Di Jianchao (狄建超) is a Falun Gong practitioner in Kunming City, Yunnan Province, born around 1965. He worked for the Kunming City Shipbuilding Company and was fired for practicing Falun Gong. He has now been sentenced three times in connection with his practice — twice before, totaling eight and a half years, and a third four-year term handed down on April 30, 2026.
On November 20, 2004, Di and fellow practitioner Wang Shiqing were arrested by Anning City police while distributing materials about Falun Gong in Kunming. Two days later they were taken to the Anning Detention Center. Di was sentenced to four years and served the term at Yunnan First Prison, from November 2004 to November 2008.
On February 24, 2014, Di and his wife Luo Jiangqin (骆江勤) were arrested at home by Panlong District officers for producing informational materials about Falun Gong. Di was sentenced to four and a half years and served at Yunnan First Prison from February 2014 to June 2018. Luo was sentenced to three years at the Yunnan Province Second Women’s Prison.
On July 15, 2025, about eighteen officers broke into Di’s home around 10 p.m., hours after he had been seized while distributing Falun Gong materials. His wife was restrained in a room while officers searched the home; his computer, printer, copier, car, and phone were confiscated. Police said they had been surveilling him since May 13, 2025. He was taken to the Guandu District Detention Center, where he went on a hunger strike in protest and was hospitalized on January 7, 2026, after six days without food. His family’s request for release on medical grounds was denied.
Di stood trial at the Wuhua District Court in Kunming on April 24, 2026 (a January hearing had been postponed twice because of his health). His lawyer argued the charge — “using a cult organization to undermine law enforcement” — had no legal basis; that the police certification of seized materials was not an independent forensic verification; that the months-long surveillance constituted a technical investigation outside the categories permitted by the Criminal Procedure Law; that the suspect identification rested on surveillance footage without supporting evidence; and that the home raid and interrogation records were procedurally defective. Di remained silent throughout the two-and-a-half-hour session in protest. Presiding judge He Wen had barred his wife from serving as his non-lawyer defender at the last minute, allowing her to attend only as a spectator. On April 30, the court sentenced Di to four years with a 6,000-yuan fine. The verdict was signed by presiding judge He Wen, judges Hu Yong and Chen Qingling, clerk Tong Zhonghua, assistant Li Chengzhuo, prosecutor Huang Pengwen, and assistant prosecutor Huang Chongqiang.
**Status:** Reported in custody. The latest independent report (May 30, 2026) states it was unclear whether Di had been admitted to prison after sentencing; he was last confirmed at the Guandu District Detention Center. He appears in the Rights Defense Network’s Issue 131 roster of reported current custody cases (August 31, 2026).
Media Profile & Archive: Di Jianchao (狄建超) — Media Profile & Archive