Rally outside Chinese consulate in Toronto
With only days remaining before Chinese New Year’s Eve, traditionally a time for family reunions, dozens of practitioners gathered in the winter cold, holding banners and standing in silent protest.
The banners read: “Immediately release all illegally detained Falun Gong practitioners,” “Stop persecuting Falun Gong,” and “Canadian government, please lend a helping hand.”
For those assembled, the holiday brings not celebration but uncertainty. They appealed for urgent assistance in securing the release of five relatives: He Lizhong in Gansu Province; Tong Jing in Liaoning Province; Chen Zhongli in Shanxi Province; Yao Jiaxiu in Sichuan Province; and Yu Chunyan in Heilongjiang Province.
The demonstration followed Prime Minister Mark Carney’s recent visit to China. Participants said they hoped Ottawa would make human rights a priority in economic and trade discussions with the Chinese Communist Party and work with international partners to press Beijing over the continued detention of Falun Gong practitioners.
He Lizhong: A second prison term in Gansu
He Lizhi, a former senior engineer with China’s Ministry of Metallurgical Industry and Ministry of Construction, held up a photograph of his younger brother, He Lizhong, as he addressed reporters.
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He Lizhong, about 60, lives with his parents in Minqin County, Gansu Province, and supports himself through farming and temporary labor, according to his brother. After the Chinese authorities began suppressing Falun Gong in 1999, he told fellow villagers about the physical and mental benefits he said he experienced from the practice.
In February 2010, he was sentenced to three years in prison and held in Jiuquan Prison in Gansu. There, he was placed under what authorities termed “strict management” for several months, with his hands and feet locked in an iron cage for seven months, his brother said.
In July 2023, local police detained him again. He was later sentenced to seven years and is now held in Lanzhou Prison. Authorities have refused video visits from family members who traveled long distances, citing his refusal to “transform,” a term commonly used to describe renouncing Falun Gong.
“This is the second time the CCP has targeted my brother,” He Lizhi said. “Our whole family lives in constant fear every day, worried he may not be able to hold on.”
He Lizhi said he himself was imprisoned for three and a half years for practicing Falun Gong before eventually coming to Canada. “I have experienced those days locked in an iron cage,” he said. “I know what it feels like to suffer a fate worse than death.”
Tong Jing: Allegations of abuse in Liaoning women’s prison
Geng Linghuan appealed for the release of her distant relative Tong Jing, a resident of Fushun, Liaoning Province.
According to Geng, Tong Jing has been detained multiple times in recent years. She was held for 15 days in August 2023. On March 7, 2025, police arrested her again. She was later sentenced to three and a half years and is currently held in Liaoning Province Second Women’s Prison.
Geng described Tong as a widow who raised her son alone after her husband died and who was widely regarded as a conscientious employee and neighbor.
She alleged that prison authorities use sleep deprivation, restrictions on restroom access, bans on washing and purchasing daily necessities, and prolonged standing of more than 10 hours a day to pressure detainees to write the so-called “five statements” renouncing Falun Gong. Those who refuse, she said, are beaten and denied phone contact with their families.
Citing data from Minghui.org, a website that documents cases involving Falun Gong practitioners, Geng said at least 48 practitioners in the Fushun area were persecuted in 2025 alone. She called on the Canadian government and the international community to pay closer attention to the cases.
Chen Zhongli: Held more than 135 days
Zhang Suhua spoke about her friend Chen Zhongli of Datong, Shanxi Province.
Chen began practicing Falun Gong in 1999. According to Zhang, she had previously suffered from congenital and coronary heart disease and had been unable to work for years, but her health improved after she took up the practice.
In 2015, Chen mailed a complaint letter to the Supreme People’s Procuratorate accusing former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin. Zhang said that after that, police and local officials repeatedly harassed her.
In September 2025, Chen was followed and detained by police and taken to the Chenzhuang Detention Center in Datong, where she has been held for more than 135 days. Zhang alleged that she was beaten and subjected to forced ideological sessions before being formally arrested and prosecuted. She said the case has been transferred multiple times without any clear legal basis.
“This is not an isolated incident, but a 27-year systematic extermination by the CCP against a belief,” Zhang said.
Yao Jiaxiu: Health concerns in Chengdu women’s prison
Zhang Yi called for the release of her 58-year-old friend Yao Jiaxiu from Panzhihua, Sichuan Province.
According to Zhang Yi, Yao has been sentenced three times over more than two decades, serving a combined total of more than 10 years in prison. She is currently detained in Chengdu Women’s Prison.
When family members visited her two months after her most recent detention, Zhang said they found that all of her upper front teeth were missing and that she showed signs of kidney, liver, and lung illness.
Zhang cited Minghui.org data indicating that at least 23 Falun Gong practitioners had died in Chengdu Women’s Prison as of March 2025. She described the facility as notorious for its treatment of female practitioners in Sichuan Province.
Yu Chunyan: Third imprisonment in Heilongjiang
Wang Yang appealed for the release of Yu Chunyan, 63, from Daqing, Heilongjiang Province.
According to Wang, Yu was sentenced to three years in prison in 2006 for practicing Falun Gong. In April 2025, she was detained again, her belongings were confiscated, and she was later sentenced to three years and 10 months. She may now be held in Heilongjiang Women’s Prison.
Wang cited Minghui.org data stating that more than 600 Falun Gong practitioners in Heilongjiang Province have died as a result of persecution. She said she fears for Yu’s safety and urged Canadian officials and international human rights organizations to call for her release.
Wang also expressed disappointment that Prime Minister Carney did not publicly raise human rights issues during his visit to China. “I hope the Canadian government will stand from the perspective of human rights and pay attention to persecuted Falun Gong practitioners and other organizations and dissidents suffering human rights violations in China,” she said.
Continuing appeals and concerns over organ harvesting allegations
A Toronto practitioner surnamed Zhang said other relatives of Canadian practitioners remain imprisoned. She said her brother and sister-in-law were sentenced after discarded phone cards were found in their home and that they were subjected to mistreatment in detention. She said attempts to contact the prison have been unsuccessful.
Given longstanding allegations of organ harvesting, she said she is deeply concerned about their safety.
Another practitioner, who declined to give a name, said the appeal was driven by conscience rather than hostility. “We stand here today not for hatred, but to awaken conscience,” the person said. “If we remain silent today, tomorrow it may be more people’s turn.”
Organizers said the Feb. 12 rally was one of many peaceful appeals held outside the Chinese consulate in Toronto over the past 27 years. Their hope, they said, is that the detained relatives will return home safely before the Year of the Horse begins in 2026.
By Xiao Ran
