(Minghui.org) Two residents of Pingdu City, Shandong Province, were sentenced to prison for their faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Mr. Zhao Yougong was sentenced to a three and a half year prison term and a 2,000-yuan fine. Mr. Hao Jingming, 58, a former director of the Baishiyi Air Force Meteorological Observatory in Chongqing, was sentenced to seven years and eight months with a 30,000-yuan fine. While both men were wrongly convicted for their shared faith, their cases were unrelated. It is unclear when exactly they were tried or sentenced.
Mr. Zhao’s Persecution
According to insiders, the Pingdu District Police Department started investigating Mr. Zhao months before his arrest on April 27, 2023, upon discovering that he had posted two articles by Master Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Gong, including “How Humankind Came To Be” and “Why Save Sentient Beings,” on social media.
Less than two weeks later, on May 9, 2023, the police arrested eight other local practitioners for their connections with Mr. Zhao, including his daughter-in-law Ms. Yu Cuifang, Mr. Zheng Zhijun and his wife, Mr. Zhao Minghua and his wife, Ms. Yu Zhenxiang and her mother-in-law, and Mr. Sun Kelin. The eight practitioners were later released but Mr. Zhao remained detained and was eventually sentenced to 3.5 years in prison.
Ms. Hao Previously Jailed 7.5 Years Also for His Faith
Mr. Hao was previously sentenced to 7.5 years for his faith while he was still living in Chongqing. After being released in 2018, he moved back to his hometown in Pingdu City to care for his mother.
Mr. Hao’s latest sentencing stemmed from his arrest on July 3, 2023. He joined a gathering of local Falun Gong practitioners at Ms. Jiang Caifeng’s home that day. As soon as he stepped into Ms. Jiang’s home, over 20 police officers broke in and handcuffed him. The police also raided Mr. Hao’s residence that he shared with his mother.
According to an insider, the police had started to monitor Mr. Hao in November 2022. They staked out Ms. Jiang’s home for three weeks in order to arrest him. In addition to Mr. Hao and Ms. Jiang, over ten other practitioners who recently had contact with Mr. Hao were also arrested on the same day. The status of their cases remained unknown at the time of this report.
Another insider revealed that the order to arrest Mr. Hao came from Bao Hui, the new head of the Pingdu City Police Department. But it’s not clear what led to Bao’s decision to hunt for Mr. Hao.
Mr. Hao was taken to the Pingdu City Detention Center on July 5, 2023, and he started a hunger strike on the same day to demand an unconditional release.
Li Xiaoan and another officer surnamed Zhong from the Chengguan Police Station took Mr. Hao to the hospital for a physical examination and force-feeding on July 18, 2023.
Mr. Hao’s sister was notified by the police and rushed to the hospital to check on him. She was shocked to see that despite Mr. Hao’s weak physical condition, the police still kept him handcuffed and shackled.
As Mr. Hao refused to cooperate with the police in the physical examination, an officer pushed him in front of his sister. Mr. Hao almost fell. His sister also learned that he once vomited blood when the detention center guards tried to force-feed him.
An agent of the Pingdu City 610 Office, who was also at the hospital, said they could give him a lighter prison sentence of three years if he cooperated with them.
Mr. Hao’s arrest was approved on August 2 and his lawyer visited him on August 18. His family was notified on December 18, 2023 that his case had been submitted to the Huangdao District Court and that judge Huang Huifang (+86-53286975196, +86-18563901257) was assigned to the case. It is unclear when Huang heard Mr. Hao’s case and sentenced him.
Related Reports:
Former Air Force Meteorological Observatory Director Arrested for Practicing Falun Gong
Shandong Woman Detained for Three Weeks and Counting for Her Faith in Falun Gong
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