(Minghui.org)
Name: Zhu YuxiaChinese Name: 朱玉侠Gender: FemaleAge: 54City: ChangchunProvince: JilinOccupation: shop ownerDate of Death: mid-July 2023Date of Most Recent Arrest: March 3, 2023Most Recent Place of Detention: a local police station
A 54-year-old resident of Changchun City, Jilin Province died in mid-July 2023, just a few days after the local court tried her at her home for her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Ms. Zhu Yuxia, a native of Liaocheng City, Shandong Province, lived in Dehui City, Jilin Province for many years before moving to Changchun, the capital city of Jilin.
While living in Dehui City, Ms. Zhu took up Falun Gong in 2007 amidst the ongoing persecution. Falun Gong’s principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance enabled her to quit her bad temper and overly competitive mindset. She was able to take fame and personal interest lightly and never hesitated to lend a hand to anyone in need of help.
Ms. Zhu was targeted for her faith soon after she began to raise awareness about the persecution. She was arrested multiple times and once sentenced to one year in prison.
Ms. Zhu was arrested at home on September 29, 2022, by a group of agents from the Xiguang Police Station and the Changde Police Station in Kuancheng District, Changchun City.
During the required physical examination, Ms. Zhu was found to have hepatitis B and cirrhosis. She was then released on house arrest, with her phone closely monitored.
At 3 p.m. on November 7, 2022, Zhang Bairui from the Xiguang Police Station (who was in charge of Ms. Zhu’s case) and another officer (possibly from the Kuancheng District Procuratorate) showed up at the shopping mall where Ms. Zhu ran a shop and ordered her to go to the procuratorate to be deposed.
Ms. Zhu said she didn’t have time and Zhang threatened to use force. She thus went with them and below was her personal account of what happened at the procuratorate.
“After I went to the Kuancheng District Procuratorate, the receptionist asked for my ID during check-in. I didn’t remember my ID number, and the officer from the procuratorate said he could make up one for me. As he was writing down the made-up number, I saw a form in his hand titled ‘Judgment in a Criminal Case’ with my name on it. He put the form away after realizing I had noticed it so I never got a chance to read what was on the form.
“A prosecutor surnamed Yao said he was in charge of my case and asked me some questions after the check-in. I refused to confirm what the police had confiscated from my home. He then wrote on the deposition record, ‘She didn’t answer or refused to answer certain questions.’
“After the deposition, Zhang brought me back to his police station. I asked what would be the next step in my case and he said the case would be forwarded to the court. He continued, ‘But you don’t need to go to the court because you were found to have hepatitis B. We’ll have you serve time outside of prison. Nothing to worry and just carry on with your life.’
“I demanded him to return the money confiscated from me. He said he never took any cash from my home during my arrest. I reminded him that an officer named Dayue took the money from my coat pocket. Dayue even asked what the money was for and I said it was to pay the rental fee of my mall booth.
“Zhang called Dayue, who denied having taken my money. Zhang asked me to go home and wait for updates from him.
“After I returned home and thought more about the criminal judgment, I realized that the prosecution of Falun Gong practitioners was just a formality because everything had long been determined. Usually, the court issues criminal judgment after having held a trial against a defendant. I was not even indicted yet, but they had already prepared a criminal judgment against me.”
Upon returning home, Ms. Zhu felt tremendous pressure from the persecution and possible prison sentence. She was unable to work for two days.
Ms. Zhu went to visit a practitioner in the nearby Dehui City on March 3, 2023 but was arrested right before she was about to enter the practitioner’s apartment building.
The arresting officers from the Kuancheng District Police Department, the Xiguangchang Police Station in Changchun City, and the Dehui City Domestic Security Office, drove her to the Changchun City Detention Center. She failed the required physical examination and was denied admission.
The police released her on March 11.
Ms. Zhu was formally indicted by the Kuancheng District Procuratorate on June 5. At that time, her health had already declined as a result of the pressure from the relentless persecution. Her abdomen and lower body had become very swollen, and she even fell into a coma on July 7.
A group of people from the Kuancheng District Court showed up at Ms. Zhu’s home in July and held a hearing of her case right there. They threatened to finish up prosecuting her in a bit.
Ms. Zhu died a few days later.
Ms. Zhu returned to her hometown in Liaocheng City, Shandong Province not long after she took up Falun Gong in Dehui City, Jilin Province in 2007. She still had a shop in Liaocheng to tend to. On June 10 that year, the Liaocheng City 610 Office and Domestic Security Office agents arrested her and confiscated the expensive items in her store. On December 22, 2007, the Dehui City 610 Office picked her up from Liaocheng and brought her back to Dehui for detention. She was released in early January 2008.
At 9 a.m. on September 23, 2012, the Guangming Police Station in Dehui City arrested Ms. Zhu at home and confiscated her computer and Falun Gong books. She was detained for 15 days.
The Dehui City Domestic Security Office arrested Ms. Zhu on March 25, 2014. They didn’t find any cash from her home and officer Yang Yanqiu even asked her, “Where is all your money?” They seized her Falun Gong books and equipment used to install a satellite dish to receive uncensored overseas TV programs.
Ms. Zhu was held at the Changchun City Lockup for 15 days, before being transferred to the Changchun City Third Detention Center on April 9, 2014. She was found to have hepatitis B during the required physical examination and was initially denied admission. Officer Lou Xingyan of the Dehui City Domestic Security Office gave 10,000 yuan to the detention center’s political committee secretary, who agreed to accept Ms. Zhu.
Three days later, Ms. Zhu suddenly could not walk normally. She felt nauseous and vomited. The detention center called the Dehui City Domestic Security Office, asking them to pick her up. Instead of releasing her, officers Liu and Yang moved her to the Changchun City Forced Labor Hospital on April 14, 2014.
The Dehui City Court sentenced Ms. Zhu to one year in August 2014. Her family was never notified of her court hearing. They learned from an insider that she was in a coma when the hearing was held. Seven officers put her in a chair and carried the chair from the first floor to the fourth floor, where the courtroom was located, and videotaped the whole process.
Ms. Zhu was admitted to the Jilin Province Women’s Prison on October 14, 2014.
The prison guards instigated the inmates to torture Ms. Zhu. She was beaten and verbally abused. They also forced her to sit on a small stool for long periods of time. Her buttocks festered and oozed out pus, which stuck to the stool. When she was finally allowed to stand up, the scabs were pulled off the stool, causing a lot of pain.
During her imprisonment, Ms. Zhu was once taken to a hospital to get unknown injections.