Woman who spent 7 years in Chinese prison describes torture, surveillance and loss of her husband

EXCLUSIVE: Wang Chunyan held a photograph toward nan camera, her hands trembling somewhat arsenic she pointed to each of nan 21 smiling faces: a hubby and wife, a assemblage lecturer, a young engineer, friends she met successful prison.

Some died successful detention, she said. Others aft years of abuse. Others vanished into China’s immense information strategy and ne'er returned nan same. "More than 25 of my friends person died successful this persecution. I only person photos of 21 of them," Chunyan said, her sound breaking.

For much than 2 decades, nan 70-year-old Falun Gong practitioner said, nan Chinese Communist Party (CCP) systematically dismantled her life, stripping distant nan business she had built, nan location she erstwhile shared pinch her family and, eventually, 7 years of her life successful prison.

But nan hardest point for her, is that she believes it took her hubby too. "My beloved hubby died owed to nan persecution," Chunyan claimed during an exclusive question and reply pinch Fox News Digital.

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Falun Gong practitioner Wang Chunyan holds photographs of friends she says died during nan Chinese Communist Party’s crackdown connected nan belief activity during an question and reply pinch Fox News Digital. (Fox News)

Her relationship comes arsenic President Donald Trump prepares to recreation to China adjacent week for meetings pinch Chinese leader Xi Jinping, pinch trade, information and location tensions expected to predominate nan agenda. Yet down nan geopolitical rivalry lies different conflict: Beijing’s decades-long run against belief and belief groups nan Communist Party views arsenic threats to its authority.

Former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback believes Wang’s communicative reflects a overmuch broader struggle unfolding wrong China. "Either nan world changes China aliases China will alteration nan world," Brownback told Fox News Digital.

Brownback precocious chronicled Chunyan’s communicative and nan experiences of different survivors successful his book China’s War connected Faith, arguing that individual grounds tin often uncover nan reality of persecution much powerfully than statistic alone. "Stories are much powerful than data," he said.

Photograph shown by Falun Gong practitioner Wang Chunyan during a Zoom question and reply pinch Fox News Digital picture friends and chap practitioners she says were persecuted during nan Chinese Communist Party’s crackdown connected nan belief movement. (Fox News Digital)

The book examines what Brownback describes arsenic an progressively blase strategy of surveillance and repression targeting Christians, Uyghur Muslims, Tibetan Buddhists and Falun Gong practitioners. He argues nan Chinese Communist Party views independent religion communities arsenic a nonstop threat to its authority.

"They fearfulness religious freedom much than thing else. More than our craft carriers, much than our atomic weapons, much than thing other because they deliberation it is nan biggest threat to nan regime."

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Protesters chant slogans and clasp posters of victims during a objection against China's crackdown connected Uyghurs successful beforehand of nan Chinese consulate successful Istanbul, Turkey, connected Nov. 30, 2022. (Khalil Hamra/AP)

Chunyan communicative started successful nan precocious 1990s, erstwhile she suffered from terrible insomnia, sometimes sleeping only 2 aliases 3 hours a night. Then her older sister introduced her to Falun Gong, besides known arsenic Falun Dafa, a belief believe ,she says, is centered connected meditation exercises and teachings rooted successful "truthfulness, compassion and tolerance."

The activity dispersed quickly crossed China during nan 1990s, attracting tens of millions of followers earlier Beijing banned it successful 1999, portraying it arsenic a threat to Communist Party control.

Chunyan says Falun Gong helped amended her "physical condition." She said, "My business was booming. My family was happy. My life was perfect."

Chunyan became convinced nan believe had saved her life. She owned a successful institution trading chemic accumulation instrumentality and had go able by Chinese standards, but aft nan crackdown began she felt compelled to publically take sides Falun Gong against what she believed were authorities lies.

She bought a printing property and began distributing leaflets. Soon afterward, she said, surveillance followed everywhere.

"The buildings wherever I worked were nether changeless surveillance," Chunyan recalled. "I near to flight and was acrophobic to travel home."

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A pro-democracy activistic holds placards pinch a image of Chinese national journalist Zhang Zhan extracurricular nan Chinese cardinal government's liaison agency successful Hong Kong connected Dec. 28, 2020. Zhang was released from situation aft serving 4 years for charges related to reporting connected nan COVID-19 outbreak successful Wuhan, according to a video connection she released Tuesday, May 21, 2024. (Kin Cheung/AP)

For years, she lived successful hiding, utilizing prepaid calling cards and nationalist telephones to secretly put meetings pinch her husband, Yu Yefu, successful restaurants, java shops and hotels crossed nan city. The 2 tried, briefly, to support immoderate consciousness of normalcy.

Yu himself ne'er practiced Falun Gong, but constabulary many times pressured him to uncover wherever his woman was hiding. He ne'er did. Then, successful 2002, Wang stopped proceeding from him.

When she yet returned home, she recovered him unconscious. Doctors could not prevention him. "He protected me," she said successful tears.

He was 49 years aged erstwhile he died. Their girl was still successful college.

The devastation dispersed done nan family afterward, Chunyan said. Her mother-in-law stopped eating and later became paralyzed. Her father-in-law died from grief. Her sisters were besides imprisoned and tortured.

Then came Chunyan’s ain imprisonment.

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The emblem of China is flown down a brace of surveillance cameras extracurricular nan Central Government Offices successful Hong Kong, China, connected Tuesday, July 7, 2020. Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam defended nationalist information authorities imposed connected nan metropolis by China past week, hours aft her authorities asserted wide caller constabulary powers, including warrant-less searches, online surveillance and spot seizures.  (Roy Liu/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

She described years of forced labor, slumber deprivation and beingness abuse. At 1 point, she said, nan torture became truthful terrible that she fainted 3 times successful a azygous day.

One representation still haunts her most. Shortly earlier her merchandise from prison, Wang said authorities conducted unexplained humor tests and aesculapian examinations. At nan time, chap inmates told her nan authorities was simply checking connected Falun Gong prisoners earlier release. Only later, aft learning astir allegations of forced organ harvesting involving detained Falun Gong practitioners, did she statesman to fearfulness why nan testing whitethorn person happened. "I was horrified," Chunyan said.

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Falun Gong practitioner Wang Chunyan recounting nan decease of her husband, whom she says was persecuted by Chinese authorities for refusing to uncover her whereabouts. (Fox News)

Today, Chunyan lives successful nan United States, having near China successful 2013 and yet making her measurement done Thailand earlier arriving successful America successful 2015.

Yet decades later, nan losses stay contiguous to her.

"There are millions of families successful China for illustration ours," Chunyan wants nan world to know, "Persecuted by nan CCP."

In a connection to Fox News Digital, Chinese Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu rejected nan allegations and defended Beijing’s actions against Falun Gong. "The aforementioned remarks are thing but malicious fabrications and sensational lies," Liu said. "Falun Gong is simply a cult statement that is anti-humanity, anti-science and anti-society. It is dispute toward religion, endangers nan public, and serves arsenic a malignant tumor wrong society." Liu based on that "the Chinese authorities outlawed nan Falun Gong cult successful accordance pinch nan law, thereby safeguarding nan basal quality authorities and freedoms of nan immense mostly of nan Chinese people."