74-year-old Veteran Dies After Repeated Persecution for Practicing Falun Gong

A veteran in Weifang City, Shandong Province passed away on May 5, 2020, after suffering years of persecution for his faith in Falun Gong. He was 74.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is an ancient spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Mr. Chen Encai began to practice Falun Gong in 1995 and credited the practice for improving his health.

He was arrested on July 20, 1999, the day when the communist regime launched a nationwide campaign against Falun Gong. He was arrested again on August 7, 2000, and detained for 15 days. Only two days after he was released, he was taken back into custody on August 25 and detained for another 15 days for clarifying the facts about Falun Gong to police officers.

While going through the security check at Weifang Train Station on September 26, 2017, Mr. Chen was arrested again. The police ransacked his home and confiscated his Falun Gong related materials. He was sent to Weifang Detention Centre on the next day and held there for a month. The police released him on bail on October 25, 2017.

Between October 20, 2018, and March 21, 2019, the police put Mr. Chen under house arrests twice.

On June 18, 2019, the Kuiwen District Procuratorate charged Mr. Chen with “undermining law enforcement with a cult organization,” a standard pretext used to frame Falun Gong.

Mr. Chen was tried by Kuiwen District Court on August 30, 2019, and sentenced to ten months with a 4,000-yuan fine on the next day. He was ordered to serve time outside of the prison.

The harassment, house arrests, and sentencing since 2017 took a toll on his health. Just days before he died, the court staff again harassed him at home.