(Minghui.org) A 60-year-old woman in Daqing City, Heilongjiang Province, was admitted to the Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison on June 16, 2025, to serve a three-year-and-four-month term given in late 2022 for her faith in Falun Gong. She had a stroke in early February 2026, and her family was forced to cover her medical expenses. She still suffers headaches months after a surgery.
The ordeal of Ms. Zhang Lihua, who worked as a driver in the Daqing Oilfield, stemmed from her arrest on November 22, 2020. She was released on one-year bail that night after being deemed unfit for detention. Her bail status was changed to house arrest on November 22, 2021.
The Ranghulu District Court sentenced Ms. Zhang to a three-year and four month prison term with a 30,000 yuan fine on December 30, 2022. See the related reports for details of her arrest and prosecution.
Ms. Zhang refused to pay the fine, and the court froze her pension and garnished the money from it.
Ms. Zhang was taken to the Daqing City Detention Center many times after her sentencing for physical exams. She was always deemed unfit for detention, and the court eventually allowed her to serve time outside of prison.
An inspection team from the central government visited Daqing in the first half of 2025 and instructed the local authorities to jail all of the Falun Gong practitioners who had been sentenced but allowed to serve time at home.
Ms. Zhang was admitted to the Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison on June 16, 2025, which was determined to be the new commencement date of her three-year-and-four-month term.
Guards at the eighth division instructed the inmates to beat and verbally abuse Ms. Zhang. Her systolic blood pressure spiked to over 200 mmHg (a normal range is 120 or lower).
The prison notified Ms. Zhang’s family in early February 2026, that she had been sent to a hospital in Harbin (the capital city of Heilongjiang Province) due to brain bleeding. Her family rushed to the hospital and saw her in a coma.
A prison guard said there were three bleeding spots in Ms. Zhang’s head, and ordered them to pay for her surgery, as the prison would not cover her medical expenses or bear any responsibility should anything happen to her.
The family had no choice but to pay over 100,000 yuan to have the hospital operate on two of the bleeding spots. They couldn’t afford to cover the third spot’s surgery.
The prison claimed that they arranged people to care for Ms. Zhang after her surgery. They complained that she was being too stubborn (in holding firm to her faith).
Ms. Zhang’s family visited her in the prison in May 2026, and noted that she was very weak and thin, and she walked very slowly. She complained about frequent headaches and being constantly ordered to write statements to renounce Falun Gong.
A prison guard ended the meeting after five minutes.
Ms. Zhang is not the only member in her family targeted for practicing Falun Gong. Her mother, Ms. Yang Shuqin, 67, died in December 2000, after constant surveillance and harassment for her faith.
More Than 20 Falun Gong Practitioners Sentenced by Daqing Court Since 2019