“A case of favoritism and injustice has cost two lives, which is intolerable by the law!” Mr. Wang Dahong, who resides in the United States, told Epoch Times reporters that due to his son’s involvement in a company manufacturing fake commemorative coins, with the complicity of public prosecutors and law enforcement, he embarked on a difficult journey of transnational rights protection.
Wang Dahong’s family is a single-parent household, with his son Xiaowang living with him since childhood. When Xiaowang was in high school, he had an argument with his father and ran away from home. Xiaowang did not attend college and became a telemarketer for Nanjing Bocang Cultural Communication Co., Ltd.
In November 2014, Xiaowang was arrested for embezzling customer information and selling gold and silver coins purchased online to customers, falsely claiming that they were the company’s “Essence of China Twelve Zodiac Commemorative Coins.” Upon discovering this, Nanjing Bocang reported the case to the police, and Xiaowang was detained by the police on suspicion of contract fraud.
On the night his son was arrested, Wang Dahong drove to the Lock Gold Village Police Station and sat outside the station all night. Later, he learned that his son was handcuffed and suspended on the back door frame of the police station, with only his toes touching the ground and his heels hanging in the air. He was left hanging until the next morning when the police officers at the station came on duty at 9 a.m., taking turns mocking and insulting him, saying, “Confess quickly, you will ruin the prison bed…”
In 2016, Xiaowang was sentenced to three years in prison with a three-year suspended sentence, and fined 10,000 yuan.
“When we treated those items (Bocang’s commemorative coins) as genuine, we were at a loss for words because admitting our mistake was essential,” Wang Dahong said. They refunded tens of thousands of yuan to customers, and after a month of detention, his son was released on bail pending trial.
After his son returned home, Wang Dahong gradually learned about the office address and personnel structure of Bocang company, the advertisement contents in newspapers nationwide, as well as the phone numbers, names, and information of customers in Nanjing. Through investigation and verification, he discovered that the certificates and official seals on the products were all forged.
He traveled to Shanghai and Beijing many times, where he was received by personnel from the China Gold Coin Corporation and the National Gold and Silver Product Quality Inspection and Testing Center. Founded in 1987, the China Gold Coin Corporation is the only industry company directly under the People’s Bank of China that operates precious metal commemorative coins.
The certificate from the China Gold Coin Corporation showed that the “Pure Gold and Silver Essence of China Twelve Zodiacs” production certificate was stamped with the seal of the China International Coin Company, which has no relation to the Gold Coin Corporation. Consumers were warned to beware of “counterfeit coins sold by criminals.”
In December 2015, the Xiaolingwei Sub-bureau of the Xuanwu District Market Supervision Administration in Nanjing issued a statement, stating that Luo Ting, a staff member of Nanjing Bocang, was selling the “Essence of China Twelve Zodiac Commemorative Coins” at the Great Wall Bookstore counter. An inspection report with the number 2013111-54-801035 issued by the National Gold and Silver Product Quality Inspection and Testing Center confirmed that the “Essence of China Twelve Zodiac Commemorative Coins” sold was forged.
“This is purely a personal case, akin to using deceit to expose deceit. The police are accomplices. Is this a civil case or a criminal case? In a civil case, money is refunded for compensation; secondly, if it is considered a criminal case, why can’t criminals be caught? Robbers are not apprehended, only petty thieves. This is unfair,” said Wang Dahong.
A native of Nanjing, Wang Dahong quickly uncovered the issues within the Bocang company through his connections. He questioned whether the company was entirely fraudulent and colluding with public prosecutors and law enforcement to share the spoils.
He began reporting the situation to various authorities in Nanjing and Jiangsu Province, including visits to the Ministry of Public Security and the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. Travel expenses, accommodations, lawyer fees, all required money, so he sold his two houses in Nanjing, hoping to seek justice. But justice was never served.
“In 2015, during the first trial, a co-defendant of my son, a young man from a rural area in Xuzhou, cried in court saying his father had passed away. He was also from a single-parent family. After being arrested in Nanjing, his father rushed over from Xuzhou, but upon returning home, he passed away from shock. I had been dating my girlfriend for two to three years, preparing to get married. She became anxious because of this matter and quickly passed away. This is intolerable by the law…”
Wang Dahong also turned to the media. In December 2016, Legal Evening News reported on the controversy over the sale of gold and silver coins by Nanjing Bocang. Reporters interviewed some buyers of the coins, some completely denied purchasing the coins, while others were dissatisfied with the coins they received, feeling that the craftsmanship, weight, and material quality differed greatly from the advertised claims.
A list of coin buyers obtained by Legal Evening News showed that from April to August 2014, in a span of four months, Nanjing Bocang sold over 300 sets of various coins and commemorative notes, including the Essence of China Twelve Zodiacs, Zodiac Banknotes with the same number, and Oriental Red Aerospace Coins, with a total amount approaching one million yuan.
Some victims had reported the case to the Xuanwu Sub-bureau of the Nanjing Public Security Bureau, but their cases were not registered.
Wang Dahong stated that the Ministry of Public Security, the Propaganda Department, the General Administration for Market Regulation, and the China Gold Coin Corporation, all sent requests to investigate to the Economic Investigation Brigade of the Nanjing Public Security Bureau. The company forged fake official seals, yet faced no repercussions due to local influence. According to a counter rental agreement, the actual controller of Bocang company had a close relationship with Ji Baoli, the manager of the Nanjing Military Region Great Wall Bookstore.
It is noteworthy that the Great Wall Bookstore is an outlet operated by the Political Department of the Nanjing Military Region, with the legal representative being Ji Baoli. Founded in 1992, in 2001, it became the largest military bookstore in the country. In March 2015, the Xuanwu District Market Supervision Administration in Nanjing conducted an investigation on Ji Baoli. In October 2015, the Nanjing Military Region Great Wall Bookstore suddenly issued a transfer notice, requiring the transferee not to claim any affiliation with the military in their operations.
Reporters were unable to reach Ji Baoli. Employment information from the Great Wall Bookstore showed that Ji Baoli was a former colonel in the Nanjing Military Region Political Department. When the case officers answered the reporter’s call, they refused to provide information regarding the fake coin case involving Nanjing Bocang and directed the reporter to contact the sub-bureau’s publicity office.
Public records show that Nanjing Bocang Cultural Media Co., Ltd was established in 2012. According to Enterprise Search’s records, the company’s registered capital decreased from 500,000 yuan to 100,000 yuan in 2014. In 2019, the company was placed on the list of serious violations of trustworthiness, and in July 2021, the company was deregistered.
The company’s profile states, “Bocang Culture” uses high-quality cultural products as the main form of dissemination, operates through national media, and has created a sales network in major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Wuhan, and Jinan.
After the incident, Wang Dahong expects Bocang company to be shut down. However, they might rebrand under a new alias, register new information, and continue their illegal activities. This is a shocking case.
Investigations revealed that there is still a multitude of commemorative coin sales on the internet. For example, under the guise of “Inheriting the essence of Chinese Twelve Zodiac Culture,” limited global releases of 3,000 sets were advertised.
In 2017, the Jiangsu Provincial High Court rejected Xiaowang’s appeal. Feeling that he had exhausted all legal avenues in China, Wang Dahong decided to pursue justice in the United States, and he faced no issues obtaining a visa.
In the United States, Wang Dahong frequently made calls to various departments in China, the Ministry of Public Security’s disciplinary hotline, and even directly spoke to officials at the Jiangsu Provincial Committee and Jiangsu Public Security Bureau. Soon, he discovered that his phone calls were being blocked. He complained to the phone company, and only his family’s line remained open. “Calls to Beijing’s 12345 hotline go through, but those to Nanjing’s 12345 don’t. ” he stated.
Wang Dahong mentioned that he plans to sue the Secretary of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee and the Secretary of the Nanjing Municipal Committee because of their inaction and counterproductive actions, referring to them as local authorities and top leaders.
“The current chief of the Nanjing Public Security Bureau is Chang Heping. I used to call Chang Heping’s office frequently. The current Chief of the Jiangsu Public Security Department, Li Yaoguang, was transferred from Beijing, while the previous chief, Wang Like, was imprisoned. Jiangsu Province has many corrupt officials because it is the most economically developed region in the country and was a stronghold of Jiang Zemin, including Zhou Yongkang. It’s all rotten. ”
“I believe that the Chinese Communist Party’s four major hierarchical bodies – the party, government, People’s Congress, and Political Consultative Conference – are malevolent entities. The head of the inspection team is focused on indulgence and entertainment. The Communist Party is a gang of thugs, where public property is privatized, power is monopolized, legal system is manipulated, and everyone tells lies. I describe them as two balls: when it comes to promotion and wealth, they grab like basketball players; when facing complaints from the people, they kick like soccer players, passing the responsibility around.” he emphasized.