(Minghui.org) On Human Rights Day, December 10, 2025, Falun Gong practitioners in 48 countries submitted another list of perpetrators related to the persecution of Falun Gong in China to their governments. They also requested that these perpetrators and their family members be barred from entering the country and that their assets be frozen.
Below are details of the persecution committed by Yuan Gujie, standing committee member of the Guangdong Provincial Committee and secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Committee.
Perpetrator Information
Full Name of Perpetrator: Yuan (last name) Gujie (first name) (袁古洁)Gender: FemaleCountry: ChinaDate/year of Birth: May 1968Place of Birth: Zunyi City, Guizhou Province
Title or Position
2016 – 2018: deputy procurator-general of the Guangdong Provincial People’s Procuratorate2018 – 2019: deputy minister of the United Front Work Department of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), director and Party secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Ethnic and Religious Affairs Commission2019 – 2022: deputy secretary of the Maoming Municipal Committee of the CCP, Mayor of Maoming, secretary of the Maoming Municipal Committee of the CCP, and chairman of the Standing Committee of the Maoming Municipal People’s Congress2022 – Present: Standing Committee member of the CCP Guangdong Provincial Committee and secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Committee
Main Crimes
The CCP’s Central Political and Legal Affairs Committee (PLAC) oversees public security, law enforcement, and judiciary agencies. In the persecution of Falun Gong, the PLAC acts as the mastermind giving orders behind the scenes.
Since assuming the position of standing committee member of the Guangdong Provincial Committee and secretary of the Guangdong Provincial PLAC in May 2022, Yuan Gujie has continued to implement the genocidal policy against Falun Gong practitioners, aiming to “ruin their reputations, destroy them physically, and bankrupt them financially.”
She has organized the long-term tracking, monitoring, and surveillance of practitioners. She is also responsible for the arbitrary arrests and prison sentences of many practitioners. A Zhuhai City Court judge once said that every decision must be approved by the PLAC, and judges don't have the final say in Falun Gong cases.
During Yuan’s tenure as the secretary of the Guangdong Provincial PLAC, at least 261 Falun Gong practitioners were arrested and 196 were harassed; 85 were sentenced; and eight passed away as a result of the persecution.
I. Persecution During Yuan’s Tenure as Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee
a. Select Death and Sentencing Cases
Case 1: 86-Year-Old Guangdong Woman Dies One Year After Court Hearing and Frequent Police Harassment
Ms. Liao Yuying, an 86-year-old woman in Maoming City, Guangdong Province, died in December 2024, while awaiting a verdict in her trial for practicing Falun Gong.
Ms. Liao Yuying
After the communist regime launched the nationwide campaign against Falun Gong in July 1999, Ms. Liao was repeatedly arrested over the years, and served two years of forced labor (November 2000 – November 2002).
Following her last arrest on April 21, 2022, while the police released her on bail hours later due to her poor health, they kept harassing her in an attempt to take her back into custody. They took her for physical examinations on multiple occasions, but she was always found to be in poor health and unfit for detention. She was most recently taken for a physical examination on August 15, 2023, and the results still showed she had high blood pressure.
Ms. Liao was taken to the Maonan District Court for a hearing on December 25, 2023. Her family was not allowed to attend the session. Her two lawyers argued that no law in China criminalizes Falun Gong or labels it as being a cult. Ms. Liao’s practice of Falun Gong caused no harm to any individual, or society at large, much less undermined law enforcement. The lawyers demanded her acquittal.
The judges adjourned the hearing and allowed Ms. Liao to go home. She never recovered from her poor health and died in December 2024, while still awaiting a verdict.
Case 2: Guangdong Senior Dies Weeks After Being Released in Critical Condition
Ms. Yao Jingjiao, of Jieyang City, Guangdong Province, died on November 20, 2024, just weeks after she was released on parole in critical condition. She was only a month shy of her 85th birthday.
Ms. Yao was returned to her hometown by ambulance on October 25, 2024, after she became critically ill while serving a three-year term in Guangdong Province Women’s Prison.
In her final weeks, Ms. Yao faced frequent harassment from the authorities. Even eight days before her passing, her family was ordered to take a photo of her to submit to the authorities to see if she was well enough to be re-admitted to prison.
Ms. Yao’s wrongful conviction stemmed from her initial arrest on June 14, 2020. She was released on bail the next day. After she was sentenced to three years in November 2022, she remained on bail until May 5, 2023, when the police took her for a physical exam. She had high blood pressure, but the police still took her to the Jiedong District Detention Center, where she was held until she was transferred to Guangdong Province Women’s Prison in early July 2023. Due to her persistent high blood pressure and declining health, the prison put her in its in-house hospital the day she was admitted.
When Ms. Yao broke her right leg on September 9, 2024, the prison did not notify her family of her condition until mid-September. Her loved ones were told to come to the prison to sign a consent form, so she could be operated on. They went but were not allowed to see her. After they signed the form, the prison said the surgery had to be canceled due to Ms. Yao’s weak physical condition.
The prison called the family again in mid-October 2024, and asked them to seek approval from the Jieyang City 610 Office to have Ms. Yao released on parole. Her family sprang into action, but it took the 610 Office a week to approve the request. The prison, however, did not release Ms. Yao immediately. They extorted a total of 30,000 yuan from her family over three occasions before finally agreeing to release her on parole.
Early on October 25, 2024, the prison arranged for an ambulance to drive Ms. Yao to the Jieyang City Chinese Medicine Hospital. Her family members, who were waiting at the hospital entrance, were shocked to see an almost unrecognizable Ms. Yao being carried out of the ambulance. She was in a near-vegetative state with her mouth agape. She could move her eyes but she could not speak.
The guard who escorted her said her right leg still had not healed and she had multiple organ failures. He announced that the prison was now formally turning her over to her family, and ordered them to sign a waiver releasing the prison from any responsibility should anything happen to Ms. Yao. When they refused to sign, the guard threatened to take her back to prison, so they gave in and signed it. They then rushed her to the hospital.
After days in the ICU, Ms. Yao still showed no signs of improvement. On the afternoon of November 4, 2024, she was unable to eat and her breathing was very shallow. Hospital officials did not want her to die in their care and discharged her that day.
Ms. Yao regained mental clarity after returning home, thanks to her family’s meticulous care. However, she choked on food and water because she had difficulty swallowing, leaving her thirsty and hungry, which worsened her condition. It is unclear why her family was unable to get her an IV or a feeding tube.
Despite her condition, the 610 Office instructed village officials to harass her at home and take photos of her. They called her family on November 12 and ordered them to take a picture of her to submit to the authorities. She died eight days later.
Case 3: Healthy Man Dies While Being Held in Psychiatric Hospital for His Faith
Mr. He Jingru of Huizhou City, Guangdong Province was taken to a local psychiatric hospital after he was arrested in 2024 for his faith in Falun Gong. Perfectly healthy before his arrest, he died in the hospital months later on May 20, 2025. He was 67. Details about the possible torture or involuntary drug administration he suffered aren’t clear.
Mr. He, born in July 1957, was repeatedly targeted for his faith after the Chinese Communist Party ordered the persecution of Falun Gong in 1999. He served a three-year forced labor term (January 2001 to January 2004) and three five-year prison terms (July 2003 to July 2008, January 2010 to January 2015, and April 2017 to April 2022).
During his 18 years of prior imprisonment, Mr. He was subjected to numerous forms of torture, such as severe beatings, being scalded with boiling water, involuntary administration of toxic drugs that damaged his central nervous system, being hung up, and sleep deprivation. His arm was broken after a beating session in 2012, while he was serving his second prison term.
Case 4: Mentally Healthy Woman Drugged at Two Psychiatric Hospitals, Dies Nine Months Later at 38
Over the course of two days, Ms. Liu Binghuan, a mentally healthy woman, was held in two different psychiatric hospitals, where she was injected with sedatives and unknown drugs. After she was released, her health steadily declined, her memory was hazy from time to time, and she eventually lost her ability to take care of herself. She died in the early hours of July 28, 2025. The 38-year-old woman is survived by her newlywed husband.
Ms. Liu, a native of Jinan City, Shandong Province, faced repeated persecution for her faith over the years. She served one year of forced labor between 2008 and 2009.
Ms. Liu was predeceased by her mother, Ms. Li Sufang, who also practiced Falun Gong. Ms. Li was sentenced to five years in 2017 for talking to people about Falun Gong. She developed high blood pressure due to the mental pressure and physical torture, and passed away in late 2019.
Case 5: Four Guangdong Residents Sentenced to Up to Ten Years in Prison for Practicing Falun Gong
Four Meizhou City, Guangdong Province residents were sentenced to prison in late December 2024. Mr. Li Zhuozhong, a former middle school teacher in his 50s, and his wife, Ms. Liao Yuanqun, a former kindergarten teacher, were both sentenced to ten years and fined a total of 150,000 yuan. Mr. Xie Yujun, 56, and Ms. Liao Juanna were each given five years and fined 70,000 yuan.
Mr. Li and Ms. Liao Yuanqun were arrested on April 19, 2024. The police spent over three hours searching the couple’s place. Several printers and over 200,000 yuan in cash were confiscated. Ms. Liao Juanna (no relation) was seized on the same day.
On April 24, 2024, the same group of officers descended at Mr. Xie’s home to arrest him. As he wasn’t in, they began to search the place. His wife tried to stop them. The police produced a search warrant with no signature and continued the raid. Mr. Xie’s cellphone, media player, flash-drives, desktop computer, and surveillance cameras were confiscated.
The police hunted for Mr. Xie and arrested him a day later. Both his wife and ten-year-old son, who were intimidated during the home-raid, were placed on house arrest. His wife was informed on May 27 that his arrest had been approved.
Case 6: 81-Year-Old Cancer-Stricken Woman Accused of “Being Harmful to Society,”—3.5-Year Prison Sentence Upheld
An 81-year-old cancer-stricken woman from Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, was admitted to the Guangdong Province Women’s Prison around February 2025, after she lost her appeal against a 3.5-year prison term.
The ordeal of Ms. Zhao Ying, a retired bank manager, stemmed from her arrest on April 26, 2021, for distributing informational materials about Falun Gong. After she was released on May 11, 2021, due to high blood pressure, the police frequently harassed her at home.
The mental pressure of the persecution took a toll on Ms. Zhao’s health. She fainted at home on December 12, 2021, and was diagnosed with bladder cancer. She was operated on twice and had several rounds of chemotherapy and immunotherapy.
Ms. Zhao was arrested again on August 1, 2024, when she returned from a trip to her hometown in Huaian City, Jiangsu Province. The police accused her of trying to escape. Ms. Zhao argued that the one-year bail condition she was given on February 22, 2023 had already expired, and she was free to travel anywhere, anytime. The police still put her in the Tianhe District Detention Center.
Ms. Zhao was made to stand trial in the Haizhu District Court on September 5, 2024 and sentenced to a 3.5-year prison term with a 5,000-yuan fine on October 29. She appealed with the Guangzhou City Intermediate Court, which ruled on December 30, 2024 to uphold the original verdict. The judges accused her of “trying to escape” and stated that she was “harmful to society.”
In addition to the bladder cancer, Ms. Zhao is also struggling with a number of other serious illnesses, including a heart condition, diabetes, and high cholesterol. Despite her medical condition and advanced age, the authorities still transferred her to the Guangdong Province Women’s Prison around February 2025. Her family members are very worried about her.
b. Brainwashing Campaigns Against Falun Gong
For many years, the Guangdong Provincial PLAC has used the internet to launch slander campaigns against Falun Gong practitioners, inciting hatred against them.
In collaboration with “anti-cult” agencies, they established the main website, “Guangdong Anti-Cult Network,” supported by three social media accounts: the Guangdong Anti-Cult Association’s official WeChat account, “Mumian Yayun”; the “Guangdong Anti-Cult” Weibo microblogging page; and the “Baiyun Songtao” online column.
Notably, the “Mumian Yayun” WeChat account was selected as an “Outstanding Account” on the Central PLAC’s list of “Excellent Political and Legal New Media Accounts.”
In August 2023, the Guangdong Anti-Cult Association and Southern News Network held an advertising competition themed “Uniting Against Cults, Embarking on a New Journey,” under the instruction of the Guangdong Provincial PLAC.
Additionally, the Guangdong Provincial PLAC spent 1.9 million yuan to collaborate with the Southern News Network in creating the so-called “Guangdong Provincial Anti-Cult Warning Education Online Database.” This website is intended to disseminate misinformation about Falun Gong.
On September 3, 2024, the Guangdong Provincial PLAC collaborated with the Shenzhen City PLAC to host the “2024 Guangdong and Shenzhen Anti-Cult Propaganda Week Launch Ceremony” in Luohu District, Shenzhen.
From September to October 2024, the Guangdong Provincial PLAC hosted the “Guangdong Anti-Cult Propaganda Week,” which had the theme “United Against Cults, Jointly Safeguarding Peace.” They held approximately 11,000 activity sessions and distributed over 1.79 million promotional brochures and leaflets to the public.
c. Financial Reward to Entice Citizens to Report Falun Gong Practitioners
On April 7, 2024, based on an order from the Guangdong Provincial PLAC, the Guangdong Provincial Public Security Bureau issued the “Notice on Issuing Rewards for Reporting Criminal Activities Related to Cults.” The notice offered a reward of up to 100,000 yuan for reporting Falun Gong practitioners.
II. Selected Persecution Cases During Yuan’s Tenure as Mayor and Party Secretary of Maoming City, Guangdong Province
On May 18, 2019, staffers from the Stability Maintenance Office, neighborhood committee, village committee, and police stations in Zhensheng Town, Maoming City, harassed many local Falun Gong practitioners, including Chen Meiying, Luo Ji, Chen Yuping, Liang Guangzhen, Wang Zhufeng, Lai Xiuling, Luo Xiaozhu, and Chen Binggui. The harassers intimidated the practitioners, searched their homes, withheld their IDs, and threatened to force their employers to fire them.
On September 28, 2021, Yuan attended a citywide meeting for the “special campaign against organized crime and evil forces,” as well as a meeting to advance the “fight.” She stated that, since launching the special campaign, the Maoming City government has resolutely implemented the central government’s policy, accomplishing the major political task of “waging a comprehensive and decisive war for the people.”
According to information collected by Minghui.org, during Yuan’s tenure as the mayor and Party secretary of Maoming City, at least 69 Falun Gong practitioners were arrested, 103 were harassed, and 9 were sentenced (8 of whom fined a total of 103,000 yuan). Three practitioners died as a result of the persecution.
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