The persecution of Falun Gong targeted 100 million people in China, and decimated countless families and communities across China. Below, we offer a glimpse into the human cost of this persecution with up-close and personal stories of those who were killed, those who survived, and those struggling to the freedom of others. These are their stories…
The persecution of Falun Gong targeted 100 million people in China, and decimated countless families and communities across China. These are their stories…
Mr. Zhao Jiyuan, 71, a resident of Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, passed away in Jinzhou City Prison on July 4, 2025 while serving a seven-and-a-half-year term for his faith in Falun Gong.
Mr. He Jingru, a 68-year-old resident of Huizhou City, Guangdong Province, died on May 20, 2025, while being held in a psychiatric hospital, according to Minghui.org. In 2024, officers from the State Security Brigade of the Huidong County Public Security Bureau abducted him for practicing Falun Gong and sent him to a psychiatric hospital in Huizhou.
Mr. Yi Xiangyang (also known as Yin Xiangyang), a 76-year-old farmer from Liujia Village in Longkou City, Shandong Province, was admitted to Shandong Province Men’s Prison on June 11, 2025, according to Minghui.org and Weiquanwang.
In a disturbing recurrence of religious persecution, mass arrests in Hunan Province— separated by fifteen years—targeted the same group of Falun Gong practitioners. These included Ms. Li Qun’e and Ms. Cao Shuiju, who have endured prolonged detention, violence, extortion, and unjust sentencing for their peaceful spiritual practice.
On May 9, Wang Yan, a 71-year-old Falun Gong practitioner from Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, died while imprisoned at Liaoning Women’s Prison (formerly known as Shenyang Dabei Women’s Prison). Her death brings the number of confirmed Falun Gong deaths due to persecution by the Chinese Communist Party to over 5,205, according to Minghui.org.
Wang Ligong, a 76-year-old former researcher from Changchun City, Jilin Province, died in November 2024 while serving a prison term for practicing Falun Gong—a spiritual discipline persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since 1999. His death resulted from a series of violations against legal procedure and medical advice, including ignoring medical assessments deeming him unfit for detention.
Ms. Chen Zhilian, a 79-year-old resident of Leshan City, Sichuan Province, died on March 2, 2025, after surviving many years of imprisonment, torture, and persistent police harassment due to her practice of Falun Gong—a spiritual discipline rooted in the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance.
In February 2025, Yuncheng County Court sentenced an 85-year-old in Shandong to one year for her faith…
ON JULY 19, 2020, Xu was arrested alongside ten other citizen journalists in Beijing for publishing photos online of Beijing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their lawyers were denied certain rights protected by Chinese law, including copying and requesting court documents, as well as being present during important case proceedings.
She was indicted on April 2, 2021 and detained at Beijing Women’s Prison until her sentencing on January 14, 2022. She was then sentenced to eight years in prison.