Ms. Zhang Xinyi from Changsha City on Hunger Strike to Protest Third Arrest (Photo)
(Clearwisdom.net) On July 11, 2009, the local police in Zhuzhou City
arrested Ms. Zhang Xinyi and detained her at the Shifeng District Police
Department in Zhuzhou City, where she was interrogated. Currently, she is
detained at the Zhuzhou City Second Detention Center. Ms. Zhang has been on
hunger strike for three days to protest the persecution. This is her third
arrest for practicing Falun Gong. 1. Arrested and Deported by Cambodian Government under Pressure from Chinese
Government Ms. Zhang Xinyi, 55 years old, was a math teacher at the Changsha City
Aluminum Factory Affiliated Elementary School (Now renamed as the Xintian
Elementary School). She is a very kind person. Her students from years ago still
came to visit her. In the summer of 1998, Ms. Zhang and her husband went to
teach at the Phnom Penh Chinese School in Phnon Penh, Cambodia. In July 2002, officials from the Cambodia Immigration Bureau visited her and
asked her some questions about Falun Gong informational materials. A few days
later, her school fired both her and her husband. At the same time, all of the
Chinese schools in Phnon Penh were ordered not to offer them jobs. The Chinese
Embassy in Cambodia refused to extend their passports. The relationship between
the Chinese government and the Cambodian government is very close. At that time,
the persecution of Falun Gong inside of China was very high profile. Realizing
the seriousness of their situation, Ms. Zhang and her husband went to the UN
Refugee Agency in Phnon Penh. After listening to their situation, they helped
them file the application for refugee status. Soon, the UNHCR granted them UN
refugee protection status. On August 2, 2002, the Cambodian police arrested Ms. Zhang and her husband,
despite the fact that they showed them their certificates as UN protected
refugees. They were told explicitly that the arrest was ordered by the Chinese
Embassy in Cambodia. After being detained at the Phnom Penh Immigration Bureau
for three days, they were forced to board an airplane that was going back to
China. As UN protected refugees, their arrests and deportation violated
international law. Many different international media outlets, including AP,
have reported this incident. The UNHCR also criticized the Cambodian government
for failing to undertake their responsibilities of protecting Falun Gong
practitioners. Right after Ms. Zhang and her husband arrived in China, they were detained at
the Changsha City Detention Center. She was released a month later. 2. Sentenced to Three Years in Prison and Persecuted in Hunan Province
Women's Prison Since September 2002, Ms. Zhang has appealed to different levels of
government agencies about her persecution in Cambodia. She even wrote a letter
to Hu Jintao, but no one responded. In April 2005, the police from the Hunan Province Police Department, the
Changsha City Tianxin District Police Department and Changsha City Xinkaipu
Police Station jointly took action and arrested Ms. Zhang. Her home was
ransacked and her passport was confiscated. Without notifying her family, the
Changsha City Tianxin District Court held a secret hearing and sentenced her to
three years in prison. Ms. Zhang made an appeal that was rejected. In January
2006, she was sent to the Hunan Province Women's Prison. Ms. Zhang told her friends about her experience in the prison: she was forced
to stand continuously for 7 days and nights without any sleep. When she lost
consciousness, cold water was poured on her. Then she was forced to stand again.
After extended mistreatment, her mind was not clear, she hallucinated and spoke
nonsense. With the 10th anniversary of the persecution of Falun Gong
approaching, Ms. Zhang was arrested again. Since she refused to tell where she
obtained her Falun Gong informational materials, the police from the Zhuzhou
City Shifeng District State Security Division interrogated her with torture. To
protest the persecution, she started a hunger strike on July 16, 2009. She is
still on a hunger strike now in the Zhuzhou City Second Detention Center. The Zhuzhou City Shifeng District Police Department:
Address: 19 Tongou Road, Shifeng District, Zhuzhou City, Hunan Province, 412005
Office: 86-731-28683712
Director's office: 86-731-28683702
Deputy Director's office: 86-731-28683788
Posting date: 8/5/2009
Category: Persecution Accounts
Chinese version available at
http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2009/7/20/204894.html
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