Liaoning Mother and Son Sentenced Together for Faith in Falun Gong

Persecution cases against Falun Gong practitioners continue to be reported almost daily across China. In late December 2025, a mother and son in Linghai City, Liaoning Province, were each sentenced to six years in prison solely for practicing Falun Gong. The case was reported on Jan. 21, 2026, by  Weiquanwang, a website aggregating grassroots accounts of human rights abuses in China, and by Minghui.org. In early Febunary, Bitter Winter, an Italy-based online magazine focused on religious persecution, independently confirmed this case once again highlighting how Chinese security forces target not only individual practitioners but entire families for their beliefs.

Home raid to closed-door verdict

Ms. Lu Suping, 69, and her son, Mr. Jiang Nan, 45, were arrested on June 2, 2025, at their shared residence in Linghai City. At around 1:40 p.m., as Jiang opened the door, three plainclothes police officers rushed inside, forced him to the ground, and handcuffed him. Officers shouted orders at Lu Suping and two visiting Falun Gong practitioners, Wang Yanjie and Niu Fang, while more than ten agents ransacked the home. Falun Gong books, a portrait of the practice’s founder, mobile phones, and other personal items were confiscated.

All four were taken to the Linghai City Detention Center and subjected to interrogation. The following day, they were transferred to Jinzhou City Third Hospital for physical examinations. Wang and Niu were later given ten days of administrative detention, while Lu Suping and Jiang Nan were formally arrested on July 3, 2025. Lu was held at the Jinzhou City Detention Center, and Jiang at the Linghai City Detention Center.

The Linghai City Procuratorate submitted the case for prosecution in September 2025. Jiang Nan managed to hire a lawyer, but the attorney was reportedly threatened by prosecutor Li Feng for agreeing to represent a Falun Gong practitioner. It remains unclear whether Lu Suping had access to legal counsel.

A court hearing was held on Dec. 22, 2025, with minimal notice to the family. Jiang was informed only on the morning of the trial, and his defense statement was repeatedly interrupted by the presiding judge. Four days later, on Dec. 26, the Linghai City Court sentenced both Lu and Jiang to six years in prison and imposed fines of 15,000 yuan each. Their sentences are set to run until June 1, 2031. The family did not learn of the verdict until late January 2026.

Years of repeated imprisonment

This was not the first time the mother and son had been sentenced together. In December 2012, they were arrested and later secretly sentenced in 2013—Lu Suping to three and a half years and Jiang Nan to three years in prison. Lu was incarcerated at Liaoning Province Women’s Prison, while Jiang was held at Jinzhou Prison and later transferred to Shenyang First Prison.

Lu Suping’s persecution dates back even further. In January 2002, she was arrested and beaten by seven male police officers, leaving her face severely swollen and deformed. She was forced to pay 5,000 yuan for her release, money that was not returned until three years later. Lu has stated that practicing Falun Gong restored her health and helped improve strained family relationships—benefits that did not shield her from repeated targeting by the authorities.

Jiang Nan, a graduate of Northeast Normal University, built a quiet career as a private tutor and was known among students and parents for his dedication and integrity. Despite multiple arrests and years in detention, he continued to work and live peacefully until once again imprisoned for his faith.

Families targeted together

The joint sentencing of Lu and Jiang reflects a broader pattern that has persisted across China for more than a quarter of a century. Since the Chinese Communist Party launched its campaign against Falun Gong in 1999, Chinese security forces have repeatedly targeted entire families, arresting, trying, and sentencing multiple relatives together for their shared belief.

In recent weeks alone, similar cases have continued to surface. On Jan. 6, 2026, four Falun Gong practitioners in Yishui County, Shandong Province—including two family pairs—were sentenced to prison. Ms. Ma Huaizhen, 63, received five years and a 50,000-yuan fine, while her husband, Mr. Li Yifang, was sentenced to one year. In the same case, Ms. Li Yujuan and her daughter, Ms. Hui Xiaoli, were each sentenced to two years and fined 20,000 yuan.

Likewise, in mid-January 2026, a couple in Mengyin County, Linyi City, Shandong Province, were subjected to an unlawful court hearing solely for practicing Falun Gong.

Such cases illustrate that the persecution of Falun Gong is not limited to individuals but is systematically extended to family units, inflicting collective punishment that leaves lasting emotional, economic, and social scars. The continued sentencing of relatives together underscores how this campaign deliberately turns family bonds into instruments of pressure, long after it began more than 25 years ago.