Sister of Chen Jingyu
Chen Jingyu, a New York resident, has not heard from sister, Chen Jinghui, in over six months, after the latter was detained for practicing Falun Gong.
Case Summary
Chen Jinghui – Gender: Female, Age: 55
Current Status: Arrested in March 2024, and currently held at Changchun No.1 Detention Center. Her family members are unable to reach her and are not allowed to see her.
Past Detentions: Arrested in 2015 and 2017 for distributing Falun Gong materials.
Current Location: Reizigou, Xinglongshan, Changchun Economic and Technological Development Zone, Jilin.
U.S. Family Residence: New York, USA
Personal Background
Ms. Chen Jinghui is 55 years old, a graduate of Northeast Normal University, and a certified public accountant. She loves to learn and obtained degrees in library studies and accounting. After starting to practice Falun Gong in 2011, she underwent a positive shift in mind and spirit, and even experienced positive physical health improvements as her uterine fibroids quickly dissolved. She was previously known for being stubborn and having a short temper but became more considerate and calm after practicing Falun Gong. However, due to her belief in Falun Gong, she could never hold steady employment because every employer she had would fire her.
After being arrested this past year, Jinghui’s sister, Ms. Chen Jingyu, has been actively campaigning for her release, and advocating for the thousands of other practitioners who are currently being held in Chinese prisons. Jingyu herself had suffered gross mistreatment at the Heizuizi Women’s Labor Camp in 2008, and experienced forced slave labor, abuse, and brainwashing sessions.
It has been half a year since Jinghui has been imprisoned at Changchun Detention Center, and her sister Jingyu has not been able to reach her. It has been a challenge for her to find any details on Jinghui’s status and any information she has received has been scattered and inconsistent.
Furthermore, in the past two years in Jilin Province, imprisoned practitioners have not been able to be represented by lawyers in court, and visitors of any kind are not allowed. Jinghui’s son is only able to go to her place of detainment in order to send money and supplies but is not able to see her.
Jingyu maintained contact with her nephew for a little while in order to stay informed on her sister’s condition, but recently lost contact. Now, she has no way of knowing if her sister is even alive or not, and she is fearful that Jinghui may one day be a victim of forced organ harvesting.
This Mid-Autumn Festival, which is a time where families usually gather together to feast and admire the fullest moon of the year, Jingyu sends her regards to her sister behind bars in China. Her ultimate wish is to bring her sister to the United States so that she may have the freedom to practice Falun Gong. Jingyu also wishes for their parents to one day leave China as well. In the elderly care center they are currently being housed in, they do not have the freedom to read Falun Gong texts or meditate, and their father’s condition is steadily deteriorating. With Jinghui behind bars and Jingyu living in America, there is no one to provide for their elderly parents.
Timeline
March 2024: Chen Jinghui is Arrested for the Second Time
In mid-March of 2024, Jinghui was arrested and held at the Changchun City Detention Center. The authorities refused to provide any information to her family, only telling her son to wait for a “result.” The person on the phone refused to reveal his identity, which police agency arrested Jinghui, or who was in charge of her case.
In April 2024, Jingyu and brother-in-law belatedly found out about her arrest. They are very concerned about the hardship Jinghui may be facing currently since her sister, Jingyu, understands more than anyone the conditions practitioners frequently face while in illegal detainment after suffering torture at the hands of the CCP sixteen years ago.
March 2023: CCP Harasses Chen’s Parents
In March of 2023, around 11 p.m., officers from Guangfu Road Police Station knocked on Ms. Chen’s door when only her parents were home. The old couple did not open the door. The police later installed surveillance cameras in the apartment building hallway to monitor the family 24/7. Ms. Chen’s parents were forced to move out to avoid harassment.
September 17, 2021: Police Employ Tactics of Intimidation to Obtain Information of Jinghui’s Whereabouts
The local police station and community office shut off the power supply to Ms. Chen’s own home around 8 p.m. Her tenant living there at the time stepped outside to see what was happening, only for five people to barge into the house. They questioned the tenant in an attempt to find Ms. Chen’s location.
February 28, 2017: Arbitrary Abducted by Police
One day when Jinghui came home, she found CCP officers waiting at the door for her. The officers went on to ransack her rental place and confiscate items.
One hour later, three more officers came back to the rental place, this time with Jinghui’s housemate, a fellow Falun Gong practitioner. The officers then took Jinghui to the police station and didn’t release her until midnight.
November 2015: Arrested for the First Time
In November 2015, Jinghui was arrested for the first time after someone reported her for distributing Falun Gong informational materials at a local mall. As a result, she was detained at the Changchun City Lockup in Weizigou Village, Kuancheng District, for 15 days.
Late 2011: Jinghui starts Practicing Falun Gong
Ms. Chen Jinghui began practicing Falun Gong in 2011 and experienced significant benefits to her health.
News & Action
April 2024: Jingyu Sends Senator Schumer a Letter
Upon learning the news that her sister was arrested, the younger Chen began an advocacy campaign to raise awareness about her sister to potentially gain her freedom back.
The first thing she did was write a letter to her senator Chuck Schumer. She humbly requested his office for assistance in rescuing her sister.
Take Action
1. Contact Jingyu’s Representatives (New York State)
Senator Chuck Schumer
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
2. Share Jingyu’s Story on Social Media
3. Send an encouraging letter directly to Ms. Chen Jinghui
People who have survived Chinese prisons and escaped to the U.S. attest to the enormous difference it can make to hear from the outside world directly. It lifts the spirits of those wrongfully detained, and shocks local officials, making them wary of participating further in persecution.
You can send cards directly to Ms. Chen to this address:
Address: Reizigou, Xinglongshan, Changchun Economic and Technological Development Zone, Jilin.
Postal Code: 130102
4. Send a Letter to Where Ms. Chen’s Legal Case is Being Dealt With
It is reported that all cases of persecution of Falun Gong in Changchun have been transferred to the Procuratorate of Changchun’s Chaoyang District for unified handling.
You can send a letter to authorities in order to advocate for Ms. Chen.
Procuratorate of Chaoyang District, Changchun City, Jilin Province.
Address:
Chaoyang District Procuratorate,
No. 7757 Satellite Road, Changchun City, Jilin Province, China.
Zip Code: 130012
