(Minghui.org) My son, who was the general manager for his company, was apprehended in 2009 by officers from the Procuratorate and charged with suspected corruption.
This immediately created a buzz within the company. People wondered: “How could the son of a Falun Gong practitioner get involved in embezzling money?” I did some investigating and discovered that the prosecutor wanted to achieve a meritorious service award by framing a Falun Gong practitioner's son. So, I decided to hire a lawyer for a counter lawsuit.
Upon learning that I was a Falun Gong practitioner, many lawyers balked at accepting my case. Fortunately, a friend recommended a lawyer named Mr. Xiang. He is the director of a law firm in my city and was one of only a few lawyers who dared to challenge the Procuratorate on a corruption charge.
After lawyer Xiang met my son and learned the facts involved in his case, he was very sympathetic and willing to move forward with the defense.
I told him about my experiences of being a Falun Gong practitioner and how practitioners aspire to be good people. Mr. Xiang remarked: “What’s wrong with practicing Falun Gong? That is a matter of personal belief. What connection is there in this case?” I was moved by his sense of justice!
He teamed up with another lawyer from the firm and quickly collected evidence that would prove my son’s innocence. They sent a brief to the Procuratorate, asking them to withdraw the case and release my son.
Mr. Xiang alerted me shortly afterwards that the Lawyer's Association in the city issued a notice ordering that no Falun Gong cases were to be accepted. I was shocked! He added: “But this has nothing to do with our case. I just want to know what exactly Falun Gong is about!”
I told him about the widespread popularity of Falun Gong in the mid-1990's, the April 25 peaceful demonstration, and the beginning of the persecution in July of 1999. I also mentioned how the Chinese regime staged a self-immolation on Tienanmen Square to defame practitioners. And more recently, the discovery that the regime authorized the killing of Falun Gong practitioners for their organs for profit.
Upon hearing this, the attorney sighed: “That is what happened. It was Jiang Zemin and his followers who committed these crimes, not Falun Gong!” He immediately renounced his membership in the Chinese Communist Party and its affiliated organizations.
The Procuratorate still launched a lawsuit against my son, after almost six months of an agonizing process. Prior to the trial, the prosecutor threatened my lawyer: “Why do you still defend him? Don’t you know that his mother practices Falun Gong?” Mr. Xiang retorted: “Why can’t I defend him? Does this have any connection with his mother’s spiritual practice?”
In court, Mr. Xiang entered a not guilty plea for my son. He presented a sound defense and publicly questioned the prosecution's case: “Why did you fake the evidence? Why did you conceal exculpatory evidence?”
His staunch stand for righteousness shocked the court! And afterward, even the prosecutor declared: “I have handled so many cases over the years. However, I have never met an attorney who represented a Falun Gong practitioner's relative without fear of coercion and intimidation. Neither have I come across a family that resolutely refused to offer a bribe.”
Mr. Xiang came to me excitedly just two days after the trial: “It was so amazing! I was in court yesterday and heard that my law firm accepted over 20 new cases in one day. In the meantime, we also received over a million dollars in arrears. It really is a miracle! Do you believe this? Yesterday was the most glorious day of my life!”
“Yes, of course I believe you,” I replied. “Your faith in upholding righteous principles bestowed you with courage and gave you blessings!”
He looked at me with excitement. I continued: “You didn’t just voice grievances on behalf of my son in the court yesterday. More importantly, you were exposing the evilness of the government, upholding justice and safeguarding Falun Gong's reputation.”
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