(Minghui.org) A 51-year-old man in Yishui County, Shandong Province has been subjected to constant torture and strict management while serving a four-year sentence.
Mr. Zhang Xiuqiang was arrested on February 8, 2022, after he was reported for putting up self-adhesive stickers reading “Falun Dafa is good.” He was sentenced to four years by the Yinan County Court on June 21, 2022, and admitted to the Shandong Province Prison on March 29, 2023. He was released on February 8, 2026.
Upon Mr. Zhang’s prison admission, he was first held at the team for newly admitted inmates. Three days later, he was transferred to the Eleventh Division. As he refused to give up practicing Falun Gong, the guards moved him around to different cells and placed him under strict management.
Initially, Mr. Zhang was held in a cell by himself. Inmate Wang Guangjin was assigned to watch him. Mr. Zhang wasn’t allowed to leave the cell and was forced to sit on a small stool for 16 hours without moving. Only at midnight was he permitted to wash himself and go to bed. Three other inmates, Wu Mingming, Che Miao, and Huang Zaiqian, took turns ordering him to renounce Falun Gong.
To protest the persecution, Mr. Zhang went on a hunger strike from May 19 to May 23, 2024. Inmate Wu hit his hands with a book, and Huang scratched his hands until they bled. After he began eating again, they gave him only half a spoonful of food for each meal and strictly limited his water intake. He was transferred to a regular cell on June 7, 2023.
Mr. Zhang was forced to write a statement to renounce Falun Gong against his will. He soon regretted it and wrote a retraction on September 18, 2023. In retaliation, the guards deprived him of sleep and forced him to sit on a small stool.
On October 16, 2023, Mr. Zhang was transferred to the high-security zone on the sixth floor of the Eleventh Division. Inmates Liu Guishan and Xiao Peibao watched him on strict management.
A week later, on October 22, Mr. Zhang was transferred to a cell on the fifth floor and ordered to study Buddhism. When he refused, inmate Wu Jinda forced him to attend a different brainwashing session for two weeks. Mr. Zhang still refused to read or listen to the Buddhist materials. He was transferred to the eastern district of the Second Division on November 8, and then taken to the western district of the Second Division on November 13, 2023, to do forced labor.
At the Second Division, Mr. Zhang was forced to stand for hours on end every day because he refused to renounce his faith.
Several inmates, including Zhou Bo and Ma Yingwen, beat Mr. Zhang on the face and chest on January 29, 2024. He had difficulty breathing, and his teeth were bleeding. He reported the incident to the guards, who only lightly punished the inmates by going through the motions.
Mr. Zhang was forced to sweep snow and carry heavy goods. His fingers were injured by a machine on March 14, 2024, but the guards forced him to continue working without a break.
Mr. Zhang was taken back to the eastern district of the Second Division on March 20, 2024. As he was spotted doing Falun Gong exercises, he was transferred back to the Eleventh Division on April 18, 2024, for further “transformation.”
The guards frequently moved Mr. Zhang to different cells, where the head inmates, including Xu Chao, Zhang Guangwei, Zhao Chuanfeng, Wu Jinfa, Gong Qizhong, Hao Chenglong, and Xiao Peibao, were experienced in “transforming” Falun Gong practitioners. They frequently talked to Mr. Zhang and attempted to pressure him into giving in. When he remained firm in upholding his faith, they deprived him of sleep, forced him to sit on a small stool for hours, and made him watch propaganda videos.
Between August 26 and October 10, 2024, Mr. Zhang wasn’t allowed to go to bed until 11 p.m. Then the inmates would wake him up at 1 a.m., allowing him to sleep again at 3 a.m., and forcing him to get up again at 5 a.m.
On December 30, Mr. Zhang was transferred to the northern district on the sixth floor. He was again forced to sit on a small stool for long hours each day and not allowed to go to bed until midnight.
On January 17, 2025, 12 days before the Chinese New Year, Mr. Zhang was transferred to the high-security zone and placed under strict management for 69 days.
During this time, he suffered daily verbal abuse and beatings, and was forced to sit on a small stool without moving. He was also deprived of sleep and forced to watch propaganda materials slandering Falun Gong.
Mr. Zhang was taken to the cell headed by inmate Liu Guishan on March 26, 2025, and held there for 90 days. He was then moved to a cell on the fifth floor on June 25 and forced to stay awake for seven and a half hours at night.
Due to severe sleep deprivation, Mr. Zhang developed a severe heart condition with intense headaches. Only then did the guards allow him to go to bed earlier.
Inmates Liu Guishan, Sun Youda and Hao Chenglong beat Mr. Zhang on October 13, 2025, after he shouted “Falun Dafa is good” in the cell.
On November 14, 2025, the guards attempted to force Mr. Zhang to write a statement saying that his physical condition had nothing to do with the prison. He refused to comply. The guards deprived him of sleep again, accusing him of “disobeying prison management.”
In addition to the physical abuse, Mr. Zhang was also denied other basic rights. He was only allowed to call his family once a year. He had to submit a formal application for the call and the conversation was monitored by the guards. His family was never allowed to visit him in the prison.
Each month, regular inmates could spend 360 yuan on extra food or daily necessities, but Mr. Zhang was only allowed to spend 36 yuan, on the condition that his application was approved. As the application contained language smearing Falun Gong, he refused to fill it out and was thus denied the right to buy items.
On December 24, 2025, inmate Wang Jinfeng demanded that Mr. Zhang deliver a “prison release speech.” Mr. Zhang refused, as one requirement for the speech was to slander Falun Gong.
On January 23, 2026, Mr. Zhang was ordered to write an annual review, which had a field for his “crime.” He refused to write it. On February 6, the guards made another request for him to make the “prison release speech.” He again refused.
He was released on February 8, 2026.
Shandong Man, Around 51, Jailed for Four Years Because of His Faith in Falun Gong