Caregiver of Incapacitated Husband and Father Sentenced to 1.5 Years for Her Faith in Falun Gong
(Minghui.org) A 53-year-old woman in Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, is appealing a 1.5-year prison term for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Li Zhuqing
Ms. Li Zhuqing was about to go out grocery shopping on August 26, 2025, when a woman claiming to be from the property management office knocked on the door. Ms. Li opened the door, only to have more than ten plainclothes officers barge in. They called in more officers when they saw the sticker reading “The Chinese Communist Party is a cult” on her printer.
The police spent over two hours ransacking Ms. Li’s home, confiscating her Falun Gong books, informational materials, a photo of Falun Gong’s founder, a laptop, two printers, a cell phone, paper cutter, and flash drives.
The police took Ms. Li to the Beiling Police Station for interrogation, claiming that she had been reported for putting up Falun Gong stickers. She refused to answer any questions and was transferred to the case processing center at the Yuhong District Police Department. Officer Du Fei verbally abused her and covered her head with a black hood. She was restrained in a metal chair overnight and wasn’t allowed to sleep. The police also placed a photo of Falun Gong’s founder on the ground and ordered her to step on it. She refused.
The police forcibly collected blood and urine samples from Ms. Li. Although she was found to have a urinary tract infection, she was still admitted to the Shenyang City First Detention Center on August 27.
Both Ms. Li’s father, in his 90s, and her husband, are incapacitated and they relied on her for care. Her arrest and detention has left them in a dire situation.
The Yuhong District Police Department submitted Ms. Li’s case to the Xinmin City Procuratorate. She was issued a formal arrest warrant on September 9, 2025, and indicted on November 20.
The Xinmin City Court heard Ms. Li’s case on December 17, 2025. No witnesses appeared in court for cross examination. The prosecutor, Chen Hongyan, didn’t exhibit any of the evidence or provide the legal basis to support his charge against Ms. Li.
Ms. Li testified in her own defense. She denied committing any crime and said that her spiritual belief was protected by the Constitution. Her family defender testified that Ms. Li became a much better person after taking up Falun Gong, and that her family witnessed the efforts she made to take care of her incapacitated father and husband long term.
The judge sentenced Ms. Li to one year and six months with a 10,000-yuan fine. She has appealed with the Shenyang City Intermediate Court.
Family’s Ordeal
Ms. Li and her siblings, Mr. Li Yi and Ms. Li Yunqing, took up Falun Gong in the spring of 1998, after seeing how their mother, Ms. Liang Huifen, recovered from severe heart disease from practicing Falun Gong. After the persecution started in 1999, the family were repeatedly targeted.
Ms. Li Yunqing’s health quickly declined due to the tremendous mental distress she experienced. She died on September 9, 2006, at the age of 37. Mr. Li was brutally tortured and passed away on March 26, 2011. He was 42. Devastated by the death of two of her children, Ms. Liang became incapacitated.
Ms. Li Zhuqing’s husband had a stroke around 2015, and her father also became incapacitated around 2021. Despite the hardship, she took meticulous care of them and maintained a peaceful and optimistic mindset.