(Minghui.org) My husband hired a lawyer for me after I was arrested and detained in 2016. I felt the lawyer was very kind when I met her and was glad that my husband hired her. However, after I learned that she was going to plead “guilty” for me, I felt uneasy about it.
Benefiting from the Practice
Since I started practicing Falun Gong, also called Falun Dafa, I have recovered from multiple diseases, of which some were not treatable in a hospital. Having suffered from these diseases for many years, I looked sad all the time until I started to practice Falun Gong, after which I began to smile again.
I followed the teachings of Master Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Gong, to be a better person. My entire family have supported me, and they have also benefited from my practicing Falun Gong.
Master said,
“Since you practice a righteous way, your practice will benefit others” (Lecture Six, Zhuan Falun)
With all that being said, I didn’t understand why my husband continued to retain someone who was going to plead guilty for me. I only agreed to hire this lawyer so as not to cause friction with my family.
Clarifying the Truth to the Defense Lawyer
When I asked the lawyer again if she could defend my innocence, she said that she couldn’t do that.
“But I didn’t commit a crime,” I responded. “Practicing Falun Gong doesn't violate any laws. Being a good person is not a crime. Now, my family hires you to defend me. Isn’t it a joke to pay someone to say that I’m guilty?”
I went on to tell her how I was arrested.
The police stopped by my home and asked whether I had sued former Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Jiang Zemin for persecuting Falun Gong. I told them that I had. They then searched my home and found some materials and books related to Falun Gong. I was arrested and detained.
I told the lawyer, “A citizen has the Constitutional right to make a complaint. I was exercising my right, which does not violate the law.”
The lawyer said that practicing Falun Gong was prohibited in China. To which I replied, “You're a lawyer. You can check whether there are any laws in China that say that practicing Falun Gong is illegal. It’s Jiang Zemin who abused his power to persecute Falun Gong. His words are not the law! It's illegal to persecute Falun Gong. So I filed a complaint for his persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.”
The lawyer understood my situation but said that she was helpless.
I told her that many lawyers in China had defended the innocence of Falun Gong practitioners. They argued the legal basis in practicing Falun Gong and the illegal actions carried out by the police, such as searching homes without showing their IDs or having a warrant.
I suggested that she should learn more about Falun Gong, what it is, and why so many people persist in their faith even after suffering arrest, detention and torture. I also told her to look into the staged self-immolation incident on Tiananmen Square that was done with the specific purpose of inciting hatred against Falun Gong.
She said that she would look into it.
I found that hiring a lawyer provided me with a good opportunity to clarify the truth to her.
In the Detention Center
The lawyer often visited me in the detention center. She said I was different from other clients she had defended in the past, for I was always pleasant when seeing her. People in detention usually were unhappy without their freedom and worried about their families and their cases.
When I told other detainees that I was innocent, they would often ask why I was there. This gave me the opportunity to tell them about Dafa and how the police violated the law.
When I was first taken to the detention center, it was so crowded that I could hardly breathe. There was only cold water for washing. One’s whole body would feel numb in the winter, and our hands would freeze and swell when washing our clothes. We were also malnourished and only given half a bowl of watery soup at meal times.
I was later transferred to another cell, where people were quite violent. They often argued and fought with each other. Even the head of the detention center pretended not to know what was happening in there.
But I was not afraid. Master taught us to be kind and tolerant, and to help others.
With my influence, the environment slowly began to change for the better, and fewer inmates misbehaved. They often listened to me sing Dafa songs. One inmate said, “These songs sound really good. There are talented people in Falun Gong to create such nice songs.”
They could see that I was always upbeat. One inmate understood the reason, that I had Dafa in my mind. She started to sincerely recite the two phrases, “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance is good.”
She told me that she would recite the words when she felt bad. Her mood would soon turn for the better, and she no longer felt unhappy. She quietly told me that she would practice Falun Gong after she was released.
The lawyer also asked how I could keep a good mood in such a bad environment. I told her that I held Master and Dafa in my heart, and that the mighty power of Dafa made me fearless.
Master said:
“Great enlightened beings fear no hardshipTheir will is cast of diamondLife or death, they have no attachmentForthright and broad-minded on the road of Fa-rectification”(“Righteous Thought, Righteous Action”, Hong Yin, Volume II, Translation Version B)
I often felt a warm current coming down from my head. I was very grateful in my heart, as I knew Master was by my side.
Maintaining My Innocence
When the Chinese New Year approached, the lawyer came to see me and said, “If you write a guarantee statement to stop practicing Falun Gong, you would be allowed to go home for the Chinese New Year.”
“This just shows you that they know I'm innocent,” I replied. “If I’d committed a crime, do you think I’d be allowed to go home after writing such a statement? There are murderers, fraudsters, and drug dealers in here. Can they write a guarantee statement and then be allowed to go home? This just shows you that practicing Falun Gong is not illegal. I should be allowed to go home without writing any kind of statement.”
The lawyer didn't say anything.
The police claimed that I had 300 Falun Gong brochures in my home. I knew it was not true and told them that I would acknowledge it if my fingerprints were found on them. They never brought it up again.
I felt sorry for the lawyer, as she must have been under a lot of pressure not to defend me in court.
She said that I should not mention my lawsuit against Jiang Zemin during the trial. I questioned her, “Why not? It's the truth. I was arrested and detained because I brought a lawsuit against Jiang Zemin. I must mention it, and it should be included in my indictment in the court as well. They have to prove where I violated the law.”
Another part of the lawyer's reasoning was that if I entered a not-guilty plea, then I could be sentenced to three and a half years. However, if I pleaded guilty, it would be only two years.
I calmly told her, “I would have died long ago if I didn’t practice Falun Gong. I am so grateful to my Master. How can I acknowledge that it is a crime to practice Falun Gong?”
The lawyer was visibly moved and said, “If I were the judge, I would acquit you. But my words don’t count.”
“Thank you,” I replied. “It's so wonderful for you to think this way. You will be blessed. I really feel happy for you.”
The Situation Changes
The above conversation was the most serious I had had with the lawyer. She initially expected me to follow her way and was annoyed when I refused. I was calm and peaceful when speaking and made her feel the kindness of a Dafa practitioner.
When we are calm and have no distractions in mind, we can assimilate to the characteristics of the universe.
I was preparing to defend myself in court. I knew that I should tell the court about Falun Gong because I have practiced it for more than 20 years and no one at my trial would be more qualified to talk about it.
I thought about how to present my arguments so that people could understand it better and know that Dafa is good. This time, I understood very well that I could no longer be detained. I was determined not to allow the people in this world or the old forces in other dimensions to persecute me anymore. Master was in charge of me, not them. This form of persecution, my detention, had no effect on me anymore.
In the end, there was no trial and I was acquitted.
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