(Minghui.org) It was recently learned that a 69-year-old businessman in Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province, was sentenced to one year and four months for his faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Mr. Hu Yuanqin’s sentencing stemmed from his arrest on January 4, 2023, for distributing Falun Gong informational materials. The arresting officers from the Jiangning District Police Department and the Dongshan Police Station took him to the Jiangning District Detention Center. His family learned about his prison sentence in mid-October 2023. Other details of his indictment, trial, and sentencing remain to be investigated. It is unclear if he has been transferred to prison.
Multiple Prior Arrests and a Previous Three-Year Prison Term
This is not the first time that Mr. Hu has been targeted for his faith. He was arrested on July 9, 2001, and held at the Dongshan Police Station for one month before being taken to the local Dongshan Hotel (which the authorities were using as a brainwashing center). He was held there for an additional 15 days, during which time he was forced to watch and read propaganda that slandered Falun Gong.
Dongshan Police Station officers arrested Mr. Hu again on November 7, 2001, and detained him for one month.
Mr. Hu’s third arrest took place on January 3, 2002. He was detained for one month at a local police station and another 10 days at a brainwashing center inside Jiangning Hotel.
Shangfeng Town Police Station officers arrested Mr. Hu on July 22, 2012, while he was distributing Falun Gong informational materials in Shangfeng Town. He was held in the Jiangning District Detention Center for one month.
Mr. Hu was arrested at home on August 18, 2013, after being reported for distributing Falun Gong informational materials. He was again taken to the Jiangning District Detention Center.
The Jiangning District Domestic Security Office and 610 Office broke into Mr. Hu’s office on the night of March 5, 2014, and took him to the Jiangning District Detention Center. They later moved him to the Nanjing City Brainwashing Center. The Jiangning District Procuratorate issued a formal arrest warrant on July 25, 2014, and the Jiangning District Court sentenced him to three years in prison in late 2015.
A Well-regarded Businessman
Mr. Hu used to be the head of the Nanjing City Cement Factory, a state-owned enterprise. Because of the dust and pollution, he developed asthma and vertigo. His symptoms got worse over time but disappeared not long after he took up Falun Gong in December 1996. He also quit drinking. He shared his miraculous recovery with his employees and some of them joined him in practicing Falun Gong.
Because of his stellar job performance, he was promoted to be the chair of the Board of Directors and the CEO of the Nanjing Shuangning Group (the parent company of the Nanjing City Cement Factory, the Nanjing City Plastic Factory, and the Nanjing City Industrial Park). At the time, the Nanjing Shuangning Group was deep in debt (nearly 10 million yuan, including more than 6 million in owed wages and pension payments).
Whenever he went to inspect a subsidiary, he would be swarmed by workers and other creditors asking for money. They threatened to cut off his limbs if he didn’t pay them back. He even sustained a head injury one time after someone hit him.
As a Falun Gong practitioner, Mr. Hu was able to put himself in others’ shoes and remain calm. He reorganized the Group and managed to pay off all the debt.
After he turned around the dying business, the authorities decided to promote him to be a deputy director of the Nanjing City Finance Bureau. However, the communist regime launched the persecution of Falun Gong at that time. Under pressure, the high-ups made the decision to remove him from all managerial positions. One official, however, fought for him and assigned him to be the manager of the Nanjing City Industrial Park. He turned the industrial park into a real estate company and distributed ownership shares to all the employees but not himself. His employees commented that only a Falun Gong practitioner could be so righteous and selfless.
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