Crimes of Tang Jinfeng, Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Fengcheng City Procuratorate in Liaoning Province, in Persecuting Falun Gong

Title and Position

Tang Jinfeng began to serve as a prosecutor in the Public Prosecution Division of the Fengcheng City Procuratorate since 2008 and was later promoted to the deputy minister and director of the First Prosecution Department. She is currently the deputy chief prosecutor and member of the Fengcheng City Procuratorate.

 

Main Crimes

During her tenure, Tang Jinfeng actively implemented the CCP’s policy of persecuting Falun Gong. She used Falun Gong books, materials, or even personal items such as computers and cell phones as prosecution evidence against the practitioners. According to available data, 24 Falun Gong practitioners in Fengcheng City have been sentenced to prison since 2009, including Leng Dongmei and Qu Shanlin. Most of them were indicted by Tang.

 

Death After Serving Prison Term

Woman Imprisoned Three Times Dies 7 Months After Being Released on Medical Parole

Ms. Leng Dongmei, a Fengcheng City resident died seven months after she was released on medical parole. She was 49.

Ms. Leng’s death is a tragic end to her decades-long ordeal for refusing to renounce Falun Gong. She was given two years of forced labor in 2000, sentenced to 4 years in prison in 2002, and given a second 4-year jail term in 2008. Her last arrest took place on December 9, 2015, and was soon followed by a third jail term.

Ms. Leng’s family didn’t learn of her latest prison sentence until her lawyer was finally allowed to see her on May 19, 2016. She told the lawyer that she was deceived into signing the list of Falun Gong books confiscated from her home, only to find it was used as evidence against her. The local court said they’d informed her family of her May 7 hearing, but she knew she was lied to when none of her loved ones showed up at her trial.

Ms. Leng’s appeal was turned down and she was sent to Liaoning Women’s Prison to serve three years. Her health quickly declined due to the physical and psychological torture inflicted on her. She was released on medical parole in July 2017, but the prison authorities ordered her to report to the local judicial bureau once every week. They also tapped her phone. She died on February 25, 2018.

 

Select Sentencing Cases

Retired Kindergarten Teacher Sentenced to Prison

Ms. Liu Yinfeng, a 68-year-old retired kindergarten teacher, was arrested on the morning of May 30, 2018, when she was on her way home after buying eggs at a market. The police said that someone had reported her for distributing Falun Gong informational materials to shoppers.

During her hearing at the Fengcheng City Court on January 9, 2019, her two lawyers entered a not-guilty plea for her and demanded her acquittal. The judge later returned the case to the procuratorate, citing “insufficient evidence.” But prosecutor Tang Jinfeng refused to dismiss it.

When Ms. Liu appeared in court again on August 13, 2020, she was carried into the gallery by several bailiffs. According to people in attendance, she was emaciated and so weak that she had trouble lifting her head.

Prosecutor Tang again accused Ms. Liu of “undermining the law with a cult organisation,” a standard pretext used to frame and imprison Falun Gong practitioners. Ms. Liu refuted the charges. She said, “I never harmed anyone or did anything illegal. You are accusing me of undermining law enforcement, but can you tell me what law I have undermined?”

The prosecutor didn’t address her question.

Ms. Liu shared her personal experiences with Falun Gong. She used to suffer from many ailments and had a bad temper. But after learning Falun Gong, she followed the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance in her daily life and soon recovered her health. She urged the judge and the prosecutor not to follow the communist regime’s persecution policy and be an accomplice.

Ms. Liu’s lawyers followed up by emphasising that it was Ms. Liu’s constitutional right to practice her religion and express herself freely. They also read a notice from the Chinese publication bureau that lifted the ban on Falun Gong books in 2011.

In addition to pointing out the lack of legal grounds for the charge, Ms. Liu’s lawyers testified against the police for violating legal procedures in handling her case, from failing to show their IDs during her arrest to raiding her home without a search warrant with any of her family members present, to neglecting to have her family sign the list of confiscated items afterward.

The lawyers also pointed out the inadmissibility of accounts of the prosecution’s witnesses. One document was signed by witness Shi’s son, not Shi himself as is required by law. Another witness stated that he burned the Falun Gong book Ms. Liu had allegedly given him—a claim with no corroborating evidence.

The prosecutor frequently interrupted the lawyers’ defense and recommended sentencing Ms. Liu to seven years in prison with a fine.

In their closing remarks, the lawyers cited the case of Ms. Leng Dongmei, an acquaintance of Ms. Liu, who was sentenced to three years in early 2016 and died in 2018 at the age of 49 as a result of being tortured in prison. They urged the judge not to have their client become the next Ms. Leng.

The judge adjourned the hearing and sentenced Ms. Liu to seven years weeks later.

Five Sentenced to Prison, One Dies in Prison

Mr. Jiao Lin, Mr. Liang Yuncheng, Mr. Qu Shanlin, Ms. Wu Juan, and Ms. Sun Zhongqin were reported to the authorities when they were seen telling people the facts about Falun Gong in Mingzhu County and Ziyou County in Baiqi Town. They were arrested on September 5, 2010, and taken to Baiqi Police Station, where they were beaten through the night. Their families were also denied the right to visit them at the police station.

The five practitioners were later indicted by prosecutor Tang and all sentenced to three years by the Fengcheng City Court.

At Dabei Prison, Mr. Qu was held in solitary confinement and chained to the ring fixed on the ground. He started a hunger strike to protest the torture and was transferred to the Dongling Prison a week later. The torture eventually caused him to develop stomach cancer. He was released at the end of 2011 on medical parole and passed away months later on May 16, 2012. He was around 70.

Mr. Liang, a judge himself, was held in Dabei Prison, Benxi City Prison, and Dalian City Prison. The guards covered his head with plastic bags and beat him. They also poured pepper water onto his wound, inserted metal needles into his fingers, and tied him up in a spread-eagle position.

When Mr. Jiao was held in the Fengcheng City Detention Centre, the guards instigated the inmates to burn him with cigarette butts, whip him with a rubber tube, and hit his head against the wall. His head became so swollen that he couldn’t open his eyes. Several of his teeth became loose. After being taken to the Dongling Prison in August 2011, Mr. Jiao was tied in a spread-eagle position and also subjected to constant beating. He fainted from the beating twice. His ear and vocal cords were permanently damaged.

Both Ms. Wu and Ms. Sun were taken to the Liaoning Province Women’s Prison. Ms. Wu was held in a warehouse. She was forced to stand for 17 hours every day and slept on the tile floor. An inmate once beat her and pulled off a handful of her hair. Her mouth and nose were bleeding and her body was covered with bruises. She was so weak that she couldn’t stand up.

Ms. Sun was once held in a dark room and forced to stand overnight without sleep. The inmates slammed her head and face with a bamboo stick, hit her hands and feet with a wood block, and hit her against a metal frame. Her head, hands, and feet were severely bruised.

Then the inmates pressed her on the ground, hit her back and buttocks with a wooden stick. She felt dizzy and vomited. The beating caused severe injury to her back and she was unable to stand straight for over ten days. The inmates also took off her clothes, poured cold water on her, and opened the window to let the cold wind blow on her.

Guard Liu Xiujuan said to her, “I won’t let you live one day comfortably. I would rather make you die than live. If you don’t renounce Falun Gong, your daughter can just wait to come pick up your dead body!”

Mr. Jin Biao Sentenced to Three Years

Mr. Jin Biao, 38, was arrested on July 2, 2014, after the Internet police reported him for using his cellphone to browse overseas websites. He was later indicted by the Fengcheng City Procuratorate. He stood trial at the Fengcheng City Court on September 23, 2014, and was later sentenced to three years in prison.

Ms. Lu Jun Sentenced to Three Years

Ms. Lu Jun, 49, was arrested on July 2, 2014. She was indicted by prosecutors Tang Jinfeng and Guan Kunyu of the Fengcheng City Procuratorate. The Fengcheng City Court sentenced her to three years at the Liaoning Province Women’s Prison on December 12, 2014.

Ms. Jiang Fengli Sentenced to Three Years

Ms. Jiang Fengli was arrested on September 7, 2014, after she offered a copy of anti-firewall software to Zhang Pingxian, the deputy chief of the Baoshan Police Station who was moonlighting as a taxi driver. She was indicted by Tang and sentenced to three years at the Liaoning Province Women’s Prison on December 12, 2014.

Art Teacher Sentenced to Three Years

Ms. Li Xing, a 44-year-old art teacher at the Fengcheng City No. 2 High School, was arrested on November 10, 2015, by more than 10 officers from the Dandong City Police Department. Her home was also ransacked. Prosecutor Tang indicted her on December 24 with the excuse that she had Falun Gong books and informational materials at home. The Fengcheng City Court sentenced Ms. Li to three years in the Liaoning Province Women’s Prison on April 18, 2016.