(Minghui.org) My wife is a Falun Dafa practitioner and I support her belief. Through the years since the practice was banned in China in 1999, we have had many difficult days, and were even forced to stay away from home for a year. She was interrogated again by officials last year, after suing former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin for persecuting Falun Dafa.
But no matter what happens, I always stand together with my wife. This is because I know she is doing the right thing and she deserves my respect.
Hand in Hand
I still remember the year when my wife was sent to labor camp detention. I contacted a lawyer about this, but he did not accept the case after learning that my wife was already in the labor camp.
Carrying food and newly purchased clothes, I headed to the labor camp and was stopped at the gate. The gate officer told me, “Visits are granted once a month. You can leave the clothes here, but not the food.”
I went there again, a week later. Seeing my wife on the other side of a large glass panel in a visiting room, I asked her, “How are things going? Did anyone mistreat you? You can tell me anything you want, because I plan to hire an attorney from Beijing for you.”
The officer who was watching her was surprised by my words and reminded me that the visit was for only ten minutes.
Anxious about my wife's condition, I continued, “Do you need more money? More clothes? I’m staying with your parents now. Please do not worry about them or me. I will come to visit you every month and will bring you anything you need.”
My wife did not say much. But she was moved by my words, and smiled.
Returning to the registration room, I saw a window connecting to another room where my wife was waiting for the clothes I had brought. I walked toward her, ignoring one officer ordering me to stop, and reached out my hand through the window and said, “Come here, honey.”
The officer next to my wife looked at me and commented, “What are you going to do? Do you want to fly through the window?”
“Not really,” I replied, “because I don’t have wings.”
Removing her ragged gloves, my wife extended her hand and held mine.
The officer then smiled at us and said to me, “Don't worry. We will take good care of her.”
I later overheard that the guards were impressed by what I did for my wife, and many guards in the labor camp treated her well from then on.
Help from Other Practitioners
Although I did not find a lawyer to accept my wife’s case, I read online and learned a lot about the appeal procedure. There were always practitioners available to accompany me during my visits to the police department, local police station, and the appeals center.
Once when I went to the police department, more than 300 practitioners came to support me. From the police station entrance, we occupied almost the entire pedestrian walkway.
“What's going on here? We can only accept up to five people,” said the officer.
Seeing the warm support from other practitioners, I was deeply touched.
From time to time, many practitioners came to visit me. They also brought food for me and my child. I was very thankful for them.
Writing Letters
Life without my wife was difficult, both for me and my daughter. One time I had to take her out to relieve her depression. We walked from one shopping mall to another, as neither of us wanted to go home. Not until the last bus arrived did we get on and return home.
One friend suggested that I divorce, but I said no without thinking: “My wife did nothing wrong. I cannot make her life more miserable. In fact, I will help her as much as I can.”
To kill time, and communicate with my wife, I wrote her many letters. Although there was not much to say, I always reminded her to think positively about now and the future. Even during the days when I was temporarily out of a job, I did not let her know because I did not want her to worry about me.
I once received a letter from my wife and I was thrilled. On the way home, I held the letter tightly against my heart, as if it could fly away. At home, I opened it and was moved to tears. Looking at the birds outside the window, I wished our life was as free as theirs.
My Efforts Were Not Wasted
One day an officer in the labor camp called and told me to send my wife 1,000 yuan. I told him I wanted to speak with her directly: “If she asks for it, I will send it right away—it doesn't matter if it’s 1,000 yuan or 10,000 yuan.”
The officer bluntly refused, saying, “She does not have a phone here!”
“Without talking to her, how can I be sure she needs the money?” I continued, hoping this would allow me to speak with my wife, “Even the rural areas have phones these days. Why is there is no phone over there?”
I then told the officer that, since I never received the labor camp detention decision, I could legally complain to the procuratorial office. The officer then said she could relay a message to my wife. “Then please tell her that I will hire an attorney from Beijing for her to address any mistreatment she has endured in the labor camp.
“I will help my wife as much as I can even if it means losing my own life.”
Not long after that, when I was able to see my wife in the labor camp, a manager asked me why I had a bad attitude during that phone call.
“I just asked why couldn't I speak with my wife over the phone? Why was I not notified when she was sent to the labor camp? Why?”
The manager said that I was the first one who ever dared to speak to them like that.
There were several occasions when I arrived at the labor camp, and an officer told me the visit was canceled. The first time this happened, I asked to see the officer's superior. Her superior told me the visit was canceled because my wife did not want to give up her belief. I was outraged, “That is not her problem!” Then I left.
A month later, I told the officer who had denied my visit that I had to see my wife to see if she was okay. If not, I would sue them through the Political and Legal Affairs Committee (PLAC). The officer later brought a paper on which my wife had written that she was all right. Another officer told me that such a note had never been allowed in the labor camp before.
A month later, I was again told I could not visit her. When I asked to see the supervisor, an officer said no and blocked my way. I said, “Do you know that you are actually breaking the law?!”
No matter what, I thought to myself, I had to protect my wife. To my surprise, the officer said he was just a security officer, saying, “There are many things beyond my control.”
I was finally able to see my wife when I visited her one month later. Surprised and emotional, I told her about her parents and our daughter. I said, “Please do not worry about us.” An officer next to my wife said that she had heard about the letters I wrote to my wife and that she would extend the visit by 15 minutes.
When my wife was later released, she told me that all my efforts to help her had worked. “The officers and guards often talked about this, saying that, if something happened to me, you might give them a hard time.”
That surprised me. I have never been a person who looked for trouble. It was just that, when our family and friends are wronged for no reason, we have to stand up to protect them. After all, if we do not do it, who will?
I now have a steady job and I am very happy about it. My friends say I am a lucky person. For me, I know that as long as we act based on our conscience and do the right thing, we will be blessed.
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