Crimes of Shi Shitai, Deputy Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee of Heilongjiang Province

Full Name of Perpetrator: Shi (last name) Shitai (first name) (Chinese: 石时态)

• Gender: Male
• Country: China
• Date/year of Birth: September 1962
• Place of Birth: Huarong County, Hunan Province

Title or Position:

• December 1998 – December 2000: Deputy Secretary General of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee of Hunan Province
• December 2000 – July 2003: Deputy Department-Level Researcher of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee of Hunan Province
• July 2003 – May 2008: Deputy Attorney General of the Hunan Provincial Procuratorate
• May 2008 – July 2008: Deputy Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Secretary of the Higher Court of Hunan Province
• July 2008 – January 2016: Vice President and Deputy CCP Secretary of the Hunan Higher People’s Court
• January 2016 – Present: Deputy CCP Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee of Heilongjiang Province; President and CCP Secretary of the Heilongjiang Higher People’s Court

Main Crimes:

Since the persecution of Falun Gong began in July 1999, Shi Shitai has taken important positions at the Political and Legal Affairs Committee, the local procuratorate and court. Shi followed the CCP’s policy to carry out the persecution of Falun Gong.

Since taking the post of President at the Heilongjiang Higher People’s Court in January 2016, Shi directed court officers at all levels within the province to participate in the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.

Criminal Court No. 1 within the Heilongjiang Higher People’s Court is responsible for the “arrangement, deployment, supervision and guidance” of all Falun Gong related cases in Heilongjiang Province. It requires provincial courts at all levels to “establish ledgers on a case by case basis, and report case progress and results regularly” for all Falun Gong cases.

It was also directly involved in several cases, including Mr. Shi Mengchang’s case, as well as the “October 28 Project.” Criminal Court No. 1 gained a Class III collective commendation and a national honor designation for the Comprehensive Management of Social Security for their achievements in the persecution of Falun Gong.

According to available statistics, during Shi Shitai’s tenure in Heilongjiang Province, at least 363 Falun Gong practitioners in the province were arbitrarily sentenced. At least ten practitioners, Wang Fang, Wang Fengchen, Wang Dechen, Yang Lihua, Meng Xianrong, Hou Lifeng, Guo Hongxia, Luo Jingshan, and Wang Guiling, died while serving their sentences.

As the president of the Heilongjiang Higher People’s Court, Shi Shitai bears direct responsibility for these court sentences and any subsequent torture, disability, or death as a result of the sentences.

Below is a selection of persecution cases which took place during Shi Shitai’s tenure in Heilongjiang Province.

 

Selected Death Cases:

Case 1: Mr. Wang Dechen died while serving a ten-year term at Hulan Prison

Mr. Wang, 62, was arrested on May 6, 2016. His wife was traumatised when the police raided their home and she suffered a mental breakdown. Mr. Wang appeared in the Acheng Court on November 4, 2016. He refused to plead guilty because he broke no laws by practicing Falun Gong. On December 5, Mr. Wang’s family was notified that he was sentenced to ten years with a 20,000-yuan fine.

In late October 2019, about three and a half years into Mr. Wang’s imprisonment, his family suddenly received a call from the prison to say that he had been sent to the hospital. Mr. Wang passed away on November 17, 2019. The authorities at Hulan Prison did not allow his family to examine his body or see it up close, and they were pressured into consenting to cremation only two days after his death.

Case 2: Middle school teacher died as a result of persecution

Mr. Wang Fengchen, 50, a geography teacher in Daqing City, Heilongjiang Province, was arrested on January 18, 2017, along with his wife, Ms. Leng Xiuxia. On October 11, 2017, both were sentenced to four years in prison with a 30,000-yuan fine. Later, Mr. Wang was taken to Hulan Prison and Ms. Leng to Heilongjiang Women’s Prison. During his time in prison, Mr. Wang was abused until he was coughing and vomiting blood. He passed away in a hospital on August 9, 2020.

Case 3: Ms. Yang Lihua died while imprisoned

Ms. Yang Lihua was arrested with another Falun Gong practitioner, Ms. Qu Yongxia, on November 17, 2017, at the local government appeals office. Ms. Yang was sentenced to four years in prison and Ms. Qu to three years by the Sunwu County Court on December 26, 2017. Ms. Yang’s family was informed by the Heilongjiang Women’s Prison on November 5, 2019, that she was in critical condition.

When her family rushed to the hospital, she had already lost consciousness. She passed away later that day at the age of 43. When her family asked why her body was covered in bruises, the prison guard said it was livor mortis. The prison authorities intimidated Ms. Yang’s family into signing a consent form to have her body cremated.

Case 4: Suihua City teacher died two months after prison release

Ms. Wang Fang was an elementary school teacher from Suihua City, Heilongjiang Province. Ms. Wang was arrested on October 3, 2018. She was detained in Lanxi Detention Centre and then sentenced to two years at the Heilongjiang Women’s Prison.

In prison, Ms. Wang was subjected to physical and mental abuse. She was forced to sit on a small stool for over 18 hours at a time. She was punched, slapped in the face, and kicked. As a result, Ms. Wang suffered from headache, numbness in her hands, dementia, fainting, and high blood pressure. She passed away two months after her prison release on December 31, 2020 at the age of 54.

 

Selected Cases of Heavy Sentences:

Case 1: Twelve Falun Gong Practitioners Sentenced to Prison in Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province

Thirteen practitioners were arrested by the Songbei District Police Department in Harbin City on January 18, 2017, including Shi Xiangyun, Jia Yanling, and Bao Yi. Twelve were tried by the Songbei Court on September 22, 2017.

Both the prosecutor and the judge largely ignored questions from the practitioners and their lawyers during the trial. The judge also threatened one of their defense lawyers and prohibited him from entering “not guilty” pleas. All twelve of the practitioners were sentenced to prison and fined on December 14, 2017. Their sentences were:

Shi Xiangyun: Eight years in prison, fine of 50,000 yuan
Zhu Fengying: Seven and a half years, fine of 40,000 yuan
Zhao Xiru: Seven years, fine of 40,000 yuan
Wei Xuwang: Five and a half years, fine of 40,000 yuan
Jia Yanling: Five years, fine of 30,000 yuan
Bao Yi: Five years, fine of 30,000 yuan
Liu Jun: Five years, fine of 30,000 yuan
Ren Xiuying: Four and a half years, fine of 30,000 yuan
Kong Qingyan: Four years, fine of 30,000 yuan
Wu Xi: Three years, fine of 20,000 yuan
Zhang Shuxia: Three years, fine of 20,000 yuan
Yang Qiji: One and a half years, fine of 20,000 yuan

Among these practitioners, both Ren Xiuying and Yang Qiji were in their 70s.

Case 2: Elderly man died after 73-year-old wife sentenced to prison

Ms. Li Yingju, 73, and her husband were both Falun Gong practitioners. Ms. Li was arrested on March 8, 2018, and later sentenced to four and a half years in prison. Her 84-year-old husband fought hard to seek justice for his wife, to no avail. He passed away in October 2018. While imprisoned, Ms. Li was given unknown drugs that damaged her eyesight.

Case 3: Three Falun Gong practitioners in their 70s sentenced 7 to 9 years

Three Bayan County, Heilongjiang Province residents in their 70s were sentenced from seven to nine years in prison in February 2019 for not renouncing their faith in Falun Gong.

Mr. Zhang Hongzhu, 72, who was arrested on October 8, 2017, was given nine years in Hulan Prison.

Ms. Fan Shufen, 70, and Ms. Wu Guizhi, 73, arrested on September 28, 2017, were sentenced to seven and eight years, respectively, in Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison.

Case 4: Fourteen practitioners from a mass arrest sentenced

On August 31, 2017, Yilan County police arrested 29 Falun Gong practitioners. Fourteen of them, 13 practitioners and a family member of a practitioner, were sentenced on February 28, 2019. Their sentences were:

Ms. Song Yuzhi, 65: 10 years in prison, fine of 65,000 yuan
Ms. Shi Fengxiang, 59: Eight years, fine of 60,000 yuan
Ms. Shi Fenglan, 59: Eight years, fine of 55,000 yuan
Mr. Wang Yunjie, 56: Seven years, fine of 50,000 yuan
Ms. Zhou Yan, 46: Six years, fine of 45,000 yuan
Ms. Deng Shumei, 63: Six years, fine of 40,000 yuan
Mr. Song Konghua, 58: Five years, fine of 30,000 yuan
Ms. Wu Guiqin, 53: Five years, fine of 30,000 yuan
Ms. Bu Baoling, 70: Five years, fine of 30,000 yuan
Ms. Xia Guihua, 57: Four years, fine of 20,000 yuan
Mr. Tang Lifei, 48: Three and a half years, fine of 15,000 yuan
Ms. Yao Huaiying, 45: Three and a half years, fine of 15,000 yuan
Ms. Kang Yanling, 65: Three and a half years, fine of 15,000 yuan
Mr. Xue Hongliang, 39 (doesn’t practice Falun Gong): Three years, fine of 10,000 yuan

Case 5: More than 10 practitioners in Daqing City sentenced, one persecuted to death

Over 100 Falun Gong practitioners were arrested in Daqing and Harbin (the capital city of Heilongjiang) on November 9, 2018. At least 12 practitioners in Daqing were sentenced, including Lu Guanru, Liu Enquan, Ren Yuhong, Li Binying, Li Mingxiu, and Jin Miaoqing.

Mr. Lu Guanru, 69, was arrested on November 9, 2018. While he was held at the Daqing City Detention Centre, the police interrogated him and forced him to stand for long hours in shackles. When Mr. Lu went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution, the guards force-fed him, which caused him to vomit blood and suffer heart failure. He was on the verge of death several times and had to undergo emergency treatment at the hospital. Mr. Lu was sentenced to seven years in prison with a 40,000-yuan fine on July 1, 2019. He was transferred to Tailai Prison in November 2019 and died there on April 4, 2021.