Three Guangdong Residents Sentenced for Distributing Pamphlets

Ms. Li Youbin, a resident of Heyuan City, Guangdong Province, was sentenced to eight years for distributing leaflets related to Falun Gong, a spiritual practice persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for nearly 25 years.

Ms. Li was initally arrested in a massive police operation surrounding China’s National Day on October 1, 2022. At least 24 local Falun Gong practitioners in Heyuan City were targeted in late September and early October, including Ms. Li.

Around late September, her home was raided by approximately a dozen police officers and several neighborhood committee members. The group confiscated her printer, Falun Gong-related books, and leaflets, among other advocacy materials. Ms. Li was detained in Dongyuan County Detention Center.

Months later, the Dongyuan County Court sentenced Ms. Li to eight years and transferred her to Guangdong Province Women’s Prison. Similar sentences this harsh often involved Article 300 or a charge of “undermining law enforcement,” which are the CCP’s extrajudicial measures to punish dissent, such as distributing pamphlets.

Families Kept in the Dark

Two other practitioners from Guangdong, Ms. Qiu Denong and Mr. Chen Ruyong, were sentenced in 2023 to 3.5 years and 3 years respectively. Their families were not notified of their indictments, trials, sentences, or transfers to prison.

It is unknown if the families hired lawyers to represent the practitioners in court.

The same group of police officers targeting Ms. Liu also raided Ms. Qiu’s home and confiscated her printer, Falun Gong books, and informational materials. For several months after this raid, Ms. Qiu was followed and monitored heavily by police, but not detained.

On March 20, 2023, a surveillance camera recorded Ms. Qiu visiting an unspecified acquaintance, and she was arrested on the same day. After her trial, she was taken to Guangdong Province Women’s Prison.

On October 4, 2022, the police raided Mr. Chen Ruyong’s home. The police confiscated his computer, printer, and other valuables before taking him to Dongyuan County Detention Center. He was later moved to the Heyuan City Detention Center and then to the Zijin County Detention Center.

In 2023, he was transferred to Sihui Prison at an unknown date following his trial.

CCP Authorities Forced a Divorce

Prior to this recent sentencing, Ms. Qiu Denong was arrested eight times between 2001 and 2006. In custody, authorities made her do to forced labor, attempted to brainwash her with propaganda films about Falun Gong, and tortured her with physical assault, sleep deprivation, and verbal abuse.

When Ms. Qiu was not in detention, she and her family faced constant harassment from the police. In the most egregious case, authorities pressured and threatened her husband into divorcing her.

On June 3, 2006, the Chuantang Police Station drafted a divorce complaint for the married couple and forced her husband to sign it. The Dengta District Court approved the divorce and delivered the ruling, signed by judge Huang Zhifang and clerk Tian Weien, to her parents.

Ms. Qiu belatedly found out when the ruling papers were delivered to her parents’ house. And following six years of nonstop harassment and torture by authorities for her faith, she could do nothing about her divorce in the end.

Based on an original Minghui article.