(Minghui.org) A 56-year-old man in Jinan City, Shandong Province, stood trial on May 18, 2026, because he practices Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Mr. Qiao Chenglin, a fertilizer factory worker, was arrested at his home on January 13, 2026. The five arresting officers from the Shuangshan First Police Station raided his home and took him away without allowing him to put on shoes. They targeted him after spotting him putting up Falun Gong flyers earlier that day.
The police took Mr. Qiao to the Guanzhuang Detention Center and submitted his case to the Zhangqiu District Procuratorate. He was indicted on an unknown date and stood trial at the Zhangqiu District Court on May 18, 2026.
His family was blocked outside the courthouse. A staffer initially promised to let them in after a while but soon threatened to get them arrested for disturbing court order if they still requested to attend the trial. He also refused to disclose the names of the prosecutor and the presiding judge.
This is not the first time Mr. Qiao has been targeted for his faith, which he credits for curing his stubborn psoriasis. He was arrested at home on August 21, 2018, by officers from the Shuangshan First Police Station. Someone reported him when he talked to people about Falun Gong. He was held at the Zhonggong Lockup for 15 days and released on September 5.
Mr. Qiao was arrested at work on June 3, 2020, by four agents, including chief Zhang Bingqiang of the Shuangshan First Police Station and captain Wei Hongbo of the Zhangqiu District Domestic Security Office. They targeted him after a surveillance camera recorded him distributing Falun Gong materials in a residential area on May 3 that year. He was released on bail hours later but he was summoned to the domestic security office on July 8. Vice captain Sun Fengguo interrogated him.
Jiao Peng from the Zhangqiu District Procuratorate called Mr. Qiao on August 3, 2020, and ordered him to report to them because they received his case from the Zhangqiu District Police Department. To avoid being prosecuted for his faith, he quit his job and went into hiding. Captain Wei and officers from the Shuangshan First Police Station harassed his wife frequently and demanded to know his whereabouts.
Officers from the Shuangshan First Police Station later tracked Mr. Qiao down and arrested him at his new workplace on April 15, 2022. They interrogated him at the police station and later released him on bail.
Prosecutor Chen Jing deposed Mr. Qiao on May 13, 2022. He initially refused to sign the case file, but Chen deceived him into signing it. She indicted him five days later and submitted his case to the Zhangqiu District Court on the same day.
Mr. Qiao stood trial weeks later on June 14, 2022. Presiding judge Xu Shanshan appointed a lawyer for him, and instructed the lawyer to enter a guilty plea against his will. He was not allowed to testify in his own defense.
An officer from the Shuangshan First Police Station summoned Mr. Qiao on August 2, 2022. When he went there he was taken for a physical exam. After that, he was put in the Jinan City Fourth Detention Center and missed his daughter’s wedding.
Judge Xu later sentenced Mr. Qiao to one year at an unknown time. Her clerk Liu Lu and prosecutor Chen also signed the verdict.
Mr. Qiao was admitted to the Shandong Province Prison on February 24, 2023. He coughed frequently, and the guards moved his bed to the hallway to not bother other inmates. It was cold and noisy in the hallway, and he was unable to fall asleep. He had nightmares and twitched in his sleep. He also screamed, kicked, and punched things from time to time. Such symptoms persisted after he was released on August 4, 2023. To not scare his wife, he moved in with his mother who lives in a rural area. After his symptoms subsided, he moved back home.
Previously Jailed for One Year, Shandong Man Faces Indictment for Practicing Falun Gong