Mother of Canadian Resident Sentenced to Four Years for Doing Falun Gong Meditation in Public

Ms. Cong Laiying (丛兰英), 78 years old, is a resident of Weihai City, Shandong Province. On October 15, 2022, she was arrested for doing Falun Dafa exercises at a local square, and fined 20,000 yuan by the Rongcheng City Court. When she was arrested, the police handcuffed her and dragged her around by the binding, which caused her to suffer from high blood pressure.

Ms. Cong was first held at the Rongcheng City Detention Center and then transferred to the Wendeng Detention Center. On November 18, she was released on bail after paying a 10,000 yuan bail bond.

On February 1, 2023, Ms. Cong was taken back into custody at the Wendeng Detention Center. On February 16, she was tried by the Rongcheng City Court where the prosecutor charged her with Article 300, “undermining law enforcement with a heretic organization.” The prosecutor referred to past instances of persecution against Ms. Cong as evidence, suggesting she is a “repeat offender.” Ms. Cong was sentenced to four years in prison.

Her daughter Ms. Cong Xinmao (丛新苗), a Montreal resident, is publicly advocating for her release. She took part in a rally condemning the persecution of Falun Dafa in front of the Chinese consulate of Montreal on March 1, 2023. During the rally, she said, “The CCP brutally persecuted Falun Dafa practitioners who adhere to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance to be a better person. I am calling for the immediate release of my mother.”

Before Ms. Cong started practicing the spiritual faith, she suffered from a severe heart condition as well as cervical hyperplasia. She was paralyzed, her body was numb, and she had tremendous difficulty breathing – even talking would result in palpitations and going into shock.

In 1997, Ms. Cong was introduced to the practice, and she was back on her feet and doing the exercises 18 days later. She said, “Master Li [the founder of Falun Dafa] gave me a new life. No words can describe my gratitude to Master.”

After the onset of the persecution, Ms. Cong held firm to her faith. However, in 2000, she was harassed four times. In August 2006, she was arrested and detained for 23 days after being reported for clarifying the truth about Falun Dafa. In June 2008, she was again arrested for handing out Falun Dafa materials, and her home was ransacked. Ms. Cong was arrested three more times before her latest ordeal.

Based on a report published by Minghui.org.