Hebei police have installed a large number of surveillance cameras in the offices of an agricultural conglomerate ahead of a court verdict to be handed down on its outspoken founder and 20 others who clashed with a state-owned firm last year, Apple Daily has learnt.

Local authorities were keeping staff members at the headquarters of Dawu Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Group in Baoding city, as well as those at its subsidiaries, under close watch to prevent anyone from making trouble related to the court proceedings, sources told the newspaper.

The company’s founder Sun Dawu and 20 others, including his family members and company executives, were arrested in November last year, after a group of Dawu employees clashed with a state-owned firm some months earlier.

Sun and the 20 others have been charged with “picking quarrels and stirring up trouble,” illegal mining, assembling crowds to attack state organs, illegally occupying farmland and other offenses, according to media reports.

The Gaobeidian People’s Court in Baoding is expected to hand down a judgment soon. It appeared to have expedited proceedings by holding a pre-trial meeting last week, media reports said earlier.

The crackdown on Dawu might also have dealt a blow to the career of a Baoding official who has been supportive of the company, the sources said.

Li Shutian, party chief of Baoding’s Xushui district, was removed from the position last Tuesday amid speculation that he was about to be demoted to a lesser role in the district’s advisory body or rubber-stamp legislature. Sources said Li’s previous support for Dawu might be among the reasons for his removal.

Li led a delegation of Baoding and Hebei officials in a high-profile visit to Dawu’s offices in April last year. During the visit, he praised Sun and his company for their contributions.

The sources also said Hebei officials had severe differences on how to handle the case, with some eventually warning Sun’s family, through third parties, that they should hire top lawyers as soon as possible.

In 2019, Sun took to social media to complain that the local government had tried to cover up a swine fever outbreak. The outbreak was confirmed by central authorities two days after his post.

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