Heilongjiang Man Given Second Prison Term for Practicing Falun Gong, Force-Fed in Custody

(Minghui.org) Mr. Tong Mingyu, 43, from Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province, was sentenced to five years and three months on February 27, 2025 for practicing Falun Gong. The Harbin City Intermediate Court recently ruled to uphold his original verdict.

Mr. Tong is now held at the Shuangcheng District Detention Center and is subjected to daily force-feeding, which began on the day of his arrest six months ago.

Mr. Tong was arrested on November 20, 2024, when he paid a visit to another Falun Gong practitioner, Liu Shuwen (gender unknown). The police happened to be raiding Liu’s home and arrested Mr. Tong. Both practitioners were taken to the Daoli District Detention Center.

An officer called Mr. Tong’s mother and claimed to be a delivery worker and that he needed to confirm the address of the home she shared with her son. The elderly woman believed the officer and gave him the information. The police soon arrived and raided the home. They confiscated Mr. Tong’s computer and other items.

Mr. Tong refused to answer questions during the interrogation and went on a hunger strike the day he was arrested. The detention center guards have force fed him every day. They notified him on December 5, 2024, that he had been issued a formal arrest warrant and he faced indictment.

Mr. Tong appeared in the Daoli District Court on February 13, 2025. He testified in his own defense and demanded he be acquitted. Judges Wen Changfu, Shi Nan and Zhao Songlin announced on February 27 to sentence him to five years and three months.

Mr. Tong filed an appeal with the Harbin City Intermediate Court on March 1, 2025. Judges Zhang Guodong, Yu Jiangchu and Wang Lin ruled to uphold his original verdict.

Almost Dead from Previous 3.5-Year Prison Sentence

Mr. Tong was previously arrested on June 25, 2017, for distributing informational materials about Falun Gong and he was sentenced to 3.5 years on February 2, 2018. He started a hunger strike right after his arrest and has continued the strike to this day. The authorities have force fed him for the past few years.

When Mr. Tong’s mother was allowed to visit him on August 17, 2019, he was in a vegetative state, unable to move or talk. His eyes were closed. A feeding tube was in his nose. She asked him if he was in pain. He didn’t respond, but tears came out of his eyes.

Xiong Dehui, the head of the prison administration office, refused to release Mr. Tong on medical parole and told his desperate mother, “We won’t grant him medical parole even if he dies. We’re following the rules, and [he’s denied parole because] he refuses to give up practicing Falun Gong and went on a hunger strike.”

Mr. Tong was released December 21, 2020. It took him two years to fully recover. He managed to find a low-income job to get by, only to be arrested and sentenced again.

Related Reports:

Once Jailed for 3.5 Years, 43-Year-Old Heilongjiang Man Faces Indictment Again for His Faith

Man Still Imprisoned Despite Critical Condition After Two Years on Hunger Strike

“We Won't Grant Him Medical Parole Even If He Dies Here”

Heilongjiang Man in Critical Condition After 2 Years on Hunger Strike, Authorities Forbid Family Visits

Heilongjiang Man in Critical Condition After 1.5 Years of Hunger Strike to Protest Wrongful Detention and Prison Sentence

Mr. Tong Mingyu Sentenced to Three-and-a-Half-Years in Prison

Imprisoned Man Loses Half of Body Weight, Denied Medical Parole

Mr. Tong Persecuted to the Extreme for Refusing to Give Up Falun Gong