(Minghui.org)
Name: Feng XiaoqiChinese Name: 冯晓奇Gender: MaleAge: 74City: ChengdeProvince: HebeiOccupation: RetireeDate of Death: February 23, 2025Date of Most Recent Arrest: August 31, 2003Most Recent Place of Detention: Baoding City Prison
A 74-year-old man in Chengde City, Hebei Province, had a stroke on September 12, 2024, the day before he was to appear at a hearing regarding illegal suspension of his pension by the Social Security Bureau. He died on February 23, 2025, and the appeals court ruled nine days later, on March 4, to reject his appeal.
The financial persecution of Mr. Feng Xiaoqi was a continuation of the attacks on him for his faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999. Mr. Feng was arrested on August 31, 2003 for producing materials exposing the persecution of Falun Gong. He stood trial at the Shuangqiao District Court on June 11, 2004 and was barred from reading his defense statements in court. He submitted a request for acquittal before the court hearing, and was nonetheless sentenced to 14 years soon afterward.
Mr. Feng was transferred to the Baoding City Prison on October 15, 2004. It is unclear whether he was released ahead of his scheduled release date in August 2017.
Mr. Feng reached retirement age in 2012 and began receiving pension benefits in September of that year. The Chengde City Social Security Bureau suspended his pension in August 2020 and ordered him to return the payments that had been issued to him from September 2012 to July 2020 (95 months in total).
According to China’s social security law, Mr. Feng met the pension contribution requirements in 2007 and was entitled to full benefits after he reached retirement age in 2012. The Social Security Bureau cited his prison sentence as the reason for the pension suspension, but, by law, no government agency can forfeit retirees’ retirement benefits. He thus submitted a request to seek a reinstatement of his pension, but the social security bureau never responded to him. He then filed a lawsuit against the bureau with the Shuangqiao District Court.
The court ruled in the social security bureau’s favor. Mr. Feng proceeded to file an administrative reconsideration with the Chengde City Intermediate Court. While the case was pending, the social security bureau threatened to seize his house to repay his “debt” of the 95 months of pension payments.
The intermediate court scheduled a court date for September 13, 2024, but Mr. Feng had a stroke the night before. He became unconscious and was rushed to the hospital, where he remained for more than a month. After he returned home, he struggled to recover, and died on February 23, 2025. The intermediate court ruled on March 4, 2025 to uphold the lower court’s decision to order Mr. Feng to repay the social security bureau the 95 months of pension benefits issued to him between 2012 and 2020. It’s not clear whether the social security bureau would still seize his house to repay his “debt.”
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