(Minghui.org) Thirteen cases of Falun Gong practitioners losing their lives to the persecution of their faith were reported in January 2025.
The thirteen newly-reported deaths included one that took place in 2020, eleven in 2024, and one in 2025. Due to strict information censorship, the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners can’t always be reported on time, nor is all information readily available.
The deceased nine women and four men came from seven provinces and one centrally-controlled municipality. Both Gansu and Hebei had three cases, followed by two cases in Jilin, and one case in Chongqing, Jiangsu, Shandong, Shanxi and Sichuan each.
The thirteen practitioners were between 48 and 83 years old when they died, including one in her 40s, three in their 50s, three in their 60s, three in their 70s, and three in their 80s.
The youngest practitioner was a 48-year-old mother of two young children. The oldest practitioner was 83, who died after seven years of incarceration and years of harassment and pension suspension. A 50-year-old physician was so devastated by the persecution deaths of his parents that he passed away eight months later.
Below is additional information about several of these death cases. The full list of deceased practitioners can be downloaded here (PDF).
77-Year-Old Chongqing Woman Dies Weeks After Latest Harassment
Ms. Li Zhenghua, a Chongqing resident, faced constant police harassment since early December 2023 for her efforts to raise awareness about the persecution of her faith, Falun Gong. For three weeks, she was afraid to leave her house and passed away suddenly at home on January 27, 2024. She was 77.
Ms. Li, a retired worker from the Chongqing General Machinery Factory, suffered decades of persecution before her passing. She went to Beijing to appeal for her right to freedom of belief shortly after the persecution started in July 1999. She was arrested and taken back to Chongqing. She escaped from custody on October 2, 1999, and returned to Beijing again to appeal, only to be arrested and given a labor camp term. She held a hunger strike more than a year into her detention at the Chongqing Women’s Forced Labor Camp and was released.
In 2002, not long after Ms. Li returned home, she was arrested again for doing the Falun Gong exercises outdoors and given another one-year labor camp term.
Her next arrest was in July 2004 for distributing Falun Gong informational materials. She held a hunger strike in custody to protest the illegal detention. By the time of her hearing, Ms. Li was so weak that she had to be carried into the courtroom on a stretcher. The judge sentenced her to three years and six months. Even though she was emaciated and near death after two months and three days on a hunger strike, she was taken to the Yongchuan Women’s Prison in an ambulance. All the inmates thought she would die soon, but she miraculously survived. She was released in October 2007.
Ms. Li was arrested again on June 4, 2009, for distributing informational materials about Falun Gong. She was given two and a half years in the Shabao Women’s Forced Labor Camp and subjected to brutal torture.
48-Year-Old Mother of Two Young Children Dies Due to Persecution
Ms. Zheng Wenchao, of Yi County, Hebei Province, was forced to live away from home in September 2020 to avoid being sentenced for practicing Falun Gong. She was arrested in 2021 and later sentenced to one year. Minghui.org confirmed in January 2025 that she died around March 2024. She was 48 and is survived by two minor children.
71-Year-Old Jiangsu Woman Dies in July 2024, Having Been Incarcerated for Over 9 Years
Ms. Chen Lin, a retired flour mill worker in Yancheng City, Jiangsu Province, passed away in July 2024, after suffering decades of persecution for her faith. She was 71.
Ms. Chen was first arrested on October 1, 2000, when she went to Beijing to appeal for the right to practice Falun Gong. She was brought back to Yancheng and held in a brainwashing center. Because she remained firm in her faith, she was given one and a half years of forced labor on December 23, 2000.
Before the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Ms. Chen was arrested again and taken to the Yancheng City Detention Center. She was later given a second forced labor term (exact length unknown but it was more than one year). The camp guards forced her to do hard labor for extended hours. Her fingernails turned black as a result.
Ms. Chen talked to someone about Falun Gong in mid-June 2014 and was reported. The local street committee workers shadowed her, resulting in her arrest. She was held in the Yancheng City Detention Center and later given a prison term of at least seven years (exact length unknown).
After Ms. Chen was released from prison, the social security bureau suspended her pension, causing her great financial difficulty. The local street committee and police also harassed her at home frequently. The relentless persecution eventually claimed her life in July 2024.
Shanxi Man Dies After Serving Two Labor Camp Terms and One Prison Term
Because he practiced Falun Gong, Mr. Li Xifu, a retired employee of the Taiyuan City Steel Company in Shanxi Province, served two labor camp terms and one prison term totaling seven years. He endured ongoing torture while in custody and became incapacitated. After he was released, Mr. Li was devastated to learn that his pension was suspended. The police continued to harass him. After being persecuted for years, Mr. Li passed away on September 25, 2024. He was 83.
Mr. Li Xifu
While serving a three-year term at the Xindian Forced Labor Camp between 2001 and 2004, Mr. Li was monitored by two inmates around the clock, including when he was sleeping. They beat him when he did the Falun Gong exercises or moved during sleep. The guards later ordered Mr. Li to dig and transport soil. As a result of the hard work, he developed enteritis and couldn’t keep food down. His calves were so swollen that they were as thick as his thighs. Yet the guards still forced him to do the hard labor.
For filing a criminal complaint in 2015 against Jiang Zemin, the former head of the Chinese Communist Party who ordered the persecution of Falun Gong, Mr. Li was arrested and sentenced to three years on August 31, 2016. He was severely beaten in the prison and family visitation was restricted. His hands became disabled from prolonged handcuffing and he had to ask for inmates’ help to put on his regular clothes the day he was released.
Meanwhile, the authorities also withheld 80,000 yuan from Mr. Li’s pension and forced his family to sign a guarantee that he would no longer “disrupt social order,” a common pretext used to criminalize Falun Gong practitioners. After experiencing persecution for so many years, Mr. Li passed away on September 25, 2024.
62-Year-Old Liaoning Woman Dies After Repeated Arrests and Harassment
Ms. Shang Shuxia, of Liaoyuan City, Jilin Province, died on October 11, 2024, after suffering years of persecution for her faith in Falun Gong. She was 62.
Ms. Shang was a former teacher at the Liaoyuan City Elementary School. She was repeatedly arrested and harassed after the Chinese Communist Party launched a nationwide campaign against Falun Gong in July 1999.
Following an arrest on May 1, 2009 after being reported for distributing Falun Gong informational materials, Ms. Shang lost consciousness in the detention center and was rushed to the hospital. Although she was released after being diagnosed with heart disease, the police still harassed her at home frequently.
Ms. Shang was arrested again on November 22, 2010 and given a labor camp term of one year and nine months. She served time at the Heizuizi Labor Camp and was subjected to brutal torture.
Ms. Shang was diagnosed with breast cancer after she returned home, and moved in with her daughter in Beijing in 2014. She was arrested there at least once for talking to people about Falun Gong. The police from Liaoyuan City even travelled to Beijing to harass her.
The relentless persecution took a toll on Ms. Shang’s already frail health. She died on October 11, 2024. It is unclear whether she passed away in Beijing or Liaoyuan.
Former Shoe Shop Owner Dies Due to Cancer Induced by the Persecution
Mr. Yi Xiaohong, a former shoe shop owner in Yingshan County, Sichuan Province, passed away on November 4, 2024, after suffering years of persecution for practicing Falun Gong. He was 60.
Mr. Yi was arrested on April 20, 2011 and held at the Yingshan County Detention Center. The Yingshan County Court sentenced him to four years in March 2012. He survived brutal torture in custody, only to face constant harassment from the police after he was released. Meanwhile, his family also forbade him from practicing Falun Gong, due to the pressure from the authorities. While he was struggling to recover from the torture in custody, the mental pressure further took a toll on his health. He developed gum cancer in 2023 and died a year later.
59-Year-Old Jilin Woman Dies While Awaiting Trial
Ms. Dong Yusu, of Dongfeng County, Jilin Province, was arrested on August 8, 2024, while studying the Falun Gong teachings with other practitioners. Due to abuse in custody, she developed systemic edema and had difficulty breathing. She was released on bail at an unknown date and was hospitalized for a while. She moved in with her daughter after being discharged and died at her daughter’s home on December 15, 2024. She was 59.
The Longshan District Procuratorate in Liaoyuan City (which oversees Dongfeng County) indicted Ms. Dong at an unknown date. She was facing trial at the time of her death.
Cancer Patient Released from Prison in Critical Condition, Dies Four Months Later
Ms. Li Fengying, a 52-year-old resident of Wulian County, Shandong Province, died around 4 a.m. on December 31, 2024, four months after she was released from prison in critical condition.
Ms. Li was arrested on October 10, 2022 for talking to people about Falun Gong. She was sentenced to eight years with a 20,000-yuan fine on May 15, 2023. Despite her poor health as a result of torture at the detention center, the judge ordered that she be transferred to the Shandong Province Women’s Prison on August 8, 2023.
Just days into her prison admission, Ms. Li had to be rushed to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with lymphoma (cancer in the lymph system) and uterine cancer. Her request to be released on medical parole was denied. Both she and her family declined chemotherapy, but the prison hospital forced her to undergo the treatment anyway. She became weaker by the day. When her family visited her, it took her over one hour to walk a short distance to the meeting room.
As Ms. Li’s condition kept worsening, the prison eventually released her on parole on August 23, 2024. She died four months later.
Former Physician, 50, Dies Within a Year of His Parents’ Passing
While still mourning the deaths of their parents due to the persecution of Falun Gong, two sisters in Huailai County, Hebei Province, were heartbroken to lose their brother, a 50-year-old physician.
The family’s ordeal began when the Chinese Communist Party ordered the persecution of Falun Gong in 1999. For upholding their shared faith, Mr. Li Yushu, his wife, Ms. Ni Wenxiu, their two daughters and one son were all subjected to non-stop arrests, detention, and harassment. Ms. Ni passed away following an episode of harassment in November 2023. Succumbing to years of detention and forced drug administration, Mr. Li died six months later, on May 25, 2024. Their son, Mr. Liu Zhaohui, was so devastated that he passed away eight months later, on January 6, 2025.
Related Report:
Reported in 2024: 164 Falun Gong Practitioners Die in the Persecution of Their Faith
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