Hong Kong: Man Convicted for Destroying Falun Gong Booths

Hu Aimin, who destroyed multiple Falun Gong booths in December 2020, was convicted on Oct. 30, 2022 at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Court for five counts of criminal damage.

Falun Gong practitioners outside mainland China set up display booths to raise awareness of the persecution. The Hong Kong government has not participated in the persecution or interfered with efforts to raise awareness of the situation in the mainland. However, pro-Beijing organizations and individuals often harass Falun Gong practitioners and disrupt their efforts to stop the persecution.

Mr. Hu destroyed Falun Gong practitioners’ banners, display boards, computer racks, and other items in Mong Kok, Wong Tai Sin, and Tsim Sha Tsui on Dec. 13, 19, and 20, 2020 respectively, causing HK$15,000 (US$1,911) worth of damages. The defendant was arrested on Dec. 24 of the same year and subsequently charged.

The defendant admitted to damaging the Falun Gong booth and materials. Mr. Hu claimed the booths are illegal, and in order to “defend national security,” he “has the right to enforce the law on his own.” He cited the national security law as justification.

Magistrate Li Chi-ho responded, “If someone says something that is insulting to our country, can they also enforce the law themselves? Murder, theft, and sabotage can all be protected by the National Security Law?” The defendant was found guilty of all crimes.

Though already convicted, the date for his sentencing was adjourned until December 1. The defendant was also involved in destroying Falun Gong booths with several accomplices on April 3, 2021. That case is set to be tried on December 8, 9, and 12.

Victim: The CCP’s Lies Made the Defendant Commit the Crime

One of the prosecution witnesses, Ms. Chen, practiced the Falun Gong exercises at the Tsim Sha Tsui Pier on the day of one incident and displayed a poster. Hu Aimin came up and threw her display poster into the sea and smashed her computer stand.

Ms. Chen, one of the prosecution’s witnesses, practiced the Falun Gong exercises near a booth at the Tsim Sha Tsui Pier the day of one incident. Hu Aimin came up and threw a poster into the sea and smashed her computer stand.

After the case was decided, Ms. Chen told the Epoch Times that Hu was brainwashed by the CCP’s propaganda and mistakenly believes that Falun Gong is “illegal,” which made him commit the crime. She said, “Our Falun Gong philosophy is based on truthfulness, benevolence, and forbearance. It is legal everywhere. Even in China, no law says we are an ‘illegal religion.’”

Jiang Zemin, the former leader of the CCP, initiated the persecution of Falun Gong in 1999. However, the practice’s popularity made it difficult for the persecution to gain traction. The government began a slander campaign to demonize Falun Gong, including staging the Tiananmen Square self-immolation. As a result, millions were deceived about the nature of Falun Gong.

Ms. Chen said that she clarified the truth about Falun Gong because it is persecuted by the CCP. “In the mainland, we have no room to talk about this. In Hong Kong, we tell others that we are wronged. Hong Kong has this freedom.” She rebuked Hu Aimin and his accomplices for criminal damage against unarmed and kind people. A few elderly Falun Gong practitioners tried to stop them but were pushed down, “I don’t know how they can bear to do this.”

Since the CCP began persecuting Falun Gong, practitioners in Hong Kong have peacefully protested the persecution. For doing so, they are harassed and threatened by pro-CCP organizations. In September 2019, Ms. Liao, a Falun Gong practitioner, met with Hong Kong police to discuss an upcoming parade. Leaving the police station, a group of men beat her and made her head bleed. The 22-year-old man Or Hin-cham, who was the lookout, was sentenced to two years and nine months in jail for “intentional wounding” earlier this year.

Based on an original article by the Epoch Times