(Minghui.org) A Mishan City, Heilongjiang Province, man was sentenced to two years in prison in May 2023 for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999. Mr. Zhao Bo has been admitted to the Tailai Prison at the time of writing and his family is not allowed to visit him.

Mr. Zhao Bo

Mr. Zhao, 51, was arrested on February 20, 2021, and soon released on bail. His cell phone and tablet were confiscated. When his bail condition expired a year later, he requested the police to close his case, only to be given another six months of house arrest. 

During that period, the police interrogated Mr. Zhao several times and accused him of having Falun Gong materials at home. Mr. Zhao argued that the Chinese publication bureau had lifted the ban on Falun Gong materials, but the police ignored it. 

Mr. Zhao was deceived into going to the police station in September 2022 and was arrested and taken into custody. His family was not allowed to visit him at the Mishan City Detention Center or send clothes to him. The local court never notified his family of his trial or give them a copy of his verdict after convicting him in May 2023.

Mr. Zhao, a former employee of the local power company, quit drinking, smoking, gambling, and embezzling tools from his company after he took up Falun Gong. He also became a conscientious worker, a filial son, and a generous person. In 1998, he donated five months’ salary to flood victims. His latest arrest and detention devastated his parents. They couldn’t understand why the government would put their son in jail for trying to be a good person. His father lost his appetite and aged quickly. His mother felt so hopeless that she even attempted to commit suicide several times. 

In addition to his latest sentencing, Mr. Zhao was given seven years in 2003 for spray-painting the message “Falun Dafa is good” on utility poles. The guards in Mudanjiang Prison held him in solitary confinement and shocked him with electric batons on sensitive parts. 

Due to the pressure from the persecution, his wife divorced him and refused to take custody of their daughter. After Mr. Zhao was released, he gave her most of the money from the sale of their home and took on the responsibility of caring for his daughter, by working odd jobs after he was fired by the power company.

Related reports:

Heilongjiang Man Detained for Seven Months and Counting for His Faith

Mudanjiang City Prison Officials Subject Mr. Zhao Bo to Torture

The Persecution of Mr. Zhao Bo in Mishan City, Heilongjiang Province