(Minghui.org) Mr. Liu Dianyuan, a Chaoyang City, Liaoning Province, resident, was sentenced to 11.5 years in 2016 at the age of 78 for practicing Falun Gong. Despite his extremely poor health, the Shenyang City First Prison still accepted him. His condition continued to decline and he passed away in the prison on February 10, 2024, Chinese New Year’s Day. He was 86 years old.

Ms. Zhou Guixiang, a 77-year-old resident of Guiyang City, Guizhou Province, became emaciated and was found to have tumors in her liver and intestines, while being held in a local detention center. Her parole application was still pending when she passed away on October 23, 2024. Her body had already been cremated without her family’s consent by the time they rushed to the detention center upon receiving notice of her passing.

The two practitioners’ cases are among the 164 newly-reported deaths of Falun Gong practitioners in 2024, which marked the 25th anniversary since the Chinese Communist Party ordered the eradication campaign of Falun Gong in 1999. As of December 31, 2024, a total of 5,167 death cases have been confirmed. Some of the practitioners were tortured to death, while others passed away after suffering years of mental distress or financial devastation. Due to strict information censorship and practitioners who were victimized in the live organ harvesting crime, the actual death toll is believed to be much higher. The full list of the 164 newly-confirmed deaths in 2024 can be downloaded here (PDF).

Figure 1. Practitioners Deceased in 2024

PART I. OVERVIEW OF THE NEWLY REPORTED DEATH CASES

The 164 deceased practitioners, aged between 41 and 91 at the time of their passing, came from all walks of life, and included automobile company workers, pharmaceutical company directors, teachers, lawyers, farmers, store owners, accountants, and former government officials.

A total of 149 of the deceased practitioners served time in prison or labor camps, or were held in brainwashing centers or psychiatric hospitals before their passing. In addition to the two above-mentioned deaths in custody, another 15 practitioners also died while being held in prisons or detention centers. Such in-custody deaths were often preceded by brutal physical torture and mental torment (due to intensive brainwashing aimed at forcing practitioners to renounce their faith), involuntary drug administration, medical conditions developed in custody, or delayed medical care.

Other practitioners endured decades of constant harassment, had their pensions suspended, or were forced into displacement to hide from the police. Some were predeceased by their spouses, parents, children or siblings, who also lost their lives due to the persecution.

1.1. Seventeen Die in Custody

Among the seventeen in-custody deaths reported in 2024, five happened in detention centers and the other twelve cases took place in prisons.

The Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison notified Ms. Guan Hongyan’s family on November 6, 2023 that she had died of “an illness” that day. According to insiders, however, she succumbed to injuries sustained after being repeatedly tortured by the guards and inmates. The torture death of Ms. Guan, a 63-year-old resident of Qitaihe City, Heilongjiang Province, occurred about 16 months into her 7.5-year prison term.

Weeks after Ms. Guan’s passing, Ms. Li Yuzhen, a resident of Harbin (the capital city of the Heilongjiang), died in the same prison in early January 2024, while serving a four-year term.

Several practitioners died only days after being admitted to prison.

Ms. Xu Haihong, of Qingdao City, Shandong Province, died on December 9, 2023, about three days after she was transferred to the Shandong Province Women’s Prison to serve a sixteen-month term. She was 56 years old.

In Gongzhuling City, Jilin Province, Ms. Wang Yuying died in the local detention center, one month after her arrest. She was 68. The authorities offered her family 30,000 yuan in exchange for their silence regarding her suspicious death. Her loved ones consulted a lawyer and were told that no one could help them win a lawsuit, as the police would block all channels if they tried to collect evidence. Meanwhile, her 80-year-old brother, who was arrested with her on the same day, is facing indictment for his shared faith.

1.2. Deaths at Home

While some practitioners survived years of brutal torture in custody, they passed away years later, unable to recover from the physical and/or psychological damage sustained in detention. In some cases, the authorities released the practitioners when they were on the verge of death in order to shirk responsibility, and the practitioners died shortly after.

In the past 25 years, many other practitioners also lived in fear every day, as they never knew if or when the police would suddenly knock on their door in the middle of the night or arrest them while they were out and about. For many, the mental distress was deadly. Some were so frail that they died shortly after their last arrest or harassment episode.

In recent years, some practitioners, who had already lost their jobs due to the persecution, were dealt another blow when the authorities suspended their pension. They struggled with poverty before they eventually passed away.

1.2.1. Deaths from Harassment or Latest Arrest

While on probation for her faith in Falun Gong, Ms. Zhao Huifen, of Huaibei City, Anhui Province, faced continued harassment and surveillance by the authorities, even after she was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. She passed away on April 21, 2024. She was 71.

Having endured seven years of torture in prison and the loss of almost all of his teeth, Mr. Wang Huai, of Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province, died on March 9, 2024, two days after he was harassed again by the authorities.

Ms. Feng Yuqiu, a retired middle school teacher in Shulan City, Jilin Province, served two labor camp terms and was held in a brainwashing center twice since the onset of the persecution in 1999. She suffered relentless torture in custody, which deeply traumatized her and took a toll on her health. Since 2023, the condition of her legs and toes that were severely injured from torture quickly deteriorated, rendering her unable to walk. She also struggled with declining vision. She took a fall and broke her legs. Before she fully recovered, the police seized her during a group arrest on June 5, 2024, and detained her briefly. She was released on bail, only to die three months later on October 9, 2024. She was 73.

Five police officers broke into Ms. Chen Guohua’s home in Dongying City, Shandong Province, at around 6:30 a.m. on November 29, 2023 and searched her place. Her family said she had a doctor’s appointment that morning, and the police followed them to the hospital. She was diagnosed with late-stage metastatic liver cancer, and only then did the police give up their attempts to arrest her. They still threatened to come back for her after she recovered. Her conditions dramatically worsened after the police raid and she died on December 11, 2023, at the age of 54.

Despite Ms. Wang Qingxiang’s dangerously high blood pressure, the police still kept her in custody after arresting her on September 5, 2024. They eventually released the Yuanjiang City, Hunan Province resident on September 16, when she suffered a massive stroke that day. She passed away eight days later, on September 24. She was 60 years old.

1.2.2. Deaths Due to Involuntary Drug Administration in Custody

Five Wuhan City, Hubei Province residents were arrested at a private home on June 16, 2022, for practicing Falun Gong. Two of them, Mr. Li Chunlian and Mr. Chen Jun, were held at a psychiatric hospital and subjected to involuntary drug administration. Both experienced significant weight loss and declining mental clarity. Mr. Li suddenly passed away on November 11, 2024. Mr. Chen, who suffered a heart attack and had a stent installed after his bail release, was sentenced to 7.5 years around December 2024.

Shortly after Ms. Xie Changchun, of Guanghan City, Sichuan Province, finished serving a one-year term in the Sichuan Province Women’s Prison on April 19, 2024, she had sharp pain on the left side of her abdomen. Her skin turned dark and she became emaciated. She passed away four months later on August 12, at age 80. Her family suspected that she had been given toxic drugs while in the prison.

1.2.3. Deaths After Decades of Persecution

Ms. Chen Xuzhen, of Danjiangkou City, Hubei Province, died on March 14, 2024, one month after she was released in critical condition after serving one year in custody. Her passing capped years of persecution for upholding her faith in Falun Gong. She was previously arrested multiple times and faced constant harassment.

Mr. Liu Shengzhi and his wife and sister, all Beijing residents, endured decades of incarceration and torture for practicing Falun Gong. Mr. Liu was shocked with electric batons on his private part and became incontinent. He struggled with systemic edema for years and passed away on July 17, 2024, at age 70. His sister, Ms. Liu Fengxia, after serving two labor camp terms and a prison term, died in 2020. His wife, who was beaten almost to death in custody, once heard a guard say, “We are the police. The higher-up have said that we bear no responsibility if we beat you to death. And no one would know if you indeed died.”

Having lost his wife and son in the persecution of Falun Gong, Mr. Su Anzhou, a 71-year-old man in Lanzhou City, Gansu Province, faced constant harassment and was threatened with a prison sentence, even when he had already become incapacitated. He passed away on January 10, 2024.

Mr. Su Anzhou (right), his late wife and son

1.2.4. Deaths Due to Financial Devastation and Displacement

Mr. Ouyang Haiwen, of Wuhan City, Hubei Province, used to work for a military clothing factory. He was fired after the persecution started because he refused to renounce Falun Gong. He was sentenced to four years in 2011, for putting up posters about the persecution in a public area. Beginning in September 2020, the social security bureau suspend his monthly retirement benefits of 2,800 yuan (after his family had made 15 years of contributions for him) and ordered him to contribute another 130,000 yuan before reinstating the payments. To support himself, he had to do odd jobs despite his poor health. He suffered an internal hemorrhage and passed away in a nursing home on April 19, 2024. He was 70.

The late Mr. Ouyang Haiwen

Although Ms. Huo Xiuqin, a Fuxin City, Liaoning Province, resident, survived brutal torture while she was incarcerated for practicing Falun Gong, she remained bedridden for the next 12 years. Her husband quit his job to care for her. They lived on Ms. Huo’s 2,300-yuan monthly pension and barely made ends meet. The destitute family was dealt a hard blow when the authorities suddenly suspended Ms. Huo’s pension in late 2022, with the excuse that she didn’t qualify for the payment because of her prison sentence ten years prior. The 63-year-old woman’s health deteriorated and she passed away months later.

After Ms. Cui Yajun, a 79-year-old Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province, resident, was forced to live away from home to avoid being jailed, the authorities intensified the persecution by suspending her pension and also ordered her children to work with them to get her back. She couldn’t go home even after she developed severe medical problems. When she finally returned home in December 2024, she was already in critical condition. She died days later, at the age of 83.

1.3. Case Breakdown by Year of Occurrence

Among the 164 newly documented deaths, 58 took place between 1999 and 2023 and the remaining 104 cases occurred in 2024, with a monthly average of 8. January 2024 had the most death occurrences (14), followed by 12 in April 2024, and 11 each in March, October, and November 2024. The remaining months in 2024 had single digit cases. Due to strict information censorship, the persecution cases can’t always been reported in a timely manner, nor is the information readily available.

1.4. Location-Year-Gender Distribution of 164 Newly Reported Deaths in 2024

The 164 deceased practitioners, including 106 female, came from 20 provinces, 4 autonomous regions, and 4 centrally-conrolled municipalities. Liaoning reported the most cases of 25, including 16 that occurred in 2024 and 9 in earlier years. Heilongjiang ranked the second with 19 cases, including 13 in 2024 and 6 from earlier years. Hebei came in third with 18 cases, including 11 from 2024 and 7 with earlier occurrences. Three more regions had double digit reported cases and the remaining 22 places had single digit cases between 1 and 8.

Figure 4 also shows the gender distribution of the newly reported deaths across provinces.

1.5. 148 Deceased Practitioners with Known Ages

Out of the 164 newly-reported cases, 148 practitioners’ ages at the time of their passing were known, including 130 who were 60 or older. Ninety-seven of the 148 practitioners were female, including 39 who died before 2024 and 58 who died in 2024. The remaining 51 practitioners were male, among whom 13 died before 2023 and 38 in 2024.

The youngest practitioner was 41-year-old Mr. Zhou Hongyu, of Dengzhou City, Henan Province. He was abused while serving time at the Zhengzhou Prison. He suffered from edema on and off after he was released in May 2023. He never recovered, and passed away in January 2024. He is survived by his wife, Ms. Sun Haihong, who is also serving a prison term for practicing Falun Gong, and their 12-year-old daughter.

The oldest practitioner was Ms. Cui Xiangzhi, a 91-year-old Tahe County, Heilongjiang Province resident, who passed away in December 2019 after enduring two decades of harassment and witnessing the persecution of her children and their spouses.

The second oldest practitioner, Ms. Zhang Guiqing, of Nanbu County, Sichuan Province, died on October 29, 2021, five months after she was forced to live away from home to avoid harassment. She was 88 years old.

PART II. MORE SELECT CASES

2.1. Deaths in Custody

While in custody, Falun Gong practitioners who refused to renounce their faith faced brutal physical torture and intensive brainwashing designed to transform them. Many were held in an isolated environment, watched by the inmates around the clock, deprived of all communication with their families, and not allowed to talk to other incarcerated Falun Gong practitioners. The physical injury and enormous mental pressure were often fatal.

Given the eradication policy from Jiang Zemin, the former head of the Chinese Communist Party who ordered the persecution in 1999, “Defame their [Falun Gong practitioners] reputation, bankrupt them financially, and destroy them physically,” most prisons and detention center were given “death quotas,” where the guards wouldn’t be held accountable if they tortured Falun Gong practitioners to death, but would instead receive rewards when they successfully forced the practitioners to give up Falun Gong. Inmates were also given incentives, including term reductions and other privileges, for their active participation in torturing the practitioners.

2.1.1. 60-Year-Old Man Dies in Custody, Five Days After Prison Admission

Mr. Ren Changbin, a 60-year-old Jiamusi City, Heilongjiang Province resident, died five days after being admitted to the Shuangyashan Prison to serve a three-year term. His body had multiple bruises and injuries, his eyes had dark circles, and his head had several stitches.

Mr. Ren Changbin

According to Mr. Ren’s sister, she received a call from the prison at around 8 a.m. on September 28, 2024, telling her that Mr. Ren had died from a medical emergency. She demanded to know the cause of death, but the caller refused to provide any additional information, except that Mr. Ren’s body had been taken to a funeral home.

Mr. Ren’s sister immediately informed other family members of the tragic news, and they rushed to the funeral home, where they saw Mr. Ren’s bruised body.

When the family questioned whether their loved one was tortured to death, the guards claimed that Mr. Ren was very weak when he was admitted to the prison, and they arranged two inmates to “look after” him. They also said that Mr. Ren had a fall while taking a shower, thus causing the injuries on his head and body.

Mr. Ren’s family argued that he was very healthy when he was arrested, and questioned how he could become so weak after one week of detention. If the prison had indeed arranged two inmates to “look after” him, why did they fail to prevent him from falling during the shower?

Mr. Ren, a former glass factory employee, was arrested during a police sweep on September 14, 2024, and sentenced to three years on July 25, 2024. He was transferred to the Shuangyashan Prison on September 23, only to die five days later.

2.1.2. 66-Year-Old Man Dies While Serving 11 Years for Suing Former Communist Regime Dictator

Mr. Yan Xuguang, of Chaoyang City, Liaoning Province, died on October 16, 2024, while serving an 11-year term for suing Jiang Zemin, the former head of the Chinese communist regime who ordered the persecution of Falun Gong. He was 66 years old.

Back in May 2015, the Chinese Supreme People’s Procuratorate and Supreme People’s Court announced that they would accept all cases filed with them. This triggered a tidal wave of criminal lawsuits from Falun Gong practitioners around the world against Jiang Zemin’s instrumental role in initiating the persecution.

A task force was established in Chaoyang City to prosecute Falun Gong practitioners who sued Jiang. Over 300 practitioners were arrested in Chaoyang on November 9, 2015. Mr. Yan was seized by the police while riding a motorcycle on the street. The police located him by tracking his cell phone.

Li Chao, director of the Chaoyang Municipal Public Security Bureau, ordered the local procuratorates and courts to expedite the prosecution process of practitioners. Mr. Yan, who was a volunteer coordinator of local practitioners, was deemed a key target.

At the Chaoyang City Detention Center, Mr. Yan contracted an infectious disease. Despite his serious condition, the police refused to release him, and transferred him to the Liaoning Provincial Detention Center Medical Division. They strictly controlled information regarding Mr. Yan’s medical condition, and his whereabouts. When his family managed to find out about his situation and questioned the police about it, the police didn’t answer them directly, but asked how they had learned of his situation.

Mr. Yan, while being held at the Liaoning Provincial Detention Center Medical Division

The Shuangta District Court held a hearing of Mr. Yan’s case on August 19, 2016. His lawyer entered a not-guilty plea for him. Although prosecutor Bao Lei of the Shuangta District Procuratorate failed to present any evidence showing how Mr. Yan had violated the law, the presiding judge Zhang Xiaohua still sentenced him to 11 years in prison. He was later transferred to the division for the elderly and infirm in the Shenyang First Prison.

When Mr. Yan’s family visited him in October 2023, he was still in good spirits. They didn’t visit him for a year after that. (It’s not clear whether they were unable to visit him themselves, or if the prison denied his family visit.) On October 12, 2024, they suddenly received a call from the prison, saying that Mr. Yan was in critical condition. When they rushed to the Shenyang Tenth Hospital, he was already unconscious.

The prison approved Mr. Yan’s medical parole two days later. He was taken back to Chaoyang City in an ambulance and admitted to the Chaoyang Tuberculosis Hospital. He passed away two days later on October 16.

2.1.3. Shandong Man Dies in Police Hospital While Serving an Eight-Year Term

Mr. Wang Zhongshi, a Zibo City, Shandong Province resident, died on July 22, 2024, while serving an eight-year term. He was 71.

Mr. Wang’s latest arrest on November 11, 2020 came just over a year after he finished serving a ten-year term for practicing Falun Gong. His health was damaged during the first prison term, and he could only pass urine while squatting. Before he could recover, he was arrested again and given another lengthy term to be served at the same Shandong Province Prison. The guards there continued to torture him by forcing him to sit on a small stool all day long without moving, which further aggravated his already-damaged health. He didn’t have proper physical exercise and was constantly deprived of sleep, while still being forced to watch videos smearing Falun Gong every day. He eventually succumbed to the torture and passed away in the police hospital.

The guards who were involved in torturing Mr. Wang included division director Liang Jingda, deputy director Chen Shuo, and instructor Zheng Jie. When Liang gave orders to torture the practitioners, he said to the guards and inmates, “Don’t treat them [Falun Gong practitioners] as human beings.”

2.2. Deaths at Home

While deaths in custody are the most extreme outcome of the persecution, physical torture is only part of it. A look into the details of those practitioners who died at home provides a fuller understanding of the all-encompassing harm they suffered, which affected every aspect of their daily lives, and often times their families’ lives, every day.

2.2.1. Deaths Shortly After Release Due to Physical Abuse or Medical Conditions Developed in Custody

2.2.1.1. Guangdong Senior Dies Weeks After Being Released in Critical Condition (Graphic Photo in Linked Article)

Ms. Yao Jingjiao, of Jieyang City, Guangdong Province, died on November 20, 2024, just weeks after she was released on parole in critical condition. She was only a month shy of her 85th birthday.

Ms. Yao was returned to her hometown by ambulance on October 25, 2024, after she became critically ill while serving a three-year term in Guangdong Province Women’s Prison.

In her final weeks, Ms. Yao faced frequent harassment from the authorities. Even eight days before her passing, her family was ordered to take a photo of her to submit to the authorities to see if she was well enough to be re-admitted to prison.

Ms. Yao’s wrongful conviction stemmed from her initial arrest on June 14, 2020. She was released on bail the next day. After she was sentenced to three years in November 2022, she remained on bail until May 5, 2023, when the police took her for a physical exam. She had high blood pressure, but the police still took her to the Jiedong District Detention Center, where she was held until she was transferred to Guangdong Province Women’s Prison in early July 2023. Due to her persistent high blood pressure and declining health, the prison put her in its in-house hospital the day she was admitted.

When Ms. Yao broke her right leg on September 9, 2024, the prison did not notify her family of her condition until mid-September. Her loved ones were told to come to the prison to sign a consent form, so she could be operated on. They went but were not allowed to see her. After they signed the form, the prison said the surgery had to be canceled due to Ms. Yao’s weak physical condition.

The prison called the family again in mid-October 2024, and asked them to seek approval from the Jieyang City 610 Office to have Ms. Yao released on parole. Her family sprang into action, but it took the 610 Office a week to approve the request. The prison, however, did not release Ms. Yao immediately. They extorted a total of 30,000 yuan from her family over three occasions before finally agreeing to release her on parole.

Early on October 25, 2024, the prison arranged for an ambulance to drive Ms. Yao to the Jieyang City Chinese Medicine Hospital. Her family members, who were waiting at the hospital entrance, were shocked to see an almost unrecognizable Ms. Yao being carried out of the ambulance. She was in a near-vegetative state with her mouth agape. She could move her eyes but she could not speak.

Ms. Yao Jingjiao before she was incarcerated most recently

Ms. Yao Jingjiao when she was released on parole

The guard who escorted her said her right leg still had not healed and she had multiple organ failures. He announced that the prison was now formally turning her over to her family, and ordered them to sign a waiver releasing the prison from any responsibility should anything happen to Ms. Yao. When they refused to sign, the guard threatened to take her back to prison, so they gave in and signed it. They then rushed her to the hospital.

After days in the ICU, Ms. Yao still showed no signs of improvement. On the afternoon of November 4, 2024, she was unable to eat and her breathing was very shallow. Hospital officials did not want her to die in their care and discharged her that day.

Ms. Yao regained mental clarity after returning home, thanks to her family’s meticulous care. However, she choked on food and water because she had difficulty swallowing, leaving her thirsty and hungry, which worsened her condition. It is unclear why her family was unable to get her an IV or a feeding tube.

Despite her condition, the 610 Office instructed village officials to harass her at home and take photos of her. They called her family on November 12 and ordered them to take a picture of her to submit to the authorities. She died eight days later.

2.2.1.2. Tortured for Upholding Her Faith, Former Internal Medicine Physician Dies Days after Prison Release

Ms. Liu Dongxian, a chief physician of internal medicine in Changde City, Hunan Province, endured relentless torture when she was serving a nine-year term. She died in May 2024, only a few days after being released. She was 72 years old.

Ms. Liu was repeatedly targeted for not renouncing her faith after the persecution started in July 1999. She served a labor camp term of one year and nine months and three prison sentences, totaling 16 years. The authorities monitored her phone and everyday life, and she often noticed she was being followed whenever she went out. The hospital where she worked demoted her from her position as a physician and had her do miscellaneous tasks at a drug warehouse. Her salary and bonus were suspended and she was paid only 300 yuan per month to cover the most basic living expenses.

Ms. Liu’s arrest took place in December 2016. She was sentenced to nine years on March 13, 2018. At the Hunan Province Women’s Prison, she was forced to stand motionless for long hours and only allowed to move her arms to eat or drink. She had to report to and get permission from the head inmate before she could use the restroom. Her time to take showers was limited as well.

Torture illustration: Standing while restrained

Due to Ms. Liu’s heart condition and high blood pressure, she was released in May 2024, 19 months before her term expired. She died just days later.

2.2.1.3. Jilin Man Dies 21 Days After Being Released on Bail, Posthumously Threatened with 3 Year Prison Sentence

Mr. Tian Yuchun from Changchun City, Jilin Province died 21 days after he was released on bail in critical condition. The Chaoyang District Court threatened to sentence him to three years even after he passed away on July 24, 2024. He was one month shy of turning 75.

Mr. Tian was arrested at his home on April 18, 2024. The arresting officers said they targeted him because their supervisors ordered them to fill a quota and arrest a certain number of Falun Gong practitioners by May 1st (China’s Labor Day).

The police promised to release Mr. Tian after they interrogated him, only to take him to the detention center the next day. During the required physical examination, he was found to have high blood pressure, stroke symptoms, and retina detachment. By law, he was unfit for detention, but the detention center still admitted him.

Mr. Tian’s family appealed to the detention center, to no avail. They then turned to the local association of people with disabilities, but they refused to help. The family hired a lawyer but the detention center said that Mr. Tian was a “political inmate” and was not allowed any visitors (either family or lawyers).

The detention center even threatened to have the lawyer’s license revoked if he dared to keep representing Mr. Tian. On June 20, 2024, a guard notified Mr. Tian’s family that he vomited, lost consciousness that day, and was diagnosed with an intestinal obstruction. His family asked to visit him but were turned down. When the detention center found out that Mr. Tian also had bile duct cancer eight days later, they informed his family to apply for his bail release.

It took a few days to process all the required paperwork, and by the time Mr. Tian was released on bail on July 3, 2024, he was so weak that he could not walk without assistance. He later told his family that he had been forced to sit on a board motionless every day in the detention center. In less than one week, his bottom bled and developed a thick layer of calluses.

He also said that his health decline started long before June 20 when the detention center called his family. He said he was taken to the detention center hospital in May 2024 and restrained in a bed with his hands cuffed and feet shackled all day long. The guards only allowed him to wear his underwear and a thin pair of pants. He was not given anything to eat. Three guards watched him and refused to say what injections he was given every day.

It was still chilly in Jilin in May. With his upper body naked, Mr. Tian implored the guards and the nurses to allow him to put on his shirt. They all ignored him.

He died 21 days after he was released.

2.2.2. Family Tragedies

2.2.2.1. Son Dies in 2018 After Suffering Mental Illness in Prison, Mother Passes Away in 2024 After Police Harass Her for Seeking Justice for Him

Ms. Liu Xiufen, of Jinghai District, Tianjin, died on April 10, 2024, not long after the local police harassed her at home and demanded to know whether she still practiced Falun Gong, and whether she intended to keep seeking justice for her late son, who died in 2018 after being driven to mental illness during his five-year prison term.

Mr. Ren Dongsheng and his wife Zhang Liqin

Mr. Ren after he became psychotic in detention

Ms. Liu’s son, Mr. Ren Dongsheng, was arrested on March 8, 2006 and sentenced to five years in the Binhai Prison. He was brutally tortured and also given unknown drugs. The prison revoked his family visits during the last eight months of his prison term. Upon Ms. Liu’s protest, the prison showed her a video clip of her son, where he appeared agitated and was behaving abnormally. He was set to be released on March 7, 2011, but was taken straight to a brainwashing center that day and held for one more week. When Ms. Liu went to pick him up, she was shocked and heartbroken to see a psychotic man.

Ms. Liu’s world collapsed. At the time, her daughter-in-law Ms. Zhang Liqin was still serving a seven-year term for practicing Falun Gong.

Mr. Ren remained psychotic in his final years. He suffered from hallucinations most of the time. Whenever there was a thunderstorm, he would stand in the rain screaming. He also ran away numerous times in the middle of the night and would not return for a few days. When he did come back, he was filthy and agitated.

When someone mentioned the police in passing, he appeared terrified, and murmured to himself, “I’ve got to run, otherwise they’ll catch me.” He would then flee his home and stay outside for a few days. He also often woke up from nightmares and yelled, “I’m not afraid of you!”

In the rare moments when he was mentally alert, Mr. Ren said, “The prison guards and inmates threatened to beat me to death if I didn’t renounce my faith.”

After Ms. Zhang was released on February 11, 2016, she and Ms. Liu worked together and managed to pinpoint the eight prison guards who were primarily responsible for torturing and drugging Mr. Ren, resulting in his mental collapse.

They filed complaints against the perpetrators with various government agencies, but to no avail. Ms. Zhang was even detained for 35 days for her efforts. In 2017 Ms. Liu submitted her complaints to the Tianjin First Intermediate Court and the Tianjin Superior Court, but her case was dismissed on the grounds that the two-year statute of limitations had passed.

Mr. Ren died at 2 a.m. on September 12, 2018. Even after his passing, the local authorities kept harassing Ms. Zhang and Ms. Liu.

The repeated harassment took a toll on Ms. Liu’s health and she became bedridden. But the police still did not spare her. They broke into her home one day and demanded to have a talk with her. She died not long afterwards, on April 10, 2024.

2.2.2.2. Persecution of Falun Gong Claims Married Couple’s Lives Six Years Apart, Husband Once Shot by Police and Jailed for 14 Years

Mr. Jiang Honglu, a 66-year-old man in Mishan City, Heilongjiang Province, died at a senior center on January 27, 2024, two weeks before the Chinese New Year. His death came six years after his wife, Ms. Yuan Shuzhi, passed away on April 4, 2018, at the age of 60.

Mr. Jiang, who used to work at the Mishan City Highway Administration, was given one year and three months of forced labor in December 1999. When he talked to people about Falun Gong in 2002, an officer chased him, shot him in the leg, and kicked his head. He was later sentenced to a 14-year prison term, and became paralyzed in both legs as a result of being tortured in prison. He was unable to speak coherently, had poor memory, and suffered from a prostate condition. In his final years, he required a nasal feeding tube.

His wife Ms. Yuan was also repeatedly arrested and tortured. The mental pressure from the persecution took a toll on her health. She developed diabetes and had severe swelling in her legs, which eventually resulted in both legs being amputated. Her condition continued to deteriorate after the surgery, and she passed away on April 4, 2018, shortly after she turned 60.

The couple’s son, around 39, was traumatized by the persecution of his parents over the years. He became withdrawn and refused to socialize. He stayed in his room most of the time.

2.2.3. Deaths After Two Decades of Persecution

2.2.3.1. Shandong Woman Dies After Decades of Harassment, Displacement, and Suffering from Involuntary Drug Administration

Ms. Wang Shuhua and her husband, Mr. Zhou Chuanzhong, of Taian City, Shandong Province, were forced to live away from home in early March 2000 to avoid frequent police harassment. Yet the police always managed to find them not long after they moved each time. To hide from the police, they lived in several provinces including Hubei, Shanxi, and Hebei.

Following an arrest in 2006, Ms. Wang was given toxic shots, and she suffered from constant convulsions and nausea afterwards. Her condition suddenly worsened in 2013 and she became completely incapacitated. After struggling for another decade of physical suffering, while enduring the mental distress of the ongoing persecution of Falun Gong, especially witnessing the arrest and sentencing of her husband, she passed away on August 14, 2024, at age 68.

As the local social security bureau had suspended the couple’s pension, and their son wasn’t working due to injuries from a car accident, the family had only 500 yuan in cash, and couldn’t even afford to pay for Ms. Wang’s funeral. After a relative heard about their situation, he lent them 10,000 yuan. Only then did the family cremate Ms. Wang’s body so that she could rest in peace.

2.2.3.2. Guangdong Architect Dies at 60 After Repeated Police Harassment

Ms. Chen Yanping, a 60-year-old resident of Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, died on May 23, 2024, after years of being harassed by police for her faith in Falun Gong.

Ms. Chen Yanping

Ms. Chen, owner of an architecture firm, credited Falun Gong for keeping her congenital hepatic cyst (fluid-filled sacs on her liver) well under control. She had a relapse of her condition however, and developed other symptoms after repeated police harassment for her faith. She never recovered and passed away.

After the persecution of Falun Gong began in 1999, the police barred Ms. Chen from traveling abroad, not even allowing her to visit nearby Hong Kong. They maintained close surveillance of Ms. Chen. Several times she was about to board a plane for domestic travels, when the police called her, demanding to know where she was going. In order to avoid further harassment, she often drove long distances (instead of flying) when she had to travel.

The harassment of Ms. Chen intensified in 2023, after the local police discovered that she had posted an article written by the founder of Falun Gong on WeChat (a popular social media platform in China). The police showed up at her home and against her will checked her cell phone and WeChat postings. They interrogated her at her home and confiscated a portrait of Falun Gong’s founder, along with artworks bearing Falun Gong messages.

The police knocked on Ms. Chen’s door one day in late November 2023. When no one answered, they knocked on her neighbor’s door and asked if she was home and who she lived with. Ms. Chen went outside her apartment building at a bit past 8 p.m. that night to fetch something from her car. She ran into four police officers on her way to the garage. They didn’t realize that she was Ms. Chen right away, but she knew they were coming for her. Instead of returning to her apartment, she drove away immediately. She did not have her phone with her, nor did she have any money. She managed to find a temporary place to settle down and lived away from home for a while to avoid being arrested.

Starting in February 2024, Ms. Chen began to experience difficulty walking, with swelling in her feet, after her liver cyst relapsed. The swelling gradually spread to her legs. Her weight shot up and her waist got bigger. The increased abdominal weight compressed the veins in her lower legs and obstructed the flow of venous blood, which worsened her leg edema. In the meantime, her belly pushed up against her diaphragm and then her heart, which began to beat violently. Her stomach was also squeezed, and she lost her appetite.

Despite eating very little, Ms. Chen gained almost 70 pounds in three months. She felt uncomfortable no matter what position she was in, be it standing, sitting, or lying down.

Ms. Chen called someone with Facetime on April 4, 2024, and two officers soon showed up. They ordered her to stop using Facetime and forcibly deleted the app from her phone.

Ms. Chen was later hospitalized. She said to her family and medical workers many times that had she not been forced to live away from home in November 2023, her health would not have declined so quickly. Despite her suffering, she remained calm and cheerful. She even gave her nurses a flower basket and a fruit basket on May 12, Nurses Day. It was unclear whether she died in the hospital or at home on May 23.

2.2.3.3. Beloved Doctor in His Late 50s Dies After Years of Persecution

Dr. Dong Wencheng, a beloved doctor in Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province, died on November 24, 2024, after suffering years of persecution for his faith in Falun Gong.

Mr. Dong, in his late 50s, ran his own clinic and often charged low or no fees to patients who were struggling financially. His generosity, exceptional medical skills, and sympathetic bedside manner won him respect, and attracted patients from far and wide. Upon learning of his passing, many of his patients shed tears and wondered if they’d ever find such a good doctor again.

Dr. Dong was first arrested on December 3, 2001 and taken to a brainwashing center. Before releasing him at an unknown date, the police forced him to pay 2,000 yuan and turn in the deeds to his three residences.

After a trip to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong in 2002, Dr. Dong was arrested and held at about six different detention centers in Beijing. He was later escorted back to Harbin and held at the Shuangcheng District Detention Center. He went on a hunger strike in protest and was force-fed. He was released when he fell into critical condition. Not long after he returned home, he had to go into hiding to avoid frequent harassment from local village officials.

Dr. Dong went to Beijing again on April 16, 2002 to appeal for Falun Gong. He was arrested, and injured his leg after taking a fall. He was later taken back to Heilongjiang and again held at the same Shuangcheng District Detention Center. His condition kept worsening and the guards released him.

After another arrest on an unknown date, Dr. Dong was given two years of forced labor at the Changlinzi Labor Camp. The guards there subjected him to various forms of abuse, including beatings, hanging him upside down (see image below), electric shocks, and pouring cold water over him. At one point he suffered a concussion and developed a mental disorder after repeated beatings.

Torture illustration: Hung upside down

Dr. Dong was arrested another time on May 6, 2016, while shopping at a supermarket. After he was released, he still faced constant surveillance and harassment for his faith. The mental pressure took a toll on his health, and he died on November 24, 2024.

2.2.3.4. After 13 Plus Years Behind Bars, Beijing Man Dies 4 Months After Completing Third Prison Term

Mr. Pang You, a Beijing resident, was unrecognizable when he was released on November 26, 2023, after serving one year and three months for practicing Falun Gong. He suffered loss of serum proteins from his digestive track and excessive sweating. He was extremely weak and struggled to walk.

The late Mr. Pang You with his wife and son

The local authorities kept tabs on Mr. Pang, a former city planning office director and real estate company manager, even after he returned home. The police harassed him from time to time, and arranged people to closely monitor him during the week-long “Two Sessions” in March 2024.

The “Two Sessions” are the annual meetings of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the National People’s Congress (NPC). This year the CPPCC began on March 4, 2024, and the NPC one day later. They both concluded on March 11. The communist regime has been known for intensifying its persecution of Falun Gong practitioners around sensitive dates, such as the “two sessions.”

Mr. Pang’s condition quickly deteriorated, and he died on April 9, 2024. He was 61. His passing capped decades of suffering at the hands of the communist regime.

Mr. Pang was first sentenced to eight years following his arrest on September 27, 2000. Less than one year after being released in 2008, he was arrested again on August 3 of that year and sentenced to four years. His third prison sentence stemmed from his arrest on May 2, 2022. While he was released on bail the next day, he was taken back into custody on July 28, 2022. His health declined during detention and he was sent to the Beijing Police Hospital two months later. He attended a virtual hearing in his hospital room on July 3, 2023, and was sentenced to one year and three months shortly afterwards.

Mr. Pang’s health kept declining during his detention. He had heart and kidney failure, as well as serious edema below the hip bones. At one point his entire body was swollen below the chest. He also suffered from diabetic complications, with two open sores on his feet oozing pus. He had trouble standing, and was wheeled out when his lawyer went to see him. Despite his condition, the authorities refused to release him on parole.

2.2.3.5. Liaoning Woman Driven Insane after Year-long Detention, Dies Seven Years Later

Ms. Xing Anmei, of Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, had a mental breakdown due to torture and involuntary drug administration while serving time for her faith, Falun Gong. She struggled with failing health for the next seven years and passed away on February 22, 2024. She was 67.

Ms. Xing Anmei and her family

Ms. Xing’s last arrest was on April 14, 2016, when she was having breakfast with her husband and their two children at a local diner. The police revealed that the family was targeted because they filed a criminal complaint against former Chinese dictator Jiang Zemin for launching the persecution of Falun Gong that resulted in their past arrests.

The couple’s son was released a month later. His sister was granted bail and put under house arrest the same day. The young woman said that her brother was limping and appeared dazed after they both returned home. He told her that the police beat him. For a period of time, he didn’t dare to leave home.

Ms. Xing was sentenced to one year and fined 5,000 yuan on February 23, 2017. Four days later, her daughter was given one year probation and fined 2,000 yuan. Her husband was sentenced to two and a half years and fined 10,000 yuan.

In the Shenyang City Detention Center, Ms. Xing was held in solitary confinement, tortured, and force-fed toxic drugs on a regular basis. Her teeth were knocked out while she was beaten. As a result, she had trouble swallowing, and experienced dizziness, fatigue, heart palpitations, and nausea. Despite her condition, the guards still shackled her, and chained her left hand to a ring in the floor. They wouldn’t unchain her even when she needed to use the restroom. Another time, two inmates sat on her legs while two others twisted her arms behind her back, severely injuring her left shoulder and left arm.

By the time Ms. Xing was released on April 14, 2017, she was not herself. She was extremely fearful and didn’t recognize her family, not even her own children. She ran around day and night, shouted, hit people, and threw things out of an upper window. Occasionally, she would utter, “Falun Gong practitioners were force-fed drugs every day.” After struggling with poor health for seven years, she died on February 22, 2024.

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