Because of his health problems, the prison declined to admit him. He is now under house arrest.
by Yang Feng
A 90-year-old man in Jinan, Shandong, has been sentenced to two years in prison for practicing Falun Gong. The man, Wang Chuanwen, has practiced Falun Gong since 1996. According to local sources, the situation began in August 2025 when he spoke to passengers on a bus about his beliefs. Someone reported him, which led to a series of police actions that lasted for months.
On August 20, 2025, officers from the Licheng District Police Department and the Baoshan Police Station came to his home and arrested him. During questioning, they showed him surveillance footage from the bus. He admitted he was in the video but refused to answer their questions. He then underwent a mandatory physical exam, where doctors recorded a systolic blood pressure of 230 mmHg, significantly above the normal range. Because of this, the local detention center would not admit him, and he was released on bail.
Despite his age and health issues, the authorities pressed on with the case. In September 2025, two staff members from the Licheng District Procuratorate visited him to get him to sign documents related to the indictment. He declined and instead wrote a statement asserting his innocence. He noted that Falun Gong is practiced openly in many countries and insisted that it was the police, not him, who broke the law by arresting him and seeking prosecution.
The case was eventually sent to the Zhangqiu District Court, which convicted him of a standard charge against Falun Gong practitioners—“using a xie jiao organization to undermine the enforcement of the law.” He received a two-year prison sentence and a fine of 3,000 yuan. On March 3, 2026, the court delivered the written judgment to his home and ordered another medical examination. Again, his health prevented the authorities from enforcing the sentence. The prison refused to accept him due to his dangerously high blood pressure, and he was placed under house arrest instead.
Wang is now confined to his home, where he insists on his innocence. He has appealed to the Jinan Intermediate Court, seeking to have what he considers a wrongful conviction corrected. His determination to appeal shows both his personal beliefs and a broader trend in similar cases: elderly Falun Gong practitioners continue to be targeted, prosecuted, and sentenced even when prison is not a practical option.
This case also demonstrates how China’s criminal justice system relies on routine procedures—arrest, interrogation, indictment, trial, and sentencing—regardless of the defendants’ age and health. The prison’s refusal to admit him did not result in a suspension of the sentence; instead, it was converted to house arrest, leaving the conviction intact. For Wang, this means living under legal restrictions, despite his age and medical fragility.
Reports from Falun Gong sources indicate that Wang was known in his neighborhood as a peaceful practitioner who only occasionally talked to others about his beliefs. His arrest resulted from a single conversation on a bus, yet it led to a full criminal prosecution.
Wang’s situation is not unique. Over the years, many elderly practitioners—some in their eighties and nineties—have faced detention, sentencing, or surveillance. The combination of advanced age, chronic illness, and legal pressure often leaves them in vulnerable situations. In Wang’s case, the sentence has not been served in prison, but the legal consequences persist, and the pressure on him and his family continues.
As his appeal moves forward, it remains unclear whether the higher court will take action.
Yang Feng uses a pseudonym for security reasons.
