Zhao Changyan (赵长艳)
Zhao Changyan (赵长艳), born 1958, is a woman from Shulan City in Jilin Province, mainland China, who practices Falun Gong. In February 2024, case reporting indicated that she had been sentenced to three years and six months in prison following her detention in March 2023.
Detention
On the afternoon of March 16, 2023, Zhao went to the home of fellow Falun Gong practitioner Jiang Yanping and walked into an ongoing police operation there. She was detained along with Jiang. According to case records, both were subsequently placed under criminal detention, had their arrests approved, and were indicted; they were held at the Jilin Detention Center. A third practitioner, Liu Minjie, was also swept up in the same case.
Trial and sentencing
Jiang Yanping, Zhao Changyan and Liu Minjie were tried at the Shulan Court on the afternoon of July 27, 2023. It was learned in February 2024 that Jiang Yanping had been sentenced to five years and Zhao Changyan to three years and six months. The formal charge against Zhao Changyan is not recorded in the available case records, nor is her detention location after the initial transfer.
Current status
As of August 31, 2026, she was classified as in custody. The case database that tracks her record projects her sentence through September 15, 2026; her release has not been confirmed in any located source.
Notes on sources
The case narrative is reported by Minghui (February 4, 2024), and her identity, sentence length and custody band are corroborated by the Chinese Human Rights Defenders prisoners-of-conscience database and the Rights Defense Network’s August 2026 prisoner roster. The residential community named for her differs between sources (one gives 镇北社区, another 中心社区) and has not been reconciled. No official court notice or state-media record of the case has been located.