Lead

In exclusive interviews with Fox News Digital, two women have come forward with harrowing accounts of their treatment inside China's detention system — accounts that include the death of an infant son — while the Chinese government denies allegations of human rights abuses.

Wang Chunyan, a 70-year-old Falun Gong practitioner, said the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) systematically dismantled her life over more than two decades, stripping away her business, her home and eventually seven years of her life in prison. She also believes the persecution took her husband. "My beloved husband died due to the persecution," she told Fox News Digital.

Mihrigul Tursun, a 35-year-old Uyghur mother, described being detained and tortured in Chinese prisons, where she said her infant son died in her arms. "People think this only happened in history," she said. "But it is still happening."

Coverage Comparison

Both accounts were reported by Fox News Digital, which conducted separate interviews with the women. Wang's story was presented as part of an exclusive interview conducted ahead of President Donald Trump's visit to China, while Tursun's account was published during that visit. Both articles frame the women's experiences as evidence of a broader campaign by the Chinese government against religious and ethnic groups it views as threats.

The two stories converge on several points: both women describe prolonged detention, the loss of loved ones, and a system that they say targeted them because of their faith or ethnicity. They also share a common backdrop — the ongoing diplomatic engagement between the United States and China — and both include comments from former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback, who placed their stories in the context of global religious freedom.

Neither article includes direct comment from Chinese officials, but both note that the Chinese government denies allegations of human rights abuses against Uyghur Muslims and Falun Gong practitioners. The articles attribute the women's statements directly to them, and Brownback's remarks to him.

Key Claims

  • Wang Chunyan said her husband died as a result of persecution by the Chinese Communist Party. She also said more than 25 of her friends had died in the persecution, though she had photos of only 21 of them.
  • Wang said the CCP systematically dismantled her life, including taking away her business and home and imprisoning her for seven years.
  • Tursun said she was detained and tortured in Chinese prisons, and that her infant son died in her arms while she tried to warm him back to life.
  • Tursun said she continues to fear for family members who remain in China because she chose to speak publicly.
  • Both women spoke out, in part, to raise awareness of what they describe as ongoing abuses inside China's detention system.
  • Brownback said he believes Wang's story reflects a broader struggle, and warned: "Either the world changes China or China will change the world."
  • The Chinese government denies allegations of human rights abuses against Uyghur Muslims and Falun Gong practitioners.

Perspectives

Wang Chunyan

Wang, a Falun Gong practitioner, says the Chinese Communist Party persecuted her for her faith, leading to the death of her husband and many friends, and that she spent seven years in prison.

Mihrigul Tursun

Tursun, a Uyghur woman, says she was detained and tortured, and that her infant son died in custody. She says she speaks publicly because too few survivors are able or willing to tell their stories.

Sam Brownback

Brownback, the former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, says the women's experiences reflect a broader threat to global religious freedom, and that either the world will change China or China will change the world.

Chinese government

The Chinese government denies allegations of human rights abuses against Uyghur Muslims and Falun Gong practitioners, according to both Fox News articles.