Fujian Women’s Prison Extends Ms. Hong Huizhu's Sentence

Name: Hong Huizhu
Gender: Female
Age: 48
Address: Zhangzhou City, Fujian Province
Occupation: Nurse at Xiangcheng Chinese Medicine Hospital
Date of Most Recent Arrest: April 9th, 2010
Most Recent Place of Detention: Fujian Women’s Prison
City: Fuzhou
Province: Fujian
Persecution Suffered: Forced labour, brainwashing, torture, detention

Zhangzhou City State Security Unit police arrested Ms. Hong Huizhu on April 9th, 2010. She was posting flyers about Falun Gong around Jiulong Park of Zhangzhou City. Without notifying her family, Ms. Hong was sent to Fujian Women’s Prison on May 8th, 2010 to serve a two-year term. It’s been almost two months since her prison term expired but she still has not been released.

Ms. Hong was arrested three times previously and was sent to the same prison for practising Falun Gong.

Around 5:00 p.m. on July 31st, 2009, police officers Zhu Jiaming (State Security Unit of Zhangzhou Police Department), Liu Wei (head of Section One of Xiangcheng Police Department), and four others, went to Xiangcheng Chinese Medicine Hospital where Hong Huizhu works. They summoned her to a meeting room and wanted to take her into custody. When Ms. Hong refused to cooperate, police handcuffed her and forcibly took her to a secret office in the State Security Unit. After four hours of interrogation, Ms. Hong was released to her husband at around 10:00 p.m. Police also arranged for people to stay outside of her home and monitor her every move. The surveillance lasted until August 11th, 2009.

Several years ago, deputy secretary of Xiangcheng Chinese Medicine Hospital Cai Jincai, deputy director of Bureau of Health Yang, and head nurse Wu Xiaoyu, instigated doctors and nurses to conspire against and falsely accuse Hong Huizhu. They also directed security guard Li Zongyan to phone the Xiangcheng Police Department. At around 11:30 on December 8th, 2004, police broke into Ms. Hong’s home and two officers forcefully handcuffed her and took her, wearing only underwear and slippers, to a waiting vehicle.

While Hong Huizhu was in a detention centre, her daughter Yang Qingshan, who was in high school at the time, wanted to visit her. On the afternoon of January 1st, 2005, Yang Qingshan left to take some clothes to her mother; however, she didn't make it as she suffered a severe injury to the head in a tragic car accident. Although she survived, she was no longer able to attend school. She was still able to take care of herself somewhat.

Soon after, Ms. Hong was arrested, traumatizing her daughter again. Yang Qingshan’s behaviour became irrational and she developed incontinence. Yang had to be put on medication. On December 23rd, 2009, Yang fell out of a window at home and died on the scene. The 21-year-old girl became another victim of the Chinese Communist Party.

When Hong Huizhu was arrested on April 9th, 2010, and held at Zhangzhou Detention Centre, she went on a hunger strike for almost 10 days to protest her arrest. She became very weak.

Since Hong Huizhu’s arrest, her husband has gone all over, from city and district government agencies, the 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong), to the State Security Unit. He begged for Ms. Hong’s release because their daughter had just died. All he got was the news that his wife had been sent to a forced labour camp. He wasn't even able to take clothes and money to her. He was devastated by Hong Huizhu’s arrest.

During the more than two years Hong Huizhu has spent in Fujian Women’s Prison, she has refused to give up her beliefs. She was often not allowed to take a shower; sometimes she was only given half a bucket of water to wash with. Another inmate, He Xiaoling, sometimes only gave her a small bucket of water every three days. The bucket she used for a toilet wasn't emptied for several days. He Xiaoling often swore at Hong and harassed her in other ways.

It has been two months since Hong Huizhu completed her prison term at Fujian Women’s Prison, but she still has not been released.