(Minghui.org) A rideshare driver in Tieling City, Liaoning Province was recently sentenced to one and a half years for telling a passenger how practicing Falun Gong completely turned his life around.
Mr. Zhang Junjia used to be addicted to gambling. He took out loans totaling over 300,000 yuan and lost it all. His parents had to borrow money to repay his debt. Stressed out by his situation, his father developed a heart condition and later suffered a stroke, which further exacerbated the family’s financial hardship.
To make matters worse, Mr. Zhang was involved in a car accident and paid over 30,000 yuan to repair the other person’s vehicle. Unable to cope with the pressure, he attempted suicide three times.
To pay off the debt, Mr. Zhang bought a car and became a rideshare driver. With a monthly car payment of 3,100 yuan, family debt, and his father’s medical expenses, he was under tremendous pressure.
Mr. Zhang later met a few local Falun Gong practitioners. Impressed by how calm and peaceful they were, he began reading Falun Gong books and discovered that it was nothing like what was depicted in the propaganda perpetuated by the Chinese Communist Party. From the Falun Gong teachings, he understood the principle that one is responsible for one’s actions. He felt relieved and learned to put his past mistakes behind him. He strove to live by Falun Gong’s principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance, and became more considerate and forgiving.
For telling a passenger how he benefited from practicing Falun Gong, Mr. Zhang was arrested on September 23, 2025, by Dugong Police Station officers. He was held at the Dadong Detention Center and later indicted by the Dadong District Procuratorate. The Dadong District Court initially scheduled a hearing of his case for July 3, 2026, but then postponed to July 13 and again to August 7.
On August 4, 2026, Mr. Zhang’s mother, Ms. Geng Yuhua, went to the Jinjia Town Post Office to mail a letter seeking justice for her son. She was arrested by agents from the Changtu County Domestic Security Office, who also confiscated her letter.
The hearing on August 7 lasted less than two hours. The presiding judge Chen Zhuangwei adjourned the session at noon, saying that he had a meeting to attend in the afternoon.
During Mr. Zhang’s second hearing on August 13, Chen paused the session when the defense lawyer brought up the fact that the Chinese Press and Publication Administration had lifted the ban on Falun Gong books in 2011.
When Chen resumed the hearing, he prohibited the lawyer from mentioning anything related to Falun Gong. The lawyer persisted in defending Mr. Zhang. Chen ordered the bailiff to remove the lawyer from the courtroom and asked Mr. Zhang if he wanted a court-appointed lawyer. Mr. Zhang said no.
Chen also stopped Mr. Zhang when he testified in his own defense. He adjourned the session and sentenced him weeks later.
Mr. Zhang is appealing the wrongful conviction.