Zhou Lidong (周丽东) — Person Profile
Zhou Lidong (周丽东), a Falun Gong practitioner from Jixi City, Heilongjiang Province, is reported to have been put on trial for her faith in 2025. According to Minghui.org, a Falun Gong community publication, her case went to trial in Jixi in 2025 (the community describes the trial as an “illegal trial,” 非法庭审). The Rights Defense Network’s (维权网) monthly political-prisoners report (Issue 131, August 31, 2026) lists her in its 3.5-year-sentence band, confirming she remains in custody serving her term as of that date.
The case
Minghui.org reports that Ms. Zhou’s case was heard in court in Jixi City, Heilongjiang, in 2025. The publication’s article — titled “黑龙江鸡西市周立冬被非法庭审” (which writes her name as 周立冬, an attested character variant of the same person) — characterizes the proceedings as an unlawful trial; that characterization is the community publication’s, not an independently verified legal finding. Her case is connected to that of fellow Jixi practitioner Wang Shuxiang (王淑香): on February 11, 2025, Wang was arrested at Ms. Zhou’s home, and Wang’s own case — indicted by the Jidong County Procuratorate, tried on June 9, 2025 — resulted in a two-year prison sentence with a 10,000-yuan fine (judgment number (2025) 黑321刑初37号). The Rights Defense Network’s Issue 131 report (August 31, 2026) places 周丽东 in its three-and-a-half-year sentence group, indicating a 3.5-year sentence; the date of her own judgment and the court that issued it are not given in any source found. Falun Gong (法轮功), also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline combining meditation exercises with moral teachings centered on truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance; it has been suppressed in China since July 1999, and practitioners detained for their faith are commonly prosecuted under the charge of “using a cult organization to undermine law enforcement.”
Status and evidentiary limits
Zhou Lidong is listed as a current in-custody political prisoner in the 判刑3年6个月，126人 (sentenced to 3 years and 6 months, 126 people) group of the Rights Defense Network’s Issue 131 monthly report (August 31, 2026), which lists 1,638 reported current-custody political prisoners and prisoners of conscience; the English edition confirms “Zhou Lidong” in the parallel band. The case chronology rests on Minghui.org, a Falun Gong community publication — a partisan source whose factual claims (dates, courts, proceedings) are recorded here as reported, with no court document, state-media account, or independent international-media reporting found. Her name appears as 周立冬 in the Minghui article and 周丽东 in the Rights Defense Network roster; both romanize as Zhou Lidong and are treated as the same person on region-and-case-context evidence (identical pinyin, Jixi City, Heilongjiang, Falun Gong 2025 case context). No update on her condition or detention location after the 2025 trial has been found; no release date is given or computed (the judgment date is unknown). Do-not-merge: the 周立冬/周丽东 spellings are one person, not two; Wang Shuxiang (王淑香) is a different person whose case intersects hers; and this person must not be merged with any other Zhou Lidong on name alone. The 126-person 3.5-year band is a same-sentence-length aggregation, not a joint case; band neighbors are not co-defendants.
Media Profile & Archive: Zhou Lidong (周丽东) — Media Profile & Archive