(Minghui.org) A man in Yishui County, Shandong Province, completed a four-year prison term on February 8, 2026, for his faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
The prison sentence of Mr. Zhang Xiuqiang, around 51, stemmed from his arrest on February 8, 2022, after he was reported for putting up self-adhesive stickers reading “Falun Dafa is good.” He was held at the Zhongxin Street Police Station overnight before being taken to the Yishui County Case Processing Center the next day. On February 10, he was moved to the Mengyin County Detention Center for quarantine (due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
The Yishui County Procuratorate deposed Mr. Zhang through a virtual meeting on February 15, 2022. He refused to admit guilt as ordered. The police transferred him to the Yishui County Detention Center on March 3, 2022.
The Yinan County Procuratorate later took over the case. Both Yinan County and Yishui County are under the administration of Linyi City. Mr. Zhang was indicted on May 11, 2022. The Yinan County Court held a virtual hearing of him on May 25 and sentenced him to four years on June 21. He appealed to the Linyi City Intermediate Court two days later. The higher court had a hearing of his appeals on August 4 and ruled against him on August 23.
Mr. Zhang was admitted to the Shandong Province Prison on March 29, 2023. He was held at the team for newly admitted inmates for three days before being assigned to the eleventh division. He refused to renounce Falun Gong and was put under strict management. The guards forced him to sit on a small stool for long hours every day.
Mr. Zhang was released on February 8, 2026.
Mr. Zhang took up Falun Gong in 1996 and became much more energetic. An employee at the Zhongbai Department Store, he was well-regarded by his colleagues and also won an award.
After the persecution began in 1999, Mr. Zhang held firm to his faith and was repeatedly targeted. One summer day in 2001, his manager summoned him to the office and ordered him to renounce Falun Gong. He said no, and was beaten by his coworkers. Wang Xiaoyang punched him on the face, causing his mouth and nose to bleed. Yang Rui next dragged him to another office and threw a mug at him. Yang and Li Tao grabbed his hand to press fingerprints when he refused to write a statement to give up his spiritual belief.
They also ordered Mr. Zhang to watch videos slandering Falun Gong. He refused to comply, and Li Tao pinched his neck to force him to watch the videos. Li Sheng forced him to smoke and locked him in the security office. Li Bo beat him so badly that he became disoriented. Li Bo then accused him of having a thought disorder.
Mr. Zhang’s employer later forced him to pay 5,000 yuan before releasing him. He later managed to get 4,000 yuan back.
Li Hongwei from the department store seized Mr. Zhang in April 2001 upon learning that he had gone to Beijing to appeal for his right to practice Falun Gong. He was taken to the Yishui County Detention Center. One month later, he was moved to a brainwashing center. After 40 days, he was taken back to the security office in the department store. Some time later, he was sent to a lockup and held there for another 15 days.
Mr. Zhang was arrested on April 3, 2009, after being reported for distributing Falun Gong informational materials. He was beaten while held at the Yishui County Detention Center. One month later, he was given one and a half years of forced labor and admitted to the Zhangqiu Second Labor Camp. He held firm to his faith and was tortured. He was forced to stand facing a wall for long hours and sleep on the floor at night. His systolic blood pressure shot up to 200 mmHg at one point (when a normal range is 120 or lower).
Mr. Zhang was released after 540 days at the labor camp. He was arrested again on June 20, 2021, after being reported for distributing Falun Gong informational materials. The Yaodianzi Town Police Station raided his home and confiscated seven Falun Gong books. After one night at the police station, he was taken to the Chaishan Lockup, where he was held for 15 days.
Mr. Zhang got married in 2001, and the local village officials forced his parents to pay 5,000 yuan because “he had not renounced Falun Gong.” They also did not process his wife’s application to be added to his household registration book. After she became pregnant, they attempted, unsuccessfully, to make her abort the fetus.
The village officials also refused to approve the couple’s son’s household registration. They struggled to get the local school to accept him when he turned five in 2007.
Mr. Zhang’s parents were evicted from their own home by the village officials on February 15, 2007. They were not allowed to return until six months later. Mr. Zhang was also forced to live away from home.
The village officials dispatched a group of club-wielding men to raid Mr. Zhang’s home on the evening of March 10, 2008. He was not in, and they took his father to the police station. They covered the older man’s head and beat and kicked him hard. He wasn’t given any food during the time he was detained.
Mr. Zhang’s mother was devastated and fell ill when he was put in the labor camp in 2009. The guards did not allow anyone to visit him. His mother’s condition kept declining, and she died on December 9, 2010, at the age of 57.
Mr. Zhang’s mother-in-law, in her 80s, was also dealt a hard blow with his latest arrest and prison sentence. She often asked her daughter when Mr. Zhang would return home. She passed away on December 14, 2025, less than two months before the end of Mr. Zhang’s term.