Crimes of Li Shijin, Deputy Director of Jilin Provincial Prison Administration Bureau, 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 demand their governments hold the perpetrators accountable, barring them and/or their family members from entry and freezing their assets.

These 45 countries include The Five Eyes (United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand), all 27 countries in the European Union (EU) and 13 countries on other continents. The EU countries are Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the 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 Li Shijin, deputy director of Jilin Provincial Prison Administration Bureau.

Perpetrator Information

Full Name of Perpetrator: Li (last name) Shijin (first name) (李士进)Gender: MaleCountry: ChinaDate/year of Birth: UnknownPlace of Birth: Unknown

Title or Position

2005 – October 2011: Deputy Warden of Jilin Prison

October 2011 – October 2017: Warden of Jilin Prison

November 2017 – Present: Deputy Director of the Jilin Provincial Prison Administration Bureau

I. Crimes Committed During His Tenure as Deputy Warden and Warden of Jilin Prison (2005 – October 2017)

Since 2002, Jilin Prison has been designated to jail male Falun Gong practitioners who received heavy prison terms. Under the direct command of the Jilin Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Committee and the 610 Office, Jilin Prison spared no effort in torturing practitioners.

Former prison directors Li Qiang, Liu Wei, and guards Wang Yuanchun, Li Yongsheng once told a practitioner, “If you are given 6 days to live, in Jilin Prison, you will be dead within 5 days.”

The guards Wang and Li also threatened practitioners, “We’re not worried about whether you die. If you die, it just means another plastic bag and a normal death report.”

Commonly used torture methods include forcing practitioners to sit on hard boards for long periods of time, being beaten, electric shocks, solitary confinement, stretching in strenuous positions for extended periods of time, being stabbed with needles, being gagged with soiled rags, being burned with boiling water, pinching their eyeballs and testicles, force-feeding, and sleep deprivation.

The guards specialize in torturing practitioners with lengthy terms, especially those who refuse to give up Falun Gong. After the practitioners were injured or disabled while in custody, they were taken to the prison hospital for further abuse instead of proper treatment. Many were forcibly injected with unknown drugs that led to ascites (a condition in which fluid collects in the abdomen). Practitioners with this condition look like they are seven or eight months pregnant, but it is accompanied by weight loss and general weakness. Others contracted tuberculosis, and their lungs were damaged.

During Li’s tenure as the deputy warden and warden of Jilin Prison, at least 13 practitioners were persecuted to death, including Mr. He Yuanhui, Mr. Hao Yingqiang, Mr. Sun Changde, Mr. Lin Shixiong, Mr. Wang Qibo, Mr. Cao Hongyan, Mr. Yang Guang, Mr. Xu Baiyi, Mr. Xin Yanjun, Mr. Zhang Jingzhong, Mr. Zhang Yukou, Mr. Liu Zhaojian, and Mr. Li Zhiyong. Many more became physically or mentally disabled as a result of the torture.

The following are selected persecution cases during this period.

Case 1: Mr. Hao Yingqiang Sustained Injuries All Over His Body Before Passing Away

Mr. Hao Yingqiang, of Yanji City, was arrested on September 2, 2001, after he was reported for talking to people about Falun Gong. The Yanji City Court sentenced him to eight years in May 2002.

While he was incarcerated at Jilin Prison, Mr. Hao was subjected to daily beatings and verbal abuse. Because he used the restroom without getting permission from the inmates assigned to monitor him, they smacked his head, ribs, and back with a wooden plank and a wooden chair.

By April 2003, Mr. Hao became emaciated and extremely weak. His abdomen was bloated like a heavily pregnant woman due to ascites, and the doctor estimated that he had less than three months left. Only then did the prison release him on medical parole.

Upon returning home, the police continued to harass Mr. Hao and searched his home regularly. In February 2005, Mr. Hao submitted his persecution account to Minghui.org. In retaliation, the 610 Office ordered the police to take him back to prison on March 10, 2005.

Mr. Hao went on a hunger strike for 28 days to protest the persecution. When his family visited him on December 20, 2005, he was in serious condition and had to be carried out by two inmates.

The prison didn’t release him until April 30, 2006, when he was on the verge of death. His family discovered that one of the bones in his spine was exposed, and there was a festering hole in his lower back; his left cheekbone was fractured; he had fluid in his lungs which caused him to have difficulty breathing; his fingernails were bruised and discolored with clear signs of having been crushed; he was deaf in his right ear; he had blood in his stool; and his abdomen and body were swollen with severe liver damage.

He lived in extreme pain before passing away 39 days later on June 8, 2006. He was 49.

Case 2: Mr. Cao Hongyan Dies Three Years After Prison Admission

Mr. Cao Hongyan, of Jilin City, was arrested in 2002 and later sentenced to eight years. After he was admitted to Jilin Province, he went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution and was tortured by prison guards, including being placed in solitary confinement and subjected to extreme stretching.

Mr. Cao lost consciousness in October 2004 and was rushed to Jilin Railway Central Hospital for emergency treatment. His legs were swollen, and the muscles in his face continuously twitched. Despite his condition, the prison refused to grant him medical parole.

Mr. Cao fainted again and was taken to the Jilin Railway Hospital on October 8, 2007. When his family arrived at the hospital, they saw he was receiving oxygen and his mouth was open. His left eye was closed, and his right eye was half-open and did not move. He died the next morning.

When his family changed his clothes, blood kept flowing out from the corner of his mouth. There was a large patch of bruises on his inner thigh and a dime-sized circular mark on his right chest. The prison authorities forced the family to cremate his body later that day without providing any details regarding the cause of death.

Case 3: Mr. Wang Qibo Tortured to Death At the Age of 47

Mr. Wang Qibo, of Nongan County, was arrested on July 13, 2002, and later sentenced to seven years in Jilin Prison. Because he refused to renounce Falun Gong, the inmates monitored him around the clock and forced him to sit on a small stool without moving for at least 14 hours a day. They kicked his back and beat his arms with bamboo strips. The inmates also removed panels from a bed, forced his buttocks between the remaining panels with his legs straight, and then placed heavy objects and wooden boards on him. If he moved, he was punched and kicked.

On March 28, 2007, the prison claimed that Mr. Wang suffered a sudden stroke and ordered his family to go to Jilin City Second Central Hospital to see him. According to his family, Mr. Wang’s pupils were dilated. There was blood in his mouth and nose, as well as on his clothes. He passed away hours later, at the age of 47. The prison didn’t allow his family to take photos of his body and cremated it.

Case 4: Mr. Shi Wenzhuo Endures Thirteen Years of Imprisonment and Torture

Mr. Shi Wenzhuo, of Changchun City, was sentenced to nine and four years in 2002 and 2012, respectively. In Jilin Prison, he was subjected to a variety of torture methods, including extreme stretching, electric shocks, beatings, and solitary confinement.

Mr. Shi was restrained in a metal chair for eight hours after he was placed in solitary confinement again on June 13, 2013. The solitary confinement room was less than eight square meters and had no windows. After being held there for 64 days, he developed a severe heart condition and high blood pressure, and was unable to stand or walk on his own.

On September 13, 2013, because Minghui.org reported how guard Wang Yuanchun tortured Falun Gong practitioners, he was infuriated and instigated the inmates to beat Mr. Shi. They slapped his face and forced him to sit facing a wall. Mr. Shi suffered a heart attack, and his hands and feet twitched uncontrollably. Yet the inmates continued to beat him throughout the afternoon, slamming his head against the wall and punching him on the head, face, stomach, and legs.

When Mr. Shi’s family visited him on November 13, 2013, they were shocked to see the bruises and injuries on his face and eyes. They contacted the prison leadership the next day, trying to seek justice for Mr. Shi. Yet the guard Wang ordered the inmates to beat him again.

They dragged Mr. Shi from the bed to the floor, stepped on his head, and kicked him hard. They pressed their knees against his lower back and forcibly bent his shoulders backward, causing him excruciating pain. They then stuffed a rag into his mouth, making it hard for him to breathe. His heart condition relapsed again.

II. Crimes Committed During His Tenure as Deputy Director of the Provincial Prison Administration Bureau (November 2017 – Present)

Since Li took office as the deputy director of the Jilin Provincial Prison Administration Bureau in November 2017, the persecution of practitioners has remained intense in various prisons across the province, including Jilin Prison, Jilin Province Women’s Prison, Siping Prison, Gongzhuling Prison, and Tiebei Prison.

At least 14 practitioners were persecuted to death during this period, including eight in Jilin Province Women’s Prison and six in Gongzhuling Prison.

Jilin Province Women’s Prison

Under the control of the Central 610 Office and the Jilin Province 610 Office, the Jilin Province Women’s Prison has been a main force in brainwashing female practitioners incarcerated in the province. In the isolated prison environment, the guards manipulate inmates to carry out some of the most insidious and despicable methods of torture on practitioners. It’s recognized by the Jilin Province’s Ministry of Justice and province-level CCP officials as a role model for its unscrupulous and cruel tactics in the persecution.

For example, they put practitioners who were menstruating on a torture bed and tied them up in five different directions using the “dragged by five horses” method (see image below). Other tortures include being hung up, beatings, being doused with cold water, and being shocked with electric batons, among many other insidious methods that have caused death, disability, mental disorders, and severe injury.

Torture illustration: “Five horses dividing the body”

Gongzhuling Prison

There were many cells in Gongzhuling Prison designated for practitioners, including a special solitary cell dedicated to torturing those who refused to renounce their beliefs.

The floor of this confinement room is about one meter lower than the floors outside the cell. The interior is extremely dark and humid, and the temperatures inside drop to unbearably low temperatures in the winter. The windows are covered with black curtains, while the walls and floors are soundproofed so that people outside cannot hear what is going on inside.

Inside the room, there are death beds with wrist and ankle cuffs to stretch practitioners in a spread-eagle position. Practitioners who refuse to transform are restrained on these death beds and stretched until they are unable to move. If they still refuse to renounce their belief, they are simultaneously shocked with multiple electric batons. Their mouths are sealed with tape so that passersby will not hear their screams.

Other torture methods used at Gongzhuling Prison include electric shocks, beating, sleep deprivation, solitary confinement, and long hours of forced labor.

The following are a few select persecution cases.

Case 1: 66-Year-Old Jilin Woman Dies While Jailed for Practicing Falun Gong

Ms. Gu Jinfen from Yanji City, was arrested in April 2023 by an officer from the Beishanjie Police Station for telling people about the persecution of Falun Gong. Even though the police released her on bail, they still submitted her case to the local procuratorate. She was forced to live away from home to hide from the authorities after she was indicted.

As soon as she returned home months later, the police arrested her and took her back into custody. She was soon handed a prison sentence and taken to the Changchun City Women’s Prison. She died in prison on October 1, 2023. She was 66 years old.

Case 2: 70-year-old Man Dies While Incarcerated for His Faith, Family Suspects Foul Play

Mr. Ma Changqing, of Yushu City, was arrested around August 10, 2022, when the police observed him putting up a poster by watching the Yushu City Chinese Medicine Hospital’s surveillance camera. He was taken to a detention center facility in nearby Changchun City that day. His daughter, who struggles with epilepsy and can’t care for herself, was taken to a senior center. The Dehui City Court sentenced him to Jilin City Prison some time in 2023.

The prison called Mr. Ma’s sister-in-law on September 18, 2023, and said that they were taking him to the hospital for an operation for his small intestinal hernia. But hours later, the prison called again and said Mr. Ma had died. Because the prison refused to provide any details about Mr. Ma’s death, his sister-in-law suspected that the prison was trying to hide the true cause of his death, as a hernia usually isn’t a life-threatening condition. She felt he was tortured to death in prison because he refused to renounce Falun Gong.

Case 3: 31-year-old Man Dies while Serving 8.5 Years for Practicing Falun Gong

Mr. Jiang Yong, a Changchun City resident, was arrested on June 28, 2021, and sentenced to 8.5 years in Gongzhuling Prison on the trumped-up charge of “subverting state power.” Even though he was in critical condition after holding a prolonged hunger strike to protest the persecution, the authorities refused to release him on medical parole, citing his refusal to renounce Falun Gong. He died on January 23, 2023, the second day of the Chinese New Year. He was 31 years old.

Case 4: Jilin Woman Dies in Prison; Body Cremated Against Family’s Will

Ms. Liu Jianying of Dehui City was arrested on July 15, 2018, for talking to people about Falun Gong, and she was sentenced to 2.5 years in Jilin Province Women’s Prison in March 2019 by the Dehui City Court.

She was force-fed in prison when she protested the persecution. She also had difficulty keeping food down, and her weight kept dropping. She became so weak that she was unable to walk to the visitors’ room to see her family. The prison gave her family special permission to enter her cell to visit her in November 2019, on the condition that they try to persuade her to give up Falun Gong. When her family noticed that she had lost two front teeth, a guard said it was because she couldn’t keep her balance and had fallen.

Ms. Liu’s family applied for medical parole for her shortly after the visit. The prison authorities denied the request, even after she was given a critical condition notice.

Ms. Liu passed away in prison on December 30, 2019, at the age of 57. The authorities had her body cremated the next day against her family’s wishes and without conducting an autopsy.

Case 5: Jilin Man Tortured in Gongzhuling Prison

Mr. Yu Chunbo, of Changchun City, was arrested on November 12, 2020, and was sentenced to 3.5 years in the Gongzhuling Prison around December 2021. He was ordered to write guarantee statements to renounce Falun Gong, and was tortured for many days in the guards’ office, because he refused to comply.

The guards and inmates slapped Mr. Yu’s face 90 times on February 24, 2022, shocked him in the anus with an electric baton, and struck his thighs, calves, back, and buttocks with steel rulers. They then rubbed salt into the wounds before they resumed beating him, followed by the salt massage. This torture went on for two hours.

The perpetrators brought Mr. Yu back to the guards’ office on the second and third day. They scraped the scabs off his wounds with steel rulers and then repeated the beating, salt massage, and electric shocks. He was tortured this way for two hours each day.

On the fifth day, the guards tortured Mr. Yu again. After he had a heart attack while he was being shocked, the guards gave him some quick-acting heart medication they had prepared.

After that, Mr. Yu was forced to stand for at least 15 hours every day and given very little food for each meal. He was severely malnourished and had a gastric perforation. He was then hospitalized for 27 days.

Mr. Yu was taken to a local hospital for emergency treatment on April 18, 2022. The authorities refused to allow his family to visit him, citing the COVID pandemic as an excuse. His deeply concerned family applied to the Gongzhuling Prison to have him released on medical parole, but their request was denied. Mr. Yu continued to be detained and subjected to brainwashing sessions by the inmates.