(Minghui.org) Greetings, compassionate Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!
After a fellow practitioner in our region was arrested earlier this year, we went through a process of using the law to rescue the practitioner and counter the persecution.
With Master's reinforcement, we took proactive approaches in dealing with local police and prosecutors and gradually helped them to learn the illegality of the persecution. Without hiring a lawyer, we stopped those in charge from persecuting our fellow practitioner, which had a very good impact in our region.
Anping’s Arrest
Fellow practitioner Anping was arrested in April this year while distributing materials to expose the persecution. She explained to the police that the persecution of Falun Dafa lacked legal basis from the onset and was released the next day.
I came across a sharing article on Minghui.org that mentioned a legal guide put together by fellow practitioners in counteracting the persecution. It has been very helpful in rescuing fellow practitioners who were illegally detained. I looked up the guide, downloaded it and passed it on to the police. From that point on, they didn’t harass Anping for a few months.
Facing Prosecution
In late September, Anping suddenly received a call from the local procuratorate and was told that the police had submitted her case to them. We all felt a bit heavyhearted when we heard this.
We realized that we could not wait for things to get worse before acting upon it. We had to use the law to counteract the persecution. We wanted to save the prosecutors before they got a chance to commit any crimes. As the week-long national vacation was coming up in early October, we had a tight timeline to act.
Counteracting the Persecution with the Law
I also thought about hiring a lawyer for Anping, but it would take too much time, energy, manpower, and money. We also needed to clarify the truth to the lawyer first. But we just did not have enough time for that. I suddenly remembered the legal guide from fellow practitioners – it listed very detailed legal procedures and action items for us, as well as providing logic and reasonable arguments for us to defend fellow practitioners.
I prayed to Master for support to put together a powerful and compelling defense document that could help the prosecutors understand the illegal persecution and stop them from committing crimes against Falun Gong.
I read the guide carefully. It explained that filing complaints against those handling the case was the most powerful way of deterring the officials from committing crimes, as it didn’t require us to hire a lawyer or follow the complicated format of legal forms.
But in terms of filing the complaint, our concern was that the head of the local Domestic Security Division had already learned a great deal about the persecution from us in the past and we didn’t know what more our complaint would do to change him.
Before we did anything, we asked Anping to talk to him first.
Anping found him and asked, “Was it your idea or someone else's to submit my case to the procuratorate?”
“Of course it's an order from the police department. I’m just doing my job,” he said.
“I see. So it is not from you.”
“You know that you can hire a lawyer. It’s your right.”
“If I have to, I will hire a lawyer to enter a not-guilty plea,” Anping said.
A young policeman overheard their conversation and chimed in, “Just be aware that you might not be able to find such lawyers in our region.”
“Then I will go to Beijing or Shanghai. Many lawyers there have represented thousands of practitioners around the country,” Anping added.
Anping told us the situation after she returned. We discussed again and decided not to file the complaint against the head of the local Domestic Security Division, as it might push him away. Whatever we decided to do, we should do it with compassion and think about saving him and other officers. We couldn't push them to the other side.
We also came to the understanding that for different people in law enforcement and the procuratorate, we needed to talk to them in a way they could understand, and we might do things differently to clarify the truth to different people.
We decided to write a “Motion for Reconsideration” to the Domestic Security Division and Procuratorate, demanding the prosecutor review and drop the case against Anping. We cited eleven relevant legal terms to show the innocence of Falun Gong practitioners and the illegality of the persecution.
Head of Domestic Security Division: “It Looks Like I Failed!”
The next day, the day before the national vacation, Anping delivered the motion to the Domestic Security Division and the procuratorate. The head of the division seemed to panic after reading it, particularly the part about how they had violated the law.
He looked up from time to time at Anping, “You certainly didn't write this.”
“That does not matter, but I have a legal basis for the motion to reconsider my case.”
“We were trying to ‘transform’ you, but now it looks like I failed!”
Anping said that she was glad the head of the Domestic Security Division admitted to failing to “transform” her, or it would have been another crime for him. She continued, “I came here today for your benefit. You have persecuted one Falun Gong practitioner [me] already. I do not want you to make another mistake. When you persecute me, you don’t only have to bear the legal responsibility, but you also have to bear the sin committed against Falun Gong. It’s something hard to repay.”
As she talked, Anping saw that the eyes of the Domestic Security head were wide open and he kept nodding at her.
“Actually, we didn't really mean to do anything to you,” he said.
“That is the reason I came to see you first and remind you not to make a mistake.”
He was very concerned whether Anping had exposed him on Minghui.org, but Anping said to him that she hoped she would never need to do it.
Continued Efforts to Wake Up the Perpetrators
Stopping the perpetrators from persecuting Falun Gong practitioners is only the first step. A lot more has to be done to save them. During the past 21 years, they have been constantly brainwashed with propaganda from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). They are deeply poisoned and really need a process of accepting the truth. They not only need to understand that they are committing a crime, but they must also understand that they are also victims suffering at the CCP’s hands. Only after they understand the truth and quit the CCP and its related organizations will they truly be saved.
During the long national vacation, I reviewed many related articles on Minghui.org of how practitioners compassionately persuaded perpetrators not to do evil. Inspired by their stories, I wrote a letter to both the Domestic Security Division and the procuratorate, hoping to promote good faith in the officials.
In the letter, I laid out the lies of the CCP from a legal perspective and supported my arguments with evidence. I described how the CCP had been targeting Falun Gong since July 1999 and what tactics it had been using in the persecution. I also highlighted practitioners’ firm belief and perseverance in upholding the truth and their faith, as well as their persistent efforts to awaken people and persuade them to quit the CCP. I reminded the perpetrators that although it seems on the surface that it is the practitioners who are suffering, the ultimate victims of the persecution are those carrying out the persecution policies. To further encourage their conscience, I listed many examples of police officers, prosecutors and judges who had chosen not to arrest or persecute practitioners but secretly protected them instead.
While writing the letter, I paid special attention to my tone so that I didn’t bear any resentment towards them. I only wanted to awaken them with my compassion. I asked for Master's blessing so that the letter could help expose the evil and save sentient beings. The superficial purpose of the letter was to get the prosecutors to drop the charges and dismiss the case, but the essence was to awaken their conscience and save them.
Clarifying the Facts to the Deputy Director of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee
A few days after Anping sent the letter to the police and prosecutor, Sheng, the deputy director of the local Political and Legal Affairs Committee (an extra judiciary agency overseeing the persecution) went to visit Anping’s parents-in-law and attempted to persuade the elderly couple to give up practicing Falun Gong. The couple rejected his demand and told Sheng how practicing Falun Gong had given them good health. Before leaving, Sheng tore off a poster with information about Falun Gong from the couple’s front door.
After Anping and I heard about it, we both felt the need to clarify the facts to Sheng. On the next day, Anping went to Sheng’s office and talked to her. She said, “Although we’ve known each other for a long time, this is actually the first time for us to meet.”
Sheng said to her, “My supervisor saw the Falun Gong poster you posted and asked us to investigate it. This is my job. Can I not do anything about it? If you think Falun Gong is good, you can just practice it at home and we won’t bother you on that. But why do you have to go out and put up posters? I know you have practiced Falun Gong for many years, and I don’t expect I can change your mind [to give it up].”
Sheng added that there was a “zero-out” campaign they were required to visit every practitioner on the government’s list, including Anping's parents-in-law, and get them to renounce Falun Gong.
Anping thought to herself, “Our Master makes the decision. We will change your mind and save you.”
She said to Sheng, “Then that’s actually a good opportunity for you to hear different voices. You need to think about why, after so many years of brutal persecution, we still don’t give up our faith, and why the Chinese Communist Party is so afraid of people learning the truth.”
After talking to Sheng, Anping found that she had been deeply influenced by the CCP’s lies. She kept sending righteous thoughts and gave some materials to her. “Everything I want to tell you is here. Please read it carefully.”
Sheng took the materials and said, “I will read it.”
On the third day, Anping went to the procuratorate to answer some questions. A staff member told her that they were planning to indict her and move her case to the court. “If you want to hire a lawyer, you have to act fast. But you need to tell us if you do hire one.”
They also revealed that they had charged Anping with violating article 300 of the criminal law, “undermining law enforcement with a cult organization.”
Anping said, “The law didn’t mention a word about Falun Gong. You see, I didn’t violate the law.”
That staff member responded, “If you didn’t violate the law, why did the police submit your case to us? Didn’t they give you a punishment notice?”
Anping told them the police released her the day after her arrest and didn’t impose any punishment on her.
The staff member looked through her case document and said, “It’s so weird that they didn’t include the punishment information here. Maybe they just forgot about it.”
Anping was amused to hear that.
Upon returning, Anping was rather calm when she told us what she went through at the procuratorate: “They were just worried about me hiring lawyers and kept asking about it. You don’t have to worry about me. They can’t do anything to me. If my case does go to the court, that’s an opportunity for us to save the sentient beings there.”
I felt a bit low, as I had hoped for the prosecutors to dismiss the case after receiving my letter. I didn’t understand why they still insisted on following the persecution after we explained so clearly that it was totally illegal for them to do so. In the previous weeks, I knew very clearly what I needed to do when we had issues in the case, but now I was confused about what to do next.
I calmed down to study the Fa teachings. I realized that I should not be attached to the result. I began to send forth righteous thoughts along with Anping and fellow practitioners. I realized this was what would really work and where I failed to do well.
I came across a sharing article about how fellow practitioners overseas were making direct phone calls to those who participated in the persecution. After discussion with local practitioners, we sent the contact information of the perpetrators in our region to Minghui.org and asked them to help forward the information to the team making the calls.
After that, Anping also told local practitioners to increase our sending forth righteous thoughts to form one body with overseas practitioners and save sentient beings together.
Head of Domestic Security Division Asks to be Excluded from Complaint
After reading more sharing articles on Minghui, Anping still felt we needed to stop the prosecutors from committing the crime of indicting her.
She found the head of the Domestic Security Division and told him that she was planning to file a complaint against the prosecutors. He was surprised to hear that and said she should wait for the results of her motion to reconsider her case before doing anything else.
Anping said, “I will probably include in my complaint people from the Political and Legal Affairs Committee and others who are involved.”
The division head pleaded, “Can you not write my name on the complaint?”
“I’m filing the complaint with my real name, and I have to detail everything that has happened. It was you who submitted my case to the procuratorate, so there is no way for me to drop your name. I can’t just stay at home and wait for the judge to sentence me. I have to use the law to protect myself,” Anping told him.
Case Dropped
After Anping returned home, Sheng from the Political and Legal Affairs Committee and a police officer came to visit her. Although Sheng didn’t mention Anping’s complaint, Anping felt Sheng had come to signal her attempt to drop the case.
With Master’s protection, the evil’s attempt to indict and sentence Anping failed in the end.
Over the years, I have always tried to avoid clarifying the truth to the police and prosecutors. I always thought that they were very difficult to save since they had been poisoned too deep for too long. After a period of interacting with local police and prosecutors, I discovered that some of them still have a kind heart. They are also beings who came here for Dafa, and their knowing side is asking us to save them.
It was Master who arranged for us to find them one after another. This was for their salvation. Particularly during the coronavirus pandemic, if we did not bring the truth to them, they might be eliminated in the end. It would be too bad.
During the process, no matter how difficult it was, we remained clear about our purpose: to let the police and prosecutors learn the truth and be saved. No matter what we did on the surface, it’s Master's reinforcement and fellow practitioners’ strong righteous thoughts that did the real work. Meanwhile, Anping personally reached out to the police and prosecutors to clarify the facts to them. She didn’t consider herself as someone being persecuted. She believed everything was arranged by Master and we were just using these opportunities to save more people.
We all realized the importance of diligent Fa study. It helped us to remain firm in our faith. The Fa also enlightened us and inspired us along the way. If we became lax in our Fa study, we would be easily affected by the superficial difficulties, and our hearts would be easily moved. I knew Anping and her mother were studying one or two lectures from Zhuan Falun every day. No matter how busy I was during the day, I always studied the Fa first before working on the articles and letters. Sometimes I worked until 3 a.m. and still didn’t feel tired.
My heart is full of appreciation for this experience. In the past six months, fellow practitioners worked together seamlessly and clarified the facts to people. I am also grateful to fellow practitioners who put together the legal guide and those who made phone calls to the police and prosecutors. Although we don’t know each other and are oceans apart, we bear the same responsibility: to wake up people lost in the maze.
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