Using WeChat to propagate "Falun Gong" and other cults may violate criminal law. On May 31, 2017, two women from the Dafeng District of Yancheng City, Jiangsu Province received criminal punishment for using WeChat to spread cult information and for using cult organizations to undermine law enforcement.
The first defendant, Chen Cuiyu, was a female of Han nationality. She was born in March 1968, only had an elementary school education, and comes from Zhongzhen Town, Dafeng District, Yancheng City. She was sentenced to jail for four years by thepeople's court of Dafeng District on August 18, 2010 for using cult organizations to undermine law enforcement. The second defendant, Shen Lanxiang, was also a female of Han nationality. She was born in November 1962, and had received a high school education. She is retired and also comes from Zhongzhen Town, Dafeng District, Yancheng City. She was sentenced to jail for three years and six months by the people's court of Dafeng district on August 17, 2010 for using cult organizations to undermine law enforcement.
The people's procuratorate of Dafeng District, Yancheng City charges were that: from July to December, 2015, the defendant Chen Cuiyu released"Falun Gong" cult images, text, audio, video and other cult publicity information, which totaled 85 items, including 53 texts with images, 30 audios and videos and 2 dynamic page links through WeChat; the defendant Shen Lanxiang released"Falun Gong" cult images, text, audio, video and other cult publicity information, which totaled 51 items, including 33 texts with images, 17 audios and videos and 1 dynamic page link through WeChat.
The people's court of Dafeng District, Yancheng City held that the defendants Chen Cuiyu and Shen Lanxiang should be prosecuted of criminal responsibility for cult activities, and their behavior constituted the use of cults to undermine law enforcement and that they should be held accountable in accordance with the law. The people's procuratorate of Dafeng District, Yancheng City accused the defendants Chen Cuiyu and Shen Lanxiang of using cult organizations to undermine law enforcement. It was put forward that the facts of the case were clear, the evidence was real and sufficient and that they should be found guilty as charged.
On May 31, 2017, the people's court of Dafeng District, Yancheng City issued a judgment in accordance with the law on the case of Chen Cuiyu and Shen Lanxiang using cult organizations: Chen Cuiyu and Shen Lanxiang were multiple offenders, so were given a heavier punishment. In accordance with item 1 of article 300, item 1 of article 65 and item 3 of article 67 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China, item 7 of article 2 of the Explanations of Several Questions o nCriminal Cases of Organizing and Using Cult Organizations to Breach the Law from the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the sentence was as follows: the defendant Chen Cuiyu used cult organizations in breach of the law and was sentenced to jail for four years and was fined 40,000 yuan. The defendant Shen Lanxiang used cult organizations in breach of the law and was sentenced to jail for three years and six months and was fined 35,000 yuan.
Additional Reading:
According to article 2 of Explanations of several Questions on Criminal Cases of Organizing and Using Cult Organizations to Breach the Law from the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, which has been in effect since February 1, those who use social networks to preach cult material shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of more than three years but not more than seven years, and concurrently be sentenced to a fine in accordance with item 1 of article 300 of the criminal law when they have the following situations: 1. Produce or disseminate more than 200 cult electronic pictures or articles, more than 50 volumes of electronic books, periodicals, audios and videos, or more than five million characters of electronic documents, more than two hundred and fifty minutes of electronic audio and video; 2. Distribute information and call more than one thousand (times); 3. Use online chat room with more than one thousand people online, or using communications groups, WeChat, weibo and other social networks of more than one thousand group members or followers to promote cults; 4. The cult information is actually clicked on and browsed more than five thousand times.
(Editor in charge: Xu Hu)
