(Minghui.org) After Mr. Chen Xingbo, a Xingtai City, Hebei Province resident, was sentenced to three years for practicing Falun Gong, he was removed from the retirees' roster of Xingtai Radio Broadcasting Station, where he once served as chief editor and deputy director of the special topics department.
With his pension stopped, his wife is being threatened to return the pension payments Mr. Chen received during his detention.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Mr. Chen, 69, went out grocery shopping at around 7 a.m. on November 24, 2019, when he was arrested by a group of officers who had been waiting outside his apartment. The police ransacked his home and interrogated him at the Gangtiebeilu Police Station.
The police also traveled hundreds of miles to a city in the south and intimidated Mr. Chen’s older sister and her family, in an attempt to collect evidence against him.
Mr. Chen was sentenced to three years on September 10, 2020 by the Xiangdu District Court. He appealed the verdict, but was rejected by the Xingtai City Intermediate Court on December 7, 2020. He was transferred from the Xingtai City No.1 Detention Center to the Tangshan Prison on January 5, 2021.
Shortly after Mr. Chen was convicted, the Xingtai Radio Broadcasting Station removed him from its retirees' roster, rendering him ineligible for any future retirement benefits.
On January 26, 2021, staff members of the Xingtai Radio Broadcasting Station found Mr. Chen’s wife, Ms. Sun Lanping, and demanded that she return the 80,000 yuan in pension payment paid to Mr. Chen during his past 15 months detention.
When Ms. Sun refused to comply, the authorities threatened to sell their house or suspend Ms. Sun’s own pension. She was given two months to return the money. With Mr. Chen’s pension stopped and his lawyer fees yet to be paid, Ms. Sun is facing a dire financial situation. Her health is also deteriorating due to the mental stress.
Related reports:
Toronto, Canada: Rally Calls for Immediate Release of Falun Gong Practitioner Detained in China
Former Radio Station Director and Brother of a Canadian Resident Sentenced to Prison for His Faith
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