Falun Gong Practitioner in Gansu Province Sentenced to 5 Years After 19-Year Detention

Torture illustration: Handcuffed behind the back

Mr. Li Wenming (also known as Li Mingyi) was indicted by the Chengguan District Procuratorate in February 2023. The judge at the Chengguan District Court sentenced Li to a five-year term with a fine of 30,000 yuan, or approximately $4,200 USD. He has appealed the verdict.

In August 2021, the 59-year-old resident of Lanzhou City, Gansu Province, was released from a 19-year imprisonment. The sentence stemmed from his involvement in intercepting a provincial cable television broadcast with a 30-minute Falun Gong program in 2002. He is also a former employee of Lanzhou Locomotive Works.

Arrested in ‘100-Day Strike’ Campaign Ahead of 20th Party Congress

After his release in 2021, Li was destitute when he returned to his apartment affiliated with Lanzhou Locomotive Works. His neighbor, allegedly influenced by anti-Falun Gong propaganda, harassed him regularly until Li moved out to live at a rental place.

Before the CCP’s 20th National Congress in October 2022, Lanzhou officials launched a “100-Day Strike” campaign and arrested numerous Falun Gong practitioners. On August 23, 2022, over 10 police officers from the Qilihe Domestic Security Office and the Xizhan Police Station seized Li at his home.

Li was detained at the Honggu District Detention Center and then transferred to Xiguoyuan Detention Center. The Chengguan District Procuratorate indicted him and brought his case to Chengguan District Court in late February 2023. The judge later sentenced Mr. Li to a 5-year term with a fine of 30,000 yuan.

Background

Mr. Li Wenming is a former employee of Lanzhou Locomotive Works. He used to suffer from numerous chronic illnesses including those in the respiratory system, digestive system, and urinary system. In addition to asthma in the fall and winter, he had chronic gastroenteritis, chronic rhinitis, and pharyngitis all year around. He struggled with frequent back pain, limb weakness, and fatigue. He tried medication and as well as various qigong systems, and even visited remote places hoping to find a spiritual master to treat him, but all his searching ended in vain.

Upon learning Falun Gong in 1996, Mr. Li was very impressed by the profound teachings. He was in tears while watching the video lectures of Mr. Li Hongzhi, founder of the practice. Shortly after beginning to practice, Mr. Li Wenming applied the core principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in his daily life, from his words to his actions. All his illnesses disappeared and he became a better person who was always considerate of others.

Previously Tortured in Labor Camp and Sentenced to 19 Years

Since the former Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Jiang Zemin began to suppress Falun Gong in July 1999, Mr. Li was arrested several times.

On May 19, 2000, a local practitioner, Ms. Yao Baorong, fell to her death from the fifth floor of the police station, two days after her arrest. He went to see Ms. Yao’s body held at an air force hospital, but was arrested and given an unknown term at the Ping’antai Labor Camp. He suffered relentless torture at the fifth brigade, including being handcuffed behind the back to metal wires that were used to dry clothing.

As the CCP kept spreading defamatory propaganda against Falun Gong to mislead the public, practitioners in Lanzhou intercepted the cable television network on August 17 and 18, 2002, and played Falun Gong programs broadcasting the real story of Falun Gong for half an hour. Mr. Li was arrested on August 30 that month and detained at the First Branch of Lanzhou Police Department. The police not only beat him, but also shocked him with electric batons once every minute, leaving Mr. Li on the verge of death.

Seven practitioners who participated in the event were given heavy terms by the Chengguan District Court of Lanzhou on October 27. Among them, Mr. Li Wenming, Mr. Wei Junren, and Mr. Wang Pengyun received a 20-year term each. Mr. Sun Zhaohai, Mr. Qiang Xiaoyi, Mr. Liu Zhirong, and Mr. Su Anzhou received terms between 10 and 19 years.

Mr. Li is an orphan, yet prison administration nonetheless blocked others from visiting him, claiming to visitation rights are limited to immediate family members. As a result, no one was able to visit him while he was tortured miserably till his release in August 2021 (one year before the end of his prison term).