(Minghui.org) I began to practice Falun Dafa in 1998. In the past 26 years, I have encountered many challenges and difficulties from my attachments. At the same time I witnessed Dafa’s power when I assimilated myself to the Fa. I’d like to share some of my cultivation experiences in rescuing detained practitioners.
Chang and my older sister, who is also a practitioner, were arrested in 2021 for handing out Falun Dafa flyers. After the police submitted their case to the procuratorate, we didn’t know what to do to prevent the prosecutor from indicting them.
While Chang’s family hired a lawyer to enter a guilty plea for her, in exchange for a lighter sentence, I found a lawyer to enter a not-guilty plea for my sister.
Two other practitioners, Wang, Bai, and I teamed up for the rescue effort. Wang is a friendly person who holds a positive attitude and pays attention to details. Bai was in her 60s and has a poised personality and strong righteous thoughts. We knew that we had to clarify the truth to those public officials, in order to change the situation.
Wang downloaded the templates of legal documents from Minghui.org. She and I started writing complaints against the officers who arrested the practitioners and confiscated their property. In addition to filing the complaints online, we also sent out letters to the prosecutors to clarify the truth to them.
I remember the day I mailed out the letters. I had lunch and sent righteous thoughts. On my way to the post office, I recited Master’s poem,
“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 II)
Slowly my fear disappeared, and I felt towering and strong. I knew that Master was right beside me, encouraging me in the face of difficulties.
As the lawyer we hired had some experience representing a Falun Dafa practitioner, we overly relied on him in the beginning and didn’t do much ourselves. As suggested by another practitioner, we printed out successful defense case reports from Minghui.org and share them with the lawyer. We also showed the lawyer how to download and use the anti-censorship software Freegate and urged him to do more research about how Falun Dafa is freely practiced in so many countries outside of China.
When the lawyer visited my sister at the detention center, we asked him to read Master’s article “Pacify the External by Cultivating the Internal” to her and tell her that we were sending righteous thoughts for her. My sister had helped many in the detention center quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and asked the lawyer to give us the list of names. Meanwhile, some practitioners submitted reports about how they had been persecuted to Minghui.org.
Bad news came in December, as both Chang and my sister were sentenced to prison. We calmed down to look within: Probably we didn’t clarify the truth well enough to those who handled the case; we should talk to them face to face instead of just sending letters. Perhaps we relied on the lawyer to do things that we were not comfortable doing ourselves. In any case, we had to improve our xinxing and study the Fa more.
After Chang and my sister appealed the verdicts, we spent a lot of time deciding whether to hire a lawyer or not this time. Our lawyer told us that the hearing to appeal cases was just a formality; oftentimes there wouldn’t even be a hearing, as the judges would just rule to uphold their original verdicts. He said we shouldn’t waste our time and effort to hire a lawyer.
Though we found it unbelievable, we sent righteous thoughts and asked Master to help us get a hearing, so that more people can hear the truth. I also decided to be my sister’s non-lawyer family defender.
We decided to meet with the presiding judge at the intermediate court, knowing that there is nothing to be afraid of. It is the evil that is afraid of us exposing their lies.
We prepared documents based on the templates that we downloaded from Minghui.org and made changes based on the feedback from the lawyer and practitioners. We then proceeded to make an appointment with the presiding judge.
While waiting for the judge in the court lobby, I felt uneasy and nervous. Bai told me to relax and suggested that we send righteous thoughts. After a while, Wang called the judge, who told us to meet her at the Appeals Office. Wang and I went to see the judge, and Bai stayed in the lobby to continue sending righteous thoughts.
The judge had a serious look on her face, and asked us why we were there. I introduced myself and explained the case to her. I then told her that my sister was wrongfully convicted, and hoped that she’d acquit her. She said that she didn’t have the authority to make the decision, as there were internal instructions from above. We still handed her the appeal letter and demanded an open hearing of the case.
She took the application forms and asked us to leave. We then gave her a letter that clarified the facts of Falun Dafa and urged her to make the right decision. She got upset after reading it, and ordered us to leave right away. We were not moved by her, and just felt sorry for her.
Bai was still sending righteous thoughts when we came out. She asked us how it went. I told her it went well, and the judge took our papers. Bai saw the truth-clarification letter in my hand and asked why I did not give it to the judge. After I told Bai that the judge got upset and didn’t want to take it, Bai said, “Then we’ll give the letter to her assistant and have him read it.”
We called the assistant, saying that we had more papers for the judge. He had us go upstairs to give it to him. Wang and Bai handed him the letter and encouraged him to read it carefully. He nodded with a smile.
To be my sister’s non-lawyer family defender, I needed to go to a police station to get proof of our relationship. I was really nervous because I had never been to a police station. At the household registry office in the police station, a young woman asked me to wait while she brought out a big pile of yellowish paper. She flipped through them for a long time before she found my family information. She made a copy for me, and I felt relieved.
I handed the judge the proof, and she refused to accept it, saying that it did not specify the relationship between me and my sister. I went back to the police station to get another copy. The young woman said that she always gave out the proof that way and never had any problem. I told her what the judge said, and she brought out that big pile of paper again, found my information, copied it, and wrote down the relation between my sister and me. I thanked her and felt relieved again.
When I presented the proof to the judge, she still refused to take it, saying that the seal wasn’t clear enough and I could have forged it. She also demanded that two people must sign on the proof to prove its authenticity. She was determined to give me a hard time and deter me from defending my sister. I saw that I had the attachment of fearing trouble. I sent righteous thoughts and asked for Master’s help.
Soon I saw two characters appear in the sky, “To Accomplish.” I realized Master was testing me to help me accomplish my mission. That night when I meditated, I felt my body was light and floating, and there were Faluns rotating on me. The feeling was utterly comfortable, amazing, and magnificent. I knew that Master was encouraging me.
I went back to the police station, knowing that it was Master’s arrangement. The young woman wasn’t there, so I told another clerk what happened previously. She told me that the judge was being difficult because the stamp was made of copper and its print would not be as clear as a rubber stamp. I clarified the truth to her, and told her that I needed the proof to defend my sister, who was imprisoned for her faith. She was sympathetic and told the young woman to make me another copy of the proof. In the end, I got a new copy of the proof, the clerk stamped on it twice, and help me get two signatures on it.
I rushed to the detention center because a hearing was to be held there that morning. After I handed the document to the judge, she looked at it and told me to go inside. I was finally allowed to be my sister’s family defender.
Every Monday in the courthouse, a supervisor was hosting coffee hours to talk to the public about their legal problems. We decided to go there and clarify the truth to him.
Wang and I talked to the chief of the enforcement division, while Bai stayed in the lobby to send righteous thoughts. The chief asked me what problem I had. I told him, “It’s a Falun Gong case.” He remained quiet for a while and said that he’d handled similar cases years ago.
When I asked him how he handled the cases, he replied, “Of course they were found guilty and sentenced.”
I told him about the history of the CCP and why former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin launched the persecution. I proceeded to tell him that Falun Dafa is embraced by people in over 100 countries and regions and had received thousands of proclamations. He agreed with what I said, but when I asked him to quit the CCP and not go down with it in the future, he was silent.
Wang said to him, “The CCP has done so much evil. Gods will definitely punish its members for what they did. You need to stay away from it, and quitting the CCP is the best thing you can do.”
He finally nodded and told us to call him if we needed help. We were happy for him.
It’s been several months since the preliminary hearing was held. I called the presiding judge, asking when an official hearing would be scheduled and was told to keep waiting. When I called again a few days later, she stopped answering my calls.
I realized that I hadn't treated her with compassion, like I would with a real friend. I called her assistant and asked why the judge wouldn’t take my calls. The assistant told me that the overseas practitioners made so many calls to the office that they nearly paralyzed the office line and their work.
The next day I went to the courthouse. I wasn’t allowed in because of the pandemic measures. It was cloudy and about to rain. I sent righteous thoughts outside before calling the judge. She quickly picked up and asked what I wanted. I said, “Not much, I just wanted to apologize. We have met several times, and I might have said or done something inappropriate, please forgive me. Please try to learn more about the truth of Falun Dafa, and choose a beautiful future.” In the end I wished her and her family well. She said “okay” before she hung up.
I was happy that she accepted my apology. Though I am a person of high self-esteem, for her to be saved, I let go of my pride and did what a practitioner should.
Not knowing when the hearing date would be, we went to send righteous thoughts outside of the courthouse. Wang saw a person and recognized him as one of the court directors. She went up to him to clarify the truth.
When talking about Falun Dafa, the person asked, “Isn't there a case about two people? One of them is quite old. I believe the hearing is tomorrow.”
After Wang confirmed the details with him, we stayed up that night to prepare for our defense. The court didn’t inform us about the hearing until 8 a.m. the next day. But we had already finished the preparation, and knew that Master has been helping us.
It was a sunny day, and I wore a blue silk blouse and was in high spirits. Many practitioners came to the detention center, where the hearing was held, to send righteous thoughts. I believed that it was a battle between good and evil, and the divine beings were with us.
The lawyer hired by the other detained practitioner made a guilty plea for her again. I was shocked, and thought, “Does this mean my sister also pleaded guilty while detained? Then what am I doing here?” My mind went blank.
At that moment the judge asked me to start my defense. I asked the judge to let me ask the appellant a question first, and she agreed. “Do you admit guilt?” I asked my sister. She said, “No, I committed no wrongdoing.” I calmed down and proceeded to read my defense.
“Based on the facts found in this case, we provide the following defense: First of all, a criminal behavior must endanger society and be criminally liable based on the criminal law. The appellant’s behavior did not endanger society. She is a Falun Gong practitioner who lives by the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. Falun Gong practitioners are honest, kind, considerate, and never fight back when hit or scolded. Freedom of belief is a citizen’s constitutional right. Believing in it and spreading it do not harm anyone in the society.
“Second, Falun Gong is a righteous belief, not a cult. It is wrong to convict the appellant based on Article 300 of the Criminal Law.”
At this moment, the public prosecutor interrupted and threatened me. And the presiding judge told me to give her the defense statement and stop reading. I thought, “I didn’t come here to do what you tell me to do.”
I continued reading, but just the subtitles of the rest of the defense statement, “Third, there are not clear facts and sufficient evidence to accuse the appellant of ‘using a cult organization to undermine law enforcement.’ Fourth, the photo evidence listed in this case isn't clear enough to show who was there and what they were doing.”
In the end I stated, “Today I am telling you the facts of Falun Dafa because I do not want to see innocent people like you being involved in the persecution. The persecution of faith has never succeeded in history. I sincerely hope you will review this case with kindness and wisdom, and find the Falun Dafa practitioner not guilty. I hope that you will choose bright futures for yourselves.”
Everyone listened so quietly, like the air was frozen. At that moment, the evil elements in other dimensions were dismantled.
After the hearing, the judge from the first instance court came up and made a threat, “You will end up like your sister.”
I told him, “No, you don’t get to make that decision.”
After the appeals hearing, a family member went to the detention center to demand my sister’s release. She suffered great mental distress in the detention center and a big tumor grew in her body. She lost a lot of weight and her health deteriorated. The treatment she received in the detention center did not help, and the court refused to release her on bail.
The family member said to the receptionist, “She was fine when she came in, and became so sick in a few months. If she didn’t make it, I will hold you accountable. If you don’t release her today, I will call the mayor’s hotline every day.”
The receptionist tried to calm him down, but he said, “Tell your director to come see us here.”
The receptionist went inside and brought someone out. The person said that the director wasn’t there, but he could help. After finding out our intention, he consoled us and told us to go home first. We continued to talk to him for a while before we left.
The next day the judge called me early in the morning and told me to go do the paperwork for my sister’s release.
After the long legal battle, we all felt touched and sentimental when we saw my sister. We thanked Master for his boundless compassion. Master arranged everything. He also removed our attachments through the rescue efforts and helped us to accomplish our mission.