Yuncheng County, Shandong Province: Eight Locals Sentenced to From One to Seven Years for Practicing Falun Gong

(Minghui.org) Minghui.org recently learned that eight residents of Yuncheng County, Shandong Province lost their appeals of the wrongful sentences for their faith in Falun Gong.

Ms. Cui Jun, 57 and a former hardware company employee, was sentenced to seven years and fined 20,000 yuan.Ms. Chen Chengge, 60, was sentenced six years with an unknown court fine.Mr. Zhu Lingdian, a 72-year-old farmer, and Ms. Jia Suqin, 71 and also a farmer, were both sentenced to four years with 10,000-yuan fines.Ms. Xia Ruiying, 75 and a retired employee of Yuncheng Production Materials Company, and Ms. Hou Yuchun, 79 and a farmer, each received three and a half years and 10,000-yuan fines.Ms. Fan Airong, 68 and a retired employee of Yuncheng County Cotton Textile Factory, was sentenced to one year and fined 5,000 yuan.Ms. Chen Fengjuan, 54 and a retired employee of the Urban Construction Bureau, was given one year and an unknown court fine.

The eight practitioners were arrested on July 10, 2024, along with Mr. Zhu’s wife Ms. Zhang Pingxin, while studying the Falun Gong teachings together. Tong Qingjiang, head of Yuncheng County Domestic Security Division, along with other officers, ransacked their homes and confiscated their Falun Gong books, informational materials, computers, and printers. The police revealed that they had been following Ms. Cui and Ms. Xia in April and May 2024, and they installed a location tracker on Ms. Xia’s electric bike.

Ms. Cui, Ms. Chen Chengge, Ms. Chen Fengjuan and Ms. Zhang were taken to the Heze Detention Center the next day. The other five practitioners were later released on bail.

Ms. Cui was released after 15 days of administrative detention. Her mother, in her 80s, was summoned to the police station several times for interrogation during that time.

After 35 days in detention, Ms. Zhang was also released.

Both Ms. Chen Chengge and Ms. Chen Fengjuan remained in detention. Their arrests were approved on August 13, 2024.

At least six of the practitioners were fined by the police. Ms. Xia was forced to pay 20,000 yuan. Ms. Hou, Mr. Cui, and Ms. Fan were extorted of 30,000 yuan each. Mr. Zhu and Ms. Zhang were forced to pay between 50,000 and 90,000 yuan.

Prosecutor Che Xianfeng of the Yuncheng County Primary Procuratorate later indicted all nine practitioners and moved their cases to the Yuncheng County Primary Court.

Ms. Cui, Mr. Zhu, Ms. Jia, Ms. Xia, Ms. Hou, and Ms. Fan were tried on December 9, 2024. The police took them back into custody at the Heze Detention Center and Yuncheng Detention Center after the hearing. Judges Zhao Guifeng, Bian Xiaobing, and Wang Lunshan sentenced them on December 18, 2024. Court clerk Chen Deru also signed the verdict.

The cases of Ms. Chen Chengge and Ms. Chen Fengjuan were singled out. They appeared in court on December 12, 2024, and were later sentenced by judges Bian Xiaobing, Meng Fanhui, and Li (first name unknown). Court clerk Hua (first name unknown) also signed the verdict.

It’s not clear whether Ms. Zhang was tried or sentenced.

All eight convicted practitioners appealed with the Heze City Intermediate Court. Judge Yu Yue, Hao Yingang, and Wang Yanying ruled to uphold the six practitioners’ sentences on March 7, 2025. They also rejected the appeals of Ms. Chen Chengge and Ms. Chen Fengjuan at an unknown time. Court clerk Li Ya signed both rulings.

This isn’t the first time that some of these practitioners had been targeted for their faith.

Ms. Cui was arrested in October 2005 and on September 27, 2006. She was given either a one-year or a two-year labor camp term after the 2006 arrest. She was arrested again on April 21, 2016, detained for a month, and extorted of 40,000 yuan.

Ms. Chen Chengge was arrested on March 23, 2016, and detained for ten days.

Mr. Zhu was previously arrested on April 22, 2016, and later sentenced to one year and nine months.

Ms. Xia, in her 70s, was arrested on May 8, 2015, after being reported for distributing Falun Gong materials. She was held at the Yuncheng County Detention Center for an unknown amount of time.

Related Report:

Yuncheng County, Shandong Province: Nine Locals Face Trial for Practicing Falun Gong