An appeal decision confirmed a verdict of 4 and a half years against a 73-year-old Falun Gong practitioner who has already spent 13 years in jail.
by Yang Feng
Wang Xinmin is a good example of how Falun Gong practitioners, once identified and arrested for the first time by the Chinese police, face the alternative between renouncing their faith and spending most of their future life in jail.
73-year-old Wang Xinmin, who used to work as a senior agronomist at Heilongjiang Tobacco Research Institute, was born in 1949 in Mudanjiang city, Heilongjiang province. He joined Falun Gong in the 1990s, and was arrested on October 22, 2003, together with his wife and daughter. He was sentenced to 14 years in jail for “using” a xie jiao, i.e., for being active in a banned religious movement.
He was repeatedly beaten and tortured in prison, but stubbornly refused to sign a declaration renouncing Falun Gong. He developed a severe pancreatitis, and was granted medical parole in June 2014.
The police kept him under watch, however, and determined that, his health problems notwithstanding, he had started again practicing Falun Gong. He was re-arrested on June 4, 2015, and kept in jail until June 23, 2016.
As Bitter Winter has reported, during the COVID-19 crisis Falun Gong was very successful in promoting its “Nine True Words” meditation to boost the immune system. The authorities, who believed they had largely eradicated Falun Gong, were surprised by the comeback. Senior police executive in charges of combating the xie jiao were arrested for their lack of effectiveness in predicting and countering this “return” of Falun Gong.
To avoid being punished, local public security chiefs ordered new raids against those Falun Gong practitioners who had spent time in jail before. They were asked to sign statements where they renounced Falun Gong. Those who did not sign were arrested again. In Heilongjiang, on June 10, 2021, police raids were conducted simultaneously against homes where Falun Gong practitioners were suspected to live and gather in six cities and counties. Wang Xinmin, who had already been detained shortly in October 2020, and who continued to refuse to sign the statement, was among the 28 practitioners arrested. Notwithstanding his frail health, he was also beaten by the police.
On October 29 , 2021, Wang was sentenced to 4 years and 6 months in prison and a fine of 5,000 yuan by the People’s Court of Aimin district, Mudanjiang city, under the anti-xie-jiao provision of Article 300 of the Chinese Criminal Code.
He appealed, and Bitter Winter has learned that the first degree verdict has been confirmed by the Mudanjiang Intermediate Court, meaning Wang should remain in the Tailai County Jail of Qiqihar city, Heilongjiang province, where he is currently detained, until 2025.