(Minghui.org) Ms. Dong Zhihua, 72, from Xintai City, Shandong Province was scheduled to appear in court on November 29, 2023 for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Ms. Dong was arrested on the afternoon of December 6, 2022, after being reported for distributing Falun Gong informational materials. She was released on bail hours later.
The Xintai City Domestic Security Office submitted Ms. Dong’s case to the Xintai City Procuratorate without her knowledge on March 24, 2023. The police accused her of “using a cult organization to undermine law enforcement,” the standard pretext used by the Chinese Communist Party to frame and imprison Falun Gong practitioners.
The Xintai City Procuratorate submitted Ms. Dong’s case to the Feicheng City Procuratorate. Both Xintai and Feicheng are under the jurisdiction of Tai’an City.
The Feicheng City Court scheduled a hearing of Ms. Dong’s case for November 29, 2023. It’s unclear whether the hearing took place.
Illnesses Resolved
Ms. Dong suffered from severe high blood pressure, heart conditions, migraine headaches, eye diseases, and a tumor in her inner thigh. All her illnesses disappeared soon after she took up Falun Gong on May 3, 2004, and she was able to do farm work again.
Falun Gong’s principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance also made her realize what she didn’t do well in the past. She apologized to her neighbors with whom she had conflicts. She also returned the leftover fund from a contract job she did for her village government in 2003. The village officials were stunned when she returned the money as she had a reputation for being unreasonable, unforgiving, and self-centered. She told them that Falun Gong taught her to be kind and considerate, and that it was wrong for her to keep the money which rightfully belonged to the village government.
Past Persecution
Ms. Dong was arrested on February 28, 2013 while talking to people about Falun Gong at a fair in Beishi Township, Xintai City. She was first taken to the Beishi Township Police Station and then to the Beishi Township Detention Center.
Around 8 p.m. on March 7, 2013, deputy chief Yin Zhengming of the Beishi Township Police Station led three officers to her home. One of the officers scaled the fence and broke inside. They arrested her and her husband Mr. Shi Jinqing (also a Falun Gong practitioner) and took them to the police station. They put them on criminal detention the next day and took them to the Beishi Township Detention Center. Mr. Shi was detained for 28 days and Ms. Dong was detained for 13 days. The couple were extorted a total of 4,000 yuan by the police.
The Xintai City Domestic Security Office arrested Ms. Dong at home on the morning of July 1, 2018 and detained her for 15 days. The same police agency raided her home on the afternoon of October 21, 2020 and arrested her and her husband. The couple were released on bail the next day. It’s unclear whether they faced prosecution following this arrest.
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