(Minghui.org) Ms. Li Xiuqin, 66, from Dalian City, Liaoning Province, was sentenced to three years and two months and fined 20,000 yuan because she practices Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Ms. Li was arrested on June 11, 2025 and issued a formal arrest warrant on July 18 by the Dalian City Railway Procuratorate. Prosecutor Tang (+86-411-82950303) told her son, Qiang (alias), on September 15 that the case would be transferred to the Ganjingzi District Procuratorate, which has been designated to handle all Falun Gong cases in the greater Dalian region.
On September 18, Qiang called Tang and officer Zhao Yunfei (+86-13898485838) of the Dalian City Railway Police Department and learned that the case hadn’t been transferred yet.
Tang Ming (+86-411-39915187) from the Ganjingzi District Procuratorate (a different prosecutor than the other Tang) notified Qiang on October 10 that the case was scheduled to be forwarded to the Ganjingzi Court the following Tuesday or Wednesday (14th or 15th).
Qiang visited the Ganjingzi District Procuratorate to submit his application to represent his mother as a non-lawyer defender. He was told to talk to the Dalian City Railway Procuratorate, which no longer handled the case.
Qiang requested to see Tang Ming, who came to the lobby to meet him. Tang said this was how they always dealt with such matters before but he was unable to provide any legal basis as to why Dalian City Railway Procuratorate should still be involved in the case. During the conversation, Qiang gathered that Tang indicted over ten other Falun Gong practitioners before.
Judge Lu Dandan (+86-411-82793826) rejected Qiang’s request to review his mother’s case file on the grounds that he was not a lawyer. She also said that even if a lawyer came, he could only read the file but he could not make copies of it or reveal any case information to Qiang or his mother.
Lu’s assistant Wang (+86-411-82791755) repeatedly asked Qiang if his mother would like to decline the court-appointed lawyer. He said yes because court-appointed lawyers were often instructed to enter guilty pleas for Falun Gong practitioners. Lu and Wang later demanded additional information from him before approving his application to represent his mother, including proof of his employment and proof that he did not have a criminal record. Neither document was required by law.
During the multiple phone calls with Lu and Wang, Qiang was threatened with his job if he dared to defend his mother in court. He said that he would never relinquish his legal right to represent his mother.
Ms. Li stood trial on November 13, 2025 and Qiang defended her. Lu sentenced her to three years and two months with a 20,000-yuan fine not long after the hearing.
Qiang received a copy of the verdict on November 27 and filed an appeal on behalf of his mother.
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