Zion Family Letter—Prayer Letter from Tong Hong, Wife of Elder Wang Zhong

I am Wang Zhong’s wife. Today, with profound anxiety and sorrow, I ask everyone to pray for me.

My husband Wang Zhong’s case has now entered the trial stage. After its review, the procuratorate has lawfully recommended that a suspended sentence be applied and has sent a letter to your court recommending a change to the compulsory measures. This shows that clear review opinions have been reached regarding the facts, nature and sentencing circumstances of the case, and that there is a practical basis for applying non-custodial measures to the defendant.

However, our family is now facing unbearable grief. My father-in-law, the defendant Wang Zhong’s father, is already 96 years old and is currently receiving emergency treatment in the ICU, with his life in grave danger. The elderly man is advanced in age and could pass away at any time. As a father, his greatest wish may be to see his son one more time in the final moments of his life; as a son, my husband also urgently hopes to accompany his father through the final stage of his life and fulfill his final filial duty as a son.

Life is unpredictable; life and death cannot wait. One meeting may be the final farewell between father and son, as well as the old man’s final concern in this life. If this opportunity is missed, it will become an eternal regret that our entire family can never make up for.

We understand and respect the court’s procedure of reviewing social dangerousness in accordance with the law, and we also understand that it is necessary to verify the relevant circumstances with the police station at the place of household registration. However, the procuratorate has already recommended that a suspended sentence be applied, the circumstances of the case are already relatively clear, and there is no actual risk of obstructing the proceedings. Verification at the place of household registration can be carried out in accordance with the law, but we sincerely ask the court, within the scope permitted by law, to give full consideration to the current special and urgent humanitarian circumstances, advance the relevant procedures as soon as possible, and not allow the waiting involved in the verification process to leave a 96-year-old man with a lifelong regret.

My husband has consistently cooperated actively with the court proceedings and is willing to strictly comply with all requirements during the period of release on bail pending trial, accepting the supervision and management of the public security authorities and the court. We family members are also willing to assume supervisory responsibility to ensure that he appears whenever summoned and does not affect the normal conduct of the proceedings.

We sincerely ask the court, while handling the case in accordance with the law, to extend a measure of humanitarian consideration to this family on the verge of breaking apart, approve the change to the compulsory measures as soon as possible, allow a 96-year-old father to see his son in the final moments of his life, and allow my husband to fulfill his final responsibility as a son.