(Minghui.org) Mr. Gai Yongguang, 68, in Meihekou City, Jilin Province, was secretly sentenced to seven years and nine months for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999. He is serving time at the Ninth Division of the Jilin Province Prison.
Mr. Gai was arrested on July 19, 2024, by officers from the Henan Police Station and the Tiebei Police Station. His Falun Gong books, computer, cash and other personal items were confiscated. His wife, Ms. Wang Xiujuan, son and daughter-in-law, were also arrested. While his family members were soon released, he was taken to the Meihekou City Detention Center.
Mr. Gai was beaten after he arrived at the detention center. He started a hunger strike in protest, only to be tortured more. The inmates and guards isolated him from others, so details about the torture he suffered weren’t clear. However, inmates in nearby cells often heard him screaming in pain in the middle of the night. As a result of the torture, he was unable to walk and had to use a wheelchair. His family was not allowed to visit him and the police kept them in the dark about his status.
In early May 2026, about 22 months after Mr. Gai’s arrest, his family learned that he was sent to Jilin Province Prison to serve a prison sentence of seven years and nine months. He was also fined 30,000 yuan. He appealed but lost.
According to an insider, Mr. Gai is tortured prison because he refuses to renounce Falun Gong. He is still unable to walk on his own and has to lean against a wall or be held by someone in order to move forward slowly.
This isn’t the first time that Mr. Gai has been persecuted for practicing Falun Gong. He previously served a labor camp term and was forced to live away from home for months to avoid arrest.
Prior Labor Camp Term
After the persecution started in July 1999, Mr. Gai appealed to the government multiple times for the right to practice Falun Gong, and he was detained each time.
He was arrested again in late March 2000 for refusing to sign a government-sponsored petition defaming Falun Gong. He was given an unknown labor camp term on April 27, 2000, and transferred to the Tonghua City Forced Labor Camp.
Guard Sun Jianfu instigated inmates Fu Shibo and Wei Lin to question Mr. Gai if he still practiced Falun Gong. When Mr. Gai said yes, the inmates beat him. Fu also stomped on his head. Mr. Gai’s nose bled, and his face swelled.
Guard Sun beat Mr. Gai again on June 24, 2001, with the excuse that he hadn’t finished the assigned labor work.
Mr. Gai protested to Zhang Ping, the head of the labor camp, on the evening of October 11, 2001, demanding that he stop persecuting Falun Gong practitioners. Zhang verbally abused him and Falun Gong, and ordered the guards to beat him. “Beat him to within an inch of his life!” Zhang shouted.
Five other Falun Gong practitioners tried to stop the guards, but were beaten as well. The guards finally stopped beating Mr. Gai and the other practitioners after more than 40 minutes. One of them became incontinent. Mr. Gai and two practitioners were put in solitary confinement that night. The next morning, over 20 Falun Gong practitioners started a hunger strike to protest.
Mr. Gai was transferred to the Chaoyanggou Forced Labor Camp in early 2002. Around 700 Falun Gong practitioners were detained there.
Guard Li Jun instigated inmate Wang Dechao to beat Mr. Gai. Li bragged that he wouldn’t face any consequences, even if Mr. Gai were beaten to death. Mr. Gai had difficulty talking as a result of the beating.
On April 5, 2002, the labor camp held a “100 Day Transformation Battle.” Director Chen Lihui ordered the guards to evaluate each practitioner. Those who refused to renounce Falun Gong, including Mr. Gai, were shocked with electric batons and beaten.
Forced to Live Away from Home
A group of police officers broke into Mr. Gai’s home on April 24, 2008. He and Ms. Wang weren’t home. The police ransacked their place and confiscated their laptop, printer, 500 yuan in cash, envelopes, and other belongings. The couple was forced to live away from home to hide from the police.
Mr. Gai was arrested in Hongmei Town, which is located on the southwest of Meihekou City, on October 13, 2008. Due to health reasons, he was denied admission to the detention center and he was released that day.