(Clearwisdom.net) Ms. Zhang Mengxia was born in 1967 and is employed by the Shirengou Iron Mine at the Tangshan Steel Corporation in Tangshan City. Before practicing Falun Gong she was weak and suffered from Meniere's syndrome and rheumatoid arthritis. In October 2000 she started practicing Falun Gong. After reading Zhuan Falun twice, all her illnesses disappeared. From then on she started walking on the path of cultivation and strictly disciplined herself according to Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance.
Because Ms. Zhang refused to write a guarantee statement in May 2002, officials at the Shirengou Iron Mine escorted her to a brainwashing center to "reform" her. While in the center, Ms. Zhang was deprived of sleep for over two weeks, which created swelling in her legs. However, the ruthless abuse did not stop her from practicing Falun Gong. Ms. Zhang eventually escaped from the brainwashing center with the power of her righteous thoughts. She chose to become homeless to avoid further persecution. In October 2002 she mailed truth-clarification materials to people at the Shirengou Iron Mine. The officials discovered that the materials were from Chengde City. Shirengou Iron Mine general manager Xia Desheng and Security Division supervisor Zhang Guoshen sent someone to Chengde who arrested Ms. Zhang. She was imprisoned in the Zunhua Detention Center where her four limbs were cuffed together, and she was subjected to brutal physical tortures.
Despite all the hardships, Ms. Zhang persisted in her belief and refused to be "reformed." In March 2003, under huge pressure from the government, her husband, Yang Fujun divorced her and was granted custody of their daughter.
In April 2003, Ms. Zhang's parents took her to their home in Tangshan City. It is said that they spent a large amount of money to bribe the authorities to release her.
In 2005, Ms. Zhang was once again arrested in Tangshan and was released after a 15-day hunger strike.
On October 1, 2007, Ms. Zhang, accompanied by practitioners Xu Shuqin, Li Liping, Zhao Fengxia, Zhang Yuehua, and Wang Cuihua, went to the Eastern Royal Tombs of the Qing Dynasty (a tourist attraction) in Zunhua City to distribute truth-clarifying materials. The Eastern Tombs (Dongling) Culture Heritage Department and local police station officers arrested her and detained her in Zunhua Detention Center, where she is still being held. She has been brutally force-fed, causing her hands and face to be covered with blood. It was too miserable to look at.
On April 17, 2008, six other practitioners together with Ms. Zhang were sentenced at the Zunhua Municipal Court. She was sentenced to a five-year term.
