Crimes of Zheng Qing, President of the Liaoning Provincial Higher Court, in Persecuting Falun Gong

(Minghui.org) On the 25th anniversary since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began to suppress Falun Gong in July 1999, practitioners from 44 countries submitted a new list of perpetrators to their respective governments, asking them to bar the perpetrators and their family members from entry and freeze their overseas assets according to the law.

Among the perpetrators listed was Zheng Qing, president of the Liaoning Provincial Higher Court.

Perpetrator Information

Full Name of Perpetrator: Zheng (last name) Qing (first name)Chinese Name: 郑青Gender: FemaleEthnic Group: HanDate/Year of Birth: December 1966Place of Birth: Zhaotong City, Yunnan Province

Title or Position

Zheng Qing has served as director of the Civil and Administrative Prosecution Division, director of the Political Department, and deputy prosecutor-general of the Yichang City Procuratorate in Hubei Province.

She was also the deputy prosecutor-general and deputy secretary of the Party Committee of the Hanjiang Branch of the Hubei Provincial Procuratorate, and prosecutor-general of the Huangshi Procuratorate in Hubei Province.

In April 2017, Zheng became the deputy secretary of the Party Committee of the Hubei Provincial Procuratorate and deputy prosecutor-general of the Hubei Provincial Procuratorate.

Zheng was appointed as the secretary of the Party Committee in early January 2021, and vice-president and acting president of the Liaoning Provincial Higher Court. She became the court’s official president weeks later on January 30, 2021.

Major Crimes

Since the persecution of Falun Gong began in July 1999, the CCP’s procuratorate and court system, as well as law enforcement agencies, have unlawfully arrested, indicted, and sentenced the practitioners who hold fast to their faith. The persecution is most severe in both Hubei and Liaoning Provinces, where Zheng served in top positions in the judiciary agencies, compared with other parts of the country.

1) Persecution During Her Tenure as President of the Liaoning Provincial Higher Court

From 2021 to March 2024, at least 374 Falun Gong practitioners were sentenced in Liaoning Province.

In 2021, 141 practitioners were sentenced with the longest term being ten years; the oldest practitioner was 85 with at least 30 practitioners over 70 years old.

In 2022, 88 practitioners were sentenced, with the longest term of seven years and the oldest practitioner being 82.

In 2023, 121 practitioners were sentenced, including eight married couples, with the longest term being 11 years. Sixty practitioners were 60 or older at the time of sentencing, with the oldest practitioner being 86 years old.

From January to March 2024, 24 practitioners were sentenced, the highest among all provinces during the same period.

1.1) Select Death Cases

a. 74-year-old Man Dies While Detained for Practicing Falun Gong

Mr. Liu Qingfei’s family received a call from the local detention center at 8:25 p.m. on April 24, 2022, and was told that the 74-year-old Shenyang City, Liaoning Province resident had come down with a sudden, acute condition and died, despite efforts to resuscitate him in the hospital.

When the family rushed to the hospital, Mr. Liu’s eyes and mouth were open. His eyes were still bright and didn’t look like the eyes of a dead person. His family touched his body and realized that it was still warm. They asked the detention center guards standing on the side, “Why did the doctor stop trying to resuscitate him when he is still alive?”

The guards claimed that Mr. Liu suffered an acute condition at 6:39 p.m. They called the hospital, and the ambulance came 20 minutes later. Mr. Liu was pronounced dead at 7:08 p.m. It’s not clear if he was in the hospital by 7:08 p.m. It’s also not clear who pronounced him dead and why the detention center guards waited until 8:25 p.m. to inform his family.

At the family’s insistence, the doctor tried again to resuscitate Mr. Liu, but he died moments later.

Mr. Liu was arrested at home on August 28, 2021. The police broke into his place claiming they were there to give him a COVID-19 vaccination. He was interrogated while in custody and suffered a heart attack on the second day of his arrest. He was awaiting trial by the Liaozhong District Court when he died.

b. 82-year-old Man Dies due to Mental Distress from Wrongful Prison Sentence

Mr. Zhou Shaotang of Panjin City, Liaoning Province, died on November 17, 2022, after he succumbed to the mental pressure of a wrongful one-year sentence for practicing Falun Gong. He was 82 years old.

Mr. Zhou was arrested on January 13, 2021, for talking to people about Falun Gong at a community fair. The police took him home and confiscated his Falun Gong books. As both he and his wife suffered medical episodes, the police didn’t take him back to the police station but came back every three days to harass him.

The Xinglongtai Court tried Mr. Zhou on September 28, 2021. His family took him there in a wheelchair. He fainted during the session due to high blood pressure, and the judge adjourned the hearing.

Given Mr. Zhou’s condition, the judge held another hearing at his home in early December 2021, and sentenced him to one year of residential surveillance on December 8. They left a cell phone at his home to monitor his daily activities.

The sentencing and cellphone surveillance were too much for Mr. Zhou. He developed a lung condition and died on November 17, 2022.

c. Wrongfully Convicted Woman Dies Days After Being Denied Medical Parole

Ms. Liu Hongxia, a 47-year-old Falun Gong practitioner, was denied medical parole despite her critical condition, and died on November 8, 2022.

Ms. Liu of Dalian City, Liaoning Province, was arrested on October 28, 2021, for putting up posters about Falun Gong. She started a hunger strike on February 14, 2022 to protest the persecution, and was later taken to the Xinhua Hospital, where she was tied to a bed, force-fed, and injected with unknown drugs, as well as denied all visitation, including by her lawyer and family.

On July 13, six days after she was taken back to the detention center, the Ganjingzi District Court sentenced her to four years in prison. When her lawyer was finally given a pass to visit her after the sentencing, she couldn’t remember her hospital stay but did know that she had been force-fed and given the injection.

Ms. Liu was admitted to Xinhua Hospital again in late August and was moved to an intensive care unit in late October. The doctors issued a critical condition notice for her. Her family applied for medical parole for her on October 25, but the court and the detention center denied the request.

Ms. Liu was extremely weak when her family was allowed to visit her on October 29. She began to bleed from her mouth and nose on November 4. Thinking that she would die in a few days, the doctor asked her family to bring her child to see her for the last time. The visit was monitored by a police officer. Ms. Liu passed away on the morning of November 8.

d. Sentenced to Four Years Right After Serving Three Years, 80-year-old Mr. Liu Xiyong Dies in Prison

Mr. Liu Xiyong was a resident of Shihe Village in the Jinzhou District, Dalian City, Liaoning Province. In February 2017, he was sentenced to three years in prison for talking to people about Falun Gong. On April 9, 2018, he was admitted to Dongling Prison in Shenyang City. On April 8, 2021, his term expired, but instead of being released, he was transferred to the Jinzhou District Detention Center in Dalian City. He was then sentenced to four more years in prison, and on September 28, 2021, he was admitted to the Dalian No. 3 Prison. On December 9, 2021, he was rushed to Dalian Central Hospital due to his deteriorating health. His family repeatedly asked that he be released on medical parole, but the Dalian No. 3 Prison denied their requests. On December 29, 2021, he died as a result of the persecution at the age of 81.

e. Sentenced to Prison While Still in a Coma, Math Tutor Passes Away

Mr. Ding Guochen was still in a coma when he was sentenced to two years for practicing Falun Gong. The math tutor from Dalian City, Liaoning Province passed away two months later, on April 30, 2022. He was 51 years old.

Mr. Ding was arrested during a police sweep across the province on July 11, 2019. The arrest came as part of the Chinese Communist Party’s effort to “maintain stability” ahead of its 70th anniversary since taking power in 1949. At the Jinzhou Detention Center in the evening, he started a four-week-long hunger strike to protest his arbitrary detention, and was force-fed. He lost his hearing and had a stroke as a result of the abuse. He was then released on bail on October 19, 2019.

Mr. Ding had another stroke on January 27, 2021, and fell into a coma. He never regained consciousness and remained in a vegetative state. Despite his condition, the Jinzhou District Court sentenced him to two years in prison and a 5,000-yuan fine on February 23. He passed away two months later. He was survived by his wife and two children.

1.2) Select Sentencing Cases

a. Mr. Ren Haifei Sentenced to Ten Years and Ms. Sun Zhongli Given Seven Years

Mr. Ren Hanfei was arrested at his rental apartment on June 26, 2020. The police took 550,000 yuan in cash from the residence, as well as digital cards and electronic products valued at over 200,000 yuan. That same day, Ms. Sun Zhongli from Dalian was also arrested, and her residence ransacked.

After being detained for over a year, the two practitioners appeared in the Ganjingzi District Court on September 8, and again on September 23, 2021. Mr. Ren was sentenced to ten years in prison and fined 100,000 yuan, while Ms. Sun was given seven years and fined 70,000 yuan. They are appealing their sentences.

In the detention center, Mr. Ren was beaten so severely by police that he suffered heart and kidney failure. It took 19 days of medical treatment before he was no longer in critical condition.

b. Seven Women, Including Four in Their 70s and 80s, Sentenced for Practicing Falun Gong

During a group arrest in Jinzhou City on November 27, 2021, 11 practitioners were seized from Ms. Kang Guiyun’s home. Among them, seven were sentenced by the Linghai City Court following a hearing on July 13, 2022.

- Ms. Zhang Yingling, 61, and Ms. Jin Xiaomei, 52, were each sentenced to 3 years and given a 5,000-yuan fine.- Ms. Kang Guiyun, 70, was given 2.5 years with a 5,000-yuan fine.- Ms. Liu Yurong, 60, Ms. Li Shufang, 80, and Ms. Chen Wenxue, 77, each got one year and fined 2,000 yuan.- Ms. Liu Baolian, 81, was sentenced to one year with two years of probation and a 2,000 yuan fine.

d. 65-Year-Old Liaoning Woman Sentenced to Prison Again After an At-home Trial Attended by 30 Unidentified People

About 30 people from various agencies in Fumeng County, Fuxin City, Liaoning Province descended on Ms. Zhang Guozhen’s home at 10 a.m. on July 31, 2023. The 65-year-old woman was sentenced to three years and two months and fined 6,000 yuan.

Ms. Zhang was carried out of her home by the court bailiff and police officers. Due to her poor health and dangerously high blood pressure, the Fuxin City Detention Center refused to admit her. She was eventually taken home.

e. 84-year-old Woman Taken into Custody to Serve a Four-Year Term Given in 2021

Ms. Zhao Hongzhi, an 84-year-old resident of Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, was arrested at home on January 6, 2024 while cooking dinner. Her son confirmed two days later that she was taken away by officers from the Nanhu Police Station. He demanded to see her, but the police refused to let him.

Ms. Zhao’s son received a call from the local procuratorate on the evening of January 10, saying that his mother had been admitted to prison to serve a four-year term given in 2021, which she wasn’t required to serve at that time due to the pandemic.

2) Persecution During Zheng’s Tenure as Deputy Prosecutor-General of the Hubei Provincial Procuratorate

During Zheng’s tenure in Hubei Province, at least 142 Falun Gong practitioners were indicted and sentenced. Of these, 35 were indicted or sentenced in 2020, 23 in 2019, 49 in 2018, and 35 in 2017.

2.1) Select Death Cases

a. Hubei Man Dies Two Weeks after Being Imprisoned

Mr. Liu Jigang, a Wuxue City, Hubei Province resident, died two weeks after being imprisoned for his faith in Falun Gong. Mr. Liu, 68, was arrested at home on July 19, 2019. The police ransacked his home and confiscated his Falun Gong books and materials, one computer, and two printers. He was held in the Wuxue City Detention Center before being transferred to Fanjiatai Prison on August 26, 2020, to serve a 2.5-year term.

The prison authorities informed Mr. Liu’s family on September 13, 2020, that he had just passed away. His family rushed to the prison. The authorities said only that Mr. Liu died from breathing difficulties, without providing any other information. They gave the family 10,000 yuan in compensation.

b. Hubei Man’s Mouth Stuffed with Rubber Tubes, Unable to Talk in His Final Days

Mr. Li Dayao of Jingzhou City, Hubei Province, passed away on November 30, 2019, while serving time for his faith in Falun Gong. He was 67 years old. Mr. Li was arrested on September 20, 2017, and sentenced to four years on April 9, 2018. He was held in the Jianli County Detention Center for a year before being sent to Fanjiatai Prison on September 5, 2018. The detention center guards forced him to take high blood pressure medication, even though he didn’t have the condition. His weight dropped from 200 lbs to 150 lbs. In Fanjiatai Prison, Mr. Li was forced to do unpaid labor, even when his hands became numb.

Mr. Li was hospitalized between December 2018 and January 2019. He was diagnosed with gallstones, but the prison didn’t allow him to have surgery to remove the stones. He was only given some painkillers and antibiotics. Mr. Li’s condition suddenly deteriorated in August 2019. When his family visited him on August 29, he had difficulty talking. When his family returned on September 12, he had already been taken to the Changlin Prison Hospital after having become paralyzed and totally unable to talk. His family wasn’t allowed to see him in the hospital. Their request to have him released on medical parole was denied. His health continued to decline over the subsequent months and he passed away in late November 2019. After his death, his family saw that his mouth was stuffed with rubber tubes and all of his teeth had been knocked out, which explained why he couldn’t talk, and just cried in his final days.

c. Ms. Wei Youxiu Dies in Custody After Over Two Years of Incommunicado Detention

Ms. Wei Youxiu was arrested at Zhongshan Park on June 2, 2018, and her home was also ransacked. She was detained in the Wuhan No. 1 Detention Center for over a year. It was reported that the persecution turned her into a mere skeleton, and she needed help to walk.

Her family received a notice on August 15, 2020, saying that the 72-year-old woman had died from leukemia. While the authorities refused to provide further information about her, her family suspected that she had been tortured to death.

2.2) Select Sentencing Cases

a. Two Hubei Residents Secretly Arrested and Sentenced to Heavy Terms

Two Xiangyang City, Hubei Province, residents who had been missing for two years are now confirmed to have been arrested and sentenced to long prison terms for their faith in Falun Gong. Mr. Cheng Xiaobao was given 12 years, and Ms. Wang Molian 11 years.

Mr. Cheng’s family returned home on March 18, 2018, to see that their front door had been pried open, and Mr. Cheng, 65, was nowhere to be found. It would take them more than two years to find out he had been arrested.

Mr. Cheng’s family heard in May that he was in a detention facility in the Xiangzhou District. When they went there, they learned that Mr. Cheng had been transferred elsewhere on March 27, 2020, but they were not told the new location. Mr. Cheng's family still doesn't know where he is at the time of this writing.

Ms. Wang also went missing in late March 2018, and her family has never heard anything from the police about her.

b. Disabled Woman Wrongfully Sentenced to 8 Years of Imprisonment—Appeal Rejected

Ms. Zhu Ya, a 54-year-old Wuhan City, Hubei Province resident with a disability, was stopped by plainclothes police officers waiting outside her apartment building when she went out to go grocery shopping on April 25, 2017. She was arrested and her home was ransacked.

Ms. Zhu was tried by the Huangpo District Court on June 15, 2018. Her lawyer entered a not guilty plea for her, and she also testified in her own defense. The judge sentenced her to eight years in prison and fined her 20,000 yuan on July 7.

c. Hubei Man Sentenced to Prison—Family Not Informed of Verdict Until Past Appeal Deadline

Mr. Feng Jiwu, a Wuhan City, Hubei Province resident in his 70s, was arrested on September 27, 2016. His family wanted to hire a lawyer to defend his constitutional right to freedom of belief, but the Hanyang District Court officials lied to them, stating that Mr. Feng didn’t want a lawyer to be involved in his case.

Mr. Feng testified in his own defense during the trial on March 29, 2017. His family wasn’t allowed to attend the hearing. According to insiders, he was tied up with a rope around his neck during the entire session.

The court sentenced Mr. Feng to 4.5 years with a 3,00-yuan fine on April 17. In order to prevent his family from filing an appeal, the court waited until May 3, which was past the appeal deadline, to inform them of his verdict.