(Minghui.org) Minghui.org previously reported on 72-year-old Mr. Zhao Jiyuan’s death on July 4, 2025, while he was still serving a 7.5-year term for his faith in Falun Gong. In this report, we present additional information regarding the torture that Mr. Zhao, of Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, suffered at the Jinzhou Prison, as well as his earlier persecution.
Mr. Zhao Jiyuan
Late-Stage Stomach Cancer Disappeared After Taking Up Falun Gong
Mr. Zhao used to work at the Shenyang Fourth Construction Engineering Company. In July 1998, at the age of 45, he was diagnosed with late-stage stomach cancer. He couldn’t keep food down and would vomit even when he drank water. On December 31, 1998, when he was on the verge of death after not being able to eat for nine days, he watched the video recording of the Falun Gong lectures. The next morning, his appetite returned and he could eat normally again. When he returned to the hospital for a checkup, the doctor was shocked to find that the tumor had completely disappeared.
Deeply grateful to Falun Gong for saving his life, he spent most of his free time reading Falun Gong lectures and doing the exercises. Living by the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance, he became a much better, kinder, and more caring person. He quit smoking and playing mahjong. His strained relationship with his family improved as well.
Persecution Overview
After the Chinese Communist Party ordered the persecution of Falun Gong in 1999, Mr. Zhao remained firm in his faith and was repeatedly targeted. He was first laid off by his employer, and then given a one-year labor camp term in October 1999. Following another arrest on February 27, 2001, he was sentenced to seven years and suffered brutal torture in prison. After he was released, the police constantly harassed him, rendering him unable to live a normal life. His last arrest was on July 10, 2019, resulting in a 7.5-year prison term. He served time at the Jinzhou Prison, and was eventually tortured to death there.
While serving his last prison sentence, Mr. Zhao received pension payments for only two years, from 2019 to 2021. The social security bureau claimed that according to a new policy, convicted retirees aren’t entitled to any retirement benefits, even though there was no such stipulation in the Chinese labor law and that the pension payments came from Mr. Zhao’s own contributions after he was laid off in 1999.
After his death, Mr. Zhao’s family applied for the reimbursement of the funeral costs (around 40,000 yuan), which are often covered by a social security fund and one’s employer in China. The social security bureau forced the family to return the 51,000 yuan in pension payments Mr. Zhao received between 2019 and 2021, before issuing payment for the funeral costs. The family was forced to comply.
Sentenced to Seven Years in 2001
Following the onset of persecution in July 1999, Mr. Zhao went to Beijing three times to appeal for the right to practice Falun Gong. He was arrested and detained each time. In October 1999, he was given a one-year labor camp term with the charge of “disrupting social order.” He was transferred to the Longshan Brainwashing Center in December 1999 and released in June 2000.
Mr. Zhao was arrested again on February 27, 2001, for talking to people about Falun Gong. The local court initially sentenced him to five years. Because he said “Yes” when the judge asked whether he intended to appeal, the judge increased his term by two years. He was admitted to the Shenyang City Second Prison shortly after.
In March 2002, Mr. Zhao was put in solitary confinement (a dark room about 43 sq ft) for 23 days, because of doing the Falun Gong exercises. He was held in solitary confinement again from August 24 to September 21, 2002, still for doing Falun Gong exercises.
While in solitary confinement, he was often handcuffed and shackled. He was forced to sleep on the floor. He was given two meals every day: a steamed bun, a spoonful of cornmeal, and some pickles. He wasn’t given any utensils and had to eat with his hands. The guards also barred him from brushing his teeth, washing his face or hands, showering, or changing clothes. He was forced to sit on the floor with his legs straight for 16 hours a day. The inmates beat and verbally abused him at will. They also shocked him with electric batons and hung him up by the wrists.
Between July 1 and September 1, 2003, Mr. Zhao was held in solitary confinement for the third time, because he demanded the guard to return the Falun Gong lecture confiscated from him.
Mr. Zhao was taken to solitary confinement for the fourth time on June 16, 2006, when he refused to put on the inmate’s uniform. He was held there for one week.
Mr. Zhao and other Falun Gong practitioners started a group hunger strike in July 2006 in protest, and were transferred to the First Division. He was also denied visits with his family.
He was held in solitary confinement two more times, from January 1 to January 15, 2007, and from January 25 to February 8, 2007, for doing Falun Gong exercises.
During a family visit, a guard mentioned that Mr. Zhao remained silent when they subjected him to extreme stretching torture.
On February 26, 2008, the day of Mr. Zhao’s scheduled release, staffers from his residential committee attempted to take him to the police station per an order from the 610 Office. His family strongly resisted and took him home.
In the next few years, the police harassed Mr. Zhao regularly and monitored his daily life.
Sentenced to 7.5 Years in 2019
Mr. Zhao’s last arrest was on July 10, 2019, during a police sweep of local Falun Gong practitioners. The police confiscated his computer, printer, Falun Gong books, and 10,000 yuan in cash. His wife, Ms. Li Xiujie, was also arrested and held at the Shenyang City Detention Center until August 2 that year.
While held at the Heping District Detention Center, Mr. Zhao was beaten by the guards. He was issued a formal arrest warrant on August 1, and indicted on October 25.
During his hearing by the Heping District Court on December 10, 2019, judge Zheng Qi attempted to force him to plead guilty. “You will get three years if you plead guilty, but seven to ten years otherwise.” he said.
Mr. Zhao refused to budge and was sentenced to seven and a half years with a 50,000-yuan fine on December 20. He appealed with the Shenyang City Intermediate Court, which ruled to uphold his original verdict on March 23, 2020.
Tortured to Death in Prison
Mr. Zhao was taken to the Shenyang City Prison on July 16, 2020, and then transferred to the 20th Division at Jinzhou Prison on August 20. Because he refused to renounce Falun Gong, he was denied visits or phone calls with his family and only allowed to spend 100 yuan on daily necessities every month. Before he died, his family was only allowed to visit him five times, including once shortly after his prison admission, and twice in 2024 and 2025 each. For three years during the COVID-19 pandemic, he was only allowed two phone calls with his family, each time for a few minutes.
Once Mr. Zhao’s family asked him during the call whether he was tortured, he didn’t dare to answer. Even when they visited him in person, he signaled them not to ask any sensitive questions, or they may get themselves in trouble. His family said they deposited another 1,000 yuan into his commissary account. He shook his head and said, “Don’t do it anymore. I won’t be able to spend it.”
In June 2024, director Gao of the 20th Division called Mr. Zhao’s family and said Mr. Zhao was experiencing elevated blood pressure. While the family was allowed to visit Mr. Zhao shortly after (this was their second visit since Mr. Zhao’s prison admission), the guards confiscated the paper with questions they had prepared to ask Mr. Zhao. When the family asked him what he had been eating and how he felt, he remained silent.
After the visit, Gao showed the family Mr. Zhao’s blood pressure records. Some readings included 280/220 mmHg, 280/240 mmHg, or 260/220 mmHg (a normal range is 120/80 mmHg or lower). He blamed Mr. Zhao for not taking medications and urged the family to sign a waiver to clear him of any responsibility should anything happen to Mr. Zhao. The family refused to sign because they suspected the torture he was subjected to likely resulted in his persistent high blood pressure.
The family offered to buy some supplements for Mr. Zhao. But Gao didn’t allow them, saying, “You don’t get to decide what he eats. It has to be approved by the higher-ups.”
Gao added that the prison doctor instructed them to force-feed Mr. Zhao the medication, and that they shouldn’t be held accountable should anything happen.
The family requested to have Mr. Zhao released on medical parole. Gao said there was no way it would be approved. He acknowledged that Mr. Zhao was a kind person, but because he practiced Falun Gong, they wouldn’t go easy on him. “The request would be approved immediately if he was a thief or a robber,” he said.
Only four days later, the prison called the family again, saying that Mr. Zhao had had a stroke and lost consciousness. They took him to the hospital for resuscitation and he was discharged the next day.
The family was allowed to visit Mr. Zhao again in July 2024. Mr. Zhao said he felt weak in his legs. The family asked him what was wrong and he said he didn’t know. Before the end of the visit, the family tapped on the window and Mr. Zhao did the same. The guard on duty claimed that such interaction wasn’t allowed and barred the family from visiting him again for the rest of the year. Until the end of the year, the family only had a few phone calls with Mr. Zhao, each time for two to three minutes. The volume of the call was very low and they could barely hear what he said.
Before the 2025 Chinese New Year, the family applied to visit Mr. Zhao. The prison didn’t approve it until the new year’s eve on January 28. The family said to Mr. Zhao that they were counting the days before his release (which would be January 2027).
In early March 2025, Mr. Zhao’s son called the prison and applied to visit him. The guards said he had been transferred to the 17th Division. Director Niu of the 17th Division approved the visit request upon learning that Mr. Zhao’s son hadn’t seen him for five years.
During the visit on March 5, 2025, Mr. Zhao’s son was saddened to see that he was emaciated. He asked him whether he was tortured or starved. Before Mr. Zhao could say a word, the guard standing next to him claimed that no one tortured him. The guard even ordered Mr. Zhao to confirm whether that was the case. Mr. Zhao mentioned again his legs still felt very weak.
The family again applied to have Mr. Zhao released on medical parole. Niu replied that he couldn’t make the decision.
The family was allowed to visit Mr. Zhao again on April 16, 2025. He was wearing a pair of flip-flops and a thin pair of pants. He walked very slowly. He looked heavy-hearted and didn’t say much during the meeting. No one in the family would know that this was the last time they saw him.
At 2 a.m. on April 21, 2025, the prison called Mr. Zhao’s family and said he was in critical condition and the doctor was going to operate on him. The caller said that the condition was related to his stroke complications, and that he was also found to have leukemia. The family demanded to visit him, but the caller said they had to submit an application.
The prison called the family again on April 30, 2025, saying that Mr. Zhao didn’t have stroke complications, but a contagious lung infection. He was held at a quarantine ward and no one was allowed to visit him.
After the Labor Day holiday (May 1), the family called the prison for updates of Mr. Zhao’s situation. Niu said he was being held at an intensive care unit. The family offered to bring him some food and was still denied.
“Is he still conscious?” the family asked.
“He is awake. He eats whatever the hospital gives him. It wouldn’t be allowed for you to bring him food on your own. You’d better not come. He just left the quarantine ward and you may still get infected.”
Director Niu called the family another time in late May 2025, saying that Mr. Zhao’s situation further deteriorated, with both the stroke and cerebral thrombosis. The family again demanded to see him. Niu still turned them away, saying, “The nurses are watching him. He eats whatever the hospital provides. No one has the say here.”
The family demanded to know more about Mr. Zhao’s condition. Niu replied, “He clearly can still think. He keeps his eyes shut and doesn’t talk. There is definitely something wrong with his left leg. It doesn’t have any feeling even when being pinched. His right leg is fine.”
“You still won’t let us see him even when he’s like this?”
Niu insisted that they not come and to just wait for updates from him.
Four days later, the family was informed that Mr. Zhao was resuscitated two more times, but they were never allowed to visit him.
Niu called one more time, around 7 a.m. on July 4, 2025, and said that Mr. Zhao had almost died the night before. When the family asked in which hospital he was being cared for, Niu refused to answer, even though he said the family should prepare to buy train tickets to Jinzhou City.
Only 30 minutes later, Niu called again and urged the family to come immediately. The family explained they got the train tickets for 10 a.m. Niu then said that the hospital couldn’t hold the body any longer and had to send it to the funeral home. He said the family could go directly to the funeral home.
When the family arrived at the funeral home around 2 p.m., the authorities forced them to sign some paperwork before allowing them to see Mr. Zhao’s body.
When they finally saw him, they noticed that his eyes were half open; his left nostril was much bigger, which was likely from the long-term insertion of the feeding tube; and there were injuries on his ankles. They asked the guard on watch what caused the injuries on the ankles. The guard replied that it was from the shackles he was wearing.
The family tried to see Mr. Zhao’s back, but a doctor stopped them and said that there were two bedsores on his buttocks. He admitted that Mr. Zhao suffered tremendously in his final days.
The prison forced Mr. Zhao’s family to sign a consent form to have his body cremated on the same day. The family was distraught over losing their loved one in this way.
Related Reports:
71-Year-Old Man Dies in Prison While Serving 7.5 Years for His Faith in Falun Gong
Liaoning Man in Critical Condition Again While Serving 7.5 Years for Practicing Falun Gong
Liaoning Man Falls into Critical Condition After Being Tortured in Prison
Once Imprisoned for 7 Years, Liaoning Man Sentenced Again to 7.5 Years for His Faith
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