Zhao Weidong (赵卫东)
Zhao Weidong (赵卫东), born 1963, is a Falun Gong practitioner from Tai’an City, Shandong Province, mainland China. He formerly worked as an assistant engineer at the Tai’an Xinhua Machinery Factory and began practicing Falun Gong in May 1998, according to reports by Minghui.org, a Falun Gong-affiliated news outlet, and the U.S.-based NGO Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD), whose Prisoners of Conscience database carries an individual record on Zhao Weidong.
Zhao had previously been detained and held in brainwashing sessions for his practice. In 2004 he was arrested by Tai’an police and sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment, served in the Shandong Men’s Prison, and released in 2016, according to the same reports.
On September 12, 2024, Zhao Weidong and his wife were stopped while making a delivery at a supermarket in Qiujiadian town, Tai’an; police officers took him into custody. He was held at the Tai’an City Detention Center, after which he was formally detained, his arrest was approved, and he was indicted. On November 13, 2024, the Taishan District Court in Tai’an tried his case; his lawyer entered a not-guilty plea. Zhao was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, with the term running to September 11, 2026, and on February 19, 2025 he was transferred to the Shandong Provincial Prison to serve the sentence, according to the reports; the criminal charge is not stated in the available sources.
Zhao is listed among mainland China’s detained political and conscience prisoners in the August 31, 2026 monthly report of the Chinese-language rights site 维权网 (Weiquanwang), in the group recorded as sentenced to two years’ imprisonment.
Status (as of October 10, 2026): term reportedly completed. CHRD’s record gives his sentence as ending September 11, 2026; his actual release has not been independently confirmed. Custody status should be re-verified before directory placement is finalized.
Media profile & archive: Zhao Weidong (赵卫东) — Media Profile & Archive