Zhang Xiufang (张秀芳)
Zhang Xiufang is a Falun Gong practitioner from Dongfeng County, Liaoyuan City, in the northeastern province of Jilin. A former nurse, she was 63 when her latest sentence was confirmed in December 2024.
She has been sentenced twice for her faith. On May 28, 2009, after she was reported for distributing Falun Gong materials, police arrested her and held her at the Dongfeng County Detention Center. The Dongfeng County Court sentenced her to three years in prison on September 8, 2009, and she was admitted to the Jilin Province Women’s Prison on October 13, 2009. In October 2015 she was detained for two weeks for filing a lawsuit against Jiang Zemin, the former leader who ordered the persecution of Falun Gong.
On June 21, 2024, police arrested Zhang at her home after discovering she had mailed letters containing information about Falun Gong. They confiscated two computers and Falun Gong books. She was held at the Liaoyuan City Detention Center and indicted by the Longshan District Procuratorate. In early December 2024 it was confirmed that the Longshan District Court had sentenced her to seven years in prison. She appealed the verdict.
The Longshan District Court has sentenced at least ten local practitioners in the past five years. In April 2024 it handed seven-year sentences to two other Liaoyuan practitioners, Gu Jiumei and Liang Guijuan.
Current status. Zhang Xiufang is serving the seven-year sentence imposed in December 2024. The outcome of her appeal has not been publicly reported.
Sources. Minghui.org (December 14, 2024; December 21, 2024 roundup).
Media profile & archive: Zhang Xiufang (张秀芳) — Media Profile & Archive