(Minghui.org) Today’s news from China includes incidents of persecution that took place in 11 cities or counties in 5 provinces, where at least 33 practitioners were recently persecuted for their belief.
Eighteen practitioners were arrested on April 15, 2026. Six practitioners, including Wang Liu, Zuo Cuihua, Sun Fang, Tu Jianping, Zhang Pingyu, and Cheng Baomei, have since been released. The other 12 are still detained, including Tong Shuying, Lin Yong, Wang Youmei, Wu Guihong, Du Yaoe, Shen Baozhi, Tao Lei and his wife, Lin San, Yu Yin’ai, Xiao (first name unknown), and Fenghuang (nickname).
Ms. Zhang Yujie, Ms. Li Xiujuan, and Ms. Zhang Liyan were arrested on April 22, 2026, when they were shopping together. The police accused Ms. Li of printing Falun Gong messages on paper currency. They ransacked her home, and seized over 500 paper bills with Falun Gong messages printed on them. She is detained in the Dehui City Detention Center.
Ms. Zhang Yujie was rushed to the hospital for emergency care because she collapsed several times during her arrest.
Ms. Zhang Liyan was released the same day. The police tried to trick her into providing information to incriminate the other two practitioners.
Mr. Ding Jianchao, in his 30s, was arrested on August 21, 2025, after someone reported him for distributing Falun Gong printouts. He was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison. He appealed with the Jining City Intermediate Court, which scheduled a hearing for May 1, 2026. He is being held in the Jinxiang Detention Center.
Ms. Wang Huihua, nearly 80 years old, was arrested at home on January 20, 2026, by officers from the Haigang Police Station. They ransacked her place, and seized her Falun Gong books and printouts, notebook computer, and other belongings. She has since been released on bail.
Ms. Song Shuwen, 74, was arrested on February 6, 2026, and has since been held in the Fushun City Detention Center. The Dongzhou District Procuratorate has returned her case to the police twice for further investigation. The Longfeng Police Station is still trying to find new “evidence” against her.
Ms. Li Yuyang’s residential community administrator led officers from the Jin’eshan Police Station to her home on April 22, 2026. They ransacked the home of the 72-year-old incapacitated woman, seizing 10 music players with Falun Gong exercise music, several hundred yuan in cash, dozens of Falun Gong books, two pictures of the founder of Falun Gong, and Falun Gong printouts.
Ms. Cai Yufang and Ms. Shao Hongzhen have been under close surveillance in April 2026.
Ms. Hu Liqun, a retiree from Materials Supply Department of Shengli Oil Field, was arrested on April 16, 2026, when she entered her condo building, by Xu Guanghuan and others from the Dongying Political Security Brigade. While she was interrogated at the police department, Xu returned to her home with two officers and ransacked the place. She was given seven days of administrative detention.
Mr. Zhang Dinggang, his wife, Ms. Ji Qingzhu, and daughter, Ms. Zhang Yannan, have been forced to live away from home since December 2022, to avoid being arrested. Unable to find them, officers from the Jiushuilu Police Station and Domestic Security Division repeatedly harassed their relatives. The latest harassment happened in January 2026.
Ms. Wu Yumei, 81, was arrested on November 17, 2022. A plainclothes officer noticed her distributing Falun Gong printouts, followed her home, arrested her, and forced her to pose for a photo while holding the printouts. Due to health reasons, she was denied admission by the detention center.
The Laiwu District Court sentenced Ms. Wu to eight months in prison in 2023. She was taken to detention center three times, but was denied admission each time due to her health condition. In 2024, officers from the Huayuan Police Station dropped her off at the detention center, and still failed to force the guards to take her. The Shandong Province Women’s Prison accepted her on July 2, 2025, and she was released on February 7, 2026.
Ms. Zhu Fangzhi’s home was ransacked on April 23, 2026, by officers from the Weihai Economic and Technological Development Zone Domestic Security Division, while she was out. The officers pried open the door, harassed her family, and seized her Falun Gong books, computers, printers, and other belongings. They said that someone had reported her for distributing Falun Gong printouts on April 3, and threatened to prosecute her if her family did not turn her in. The family was scared and forced her to report to the police when she returned home.