Ms. Zhang Zongsu, 60 years old, and Mr. Li Guocai, 63 years old, are residents of Tangshan City, Hebei Province. Both of them are retired employees of the No. 4 Company of the No. 2 Construction Bureau. On April 26, 2007, the couple were illegally arrested and detained in the Tangshai City First Detention Center. As a form of protest, the couple started a hunger strike. Because of this, they were brutally forced-fed twice a day. On top of this, for each force feeding they were charged 50 yuan.
On August 14, 2007, Lubei Court in Tangshan City started a hearing on the elderly couple's case. The following officials from the courts participated in the case: Ai Yanxia (female), the prosecutor, Liu Yuman (male), chief judge, Jia Shuying (female), juror and Liu Xiaojun (male), juror. At the beginning of the hearing, the doors were closed and no one was allowed to watch. After strong pressure from the couple's family, four family members were allowed to watch the hearing, although they were not allowed to be witnesses to testify. In the courtroom, the elderly couple refused to accept any of the charges made against them. The hearing was hastily wrapped up, and on October 20, 2007, the court announced their sentences: Ms. Zhang was sentenced to seven years in prison and Mr. Li was sentenced to four years. Both of them decided to appeal this ruling. As a consequence of this decision, their family members were not allowed to visit them.