(Minghui.org) Two residents of Tianjin were taken from their homes to the Wuqing Detention Center on November 18, 2022 to serve time for their faith in Falun Gong.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Ms. Li Baolan, 79, and Ms. Qi Wenbo, 60, were arrested on May 21, 2021 while distributing informational materials about Falun Gong. Both of them were soon released on bail due to high blood pressure. Meanwhile, the police submitted their joint case to the procuratorate.

The two practitioners stood trial on August 18, 2022. Ms. Li was sentenced to two years and Ms. Qi to one and a half years. They were initially allowed to go home after the trial, but were taken into custody three months later.

This isn’t the first time that both practitioners have been targeted for their faith. Ms. Li was arrested on July 18, 1999, two days before the communist regime started the persecution, and ordered by the village officials to write a statement to renounce Falun Gong. Since then, she has been subjected to constant harassment and brainwashing.

Ms. Li was arrested three more more times in the next couple of years, in late February 2000, January 2001 and sometime in 2003, respectively. She was detained for one month the first two times and half a month following the third arrest.

Ms. Li was harassed by village officials in November 2020 and again ordered to sign a statement to renounce Falun Gong. As she refused to comply, the officials suspended her family’s low-income subsidy. Both her husband and daughter have passed away and her son-in-law has a severe heart condition and couldn’t do heavy work. The family is now left in a dire situation and Ms. Li’s two grandchildren struggled to pay for their school tuition.

Ms. Qi was also arrested on July 18, 1999 and ordered to write a renouncing statement, promising not to practice Falun Gong any more. The police later arrested her a few more times and ordered her to work in the police station or the government building without pay. She held a hunger strike following another arrest in February 2000 and wasn’t released until 25 days later. Because she refused to renounce Falun Gong, the village official slapped her in the face until her mouth bled.

Ms. Qi was arrested again in July 2001 and detained for one night. She was given 2.5 years at the Bantiao Forced Labor Camp after being arrested one more time in November 2002. During the time she was incarcerated, her husband, who also practiced Falun Gong, was targeted for his faith as well, leaving their young child deeply traumatized.