Name: Cuiping DENG
Country/Area of Origin: Hongta District, Yuxi City, Yunnan Province, China
Background: Female, 54 years old, worked as a primary school teacher at Liu Zongqi Primary School. Ms. Deng started to practice Falun Gong in 1997 and had recovered from insomnia, rhinitis, and pharyngitis.
After the persecution of Falun Gong started, Ms. Deng has been illegally arrested several times. In August 1999 and October 2000, Ms. Deng’s home was raided twice. In late 2004, she was not allowed to teach and was forced to work in the mountains. On April 8, 2006, Ms. Deng was sentenced to a three-year jail term at Second Women’s Prison in Yunnan Province and was tortured severely. She lost her job after she was released on November 26, 2010.
During the imprisonment from 2006 to 2009, Ms. Deng was severely persecuted, both mentally and physically. Ms. Deng was forced to sit still on a small stool from 6am to 10pm every day while being watched by the inmates. Any small movement she made would result in verbal abuse or cruel torture. She was not allowed to close her eyes. She could use the toilet only three times per day. After days of inhumane torture, the skin on her hips festered badly due to sitting for too long.
Ms. Deng was “transformed” against her own will, in other words, forced to renounce her faith in Falun Gong. Then she was sent to a forced labor camp to knit sweaters and bracelets, pack toothpicks, and sew beads on clothes. She had to work from 7am to 9pm almost every day in the factory and was forced to work extra hours. Ms. Deng was also forced to take brainwashing classes and write confession statements.
Reason for Arrest:
On July 24, 2016, Ms. Deng was arrested by officers from the Public Security Bureau in Chengjiang County for distributing Falun Gong informational materials, along with four other Falun Gong practitioners: Mr. Pu Zhiming, Ms. Li Qiongzhen, Ms. Qin Liyuan, and Ms. Li Li. Later that day, officers from Esan County and Hongta District raided Ms. Deng’s home and took her computer, printer, books, and Prisoners of Conscience Working Group CDs. Ms. Deng was officially arrested on September 1, 2016, and was charged by the Eshan County Procuratorate on December 14, 2016.
On February 24, 2017, Ms. Deng was sentenced to six years in prison and fined ten thousand yuan (around 1489 USD) by Eshan County People’s Court. On March 6, 2017, Ms. Deng’s family filed a request for bail, but the request was denied. She suffered from cysts on her thigh when she was first sent to the detention center in March 2017. On May 18, 2017, Ms. Deng was transferred to Second Women’s Prison in Yunnan Province. Ms. Deng’s health has deteriorated during her imprisonment.
Latest Updates:
- May 2021: In detention, Ms. Deng is often placed under “strict management” for refusing to “cooperate with transformation” and sign a statement to renounce her beliefs. Under “strict management”, she is not allowed to see her family, make phone calls, receive or send letters. Her family didn’t hear from her from March 2020 until May 2021, when the family received the first letter from her in over a year.
- According to a call with Ms. Deng’s daughter on March 18, 2019, her family visited Ms. Deng a few days ago. Ms. Deng was treated better than other inmates due to continual pressure from the U.S. government for her release.
- In April 2017, Deng’s daughter, Iris Lu advocated for her mother’s release.