(Minghui.org) Ms. Wang Aiying a Falun Gong practitioner who was illegally arrested, was scheduled to be tried in the Wuan City Court of Hebei Province at 2 p.m. on December 6, 2013. In a bold appeal and show of grassroots resistance to the persecution, local Falun Gong practitioners wrote and distributed a letter to all residents of Wuan, inviting them to attend the trial.
The Letter:
The Wuan City Court will try Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Wang Aiying for a third time at 2 p.m. on December 6, 2013. Her lawyer, a reputable professional based in Beijing, will defend her and will enter a “not guilty” plea.
Ms. Wang was first tried two and a half years ago. There is more to this trial than meets the eye, and it has attracted a lot of attention both in China and abroad.
We hereby invite Wuan's residents and lawyers to be present during the trial, as there is certainly going to be a heated debate. We humbly ask whoever receives this letter to share it with your friends, relatives, and colleagues.
Details and Timeline
Ms. Wang and her husband, Mr. Wang Hongliang, also a Falun Gong practitioner, were arrested on the morning of June 1, 2011, by officers from the Chengguan Police Station, and the local 610 Office and Domestic Security Division. Their home was ransacked. Officials from the Wuan Procuratorate prosecuted them, and the case was later accepted by the Wuan City First Criminal Court.
Cheng Jianguo, chief judge, sentenced Ms. Wang to four years in prison and her husband to three years in February 2012. Their lawyer and family members were not notified of the trial.
According to Chinese law, it is entirely legal to practice Falun Gong. Because the court's decision was based on false accusations and was not in accordance with the law, Ms. Wang and her husband refused to accept the verdict. They then submitted an appeal to the Handan City Intermediate Court in Hebei.
In September 2012, officials from the Handan Intermediate Court came to the conclusion that the case was baseless due to a lack of evidence, and referred it to the Wuan Second Criminal Court for a new trial.
Mr. Wang was released from custody on the afternoon of February 2, 2013, pending the new trial. But the authorities continued to fabricate charges against her.
Ms. Wang was tried a second time, on March 1, 2013. The court upheld the first judgment of four years in prison on March 18. Ms. Wang's family then hired a lawyer from Beijing and appealed on her behalf.
Wuan City Court officials went to great lengths to sentence Ms. Wang. Even their colleagues and superiors in the Handan Intermediate Court seemed troubled by their audacity, and in August 2013, canceled the third trial, which was planned for August 29. The case was then returned to the Wuan Court for a new trial.
Things Worth Noting in the Third Trial
Court officials were not consistent in following procedures and the case was dismissed twice by the intermediate court, which even decided to cancel the scheduled third trial. The length of time the case has been outstanding is rare among cases relevant to Falun Gong practitioners all over China.
One thing worth asking is whether or not justice will be served. What new evidence will be brought out to condemn Ms. Wang? What breach of the law will they accuse her of? Has she stolen, robbed, murdered, or committed arson? Has she hurt anyone? What was her motive and how did she commit the crime? How can she be labeled a criminal if there is no evidence to support any accusations?
For these reasons, we invite you to observe the trial and analyze whatever evidence the court may present. For instance, we have the right to require that the court read out all of the truth-clarification materials and Falun Gong books that the police confiscated from her home, so that everyone present in the courtroom can understand how these materials are considered harmful or unlawful. If they refuse to read them, they are condemning an innocent citizen under false charges, illegally detaining her and conducting an unlawful trial. Because the court is charged with upholding the law, court officials will ultimately be held accountable for their actions.
Ever since July 1999, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has banned Falun Gong, but not based on any law in China. Administrative regulations and rules, such as the Announcement from the Public Security Bureau of the People's Republic of China, the Announcement of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Explanation of Judicial Law Parts I and II, addressed the issue. But none of these regulations have been approved by the lawmakers in China's Congress. They are regulations, not the law.
Directed by the CCP, the legal system's persecution Falun Gong based on these regulations is in itself a violation of the law.
It is the universal law that everyone shall ultimately be judged based on what he or she has done. No one is outside of this law. The gangsters Jiang Zemin, Zhou Yongkang, Bo Xilai, and Wang Lijun, who masterminded the persecution of Falun Gong, are now living out the truth of that inviolable law as they duly receive their karmic retribution for what they have done.
On August 12, 2013, the Political and Legal Affairs Committee issued a new official statement: “Judiciaries shall be held accountable for life for the handling of their cases.” This suggests that the CCP has begun to try to exonerate itself by deflecting the blame and making other organizations the scapegoats. The Wuan Court should be very careful and refrain from persecuting Ms. Wang.
A Cordial Invitation
Fellow citizens, countryfolk, and honorable friends who are law professionals: Do you know that in the nearly 20 political movements the CCP has launched over the past 60 years, more than 80 million fellow Chinese have perished? Do you know that Falun Gong teaches people to be good based on the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. It has spread to more than 100 countries around the world and is widely recognized. Falun Gong is righteous, while the CCP is treacherous and will stop at no evil to do harm. More and more people have now become aware of this principle: Only by following the will of heaven can one have a bright future.
We hereby invite you to be present in the courtroom at 2 p.m. on December 6. Do not forget to bring your ID card with you.
If you cannot attend, we ask that you please continue to pay attention to this case. If you know of anyone in the law profession, we ask you to remind them to learn the facts about Falun Gong and be careful not to become the CCP's scapegoats. It is our conviction that your goodwill and good deeds will be rewarded with blessings from heaven.
Falun Gong practitioners from Wuan City
December 3, 2012