(Minghui.org) A 74-year-old retired police officer was detained for 15 days in August 2025 for upholding his faith. Mr. Li Zhongxiao began to practice Falun Gong in 2006, and recovered from late stage lung cancer just eight days later, yet has faced persecution for abiding by a practice that restored his health and made him a better public servant.

Mr. Li Zhongxiao

Seven plainclothes officers broke into Mr. Li’s home in Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, around 8:30 a.m. on August 14, 2025. They first took him to the Gongren Village Police Station and then to the Tiexi District Case Processing Center. Officers Meng Lingchao and Yu Yalun interrogated him. Mr. Li wasn’t given any food for the entire day.

Around 4 p.m., five officers returned to Mr. Li’s home for a raid, when no one was in. They confiscated his desktop computer, printer, Falun Gong books, Falun Gong informational materials, cell phone, keys, 2,500 yuan cash and other personal items. No list of confiscated items was provided.

Mr. Li was taken to the Weikang Hospital around 1:50 a.m. on August 15 for a physical exam. Only then did the police give him some bread. The exam report indicated that he had abnormal electrocardiogram results and dangerously high blood pressure (systolic pressure reading 160 mmHg, when the normal level is 120 mmHg or lower).

Given Mr. Li’s medical condition, the police didn’t take him to the detention center immediately, but drove him to the Central Hospital affiliated with Shenyang Medical College in the afternoon for another exam. It’s not clear what the result was, but Mr. Li was admitted to the Tiexi District Detention Center and held there until August 30.

Family’s Effort to Seek Justice

Following Mr. Li’s arrest, his family frequented the Gongren Village Police Station to demand that the police provide proper legal documents regarding his arrest and detention. The police didn’t allow the family to ask any questions and refused to issue any notices. When the family returned to the police station for further inquiries, the relevant officers were either “out of town” or “on vacation.”

When the family managed to talk to officer Meng (one of the two who interrogated Mr. Li) on August 21, Meng was very rude and threatened to kick the family out of the police station if they asked anything about Mr. Li’s case. He also challenged the family to file a lawsuit against him if they wanted to.

The family got hold of officer Yu (the other officer who interrogated Mr. Li) on August 22. Yu initially denied that he was working on the case and then took off, leaving the family waiting in the lobby for hours. The family also called police chief Li Me, only to get a message saying that his phone was in power-off mode.

The family wrote to the Liaoning Provincial Public Security Department, Shenyang City Police Department, and Tiexi District Police Department on August 24, demanding that the authorities release information regarding Mr. Li’s arrest and the names of the officers in charge of his case. They also filed complaints against officers Meng, Yu, Li and Zhang Siyu (the deputy police chief), demanding that they be held accountable for Mr. Li’s arbitrary arrest and home ransacking without a proper warrant.

Late Stage Lung Cancer Disappeared Eight Days After Taking Up Falun Gong

Mr. Li was born in 1951. He joined the army in 1969. He participated in the Sino-Vietnamese War and also served as squad leader for the Air Force Ground Crew Mechanic Division in the 39th Army of the 2nd Division of the Jinan Air Force in Shandong Province. He began to work at the Yuhong Airport in Shenyang in 1983. He moved to the Shier Road Police Station in Tiexi District in 1988 and worked there as a police officer for the next two decades before he retired.

In late March 2006, Mr. Li began to experience chest pain and lasting fever. He received IV drips for over ten days, but the fever still didn’t go away. He was transferred to another hospital and was diagnosed with pleurisy. But there was no improvement after another nine days of pleurisy treatment. After an MRI on April 13, 2006, he was confirmed to have late stage lung cancer. He was told he had at most two or three months left, but because of his high fever, he could die at any time.

With no hope left, Mr. Li remembered a family member whose decades-long diseases disappeared after practicing Falun Gong. He was discharged that afternoon and began to watch Falun Gong lectures at home. He also learned the Falun Gong exercises. In the evening, his fever was gone. For the next eight days, he watched the lectures and did the five sets of exercises twice every day. He sweated profusely during that time. By the eighth day, he felt light and energetic, with a rosy complexion – he had completely recovered.

In addition, Mr. Li’s frozen shoulder, neck problem, bone spurs in his arms, prostatitis, and stiff muscles were all resolved. His family was impressed with Falun Gong’s health benefits.

Mr. Li disciplines himself according to Falun Gong’s teaching. He quit smoking and took on more household chores. At work, he stopped treating suspects with violence, which in turn helped him solve more cases than previously.