(Minghui.org) Ms. Mei Guangqin from Mulan County, Heilongjiang Province, was sentenced to three and a half years on October 29, 2025, because she practices Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Mei’s ordeal stemmed from her arrest on June 29, 2022, together with her younger sister Ms. Mei Guangli, then 62, and Mr. Hou Guofan, then 74, for talking to people about Falun Gong at a community fair.
Chief Deng Lijun of the Lidong Police Station took them to the Mulan County Police Station for interrogation and collected their fingerprints and recorded their voices.
After two days of detention, Mr. Hou was released. The police forced him to fingerprint his case file. The two sisters were taken to Harbin City for detention, but were denied admission due to their health conditions. Although they were released soon after, police chief Deng threatened to continue seeking to prosecute them if they didn’t sign statements to renounce Falun Gong.
To avoid further persecution, the two sisters went into hiding. They later returned home and were both arrested.
Ms. Mei Guangli was arrested at home on April 13, 2023 and sent to the Harbin City Detention Center. She was secretly sentenced to three and a half years in October 2023 and transferred to the Harbin Prison to serve time.
Ms. Mei Guangqin was arrested at home on the evening of April 2, 2025. The Yilan County Court convicted her on October 29, 2025.
Prior to their latest sentencing, both sisters were repeatedly targeted in the past 26 years for their faith.
Ms. Mei Guangqin was arrested in November 2001 and detained for an unknown amount of time.
Ms. Mei Guangli was arrested on April 22, 2002 and given two years at the Wanjia Forced Labor Camp. She was hung up by the wrists for extended periods of time and afterwards her hands were numb.
Ms. Mei Guangqin was arrested again on January 12, 2004 for distributing Falun Gong materials near the Mulan County Second Detention Center. The guards saw her through surveillance camera and took her directly to the detention center. She held a hunger strike and was then released. Due to frequent police harassment, she was forced to live away from home for some time.
Ms. Mei Guangqin was arrested on June 4, 2011 for distributing Falun Gong materials at a community fair in Xinmin Town. She was detained for 15 days.
Officers Tang Jinlong, Guo Lianyu and four others of the Mulan County Second Police Station broke into Ms. Mei Guangqin’s home around 4 p.m. on April 12, 2022. They raided her home, removed the Minghui calendar on her wall and confiscated three Falun Gong books.
Ms. Mei Guangli happened to be visiting and was also arrested. The police confiscated Falun Gong flyers from her bag. Both sisters were taken to the Mulan County Police Department for interrogation. They refused to answer any questions or sign any documents. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, the police released them later that day.