Gansu Man Sentenced Another Five Years After Being Jailed for 19 Years

(Minghui.org) Just one year after a 59-year-old Lanzhou City, Gansu Province resident was released from serving 19 years in prison for his faith in Falun Gong, he was arrested again and sentenced to another 5-year term. He has appealed the verdict.

Mr. Li Wenming, also known as Li Mingyi, was an employee of Lanzhou Locomotive Works. He used to suffer from numerous chronic illnesses including those in the respiratory system, digestive system, and urinary system. In addition to asthma in the fall and winter, he had chronic gastroenteritis, chronic rhinitis, and pharyngitis all year around. He struggled with frequent back pain, limb weakness, and fatigue. He tried medication and as well as various qigong systems, and even visited remote places hoping to find a spiritual master to treat him, but all his searching ended in vain. 

Upon learning Falun Gong in 1996, Mr. Li was very impressed by the profound teachings. He was in tears while watching the video lectures of Mr. Li Hongzhi, founder of the practice. Shortly after beginning to practice, Mr. Li Wenming applied the core principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in his daily life, from his words to his actions. All his illnesses disappeared and he became a better person who was always considerate of others. 

Since the former Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Jiang Zemin began to suppress Falun Gong in July 1999, Mr. Li was arrested several times. 

On May 19, 2000, a local practitioner, Ms. Yao Baorong, fell to her death from the fifth floor of the police station, two days after her arrest. Because he went to see Ms. Yao’s body held at an air force hospital, Mr. Li was arrested and given an unknown term at the Ping’antai Labor Camp. He suffered relentless torture at the fifth brigade, including being handcuffed behind the back to metal wires that were used to dry clothing. 

Torture illustration: Handcuffed behind the back

As the CCP kept spreading defamatory propaganda against Falun Gong to mislead the public, practitioners in Lanzhou intercepted the cable television network on August 17 and 18, 2002, and played videos of the real story about Falun Gong for half an hour. Mr. Li was arrested on August 30 that month and detained at the First Branch of Lanzhou Police Department. The police not only beat him, but also shocked him with electric batons once every minute, leaving Mr. Li on the verge of death. 

Seven practitioners who participated in the event were given heavy terms by the Chengguan District Court of Lanzhou on October 27. Among them, Mr. Li Wenming, Mr. Wei Junren, and Mr. Wang Pengyun received a 20-year term each. Mr. Sun Zhaohai, Mr. Qiang Xiaoyi, Mr. Liu Zhirong, and Mr. Su Anzhou received terms between 10 and 19 years. 

Mr. Li was an orphan and prison administration nonetheless blocked others from visiting him saying they were not his immediate family members. As a result, no one was able to visit him while he was tortured miserably till his release in August 2021 (one year before the end of his prison term). 

Mr. Li was destitute when he returned to his apartment affiliated with Lanzhou Locomotive Works. Influenced by the CCP’s slanderous propaganda, his neighbor discriminated against him and humiliated him, forcing Mr. Li to move out and live at a rental place. 

Before the CCP’s 20th National Congress in October 2022, Lanzhou officials launched a “One-Hundred-Day Strike” and arrested numerous Falun Gong practitioners. Mr. Li was seized at his rental place on August 23, 2022, by over 10 police officers from Qilihe Domestic Security Office and Xizhan Police Station. He was kept at the Honggu District Detention Center and then transferred to Xiguoyuan Detention Center. The Chengguan District Procuratorate indicted him and brought his case to Chengguan District Court in late February 2023. The judge later sentenced Mr. Li to a 5-year term with a fine of 30,000 yuan. 

Perpetrators’ contact information:

Chai Wen (柴文), officer of Xizhan Police Station: [phone]Ma Bing (马兵), officer of Xizhan Police Station: [phone]Luo Tao (罗涛), president of Chengguan District Procuratorate: [phone]Li Xiaochun (李晓春), president of Chengguan District Court: [phone], [phone], [phone]

Related reports:

Lanzhou Man Faces Prison Sentence Again After Serving 19 Years for His Faith

Lanzhou Man Arrested Again a Year after Serving 20 Years for His Faith, Whereabouts Unknown

Torn Apart by the Persecution: Wife Recently Arrested after 13 Years on the Run, Husband Still Serving a 20-Year Illegal Sentence

Lanzhou City Police Officers Crudely Torture Practitioners Mr. Li Wenming, Mr. Su Anzhou, and Ms. Wang Ailan