Crimes of Sun Chengliang, Deputy Secretary of the Shandong Provincial PLAC, in Persecuting Falun Gong

(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioners in 45 countries submitted another list of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials who participated in the persecution of Falun Gong in July 2025, 26 years after the CCP ordered the persecution. The practitioners are demanding that their governments hold the perpetrators accountable, bar them and/or their family members from entry, and freeze their assets.

The 45 countries include The Five Eyes (United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand), all 27 countries in the European Union (EU), and 13 countries on other continents. The EU countries include Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Belgium, Ireland, Austria, Denmark, Romania, Czechia, Finland, Portugal, Greece, Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Croatia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Latvia, Estonia, Cyprus, and Malta. The remaining 13 countries are located in Asia, Europe, and the Americas: Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein, Israel, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, the Dominican Republic, and Paraguay.

According to a report published by the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG), the CCP highlighted a goal in a May 2024 meeting organized by the Ministry of Public Security, “Pay special attention to the cooperation between Falun Gong and Western politicians to sanction high-level Chinese leaders. Stop such behavior at all costs.”

Among the perpetrators listed was Sun Chengliang, deputy secretary of the Shandong Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Committee (PLAC) and deputy director of the Provincial Committee’s Office of Rule of Law.

Perpetrator Information

Full Name of Perpetrator: Sun (last name) Chengliang (first name) (孙成良)Gender: MaleCountry: ChinaDate/year of Birth: April 1965Place of Birth: Anqiu, Shandong Province

Title or Position

February 2018 – March 2018: deputy secretary of the Shandong Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee, deputy director of the Provincial Supervisory Committee

March 2018 – June 2018: deputy secretary of the Shandong Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee, deputy director of the Provincial Supervisory Committee, secretary of the Party Leadership Group, and director of the Provincial Audit Office

June 2018 – June 2020: director of the Shandong Provincial Audit Committee, secretary of the Party Leadership Group, and director of the Provincial Audit Office

April 2020 – Present: deputy secretary of the Shandong Provincial PLAC and deputy director of the Provincial Office of Rule of Law

Main Crimes

Shandong Province is one of the provinces in China where the persecution of Falun Gong has been most severe. At least 484 death cases have been confirmed as of August 29, 2025.

Since Sun Chengliang became the deputy secretary of the Shandong Provincial PLAC and deputy director of the Provincial Office of Rule of Law in April 2020, he has actively implemented the persecution policy. In public speeches, he repeatedly demanded that local PLACs “continue to carry out...the battle against the evil cult.”

At least 21 practitioners in Shandong Province have been persecuted to death since April 2020, including Ms. Ma Lianfeng, Ms. Chen Guohua, Ms. Xu Haihong, Mr. Ren Qingbai, Ms. Wei Lanying, Ms. Miao Peihua, Mr. Shen Lianghua, Ms. Ji Yingmei, Mr. Lin Junsong, Ms. Yu Xinmao, Ms. Zhang Shumin, Mr. Sun Pijin, Ms. Li Ling, Ms. Lin Jianping, Ms. Li Fengying, Mr. Guo Shuqun, Ms. Wang Range, Ms. Wang Yuling, Ms. Wang Shuhua, Ms. Tang Zhaoling, and Mr. Wang Zhongshi.

Many more practitioners were separated from their families, forced to live away from home, and were injured or became disabled due to torture while in custody.

Persecution in 2025

From January to April 2025, at least 92 practitioners were arrested and 35 were sentenced in Shandong Province. Ms. Lin Jianping and Ms. Lu Guijuan died as a result of the persecution.

Mr. Yang Yudong, an 84-year-old resident in Mengyin County, Shandong Province, was admitted to the Shandong Province Prison on March 26, 2025, to serve a four-year term for practicing Falun Gong.

Mr. Yang’s conviction stemmed from his initial arrest around late January 2025, when he distributed Falun Gong informational materials. While the police released him on bail that afternoon, they broke into his home the next day to ask where he was. His wife said he had gone to a local fair. The police went to the fair and arrested him again. After he was released on bail a few days later, he went into hiding to avoid further persecution.

Mr. Yang returned home around March 13, 2025, only to be arrested by plainclothes officers who were monitoring his home. In less than two weeks, he was sentenced to a four-year prison term and admitted to the Shandong Province Prison on March 26.

Persecution in 2024

In 2024, 7 practitioners died as a direct result of the persecution, 122 were sentenced, 303 were arrested, and 384 were harassed, making Shandong Province the most severely persecuted region in the country.

While trying to avoid arrest during a police chase in late September 2023, Ms. Ma Lianfeng, of Longkou City, lost control of her tricycle and fell. She sustained severe leg injuries, and her arms and back were badly bruised.

The police caught up with her and confiscated Falun Gong materials from her bag. She was targeted because an elementary school pupil had reported her for talking to him about Falun Gong. They didn’t arrest her because she had difficulty standing. She never recovered from her injuries, and died on January 22, 2024, at age 69.

Persecution in 2023

In 2023, 775 practitioners were arrested and 582 were harassed; among them, 425 had their homes ransacked. Another 61 were taken to brainwashing centers. Thirty-four practitioners were extorted of a total of 608,710 yuan.

Ms. Xu Haihong, a Qingdao City, Shandong Province resident, was arrested on September 10, 2023, and detained in the Pudong Detention Center. She was sentenced to 16 months in October 2023 and transferred to the Shandong Province Women’s Prison around December 6, 2023. She died three days later. She was 56 years old.

Sixteen practitioners in Jinan City were arrested on May 9, 2023, shortly before World Falun Dafa Day on May 13. The arrested practitioners included Ding Yuexin, Sun Zhuxiang, Cheng Xiuhua, Bi Jili and his wife, Xia Ling, Wang Jinxiang, Pan Yuelan, Sun, Ms. Pang, Jin Fang, Xu Shimei, Cheng Xiumei, Liu Yueqing, Ding Hongping, and Li Dianxia.

On March 3, 2023, the Rizhao City Police Department and the Domestic Security Division launched the “303 Special Project.” About 50 practitioners were arrested on May 12 and 13 as part of the operation, and most were later sentenced to prison. In particular, 21 practitioners, including Ms. Hong Meishuang, Ms. Guo Xin, and Mr. Jiang Haibo, were tried by the Wulian County Court on December 4-6. They were sentenced to between one and five and a half years on December 25.

At least 18 practitioners in Dongying City were arrested on November 29, 2023, on orders from the Dongying City Police Department and the Binhai Police Department. Prior to the arrests, the police spent a month monitoring the practitioners’ daily lives, including by installing tracking devices on their cars and arranging agents to follow them and photograph them. Some practitioners were force-fed in detention when they held hunger strikes to protest the persecution.

Persecution in 2022

In 2022, eight practitioners died as a result of the persecution, 146 practitioners were sentenced, 744 were arrested, 1,050 were harassed, 34 were forced to live away from home, 58 were held in brainwashing centers, and 136 were subjected to various financial extortions.

In addition to implementing extreme “Zero COVID-19” measures, the Shandong Provincial PLAC also ramped up the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, in the campaigns of “Zero-out,” “Cracking Down on Organized Crime and Eliminate Evil,” and “Maintaining Stability for the 20th National Congress.”

Fifteen practitioners in Jining City were sentenced to prison by the Rencheng District Court on July 25, 2022, their prison terms ranging from 2.5 to 7 years. The practitioners were all arrested on October 28, 2021. Most of them were in their 60s, and some were in their 80s.

On May 13, 2022, World Falun Dafa Day, 76 practitioners were harassed throughout Liaocheng City.

Also in Liaocheng City, more than 20 practitioners and their family members were arrested during a coordinated operation on September 16, 2022. Most of the practitioners had their homes ransacked. The police also forcibly collected their fingerprints, and blood and hair samples.

Persecution in 2021

In 2021, the Shandong Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Committee and the public security system harassed almost all Falun Gong practitioners on the government’s blacklist under the pretext of the “Zero-out” campaign. If they could not find the practitioners, they harassed their families.

The persecution resulted in the deaths of eight practitioners, including Mr. Wang Lianzhong and Mr. Sun Pijin. Another 102 practitioners were sentenced, 1,008 were arrested (ranking first in the country), and 1,595 harassed (ranking second in the country).

Mr. Sun Pijin, of Mengyin County, was arrested at work on June 18, 2021. His family was informed of his death the next day. The 610 Office claimed that he committed suicide by jumping from a tall building, but they did not allow his family to have an autopsy done. The family saw that Mr. Sun had lost an eyeball and that half of his head and his chest cavity were caved in. To cover up the crime, the police sent plainclothes officers to patrol the village and monitor Mr. Sun’s family members. The family was not allowed to hire a lawyer to seek justice. In the end, the family was forced to agree to cremate his body and destroy evidence of police wrongdoing.

On October 28, 2021, before the CCP’s Sixth Plenary Session, the Jining City Political and Legal Affairs Committee, the 610 Office, and the Public Security Bureau planned a mass arrest under the pretext of maintaining stability. To ensure that the practitioners could not identify the police officers, the authorities directed arrests to be conducted by out-of-town officers. About 35 practitioners were arrested.

On November 2, 2021, the Dezhou City Domestic Security Bureau and Pingyuan County Police Department dispatched multiple police vehicles and officers to arrest practitioners in Pingyuan County. Ten practitioners were seized, including Ms. Yu Yongping, Ms. Li Xiaoxia, and Ms. Qin Lanxiang.

Selected Death and Sentencing Cases

Case 1. Tortured to Serious Condition After Four Months in Prison, 63-Year-Old Woman Dies Two Weeks After Medical Parole Release

Ms. Lin Jianping, of Qixia City, Shandong Province, was taken back into custody in mid-October 2024 to serve the three-year prison term she was sentenced to in March 2023 for practicing Falun Gong. She was abused in prison, and in serious condition. The prison authorities released her on medical parole on January 30, 2025, and she died on February 13. She was 63 years old.

Ms. Lin’s death capped her decades of suffering at the hands of the CCP for upholding her faith. She was arrested on September 26, 2004, and given three years of forced labor. After her term expired, she was taken directly to prison to serve a three-year term, without due process. She was brutally tortured while incarcerated.

After another arrest on February 6, 2022, Ms. Lin was put on house arrest and released the same day. She was sentenced to another three years with a 5,000-yuan fine on March 29, 2023. Her appeal was rejected by the Yantai City Intermediate Court. She was not immediately jailed due to health reasons.

The police pried open Ms. Lin’s door in September 2024 and took her to a hospital for a physical examination. She was still deemed unfit for detention, and sent home. Around mid-October 2024, the police tried again and managed to have her admitted to the Shandong Province Women’s Prison located in the capital city of Jinan.

Due to being subjected to abuse in prison, Ms. Li was in serious condition, disoriented, and confused. The prison notified her family on January 30, 2025 (the second day of the Chinese New Year) to pick her up. Her family drove her straight to a hospital for emergency treatment. She died at 2 a.m. on February 13, 2025. It’s not clear whether she died in the hospital or at home.

Case 2. 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 years old.

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.”

Case 3. 54-Year-Old Shandong Woman Dies 12 Days After Police Attempt to Arrest Her

Ms. Chen Guohua, a Dongying City, Shandong Province resident, suffered from quickly declining health since October 2023. She was unable to eat, and could only sleep one or two hours each night with the help of painkillers. The police attempted to arrest her on November 29, 2023, but relented after she was diagnosed with late-stage metastatic liver cancer. Her condition dramatically worsened and she died on December 11, 2023, at age 54.

Ms. Chen Guohua

Ms. Chen was a retired worker from Shengli Oilfield. She was diagnosed with colon cancer in late 2015, and began to practice Falun Gong in 2016. She soon gained back the weight she had lost due to the cancer, and again had a rosy complexion. She seized every opportunity to share her story with people and remind them that Falun Gong was nothing like what was depicted in the communist regime’s hate propaganda.

Ms. Chen was seized during a mass arrest on April 23, 2021, after the police tricked her into opening the door by claiming to be from the property management office. She was interrogated for 24 hours straight, and ordered to reveal the identities of other practitioners. Because of lack of evidence against her, she was released on a one-year bail after a day of detention. Her ID and passport were withheld by the police, who threatened that she may be indicted at any time.

As a relatively new Falun Gong practitioner, Ms. Chen felt tremendous pressure, and did not dare to step out of her door much for fear of being arrested again. Even when she did go out, she felt she was being followed. In October 2023, she suddenly started feeling pain and discomfort in her body. The police, however, still attempted to arrest her on November 29, 2023, resulting in her death 12 days later.

Case 4. After Ten Years of Brutal Torture, Shandong Woman Suffers Mental Breakdown Following Latest Arrest, and Dies Three Years Later

Ms. Yang Wenjie, a Zhaoyuan City, Shandong Province resident, passed away on February 1, 2023, three years after she suffered a mental collapse following her latest arrest for practicing Falun Gong. She was 61 years old.

Ms. Yang was arrested on March 8, 2018, for hanging up a banner that said “Falun Dafa is good.” During the first three months that she was held in the Fushan Detention Center, the guards denied her family visits. She wasn’t given any daily necessities, including toilet paper. She was wearing a thick jacket when she was arrested. As the weather warmed up, she wasn’t given any thinner clothes to change into.

According to people who were released from the detention center, Ms. Yang was held in solitary confinement there and no one knew what tortures she was subjected to, but people in the nearby cells heard her desperate screams many times.

The police didn’t inform Ms. Yang’s family after her arrest. It took them over ten days to confirm that she had been arrested. When the family went to the Domestic Security Office to demand her release, the police said they would release her in two weeks. Two weeks passed, and the police said they would detain her for three months. About 50 days after Ms. Yang’s arrest, the police called her family and said that her arrest had been approved and they had submitted her case to the procuratorate.

Ms. Yang’s family went to the procuratorate to inquire about her case. The receptionist told them that her case was still with the police, who were given one and a half months to collect evidence against her. The family returned to the Domestic Security Office, but security didn’t let them in and the officer in charge refused to answer their call.

A few days later, the police suddenly ordered Ms. Yang’s family to pick her up. Her family was saddened to see that she had become mentally disoriented and was behaving strangely. They suspected that she had been given toxic drugs in the detention center. The family took her to a psychiatric hospital for treatment. Her condition didn’t improve much after three years. She passed away three days after her family transferred her to a local hospital on January 29, 2023.

Case 5. Woman Viciously Beaten, Dies 16 Days after Arrest

Ms. Li Ling of Penglai City, Shandong Province, was seized by a village official and paramilitary soldiers on June 28, 2020, after being reported for possessing Falun Gong literature. She was taken to an empty house in a mountainous area and viciously beaten. Her mouth was severely injured and she lost a number of teeth. There was a contusion on her left rib cage and bruises all over her body. According to an elderly villager who was told to watch her, one of the soldiers jabbed Ms. Li in the chest with a stick.

Because Ms. Li refused to give up the practice or answer questions, one of her tormentors took her outside to “fix her up.” He kicked her so hard that she lost her balance and hit her hip on a rock. When it later started to rain, he made her stand in the rain for a long time. She went on a hunger strike to protest the abuse. She was rushed to a private clinic on July 13, 2020, for emergency treatment, and was pronounced dead on arrival. She was 55 years old.