Once Imprisoned for 11 Years, Jilin Man Dies a Month and a Half after Latest Arrest for His Faith

A Nong’an County, Jilin Province, man passed away on August 26, 2020, about a month and a half after being arrested in a police sweep for practicing Falun Gong. His wife, who was arrested with him, is still detained at the time of writing.

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. Jiang Quande

Mr. Jiang Quande and his wife, Ms. Sun Xiuying, were arrested at home on July 15, 2020. Mr. Jiang had been suffering from a medical condition and was emaciated at that time, but the police still took him into custody.

After Mr. Jiang was released about two weeks later, he remained on daily IV drips to sustain his life. The police refused to release Ms. Sun so she could take care of him.

Mr. Jiang passed away at the age of 66 on August 26, 2020, four days after the Nong’an County Procuratorate approved Ms. Sun’s arrest.

Past Persecution
Mr. Jiang used to work at the Nong’an County grain storage bureau. He was addicted to smoking and drinking. After taking up Falun Gong in 1997, he quit his bad habits and became more considerate. His heart condition and a skin disease also disappeared.

After the communist regime ordered the persecution of Falun Gong in 1999, Mr. Jiang was held in a forced labor camp for a year and a half and then sentenced to 11 years in prison. He was subjected to gruesome forms of torture and suffered disability in his right arm.

Forced Labor Camp
Mr. Jiang was first arrested in September 1999 and detained for 60 days. The guards made him sit on a small stool for long hours without moving. When they did allow him to get up, they ordered him to do hard labor, such as carrying bags of beans that weighed over 200 pounds.

Not long after being released, he was arrested again in early 2000 and detained for 30 days.

After he was released, he went to Beijing to appeal for the right to practice Falun Gong in February 2000, and was arrested yet again. After three weeks of detention, he was given one year of forced labor, which was later extended by six months when he refused to renounce his faith.

During a labor-camp-wide meeting on April 28, 2001, Mr. Jiang stopped a guard from defaming Falun Gong in front of other inmates and was savagely beaten and held in solitary confinement for a month.

In July 2001, the labor camp guards forced Mr. Jiang and 20 other practitioners who remained firm in their faith to sit on a wooden board with their legs crossed at night without sleeping. The space was so crowded that their legs were on top of each other. A guard watched them and beat them if they moved. The room didn’t have any windows and it was very humid. Every practitioner was sweating and had difficulty breathing. The guard called this torture “steaming buns.”

Sentenced to 11 Years
About a year after Mr. Jiang was released, he was arrested again on November 8, 2002, for making informational materials about Falun Gong. The police sat him on one end of a long bench with his legs tied to the bench. They put a plastic bag over his head and pierced his fingers and nipples with sharpened bamboo sticks.

The police also cuffed his hands behind his back and pulled his hands over his head to the front. They repeated this more than ten times. They also handcuffed him and then shook his wrists. His right arm was broken and became disabled as a result.

Mr. Jiang was later sentenced to 11 years and sent to Shiling Prison on January 17, 2004. Because he resisted, he was locked in solitary confinement for two months and had most of his teeth knocked out after repeated beatings. The guards also forced him to lie in a bed with his four limbs tied up in a spread-eagle position.

On November 4, 2005, Mr. Jiang was transferred to Gongzhuling Prison. He was put in solitary confinement and again laid on a bed with his four limbs tied up in a spread-eagle position. The guards refused to untie him even when he had to relieve himself. They took off his clothes and shocked him with several electric batons. He had a big blister on his head. When they shocked his navel, the pain and shock were so great that he was jolted upright.

After 11 years of hellish days in the prison, Mr. Jiang returned home on November 11, 2013.

Two More Arrests
Mr. Jiang was then arrested on September 3, 2015 after being reported for talking to people about Falun Gong on a bus. He was fined 1,000 yuan and detained for 15 days.

Only a few months later, he and his wife were arrested together on January 25, 2016.