(Minghui.org)
Name: Zhang LixinChinese Name: 张立新Gender: FemaleAge: 73City: DaqingProvince: HeilongjiangOccupation: heating company employeeDate of Death: September 29, 2026Date of Most Recent Arrest: December 2, 2019Most Recent Place of Detention: Fuxin City Detention Center
A 73-year-old woman in Daqing City, Heilongjiang Province, died on September 29, 2026, three years after she was released on parole from serving a four-year prison term for her faith in Falun Gong.
Ms. Zhang Lixin and her husband, Mr. Bai Yufu, also a Falun Gong practitioner, were arrested on December 2, 2019, while sheltering at her sister’s home in Fuxin City, Liaoning Province, to avoid being arrested for their faith by police in their hometown.
The couple were sentenced in late March 2021, with Ms. Zhang given four years and her husband six years. While appealing the wrongful conviction, Ms. Zhang had a stroke on June 17, 2021, and fell into a coma. She regained consciousness 11 days later. When her family visited her in the hospital (each time for only 15 minutes), they saw she was hooked to a suction tube (after being given a tracheotomy), unable to speak and on intravenous (IV) nutrition. Two guards from the Fuxin City Detention Center watched her around the clock.
Ms. Zhang and her husband’s appeals were soon rejected. Mr. Bai was admitted to the Shenyang First Prison in Liaoning Province. Ms. Zhang remained hospitalized for over a year. Unable to move, she developed muscle atrophy. Her family was forced to cover her entire medical bill on top of hiring aides to take care of her in the hospital at their own expenses.
The detention center made three attempts to have the Liaoning Province Women’s Prison admit Ms. Zhang. The prison refused to accept her but kept her case file and refused to return it to the detention center. Her family’s requests to have her released on parole were also repeatedly rejected. The detention center said the parole decision was no longer theirs since the prison had her case file. The prison authorities said they had stopped processing parole requests for fear of being held responsible for any Falun Gong practitioner who went out again to raise awareness of the persecution while on parole. On the other hand, one official revealed that they would bear no responsibility if any practitioner died in the prison instead.
It wasn’t until early 2023 that Ms. Zhang was finally released on parole. Her family drove over 300 miles to Fuxin City and took her back to Daqing. The long car ride was exhausting and worsened her condition. She twice fell into critical condition not long after she was brought home. She managed to survive but had to face constant surveillance, as the police installed several surveillance cameras near her apartment building. A police duty room was also set up near the building to monitor her and other local Falun Gong practitioners who went to visit her.
The Ranghulu District Justice Bureau in Daqing City also ordered Ms. Zhang to “report to them” every month by submitting her pictures of lying in bed (as she remained bedridden).
Her husband, Mr. Bai, finished serving his six-year term in early December 2025. He suffered paralysis in one side of his body due to abuse in prison. His pension was also suspended and has not been reinstated to this day.
The couple struggled to live. Ms. Zhang remained bedridden and unable to speak. She still needed IV nutrition every day to sustain life. On the afternoon of September 29, 2026, she suddenly struggled to breathe. Her family rushed her to the hospital, and she died that night.
Ms. Zhang’s passing capped her decades of persecution for practicing Falun Gong. See the related reports for details of her past persecution and latest arrest.
Bedridden Woman Serving Time for Her Faith Denied Medical Parole after Surviving a Stroke
Heilongjiang Woman in the Hospital after Suffering a Stroke in Detention Center
Heilongjiang Couple Sentenced to Prison for Their Faith
Heilongjiang Couple Stand Trial for Their Faith in Falun Gong
119 Falun Gong Practitioners Arrested in Two Heilongjiang Province Cities in One Day