(Minghui.org) Two women in their late 70s in Laizhou City, Shandong Province were recently admitted to the Shandong Province Women’s Prison for their faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Teng Chunxiang, 79, was arrested at home on November 18, 2025. Ms. Wang Shanhua, 76, who was visiting her, was also arrested. The police ransacked both practitioners’ homes and confiscated their Falun Gong books and related materials. Although they released the practitioners shortly after, they kept harassing them at home.
The police took both women back into custody on October 18, 2026, without informing their families. The practitioners were convicted by a local court two days later. Ms. Teng was sentenced to three and a half years with a 10,000-yuan fine. Ms. Wang was given 15 months and fined 4,000 yuan.
Ms. Teng, born in February 1947, used to suffer from severe sciatica, joint pain, heart problems, and tuberculosis. She was devastated after her husband died of stomach cancer around 2004. In September 2005, she began to practice Falun Gong and regained hope in life. She became more positive, and her health gradually recovered.
Ms. Teng was arrested on July 31, 2009, for distributing informational materials about Falun Gong at a community market. The police broke into her home and raided the place. They took her to the Laizhou City Detention Center. Although the guards initially denied her admission due to her poor health, they accepted her after being pressured by the 610 Office.
The guards at the detention center forced her to wear an inmates uniform and took photos of her. The police came several times to interrogate her. She was forced to sit in a metal chair with a black hood over her head while she was handcuffed. The food quality was extremely poor.
Due to the mental distress, she had a flare-up of her heart condition and became bedridden. She was released a month later.
Ms. Teng was arrested again while walking down the street on May 8, 2010. The police pushed her into their cruiser and took her to the police station. They ransacked both her and her son’s homes, and detained both of them at the local lockup for 70 days.
Ms. Teng’s son had an apple orchard of nearly 1.7 acres. During his detention, it was prime time to thin the flowers and bag the fruit. As the family couldn’t afford to hire additional hands to work at the orchard, they suffered significant financial loss as a result.
After 70 days, Ms. Teng and her son were transferred to a brainwashing center and forced to attend brainwashing sessions. Ms. Teng was starved for three days because she refused to write statements to renounce Falun Gong. Her access to the restroom was restricted. The 610 Office agents also slapped her in the face and forced her to stand for three days without sleep. They threatened to shock her with electric batons too. After 25 days at the brainwashing center, Ms. Teng was taken to another detention center for one more month of detention.
Ms. Teng was arrested again in May 2011 by officers who broke into her home.
The police made another attempt to arrest her on March 7, 2012. She wasn’t in. They staked outside of her home to try to catch her. She was forced to live away from home to avoid persecution.
Ms. Wang, born in July 1950, took up Falun Gong in 1996. Her bone tuberculosis, vertigo, and gynecological conditions soon disappeared.
On July 21, 1999, the day after the Chinese Communist Party ordered the persecution of Falun Gong, Ms. Wang went to Beijing to appeal. She was arrested midway and taken back to Laizhou. She was detained at the police station overnight and forced to watch videos smearing Falun Gong. The authorities later installed surveillance cameras around her home. Local police constantly harassed her and ordered her to renounce Falun Gong.
A few officers ransacked Ms. Wang’s home on December 20, 1999. They attempted to extort 3,000 yuan from her, but didn’t succeed.
Both Ms. Wang and her husband were arrested on the evening of December 28, 1999. They were taken to the township government and ordered to renounce Falun Gong. The police harassed Ms. Wang again on the eve of the 2000 Chinese New Year.
Ms. Wang was arrested another time in 2000. The police interrogated and verbally abused her. She was deeply traumatized.
She was arrested again on the morning of May 13, 2001, and taken to the Dayuan Brainwashing Center. Her husband, her mother in her 80s, and her young daughter were terrified by the police. Her husband’s old illnesses flared up, and he passed away shortly after.