(Minghui.org) A woman in Yantai City, Shandong Province, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for posting a couplet on her door about her faith in Falun Gong.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline based on the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance. It has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Wang Chao, 54, was arrested on November 28, 2018. Officers from Mouping District Domestic Security Division and Wanggezhuang Police Station went to her workplace, took her keys, and ransacked her home. They confiscated Ms. Wang's Falun Gong books, computer, printer, and more than 100,000 yuan in cash.
Ms. Wang was detained at Mouping District Detention Center for 15 days before being transferred to Yantai City Detention Center on December 13, 2018.
The Domestic Security Division submitted her case to Mouping District Procuratorate on March 26, 2019.
Ms. Wang appeared in Mouping District Court on June 26, 2019. Her lawyer entered a not-guilty plea for her and demanded her acquittal. The lawyer argued that no law criminalizes Falun Gong in China and that his client was exercising her constitutionally protected rights in following her spiritual belief.
Ms. Wang testified that practicing Falun Gong improved her health and helped her stay calm and become a better person.
Prior to her latest sentencing, Ms. Wang had been repeatedly arrested and detained for her faith. She was once given three years of forced labor and detained for another 15 days in 2015 for filing a criminal complaint against Jiang Zemin, the head of the communist regime who ordered the persecution of Falun Gong in 1999.