioner who died that night was Wang Diansong, and the one who was injured was Qi Mei. Weihai Police Department ordered an autopsy, without the family's consent, on Ms. Wang Diansong's body on May 15th.

Ms. Wang's family arrived at the Weihai Police station on May 16th. According to forensic examination, Ms. Wang had multiple fractures of her ribs, and there were injuries to her face and the back of her head.

It was recorded that Qi Mei was from Heilongjiang, and that she was forced to leave her hometown due to the persecution. Her husband stated that his wife was very healthy but that they had lost contact.

Ms. Wang Diansong was from Lixinzhuang, Xujiadian Town, Haiyang City, Shandong Province. She had multiple illnesses before she began practising Falun Gong, including gastritis, cholecystitis, arthritis, frozen shoulder, hyperostosis, and gynaecological diseases. She had suffered greatly from her numerous diseases, but fortunately she learned Falun Gong in 1999, and gradually all her illnesses disappeared. Both her husband and daughter commented on her healthy change.

Because Ms. Wang Diansong firmly believed in Falun Gong and sincerely wanted many people to know about the practice, she explained the facts of Falun Gong everywhere she went, and for this she was persecuted many times. On January 20th, 2001, she was arrested in Beijing, and after being held for one month, she was sentenced to one year in a forced labour camp. She was forced to do intense labour, and no matter sick or elderly, no one could go to bed if one could not finish the work. They often had to work until 2:00 a.m., and sometimes throughout the night. One month later, she was transferred to Xinan Forced Labour Camp. Again she was subjected to forced labour and an intensified "transformation" [forcibly renounce Falun Gong] programme. Those who refused were forced to squat day and night, and not allowed to move or sleep. If one fell down, the guards would instigate collaborators to punch and kick the practitioner, as well as subject them to other tortures.

In May 2005, the Haiyang 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong) attempted to sentence her to labour camp again. Wang Diansong was forced to leave home. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) authorities took her daughter instead and sentenced her to two years in a labour camp. Wang Diansong had not been home since 2005.