Falun Gong Practitioner Sentenced to 4.5 Years for Seeking to Reinstate Suspended Pension
Ms. Sun Qingju, a 60-year-old retired kindergarten teacher from Helong City, Jilin Province, recently received a four-and-a-half-year sentence for seeking to reinstate her suspended pension. The Helong City Social Security Bureau suspended Ms. Sun’s pension after her release from a four-year prison sentence in November 2021. The bureau also ordered Ms. Sun to repay 150,000…
Peaceful Appeal in Brussels Swarmed by Young Pro-CCP Activists
A Falun Gong petition campaign in Brussels to stop forced organ harvesting by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was disrupted by a group of young pro-CCP individuals wearing face masks with the Chinese characters for “China” printed on them and waving a communist Chinese flag. One particularly aggravated protestor created a public disturbance so egregious…
Reported in August 2023: 66 Falun Gong Practitioners Sentenced
In August 2023, the Minghui website received 66 reports of Falun Gong practitioners sentenced for their faith or activism combatting the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution of Falun Gong. Due to strict censorship about Falun Gong in China, reporting on cases is often delayed. Of the 66 cases reported, five took place between 2018 and…
Reported in August 2023: 21 Falun Gong Deaths Due to Persecution
In August 2023, Minghui.org received 21 reports of Falun Gong practitioners dying due to persecution in China, bringing the total number of deaths reports for 2023 to 156. The deceased practitioners, aged 50 to 79, were from 12 different regions in China, including three each in Shandong and Inner Mongolia; two each in Hebei, Heilongjiang,…
Indonesia: Falun Gong Practitioners Celebrate Independence Day in Bali and Riau Islands
On August 13, 2023, Indonesian Falun Dafa practitioners participated in parades to celebrate Indonesia’s 78th Independence Day. They attended events held on Bali and the Riau Islands. In Bali, the parade and celebrations were held on Renon Square in Denpasar, the largest city on Bali Island. Practitioners started the morning by doing the Falun Dafa…
US Website Hit with Cyberattack after Releasing Shocking New Testimony on Organ Harvesting
NEW YORK—On July 17, 2023, a group of researchers based in New York released a new report about forced organ harvesting in China based on testimony from a doctor in Heilongjiang province and comments made to her by a Falun Gong practitioner who briefly survived after her kidney was extracted at a local military hospital…
75-Year-Old Dies in Custody in Heilongjiang Women’s Prison
Ms. Mou Yongxia was 75 years old when she died on July 13, 2023, at the hands of Chinese prison guards and inmates at Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison who abused and tortured her because she refused to renounce her faith in the spiritual practice Falun Gong. For over two decades, Falun Gong practitioners have suffered…
Falun Gong Practitioner in Gansu Province Sentenced to 5 Years After 19-Year Detention
Mr. Li Wenming (also known as Li Mingyi) was indicted by the Chengguan District Procuratorate in February 2023. The judge at the Chengguan District Court sentenced Li to a five-year term with a fine of 30,000 yuan, or approximately $4,200 USD. He has appealed the verdict. In August 2021, the 59-year-old resident of Lanzhou City,…
Chinese Police Threatening to Sentence Father of Berlin Resident for Son’s Advocacy Efforts Overseas
Mr. Ding Yuande, father of Berlin resident Ding Lebin, was formally arrested on July 20, 2023, by the Donggang District Police Department in Rizhao City, Shandong Province. He was illegally placed in detention with his wife, Ma Ruimei, on May 12, 2023. Approximately 70 Falun Gong practitioners in Rizhao City were detained as part of…
On 24th Anniversary of First Falun Gong Practitioner Death in Custody and Cover-up, Deadly Brutality Continues
The first Falun Gong practitioner to die during the persecution of Falun Gong was Ms. Chen Ying, a 17-year-old girl who was arrested for appealing in Beijing for the right to practice Falun Gong and died attempting to flee police custody on August 16, 1999. Twenty four years later, tragic cases of Falun Gong practitioners…
Reported in First Half of 2023: 702 Falun Gong Practitioners Sentenced
In the first half of 2023, 702 cases were reported of Chinese courts handing down unjust prison sentences to Falun Gong practitioners across the country for their faith or actions aimed at opposing the persecution, such as sharing information that counters the CCP’s propaganda against the practice. Given the substantial challenges and dangers associated with…
Jailed Teacher Who Received International Attention Released After 12-Year Sentence, Torture
On June 24, 2023, Mr. Bian Lichao, a former teacher in Hebei was released from Shijiazhuang Prison after a 12-year sentence for allegedly producing Shen Yun Performing Arts DVDs and posters, according to Weiquanwang (Rights Protection Network). Given the unusually harsh ruling in his case, Bian, now 57, has been featured multiple times as a…
On the 24th Anniversary, Government Officials Stand in Solidarity with Falun Gong
July 20, 2023 marks the 24th anniversary of Falun Dafa practitioners’ peaceful resistance against the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution of their faith. Tens of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners around the world participated in rallies and parades to call for an end to the persecution, including in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the…
First Half of 2023: Tally of Documented Deaths Hits 5,000, Arrests and Harassment Cases at 3,133
In a tragic milestone, last month, the total number of Falun Gong believers documented to have died due to persecution surpassed 5,000. The first practitioner killed was 17-year-old Ms. Chen Ying, a model student in Heilongjiang, documented in August 1999. Nearly 24 years later, retired professor An Fuzi died in Jilin Province Women’s Prison on…
Nephew of U.S. Citizen Continues 78-Day Hunger Strike in Protest of 10-Year Sentence
Mr. Hou Lijun, a 52-year-old from Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, and the nephew of U.S. citizen Karen Kang, was sentenced to ten years in prison on May 12, 2023 by Judge Gao Aiping of Wanbolin District for escaping from detention in 2003 and for his civil disobedience efforts that lead to his previous detention. Hou was…
Falun Gong Practitioners Join in Celebration of Independence Day
Many in the Falun Gong community are first generation Chinese who fled religious persecution in China. Having lived through the tyranny of a communist regime, many not only embrace the liberties of the United States, but have made a study of and embrace the American Ideal. Each year, they are proud to participate in July…
Falun Gong Practitioners Zhang Yibo and He Binggang Sentenced in Shanghai
He Binggang and his fiancée, Zhang Yibo, were sentenced to six and five years, respectively, on June 12, 2023. The couple’s conviction stems from their alleged involvement in developing and maintaining the firewall circumvention software oGate, according to the Minghui website and acquaintances of the couple in the United States. Their joint verdict on file…
45 Killed and 261 Jailed Falun Gong Practitioners Reported in April and May
In April and May, Falun Gong practitioners in China documented 261 cases of believers sentenced to prison and 45 deaths, and relayed them to the overseas Minghui website, which reviewed, verified, and published the accounts. The youngest adherent sentenced was 35 years old and the longest was handed down a nine year sentence. The sentenced…