(Minghui.org) A Shangzhi City, Heilongjiang Province resident passed away in September 2021, about two and a half years after she finished serving a three-year term for practicing Falun Gong. Ms. Fan Shuying was 53. 

After the Chinese communist regime began to persecute Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline also known as Falun Dafa, in July 1999, Ms. Fan was arrested multiple times and served two labor camp terms and a prison term. She was incarcerated for a total of seven years.

Ms. Fan was first arrested on December 28, 2000 when she went to Beijing to appeal for the right to practice Falun Gong. After being taken back to Shangzhi and held at the Shangzhi City Detention Center for a few days, she was given a year at the Wanjia Forced Labor Camp. She was tortured and developed scabies all over her body. Her husband, who has a disability in his leg, and their young daughter were left at home and struggled to care for themselves during her incarceration.

Ms. Fan was arrested again on April 26, 2003 while walking on the street. The police claimed that she was reported by a local for distributing Falun Gong materials. The “local resident” turned out to be a plainclothes officer. 

Ms. Fan held a hunger strike to protest the persecution. Meanwhile, Falun Gong practitioners outside of China also made phone calls to the police and demanded her release. Fearing that she might die in the detention center, the police released her on May 8, after charging her family a 2,000-yuan bail bond.

Ms. Fan regained her energy after recovering at home for two weeks. Seeing that her life was no longer in danger, the police gave her three years of forced labor and took her to Wanjia Labor Camp on May 29. 

Ms. Fan’s next arrest was around 6 a.m. on September 24, 2015, after which she was detained at the Harbin City Lockup for 15 days.

Her last arrest was on February 18, 2016, when she went with Ms. Liu Shuxiang, Ms. Chen Chunling and Mr. Huang Xinxin to talk to people about Falun Gong in a village.

Officers from the Maoershan Police Station put them on criminal detention, with the female practitioners at the Harbin City No. 1 Detention Center and Mr. Huang at the Shangzhi City No. 1 Detention Center. 

When the practitioners appeared in court in July, the village secretary and several villagers testified against them. All four practitioners were sentenced to three years.

Ms. Fan was on the verge of death when she was released from the Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison in January 2019. Unable to recover, she passed away in September 2021.