(Minghui.org) Mr. Zheng Xianjin's life is at stake after two years of imprisonment for his faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the communist regime in 1999.
The former businessman underwent a tracheotomy while serving five years at Xinmi Prison and had to rely on a tracheal tube to breathe. It is unclear what abuse Mr. Zheng was subjected to at the prison that led to the tracheotomy.
Mr. Zheng and his wife, Ms. Wang Haomei, were arrested together in July 2016 for their faith in Falun Gong, and both sentenced to five-year prison terms. Mr. Zheng was recently released on medical parole, but his wife is still imprisoned at Xinxiang Women's Prison. Most of their money and personal assets were confiscated during numerous police raids during the past two decades. Mr. Zheng is having financial difficulties and struggles to take care of himself.
Repeated Persecution and Family's Plight
Mr. Zheng has been repeatedly arrested and spent nearly 13 years in detention during the past two decades for refusing to give up his faith, which helped him rid himself of many bad habits.
When he and his wife were detained for their faith in 2001, their three young children lived in a very difficult situation. His second daughter had to drop out of school as they didn't have the money to pay tuition.
His mother-in-law passed away that same year with grief and anxiety after witnessing the tremendous ordeals falling on the once well-to-do family.
Shortly after Mr. Zheng was released from seven months of detention, he was arrested again in Spring 2002. He went on a hunger strike in protest and was released four months later.
He was arrested a third time in 2003, and given a two-year term at a labor camp. By the time he was released in 2005, his family had been left in poverty and he had to do odd jobs to make ends meet.
Mr. Wang was arrested for a fourth time in 2008 and soon sentenced to eight years in Xinmi Prison.
He and his wife were arrested together on July 3, 2016, shortly after he finished serving the eight-year term. The police monitored their cellphones before making the arrests.
They were sentenced to five-year terms by the Xiguan Court on December 22, 2016.
Related report:
The Persecution of Mr. Zheng Xianjin's Family in Huaiyang, Henan Province
