Zhang Hongbao

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This is a Chinese name; the family name is Zhang (张).

Zhang Hongbao Chinese: 張宏堡
Zhang Hongbao
Born	January 5, 1954^[1] Harbin, China
Died	July 31, 2006 Arizona, USA
Occupation	Businessman
Known for	Founder of Zhong Gong

Zhang Hongbao (张宏宝), born January 5, 1954 in Harbin, Heilongjiang, China,^[1] was the founder and spiritual leader of Zhong Gong, which is based on qigong. He was also a wealthy businessman, and a self-proclaimed leader of the chinese democracy movement.

He died in a "suspicious motor vehicle accident" in Arizona in July 2006.^[2] After his death, no significant activity by Zhong Gong has been reported.

1 Biography
2 References
- 2.1 External link

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Zhang came from Harbin, and had spent part of his youth during the Cultural Revolution in a state farm in Heilongjiang.^[3] In 1987, he founded Zhong Gong,^[4] a movement which claimed 34 million followers, 120,000 employees, 30 life cultivation bases, and 100,000 “branches” at its peak.^[3]

Zhang had diverse business interests, although his empire was centered on the Kylin Group, which was made up of some 60 companies headquartered in Tianjin. The group reportedly employed 100,000 workers, mostly in qigong-related education, publication and health-product ventures.^[5]

Unlike Li Hongzhi, founder of Falun Gong, who disavowed political ambition, Zhang Hongbao positively embraced it.^[6]

A close disciple defected from the group and wrote a scathing exposé alleging that Zhang was a fraud and had illicit sex with followers. Sima Nan alleges that Zhang is a rapist and may even be responsible for the murder of some former followers.^[7] The Chinese Government issued a warrant for his arrest on June 7, 2000, and a statement calling for his return to face four counts of rape between 1990 and 1991, and two counts of using forged travel documents between 1993 and 1994.^[1] The 10 year old rape charge is difficult to verify,^[5] and one observer notes that over 40 Chinese dissidents have been charged with sexual crimes in 1999/2000, a way China neutralises opponents of the regime without raising human-rights concerns.^[5]

[edit] Life in the United States

Zhang disappeared from public view in 1995 in light of increased criticism of Zong Gong. Zhang together with his associate and companion, Yan Qingxin, arrived in the American protectorate of Guam in February 2000 without a visa, and applied for political asylum in the United States.^[7] Zhang's application was supported by Trent Lott and Jesse Helms, was granted protection residence by the U.S. Board of Immigration Appeal in June 2001, reversing a previous ruling.^[8]

Zhang was arrested in March 2003 at his Pasadena mansion in connection with allegations made by his housekeeper, He Nanfang. Zhang was charged with four felonies, including kidnapping assault and false imprisonment with a deadly weapon.^[9]. If convicted, Zhang would lose his protection status, and be expelled from USA.

In April, the China Federation Foundation (CFF) was founded with money from Zhang, and led by a dissident named Peng Ming. This group wanted to form an alternative government for China through the violent overthrow of the Communist government.^[10]. Zhang claimed that he planned this for many years, not for creating conditions for formal Political Asylum to avoid being expelled if convicted.

In what may be a power struggle within the democratic China movement, Zhang subsequently fell out with other dissidents, including Yan Qingxin, his domestic partner for 12 years. Until September 2001, Yan was Zhong Gong’s first lieutenant and "helped build the organization into a powerful entity that made billions of dollars". Yan filed a lawsuit on June 26 in Pasadena Superior Court accusing Zhang of assault, battery and false imprisonment,^[11] and asked for damages of US$23 million.^[3] Yan's sister, Qi Zhang, also a Chinese dissident, filed a suit in Pasadena in July 2003, accusing Zhang of crimes including racketeering and slander.^[11] In total, from 2003 to 2005, Zhang was hit by an avalanche of 20 - 40 civil lawsuits with accusations from other plaintiffs. The arrest of Zhang led to division in the democracy movement.^[6].

In the end, the felony charges in the He Nanfang case were reduced to one charge of battery, a misdemeanor, to which Zhang pled no contest on April 22, 2005.^[6] On February 28, 2006, Zhang won a criminal case, and soon other lawsuits against him were lost or were successively withdrawn. Only one civil case and a labor compensation case remained.^[2]

[edit] Death

He had become a non-person the mainstream Western media.^[10] Zhang's death, in a "suspicious car accident"^[2] in the United States at the age of 52, was a non-event which went unreported. At a highway intersection in northern Arizona, his car was crushed by tractor-trailer truck travelling towards it at 60 miles per hour on July 31, 2006.^[10]. Both he and his female driver (also his secretary) died.

According to police report, the accident was purely the fault of the driver, and the tractor-trailier driver should not be responsible for the accident.

After Zhang’s death, due to the internal friction plus the loss of the attraction to his supernatural power, Zhong Gong almost disappeared from the public.