(Minghui.org) After 24 years, the persecution of Falun Gong by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) remains unabated. According to information collected by Minghui.org, 120 deaths and 702 cases of Falun Gong practitioners being sentenced were reported in the first half of 2023.
Among the 120 newly confirmed deaths, 54 took place in 2023, while the other 66 cases happened in prior years. And among the 54 practitioners who died in 2023, 27 (50%), including 17 females, were between 70 and 86 at the time of their passing. Four of the 27 elderly practitioners, aged 86, 82, 77 and 72, died while still serving time for practicing Falun Gong.
Out of the 702 sentencing cases, 350 happened in 2023, including 61 practitioners who were between 70 and 88, with their prison terms ranging from six months to five years.
Another 21 practitioners, aged between 72 and 84, were at different stages of prosecution in the first half of 2023. Three of them have been tried and are awaiting verdicts; four have been indicted and are facing trial; fourteen have had their cases submitted to the procuratorate and are facing indictment.
27 Death Cases
Among the 27 death cases of elderly practitioners in the first half of 2023, the provinces of Hebei and Hubei had five cases, Heilongjiang, Hunan and Jilin each had three cases, Sichuan and Yunnan each had two cases, and Chongqing, Henan, Inner Mongolia and Shandong each reported one case.
Below are select death cases. The list of the 27 deceased practitioners aged 70 and older can be downloaded here (PDF).
Deaths in Custody
86-year-old Man Dies Days Before Finishing Wrongful Prison Term
An 86-year-old man in Kunming City, Yunnan Province, died on January 4, 2023, days before he was to finish serving a four-year term for practicing Falun Gong.
Mr. Li Peigao
Mr. Li Peigao retired from Yunnan Construction Installation Company as a senior engineer in 1994. After the persecution started in July 1999, he was held in a brainwashing center three times, arrested a dozen times, and had his home ransacked seven times. When he wasn’t incarcerated, the police monitored and followed him, tapped his phone, and summoned him for questioning.
Mr. Li’s latest sentencing resulted from his arrest on November 26, 2015. While he was soon released on bail due to his advanced age, the local court sentenced him to four years on October 8, 2016. He wasn’t taken to the Yunnan Province Prison to serve time until January 2019. The prison never allowed his family to visit him during that time.
According to inmates who were released before him, Mr. Li was in good health in the prison and it was shocking that he suddenly died, just days before he was to be released. Prison officials claimed that he died of illness but didn’t provide any further information to his family.
Retired Professor Dies at 82 While Serving Three Years in Prison
An 82-year-old woman in Yanji City, Jilin Province, died on May 22, 2023, while serving three years for her faith in Falun Gong. Ms. An Fuzi was last arrested in late August 2021 and admitted to the Jilin Province Women’s Prison weeks later.
A few months before Ms. An’s passing, the prison notified her family that she had developed pleural effusion and asked them to cooperate with the authorities in her treatment. Her son and daughter, both of whom worked in South Korea at the time, asked to have virtual meetings or phone calls with her but their requests were denied. Citing the pandemic as an excuse, the prison didn’t allow other family members to visit her in person either.
After Ms. An’s passing, the prison asked her family to sign a consent to have her body cremated, but it is unclear whether her loved ones complied. The prison had her body cremated without the presence of any of her family members.
Ms. An, of Korean ethnicity and a retired professor from Yanbian Radio and Television University, was not the only one in her family to lose their life to the persecution of Falun Gong. Her sister, Ms. An Yingji, died at 64 on December 26, 2022, after suffering years of detention and later displacement to avoid further arrests.
77-year-old Woman Dies While Serving a 13-year Term
Ms. Fei Shuqin from Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province, died in Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison on February 16, 2023, while serving a 13-year term. She was 77 years old.
Ms. Fei Shuqin
According to Ms. Fei’s family, she developed uterine fibroids, high blood pressure, and a heart condition shortly after her imprisonment, yet the prison repeatedly denied their application for her release on medical parole. The family hadn’t been allowed to see her since 2019.
When Ms. Fei lost her appetite and was plagued with constant drowsiness, she was taken to the prison hospital on January 13, 2023. The doctor found she had multiple lacunar infarctions, brain atrophy, and a severe lung condition. Despite her condition, the prison still denied her family’s requests to visit her and also refused to release her.
The prison informed Ms. Fei’s family at 1 p.m. on February 16 that they were transferring her to another hospital. But just an hour later, the prison called again and said that she had just passed away. Her family suspected that she might have already died when the prison called earlier.
The prison initially barred Ms. Fei’s family from seeing her body. But given their insistence, the guards relented after getting approval from their supervisor. Ms. Fei’s family said she appeared to be extremely thin and her head was shaved.
Ms. Fei, who’d retired from the food industry, was arrested on March 29, 2013, for putting up banners reading “Falun Dafa Is Good” along a major highway. The Yilan County Court sentenced her to 13 years in prison.
Family Suspects Foul Play in 72-year-old Man’s Sudden Death in Jidong Prison
Mr. Wang Jian, a resident of Zunhua City, Hebei Province, was arrested at home on July 6, 2019 and later sentenced to seven years in prison with a 5,000-yuan fine. He was still in good health when he had a physical exam on March 2, 2023. He also appeared to be fine and in good spirits when his family visited him on March 19. However, the family received a surprise phone call from the prison on April 3 with the news of his death. He was 72 years old.
Mr. Wang had large areas of deep bruises around his ears and on his back, as well as some bruises on the back of his right hand. There was a circular mark on his chest and some scratches on his back. When the coroner turned his body over, fluid came out of his left ear.
The prison claimed that Mr. Wang died suddenly of a disease, but without specifying what disease it was. They asked the family to provide proof of low income, as they intended to offer them a financial subsidy of between 8,000 and 10,000 yuan.
To the family, the bruises on Mr. Wang’s head and back seemed unusual and not caused by a normal disease. They asked if they were caused by torture or other mistreatment that the prison was trying to hide.
Deaths Due to Torture in Prison and Long-term Harassment
Ms. Li Guibin, a Qinhuangdao City, Hebei Province resident, was sentenced to four years at the age of 76 for practicing Falun Gong. In mid-April 2023, two years after she was taken to the Hebei Province Women’s Prison, her son was informed by the prison that she was dying. He rushed to the prison and took her to a hospital in Shijiazhuang (where the prison is located) after the prison agreed to release Ms. Li on medical parole.
After two days of treatment, Ms. Li was taken home (about 370 miles from Shijiazhuang) and admitted to a local hospital. She died shortly after on April 16. She was 80. According to someone who saw her body, she was merely skin and bones after two years of imprisonment.
Ms. Li was arrested on April 27, 2018, while studying the Falun Gong teachings with three other practitioners. When she failed to pass the physical exam required for detention, the police released her and put her under house arrest. She was arrested again two more times, on August 20 and again on December 27, 2018. Each time, she was interrogated and released. As she refused to sign the interrogation records, the police signed the paperwork for her against her will.
Due to the constant harassment, Ms. Li developed symptoms of a stroke. She was unable to talk and had difficulty walking for a period of time.
The Changli County Court sentenced Ms. Li to four years in prison with a 10,000-yuan fine. She was taken back into custody at the Qinhuangdao Detention Center on November 18, 2020, and transferred to the prison in May 2021.
78-year-old Man Suffers Memory Loss, Dies Eight Months After Prison Release
By the time Mr. Han Shunxing, of Luoyang City, Henan Province, was released in September 2022 from serving a two-year prison term, he had lost all of his memory and become disoriented and extremely weak. He was admitted to several local hospitals, but no treatment had any effect on him. He passed away on May 13, 2023. He was 78 years old.
Mr. Han’s ordeal stemmed from an arrest on December 15, 2017, after being reported for distributing calendars with information about Falun Gong. He was sentenced to two years in prison with a 6,000-yuan fine on August 14, 2020. His appeal was turned down by the higher court.
Several officers broke into Mr. Han’s home on September 20, 2020, and took him to Xinmi Prison. He persisted in practicing Falun Gong and was subjected to relentless torture, which eventually claimed his life.
Sichuan Woman Dies Eight Months After Release from Prison in a Vegetative State
Ms. Liao Guanghui was in a vegetative state by the time she was released on July 20, 2022, after serving a three-year prison term for practicing Falun Gong. The Mianyang City, Sichuan Province resident died eight months later on March 23, 2023. She was 70 years old.
Ms. Liao took a fall on March 10, 2021, while incarcerated in the Sichuan Province Women’s Prison. The prison denied her family’s request to release her on medical parole and held her in custody until the end of her term, despite the fact that she remained in a coma after the fall.
Because the prison hospital didn’t properly fix her skull during a craniotomy, there was a large sunken area on the right side of her head. She also had a suction tube in her throat, a feeding tube in her nose, and a urinary catheter. Her entire body was stiff.
Not knowing how to care for her, Ms. Liao’s family took her to a local hospital hours after she was sent home from prison on July 20, 2022. A week later on July 27, she started to go into convulsions and her lips and upper body turned purple. Although she survived after emergency treatment, her family couldn’t afford to keep her in the hospital for further treatment. They took her home shortly after and cared for her themselves. They were devastated by her death on March 23, 2023.
Ms. Liao Guanghui in a coma
Ms. Liao was arrested at home on July 20, 2019, and sentenced to three years by the Fucheng District Court. A prison guard called her family at 5 a.m. on March 10, 2021 and told them to go to Huaxi Hospital to sign a consent form for her to have a craniotomy. The guard claimed that she “fell and hit her head while using the restroom,” but the doctor revealed that she also had injuries to her trachea and one of her lungs.
When Ms. Liao’s husband, Mr. Li Shuangquan, and their son visited her in the hospital on March 14, her head was wrapped in gauze and she was on oxygen. She remained in a coma and her family wasn’t allowed to see her again until the end of her term.
61 Elderly Practitioners Sentenced to Prison
Among the 61 cases of elderly practitioners being sentenced in the first half of 2023, Hebei Province reported nine cases, followed by Jilin (eight) and Sichuan (seven). Beijing, Liaoning and Shandong each had six cases. Guangdong and Tianjin each had three cases. Two cases were reported in Heilongjiang, Henan and Jiangsu each. The remaining seven regions, including Chongqing, Guizhou, Hunan, Jiangxi, Ningxia, Yunnan and Zhejiang, each had one case.
Below are select cases of practitioners over 70 years of age being sentenced. The list of the 61 practitioners can be downloaded here (PDF).
Hebei Prison Continues to Deny Cancer-Stricken Woman Family Visits and Medical Parole
Ms. Han Liping, a 73-year-old Chengde City, Hebei Province resident, was diagnosed with late-stage lung cancer shortly after her prison transfer, yet the prison authorities refused to grant her medical parole or allow her family to visit her.
Ms. Han was arrested at home on July 22, 2022, and sentenced to five years with a 5,000-yuan fine on January 19, 2023. Before she was admitted to Hebei Province Women’s Prison on April 18, she had coughing fits and elevated blood pressure. She lost consciousness one night and was hospitalized for a week. The prison authorities were well aware of Ms. Han’s condition, but they still admitted her.
On May 11, a prison guard called Ms. Han’s family, saying that she had been diagnosed with late-stage lung cancer. Her loved ones called relevant agencies seeking medical parole. They were told that she met the parole requirements, but the prison refused to release her and also denied their requests to visit her. Her daughter has been particularly devastated by her continued imprisonment despite her cancer diagnosis.
Ms. Cong Laiying, a 78-year-old Weihai City, Shandong Province resident and also the mother of a Canadian resident, was arrested on October 15, 2022, for doing the Falun Dafa exercises at a local square. The police handcuffed her and dragged her around by the handcuffs, which caused her to suffer persistent high blood pressure (200/150 mmHg). She was released on bail on November 18, after paying a 10,000-yuan bail bond.
Ms. Cong was taken back into custody on February 1, 2023. She was tried by the Rongcheng City Court on February 16 and sentenced to 4 years in prison with a 20,000-yuan fine. The prosecutor charged her with “undermining law enforcement with a cult organization” (the standard charge used to frame Falun Dafa practitioners) and listed her past persecution for practicing Falun Dafa as prosecution evidence against her.
Ms. Cong’s daughter, Ms. Cong Xinmiao, said during a rally in front of the Chinese Consulate in Montreal on March 1, 2023, “The CCP brutally persecutes Falun Dafa practitioners who adhere to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Practicing Falun Dafa is not against the law in China. It is not a crime to believe in the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance to be a better person. I am calling for the immediate release of my mother.”
Ms. Cong Xinmiao speaks at a rally in Montreal, calling for the release of her mother Ms. Cong Laiying.
80-year-old Retired Doctor Taken into Custody to Serve a Two-year Term
An 80-year-old woman was sentenced to two years with a 3,000-yuan fine on March 17, 2023. Ms. Liu Junhua was taken to the Nanchong City Detention Center in Sichuan Province right after the sentencing.
The sentencing of Ms. Liu, a retired doctor from the hospital affiliated with Southwest Petroleum University in Nanchong City, Sichuan Province, came as part of police retaliation for her refusing to renounce Falun Gong.
Two police officers and the university’s security director went to Ms. Liu’s home on April 23, 2021, and ordered her to sign a statement to renounce her faith. She refused to comply and they left.
The officers went to her home to harass Ms. Liu again on May 21, 2021, but she wasn’t home. Shortly after the officers left, they saw her walking down the street. They approached her in a police car and took her photo.
On July 23, 2021, the police installed a surveillance camera facing the front door of Ms. Liu’s apartment. Her husband took a photo of the camera and removed it that same day. He filed a complaint with the Shunqing District Court against the police for infringing upon their privacy.
In retaliation, the police submitted Ms. Liu’s case to the Shunqing District Procuratorate, which indicted her and moved her case to the Shunqing District Court.
Ms. Liu first appeared in court on April 19, 2022, and was released after the hearing. Less than two months later, on June 10, the police and the university security officers harassed her and deceived her husband into opening the door by claiming they were administering COVID vaccine shots. They confiscated Ms. Liu’s hand-copied Falun Gong book and took her to the police station. She was released hours later.
The court held a second hearing on February 15, 2023, and sentenced Ms. Liu on March 17.
86-year-old Woman Sentenced to Three Years
Ms. Liang Shuzhi, an 86-year-old Shenyang City, Liaoning Province resident, was sentenced to three years and fined 20,000 yuan on March 27, 2023.
Ms. Liang was arrested at home on June 8, 2021. After strong demands from her family, she was released later that day. The police claimed that a surveillance camera recorded Ms. Liang placing Falun Gong materials on cars near a police station in March 2021. By monitoring her daily activities, they also discovered that other Falun Gong practitioners were printing materials at her home. They claimed that this was a serious crime and that they intended to put her in prison.
The Heping District Domestic Security Office submitted Ms. Liang’s case to the Liaozhong District Procuratorate. Judge Lin Xiaojiao from the Liaozhong District Court called Ms. Liang’s family on January 31, 2023, threatening to take Ms. Liang into custody after the Lantern Festival on February 5 if she didn’t renounce Falun Gong.
As Ms. Liang refused to give up Falun Gong, she was made to stand trial on February 8, 2023. Her lawyer entered a not-guilty plea for her. The judge announced her verdict on March 27, 2023.
While the Shenyang City No. 1 Detention Center denied Ms. Liang’s admission due to her poor health, judge Lin is still trying to send her to prison.
81-Year-Old Beijing Resident Loses Appeal Against Wrongful Conviction
Ms. Hu Xingxi, an 81-year-old Beijing resident, was sentenced to three years with a 3,000-yuan fine on March 30, 2023. She filed an appeal with the Beijing City Second Intermediate Court. The appeals court’s presiding judge Wang Hongbo, assistant judge Wang Min, and a videographer delivered to her home the ruling to uphold her original verdict on June 2, 2023.
Ms. Hu refused to sign the paperwork and vowed to keep seeking justice. The judges told her to file a motion to reconsider her case through the Fengtai District Court if she was determined to continue seeking justice [in China, appeals need to be submitted to trial courts for them to forward to appeals courts].
Ms. Hu asked them if law-abiding citizens like her who follow Falun Gong’s principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance to be a good person were convicted, then who would be deemed innocent by the authorities. They remained silent.
Jilin Woman Sentenced to Prison Six Months after Persecution Death of Husband
Two months after Ms. Chen Qinglan was arrested for her faith in Falun Gong, her husband passed away, after enduring two decades of mental distress due to the persecution of their shared faith. While still mourning her husband’s passing, Ms. Chen was sentenced to three years with a 3,000-yuan fine four months later, in early April 2023.
Ms. Chen, 70, of Shulan City, Jilin Province, was arrested on August 23, 2022, after several rounds of harassment in the months prior. The police searched everywhere in her home, even under the beds. They confiscated two of her Falun Gong books and several paper currency bills with short messages about Falun Gong printed on them [given the strict censorship in China, practitioners often use currency with information about Falun Gong as a way to raise awareness about the persecution].
The harassment and home-ransacking further upset her husband, Mr. Meng Xiangfu, who already had trouble walking and talking due to the distress of having his pension suspended since 2020. His health quickly declined and he passed away on October 24, 2022. Ms. Chen wasn’t allowed to attend his funeral.
75-Year-Old Woman on Probation for Her Faith Ordered to Attend Brainwashing Sessions
A 75-year-old former elementary school teacher in Laishui County, Hebei Province has been facing constant harassment from the authorities since she was released on May 9, 2023 after being sentenced to three years with four years’ probation.
Ms. Liu Yumin was arrested at her son’s home on March 18, 2022. She was held at the Baoding City Detention Center. Her case was later submitted to the Zhuozhou City Procuratorate, which indicted her and moved her case to the Zhuozhou City Court. The judge convicted Ms. Liu on May 9 and ordered her family to pick her up at the detention center that same day.
The Laishui County Judicial Bureau established a community corrections task force on May 30, 2023 to specifically “work on” Ms. Liu. The task force was headed by Zuo Cheng (director of the Judicial Bureau), with officials Hu Fenglan and Wang Baojun of Dongguan Village in Laishui County. The goal was to force Ms. Liu to renounce Falun Gong.
The task force ordered Ms. Liu to report to them on a regular basis and attend scheduled “study sessions.” If she could not report to them in person, she was to submit photos of herself at home.
As Ms. Liu was still recovering from the abuse she suffered during her detention, she refused to comply with the demand. The task force then threatened to take her back into custody.
Ms. Liu and her loved ones were ordered to keep their phones on 24/7 so as to be on standby to answer the task force’s calls. They were also instructed to download a certain app, which tracks her location and monitors her activities. Ms. Liu was also forbidden to go out of town.
While initially relieved at her release, Ms. Liu’s family are now feeling tremendous pressure as a result of the relentless harassment.
21 Practitioners in Different Stages of Prosecution
In addition to the 61 practitioners who have already been sentenced, another 21 practitioners also face prison terms, with their cases at different stages of prosecution. Further information about these cases can be downloaded here (PDF).
Below are select cases in this category.
77-year-old Woman Tried for Her Faith, Defender Barred from Entering Courtroom
Ms. Cheng Zhiqun, a 77-year-old Hefei City, Anhui Province resident, stood trial on April 12, 2023. Prior to her hearing by the Shushan District Court, the judge made several attempts to force her to dismiss her non-lawyer defender Mr. Cheng Hai (no relation) [in China, defendants are allowed to entrust family or friends who do not practice law to defend their innocence]. When Ms. Cheng refused to comply, the judge barred Mr. Cheng from entering the courtroom on the day of the hearing.
Ms. Cheng testified in her own defense. She argued that China’s General Administration of Press and Publication has long lifted the ban of Falun Gong books in 2011, so it is legal for her to have Falun Gong literature at home and distribute it.
Prior to her latest ordeal, Ms. Cheng was arrested three times for distributing informational materials about Falun Gong. Details about her latest arrest aren’t clear.
81-Year-Old Woman to Face Trial for Her Faith
An 81-year-old resident of Chongqing received a notice from the Jiangbei District Court on June 14, 2023 saying that she was scheduled to appear in court at 10 a.m. on July 4.
Ms. Liu Guibi’s upcoming trial stemmed from her arrest on February 16, 2023, when she was reported for talking to people about the persecution of Falun Gong. The police raided her home and confiscated several of her Falun Gong books. They released her around midnight and placed her under house arrest. The Beibei District Procuratorate indicted Ms. Liu on April 18 and forwarded her case to the Jiangbei District Procuratorate on April 26.
Tracked by the Police for Writing a Letter about Falun Gong, 84-Year-Old Woman Faces Prosecution
An 84-year-old woman in Jiangbei District, Chongqing was indicted on June 16, 2023 for writing letters about Falun Gong.
Before her retirement, Ms. Zhang Xingchao was the vice chairperson of the Standing Committee of the People’s Congress of Wofo Town, Tongnan District, Chongqing. She wrote a letter to the secretary of the Yubei District Political and Legal Affairs Committee last year upon reading news about his participation in the persecution of local Falun Gong practitioners. For her own safety, she dropped off the letter at the Datong Street Post Office in Yuzhong District.
The post office intercepted the letter and turned it over to the Daomenkou Police Station in Yuzhong District. The police pored over surveillance videos and determined that Ms. Zhang had dropped off the letter. They then turned over the case to Yubei District because the intended recipient of the letter was in that district.
More than twenty agents from the Yubei District Domestic Security Office and police stations under its supervision broke into Ms. Zhang’s home a little past 8 a.m. on July 8, 2022. They asked if she had mailed the letter, and threatened her son, saying that his son would be affected if Ms. Zhang continued practicing Falun Gong. They confiscated her Falun Gong books and had people staked outside her home to monitor her. The police later harassed her and her son on the phone multiple times.
The police arrived in three cruisers and harassed Ms. Zhang at home on September 10, 2022 (during the Mid-Autumn Festival) and threatened to escalate her case into a major one.
Retired Teacher Arrested for Hanging a Banner Celebrating World Falun Dafa Day
Ms. Sui Lixian, a resident of Yanjiao Town, Sanhe City, Hebei Province, was taken from her home by police on May 14, 2023. Her arrest warrant was approved ten days later. The retired teacher, around 72 years old, is now facing indictment.
Ms. Sui’s arrest stemmed from an order issued by Pan Jiqiang, chief of the Sanhe City Police Department. When he visited Yanjiao Town around May 10, 2023, he saw a banner reading “Celebrate World Falun Dafa Day on May 13.” He ordered the police to arrest whoever hung the banner and swiftly prosecute the “offender.” The police station poured over surveillance videos and determined that Ms. Sui had hung the banner.
The police waited outside Ms. Sui’s apartment building on May 13 and videotaped her entering and exiting the building, in order to confirm that she was the same person recorded on the video footage.
The next day at around 5 p.m., the police knocked on Ms. Sui’s door, claiming to be there to conduct a census. Ms. Sui believed them and opened the door. As soon as they rushed in, they showed her a photo on a cell phone and asked her if she had hung the banner in the photo. They also played the video they took of her entering and leaving her apartment building and asked her to confirm it was her. Ms. Sui remained silent.
The police arrested Ms. Sui and two other Falun Gong practitioners who happened to be visiting her. After taking the trio to the Dongcheng Police Station, they returned to raid Ms. Sui’s home again, and confiscated her computer, printer, Falun Gong books, and informational materials.
The three practitioners were interrogated multiple times later that day, but they refused to answer the police’s questions. Ms. Sui’s two guests were released the next day, but she was transferred to the Sanhe City Detention Center.
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