Crimes of Liu Yongzhi, Party Secretary and Procurator-General of the Heilongjiang Provincial People’s Procuratorate, in Persecuting Falun Gong

(Minghui.org) On Human Rights Day, December 10, 2025, Falun Gong practitioners in 48 countries submitted another list of perpetrators related to the persecution of Falun Gong in China to their governments. They also requested that these perpetrators and their family members be barred from entering the country and that their assets be frozen.

Below are details of the persecution committed by Liu Yongzhi, Party secretary and procurator-general of the Heilongjiang Provincial People’s Procuratorate.

Perpetrator Information

Full Name of Perpetrator: Liu (last name) Yongzhi (first name) (刘永志)Gender: MaleDate/Year of Birth: September 1965Place of Birth: UnknownEthnicity: Han

Title or Position

Liu Yongzhi has held positions include deputy inspector of the Hebei Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Committee (PLAC); deputy secretary-general of the Hebei PLAC; deputy secretary of the Hebei PLAC; member of the Hebei Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference; executive deputy secretary of the Hebei PLAC and Party secretary of the Hebei Law Society; and deputy director of the Office of the Hebei Provincial Committee for Comprehensive Law-Based Governance.

January 2023 – February 2023: Party secretary and deputy procurator-general of the Heilongjiang Provincial People’s Procuratorate

February 2023 – Present: Party secretary and procurator-general of the Heilongjiang Provincial People’s Procuratorate

Major Crimes Committed While Serving as Deputy Secretary of the Hebei Provincial PLAC (2019–2022)

Hebei Province is one of the regions in China where the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners is most severe. At least 587 practitioners have been persecuted to death to date. The persecution of Falun Gong in Hebei Province is directed by the Provincial PLAC and the 610 Office, with specific actions carried out by the Public Security Bureau, law enforcement and various detention facilities. During his tenure as deputy secretary of the Hebei Provincial PLAC from 2019 to 2022, Liu oversaw daily operations and actively enforced the CCP’s persecution policies against Falun Gong.

During Liu’s tenure, at least 26 practitioners in Hebei Province were persecuted to death: Yang Xiaohui, Ma Yinchun, Kong Hongyun, Zhang Xiaojie, Wei Qishan, Yang Shoubin, Zhou Xiuzhen, Cao Jinxing, Zhang Jianzhi, Lu Jinyou, Han Yuqin, Wang Shuiyong, Zhang Tieshan, Dong Jianquan, Li Xiuhua, Song Rongzhi, Pan Yingshun, Teng Yiquan, Guo Qin, Zhang Shulian, Jiang Guiling, Han Junde, Zhuo Guibin, Yang Zhixiong, Xu Suqin, and He Zhenheng. Many more practitioners have been persecuted to the point of injury, disability, mental instability, separation from their families, and displacement.

Persecution in 2022

Several campaigns were held in 2022 to harass practitioners, including the “Zero-Out” campaign, “Cracking Down on Organized Crimes,” and “Maintaining Stability for the 20th National Congress.” At least 20 practitioners died as a result of the persecution, and an additional 373 were arrested, 834 were harassed, and 43 were sentenced to prison.

At least 17 residents of Shenze County, Hebei Province, were arrested between 12 a.m. and 2 a.m. on January 11, 2022. The police did not show any identification or search warrants during the operation. Most of these practitioners had black hoods put over their heads and taken to a hotel, where they were held and interrogated for up to 16 days before being transferred to various local detention facilities. The hotel was not an official detention facility, yet the police told the practitioners’ families that their loved ones were put under house arrest in the hotel, which is unlawful. Nine of them were later sentenced to prison, with the longest term being five years.

Mr. Han Junde, of Baoding City, Hebei Province, died on April 14, 2022, while serving an eight-year term at the Jidong No. 5 Prison in Hebei Province. He was arrested and sentenced for making gourd crafts carved with Falun Gong’s principles – “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.” He developed severe anemia due to the abuse in prison. He became blind in one eye and had to be wheeled around in a wheelchair in the prison. The family applied for medical parole for him, but the Jingxiu District Justice Bureau denied their application, even after the doctor determined that he qualified. He was 77.

Mr. Yang Zhixiong was arrested on September 26, 2019, and sentenced to 6.5 years in prison on December 1, 2020. His appeal was denied, and he was taken to the Jidong No. 5 Prison around April 2021. Sixteen months after he was transferred to the Jidong No. 5 Prison, he passed away on August 10, 2022, in the hospital affiliated with the prison. He was 58 years old. According to Mr. Yang’s family, when they saw his body at the Tangshan Union Hospital, he was emaciated and his eyes and mouth were wide open.

Persecution in 2021

In 2021, at least six Falun Gong practitioners in Hebei Province were persecuted to death; 456 were arrested; 2,211 were harassed; 29 were held in brainwashing centers; and 71 were sentenced.

Mr. Li Dengchen, an 82-year-old retired teacher in Shenzhou City, Hebei Province, was sentenced to 10 years in January 2021 for his faith.

On May 12, 2021, police from the Tangshan City Police Department carried out mass arrests of local practitioners across various counties and districts. At least 26 practitioners were seized that day.

In the early morning of August 12, 2020, up to 100 police officers were dispatched in four districts of Tangshan City, Hebei Province, to arrest over 50 Falun Gong practitioners. Most practitioners also had their homes ransacked. Thirteen practitioners stood trial at the Luannan County Court on July 20, 2021, and were sentenced to prison on August 27, 2021. Mr. Liu Weili was sentenced to ten years, Ms. Wang Huilin was sentenced to six and a half years, and Ms. Zhang Zhilan received seven years. Ms. Tong Xiulan was sentenced to three years, Mr. Zuo Desheng was sentenced to two years and six months, and Mr. Hou Jianguang was sentenced to one year. Mr. Wang Baozhu was sentenced to eleven months and both Mr. Lu Lifa and Ms. Bi Guanqin were sentenced to six-month terms. Ms. Li Yuying and Ms. Hu Yincang were each sentenced to two years with three years’ probation, and Ms. Cui Shuyu was sentenced to one year with two years’ probation. Ms. Liu Jinying’s term is still being investigated.

Persecution in 2020

In 2020, at least 10 Falun Gong practitioners in Hebei Province were persecuted to death; 698 were arrested; 1,804 were harassed; and 72 were sentenced.

Ms. Ma Huixin was arrested by Yaocheng Police Station officers in Anguo City on June 13, 2020. She was taken to Baoding Detention Center the next afternoon. On November 7, the detention center informed Ms. Ma’s family that she was in critical condition after suffering a stroke. Ms. Ma underwent a craniotomy on November 10 and was treated in the intensive care unit for two weeks. She was removed from the hospital and taken to an assisted living facility for seniors without her family’s consent on November 30.

Ms. Han Yuqin, 68, from Tangshan City, Hebei Province, was arrested on June 18, 2020, and her home raided by police from the Duanming Road Police Station. That evening, the family received a call from the police and learned that Ms. Han had died in the police station. They saw her body at the Fengrun District Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine and noticed that her hair was disheveled and there was blood in her nose.

Persecution in 2019

In 2019, at least 10 practitioners were persecuted to death; 544 were arrested; 234 were harassed; and 64 were sentenced to prison.

On July 13, 2019, 34 Falun Gong practitioners from Weichang County were arrested.Thirteen of them were tried by the Luanping County Court on September 28, 2020. Among them, Liu Zhifeng was sentenced to six years and fined 10,000 yuan; Wang Guangxue was sentenced to five years and fined 10,000 yuan; Wang Yongxing and Wang Haiqin were each sentenced to four years and fined 10,000 yuan; Chen Haidong, Wang Sufang, Du Guilan were each sentenced to 20 months and fined 5,000 yuan; Ge Sufen was sentenced to 18 months and fined 5,000 yuan; Li Yanhua was sentenced to 15 months with two years probation, and fined 5,000 yuan; Liu Fengxia, Tang Fengxia, Liu Lina, and Wang Haibing were each sentenced to 14 months with two years probation, and fined 5,000 yuan.

Mr. Wei Qishan and his wife, Ms. Yu Shurong, were arrested on June 12, 2018, after police suspected them of putting up banners about Falun Gong. The couple was sentenced to prison, with Mr. Wei receiving seven years and Ms. Yu four years. Mr. Wei was tortured to death in the Qinhuangdao City Detention Center on the evening of November 23, 2019. His sister-in-law rushed to the hospital and saw his body, which was still on a stretcher but not in the emergency room. She noticed that Mr. Wei’s eyes were half-open. His right arm was hanging down and his right sleeve was completely wet. She rolled his sleeve half way up and saw his right arm was black and purple.

Major Crimes Committed During Tenure as Party Secretary and Chief Prosecutor of Heilongjiang Provincial People’s Procuratorate

Since assuming the role of procurator-general of the Heilongjiang Provincial People’s Procuratorate in early 2023, Liu has continued to implement the CCP’s persecution policy against Falun Gong. In a public speech in February 2023, he demanded that the entire provincial procuratorate system “actively participate in the fight against cults,” “establish and implement a system for reviewing and approving case files involving crimes related to cult organizations,” and other directives. This has resulted in numerous practitioners being sentenced to prison.

In 2023, 118 practitioners in Heilongjiang Province were sentenced. In 2024, 56 individuals were sentenced. In 2025, 65 sentencing cases were reported.

Mr. Gao Ke, a retired elementary school teacher of Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province, was arrested on September 14, 2022, for distributing calendars bearing information about Falun Gong. Although he was released on bail days later due to high blood pressure, the police started to call him from February 2023 and ordered him to report to the procuratorate. He refused to go and left home to hide from the police. The police and the local street committee workers harassed his wife and son instead. They also posted officers outside his apartment building to monitor everyone who entered or exited the building.

Mr. Gao’s family lost contact with him on June 16, 2023, and later learned he’d been arrested that day when he ran into a police officer who knew him during grocery shopping.

At the Yaziquan Detention Center, the guards assigned two inmates to watch him around the clock. The inmates beat Mr. Gao and did not allow him to use the restroom or talk to others without their permission. He went on a hunger strike in protest and was force-fed on the seventh day. He went into shock during the force-feeding and was rushed to a hospital. Despite his serious condition, the detention center guards checked him out of the hospital four days later. He was incapacitated and needed support to use the restroom.

Mr. Gao was later sentenced to four and a half years and transferred to the Hulan Prison.

Mr. Ren Changbin, 60, of Jiamusi City, Heilongjiang Province, died five days after being admitted to the Shuangyashan Prison to serve a three-year term for his faith in Falun Gong. He had multiple bruises and injuries, and there were dark circles under his eyes and several stitches in his head.

According to Mr. Ren’s sister, she received a call from the prison at around 8 a.m. on September 28, 2024, telling her that Mr. Ren had died from a medical emergency. She demanded to know the cause of death, but the caller refused to provide any additional information, except that Mr. Ren’s body had been taken to a funeral home.

Mr. Ren’s sister informed other family members of the tragic news, and they rushed to the funeral home, where they saw Mr. Ren’s bruised body.

When the family asked if Mr. Ren had been tortured to death, the guards claimed that he was very weak when he was admitted to the prison, and they arranged two inmates to “look after” him. They also said that Mr. Ren fell in the shower, thus causing the injuries to his head and body.

Mr. Ren’s family argued that he was very healthy when he was arrested and asked how he could become so weak after one week of detention. If the prison had indeed arranged two inmates to “look after” him, why did they fail to prevent him from falling in the shower?

Mr. Ren, a former glass factory employee, was arrested during a police sweep on September 14, 2024, and sentenced to three years on July 25, 2024. He was transferred to Shuangyashan Prison on September 23 and died five days later.

Mr. Zhao Yungu, 86, from Bin County, Heilongjiang Province, was sentenced to 3.5 years and fined 30,000 yuan in early September 2024. He is appealing the verdict.

Mr. Zhao, a retired small tractor factory worker, and his wife, Ms. Liu Shumei, a former business professional, have both been repeatedly targeted over the past 25 years for practicing Falun Gong. Both of them previously served two one-year labor camp terms and a seven-year prison term. Ms. Liu developed a serious medical condition due to the pressure of the persecution, yet the police continued to harass her regularly. She was 77 when she passed away in May 2019.

Mr. Zhao’s latest arrest took place around 7 a.m. on July 31, 2023, as he left his apartment building. Five officers who were staked out there seized him and took him to a hospital for a physical exam. Due to his poor health, the detention center refused to admit him. The police released him on bail in the early morning hours of August 1, 2023.

The Bin County Police Station put Mr. Zhao under house arrest on January 30, 2024. The Yilan County Procuratorate indicted him on July 6 and the Yilan County Court extended his house arrest by six months on July 27. The judge heard Mr. Zhao’s case in his home on August 16. He was sentenced shortly afterward.

Ms. Du Xiuyan, a 59-year-old resident of Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province, was arrested at home on April 1, 2024. She was tried by the Acheng District Court in mid-June 2024 and sentenced to nine years.

Mr. Feng Guoqing, around 59 and from Yichun City, Heilongjiang Province, was arrested on December 4, 2024, and his home was repeatedly ransacked. More than 200,000 yuan in cash was confiscated during the raids.

At the Yichun City Detention Center, Mr. Feng refused to cooperate with the police when they interrogated him and he went on a hunger strike for more than 40 days. In retaliation, the police removed his clothing and restrained him on a bed in a spread-eagle position. Then they force-fed him. He had no choice but to relieve himself on the bed. He suffered failure in both kidneys as a result of the torture.

Mr. Feng was tried by the Nancha County Court on June 20, 2025. His lawyer was informed on July 5 that he was sentenced to six years and fined 10,000 yuan.