Reported in January 2025: 97 Falun Gong Practitioners Sentenced for Their Faith

(Minghui.org) The Minghui.org website in January 2025 learned of 97 cases of Falun Gong practitioners sentenced to prison for their faith.

The newly confirmed cases include one that took place in 2021, two in 2022, five in 2023, fifty-four in 2024, twenty-eight in 2025, as well as seven cases with unknown occurrence years. With ever stricter information censorship under the Chinese Communist Party, many details about the practitioners’ indictments, trials, and sentences were difficult (if not impossible) to collect, which caused further delays in reporting.

Among the newly reported cases, some practitioners were arrested for attending gatherings with other practitioners, some were tagged by internet police for posting information about Falun Gong online, and several others were targeted for talking to people, mailing letters, or distributing materials about the persecution of Falun Gong.

Overview of Sentencing Cases

The sentenced Falun Gong practitioners are from 22 provinces or centrally-controlled municipalities. Jilin topped the list with 20 cases. Liaoning ranked second with 15 cases, followed by Shandong and Heilongjiang, both of which reported 8 cases. The remaining 18 regions had between 1 and 6 cases.

Six Linghai City, Liaoning Province, residents were tried jointly and sentenced to 1.5-5 years. The police had monitored them for months before arresting them. They followed the practitioners on foot and installed surveillance cameras near their homes and, in some cases, placing tracking devices on their electric bikes. Most of the practitioners appeared emaciated and haggard during their court hearing, after only seven months of detention.

The 97 practitioners’ prison terms ranged from six months to ten years, with an average of three years and two months. Thirty-three practitioners were fined a total of 323,500 yuan, with an average of 9,803 yuan per person.

Among the 63 practitioners whose ages at the time of sentencing are known (65% of the total), the youngest practitioner was in her 30s and the oldest were two women in their 80s. There were another 3 practitioners in their 40s, 16 in their 50s, 22 in their 60s, and 19 in their 70s.

The full list of sentenced practitioners can be downloaded here PDF.

Decades-long Persecution

Major Persecution Tactic to Target the Practitioners

After the forced labor camp system was abolished in 2013, prison sentencing has become one of the major persecution tactics against Falun Gong practitioners, in addition to harassment, brainwashing center and psychiatric hospital detention. While in custody, the practitioners were subjected to brutal torture and intense brainwashing, if they refused to renounce Falun Gong.

To expedite the sentencing process, some regions designated specific procuratorates and courts to handle Falun Gong cases. The practitioners can be convicted days or weeks after their arrests.

On January 9, 2025, Ms. Zhang Shuqin, a 65-year-old Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province, resident, was admitted to the Liaoning Province Women’s Prison to serve a two-year term. She was the 24th Falun Gong practitioner sentenced in 2024, by the Linghai City Court, which, under the administration of Jinzhou, was designated to handle Falun Gong cases in the greater Jinzhou area. At least another 48 practitioners in Jinzhou and its subordinate cities/counties were sentenced by the Linghai City Court between 2022 and 2023.

In Shulan City, Jilin Province, Ms. Zhao Jinlan was secretly sentenced to a three-year term following her arrest on May 9, 2023. She was the 12th practitioner who lives on the same Jishu Street who has been sentenced for their shared faith since 2020.

Repeatedly Persecuted

As the persecution of Falun Gong has lasted nearly 26 years, many practitioners have been repeatedly targeted for their faith.

Only five months after Ms. Chen Shuiqing, a 62-year-old convenience store owner in Zhanjiang City, Guangdong Province, completed a nine-month prison term for practicing Falun Gong, she was arrested again and sentenced to another three years. While arresting her, the police ordered the property management office in her neighborhood to shut down her water and broke into her home, after deceiving her into going to the property management office.

Mr. Liao Zhijun, a 53-year-old former employee of the Chenzhou City Train Inspection Office in Hunan Province, was sentenced to 5 years and fined 10,000 yuan on January 13, 2025. Prior to his latest ordeal, he was arrested at least seven other times, resulting in a 2-year term of forced labor and three prison terms totaling 11.5 years.

Mr. Liao Zhijun

Ms. Xu Jingbo from Siping City, Jilin Province, was arrested at home on April 22, 2024. The police didn’t notify her daughter of her arrest until she was issued a formal arrest warrant. Her daughter later learned from various channels that she was sentenced to five and a half years by the Yitong County Court in either late December 2024 or early January 2025.

This is not the first time that Ms. Xu has been sentenced for her faith. She and her husband were both arrested in mid-April 2009 and later sentenced to prison, with Ms. Xu receiving 5 years and her husband 6 years. Their daughter was only an elementary school pupil at the time.

Ms. Xu was arrested again on January 30, 2016, for distributing Falun Gong informational materials and sentenced to four and a half years on December 5, 2016.

Heavy Terms and Sentencing of Elderly Practitioners

A married couple in Luohe City, Henan Province, Mr. Yang Juncheng and Ms. Ding Xiangqin, in their 60s, both received a ten-year term at an unknown time following their arrests in September 2023. The police confiscated 300,000 yuan in cash and other personal items while raiding their home. Mr. Yang’s father, who is in his 90s and relied on him for care, is now left in a dire situation.

Ms. Li Yanxia, in her 70s, from Wuhan City, Hubei Province, was sentenced to eight years at the end of 2024, for talking to people about Falun Gong.

Ms. Wang Fengying, an 83-year-old Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province, resident, was interrogated overnight following her arrest on June 14, 2023. She was released the next afternoon after being found to have dangerously high blood pressure. She was indicted in December 2024 and forced to stand trial on December 26. When she refused to sit in the defendant’s seat, a female officer said to her male colleagues, “Why don’t you take action?” The judge sentenced her to three years on December 31, accusing her of being a “repeat offender,” because of her prior three-year sentence given in 2018 for practicing Falun Gong.

Ms. Wang Fengying

Ms. Zhang Xiuqun, in her 70s and a retired employee of the Shengli Oilfield in Dongying City, Shandong Province, was buying groceries at a farmers’ market around 10 a.m. on April 24, 2024, when two plainclothes officers suddenly showed up. They pushed her down and stepped on her, snatching her purse and ordering her to turn in her cell phone. Four other plainclothes officers then joined them and took Ms. Zhang to the police station. The police threatened her family not to seek justice for her and they also kept the family in the dark as to her case status. The police submitted her case to the Dongying District Procuratorate around August 2024 and she was later sentenced to one year.

Similar to Ms. Zhang’s ordeal, Ms. Yuan Qiongxiu, 72, a former employee of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China in Suining City, Sichuan Province, was arrested outside a farmers’ market on April 28, 2024. The police held her hands behind her back, fastened her wrists together, photographed her, and shoved her into a black car with no license plate. Her home was ransacked shortly afterward. The police did not tell her family where she was. It took them over two months to find out her whereabouts. She was later sentenced to four years in prison.

Injustice Is Served

Ms. Feng Guichun, in her 30s and an employee of the Linyi City Central Blood Bank, was sentenced to four years and fined 20,000 yuan on May 30, 2024. The police and prosecutor refused to meet with her family during the investigation phase. The judge also barred her lawyer from representing her in court during her first two hearings.

While the lawyer was allowed to defend her at the third hearing, none of the witnesses were in court to accept cross-examination. Ms. Feng testified that the police used deceit and threats to make her submit. She was so shocked by the sudden arrest that she almost collapsed. The prosecutor accused her of trying to overturn the Chinese Communist Party. Her lawyer argued that she was merely telling people about the regime’s illegal persecution of Falun Gong. He requested her acquittal, but she was still sentenced.

Mr. Luo Guolong, in his 60s, and his wife, from Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, were getting ready to go to their crop field on April 24, 2024, when three plainclothes agents showed up. His wife thought they were some guests and opened the door to welcome them. The trio revealed themselves as officers from the Shenbei New Area Police Department. They then started raiding the couple’s home. They took pictures of and seized Mr. Luo’s Falun Gong books.

The Dadong District Court didn’t notify Mr. Luo’s family of his hearing (exact time unknown) until less than two hours of the start time of the session. His wife wasn’t feeling well that day. Their son couldn’t get off work on such short notice. Only Mr. Luo’s daughter-in-law and cousin managed to attend the hearing.

Two prosecution witnesses alleged that Mr. Luo talked to them about Falun Gong and gave them some informational materials. It is unclear whether the allegation was true. Even if Mr. Luo indeed distributed Falun Gong materials, he did nothing wrong, as no law in China criminalizes Falun Gong.

Mr. Luo testified against the arresting officers for trespassing on his property and raiding his home without showing a search warrant or wearing their uniforms. He said he’d file a complaint against them. The presiding judge kept interrupting his defense.

The court provided no more case updates after that. Mr. Luo’s family went to the detention center on September 30, 2024, to deposit money for him. They were no longer able to, and the guards there said Mr. Luo had been transferred to the Shenyang Prison one month ago. The court had held a secret sentencing hearing but didn’t tell his family about it.

Mr. Luo’s family received a call from the Jinzhou Prison around December 2024 and was told that he had been moved there days ago and held in division 7, to serve a four-year term.

Impact of the Sentencing on the Practitioners

Physical Health Jeopardized

Ms. Zhao Ying, an 81-year-old Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, resident, lost the appeal she filed contesting a 3.5-year prison sentence on December 30, 2024. The judges of the Guangzhou City Intermediate Court claimed that they upheld her original verdict because she had the potential to cause serious harm to society.

Ms. Zhao is still being held in the Tianhe District Detention Center and is struggling with a number of serious illnesses, including bladder cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. Her family is calling on the international community to pay attention to her case and help rescue her.

Mr. Zhu Yujun from Shulan City, Jilin Province, was arrested on June 5, 2024, during a police sweep. When he was detained at the Shulan City Detention Center, an insider reported seeing him being beaten by two guards. One of the guards said, “This guy refused to answer questions and deserves to be beaten.”

Mr. Zhu was later found to have some heart conditions and was hospitalized for a while. The detention center filed a request to have him released on bail, but a higher authority (exactly which one is unknown) turned it down. The Shulan City Court sentenced him to four years at an unknown time and he was admitted to the Gongzhuling Prison on December 18, 2024. Given his frail health, he was put in the prison hospital. His family was not told about his health or where he was.

Physical Torture

After Mr. Lang Baiming, a Changchun City, Jilin Province resident, was admitted to the Jilin Province to serve either a 3-year or a 5-year term, he has been forced to sit on a small stool for about 17 hours a day, from 4 a.m. to 9 p.m., for three months and counting. This is a common torture used in Chinese prisons against steadfast Falun Gong practitioners. Their buttocks often festered after just a few days of such long-time sitting.

Mr. Lang was arrested on July 20, 2023, and Minghui.org learned about his sentencing in late January 2025.

Financial Persecution After Serving Prison Terms

Ms. Wang Rongjun, a 74-year-old retired store sales associate, and her daughter, Ms. Na Yan, a nurse in her 40s, from Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, were arrested at their shared residence on July 13, 2021. The mother and daughter were both convicted in February 2022, each receiving three-year and two-month prison terms with 10,000 yuan fines.

Upon being released from prison on August 9, 2024, Ms. Na learned that she had been fired by her employer, the Shenyang City Sixth Hospital, during her prison term, without her knowledge. She requested a reinstatement of her job, but the hospital insisted that a “convicted felon” must be terminated.

Ms. Wang was issued her retirement benefits for an unknown portion of her prison term, but the local social security bureau later stopped the payments. After she was released in August 2024, the Social Security Bureau still did not reinstate her pension and ordered her to return the benefits paid during her prison term first, otherwise, they would continue her pension payment suspension.

Related Report:

Reported in 2024: 764 Falun Gong Practitioners Sentenced for Their Faith