After 19 Years in Prison, Hubei Man Given Three More Years for His Faith

(Minghui.org) Mr. Li Guangqing, a native of Yingcheng City, Hubei Province, was sentenced to 18 years for robbery in 1979 when he was 24 years old. He escaped three times and saw his term extended by 11 years. Though his fourth escape, which took place in 1989, was successful, he lived every day in fear and couldn’t go home to reunite with his family.

While living in Wuhan City in the same province, Mr. Li came across a group of people doing the Falun Gong exercises at Hongshan Park on June 15, 1996. He was drawn to the exercise music and gentle movements and began to practice Falun Gong that day. Since then he changed into a different person and started his life anew. 

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is an ancient spiritual and meditation discipline with three universal values, Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. Since its public introduction in May 1992, the practice has helped countless people improve their mental wellbeing and physical health. Due to Falun Gong’s immense popularity, in July 1999 the Chinese Communist Party ordered its eradication from China. The persecution is still ongoing after 23 years. 

Mr. Li went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong shortly after the persecution began and was arrested. He was taken back to a prison in Xinjiang Autonomous Region, where he served his previous term for robbery. Months later, the judge announced a new 19-year prison term against him, for his earlier prison escape and for practicing Falun Gong. 

After his release in January 2019, Mr. Li moved back to his hometown in Yingcheng City, Hubei Province, where he was seized by police at 9 p.m. on July 30, 2021 while distributing informational materials about Falun Gong. The police took pictures of the over 30 copies of Falun Gong materials in his bag and questioned him about where he got them. Mr. Li refused to answer.

Led by the village secretary, the police ransacked Mr. Li’s home at around 10 p.m. and confiscated his Falun Gong books, materials, a photo of Falun Gong’s founder, photocopier and DVD player. With the village secretary as the guarantor, the police didn’t take Mr. Li back to the police station. 

The police returned on August 5, 2021 and arrested Mr. Li. He was first held at the Chengguanshuilu Police Station and then transferred to the Xiaogan Lockup, where he was held for 15 days before being taken to the Yunmeng County Detention Center. His wife never received his arrest or detention notices.

In early September, Mr. Li’s wife was summoned to the police station, where she was forced to sit in the interrogation chair and had her hands cuffed to the chair. 

“Why do you treat me like a criminal?” she asked the police. 

Lu Hongzhou, the head of Yunmeng County Domestic Security Office, replied, “You are a criminal.” 

Lu questioned Ms. Li’s wife about who reported his involvement in the persecution to Minghui.org. He deceived her into signing the case document framing Mr. Li, knowing that she couldn’t read. 

The police ransacked Mr. Li’s home again a few days later and videotaped the process. 

When the police attempted to force Mr. Li’s wife to sign case documents against him a month later, she refused to comply this time. 

Mr. Li’s wife called Lu in late December 2021 to inquire about his case. Lu deceived her, saying that her husband had been sentenced, when his case was still at the Anlu City Procuratorate. Lu also claimed that she and Mr. Li weren’t a real couple because they didn’t have a marriage license, so he didn’t have the obligation to tell her about Mr. Li’s situation. Mr. Li’s wife argued that their marriage license was lost. She kept asking Lu for how long her husband had been sentenced, but Lu refused to answer and directed her to the Anlu City Court. 

Mr. Li’s wife was also denied visitation rights to see her husband. She went to the police station and asked the deputy chief, Yu Debo, about his case. Although Yu promised to help her when he first took Mr. Li’s case, he told her to go find Lu and then pushed her out of his office. 

Mr. Li’s wife later found out that her now 67-year-old husband stood trial on March 3, 2022 and was sentenced to three years. 

Perpetrators’ contact information:
Tu Jun (涂军), presiding judge, Anlu City Court: [phone]Hou Juan (侯娟), prosecutor, Anlu City Procuratorate: [phone], [phone]Lu Hongzhou (陆洪洲), head of the Yunmeng County Domestic Security Office: [phone]Yu Debo (喻德波), deputy chief, Chengguanshuilu Police Station: [phone]

(More perpetrators’ contact information is available in the original Chinese article.)

Related report:

Convicted Robber Turns Life Around after Practicing Falun Gong, Only to Be Jailed 19 Years for Upholding His Faith