Prominent Chinese Human Rights Lawyer Wishes Founder of Falun Gong a Happy Chinese New Year

(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioners outside of China have been calling the general public in China for years, explaining what Falun Gong is all about and why the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s persecution of the practice is wrong. After the coronavirus broke out, practitioners have also been advising people how to stay safe during the pandemic.

Ms. Wu from Toronto, Canada made a random call and reached human rights lawyer Zheng Enchong. Mr. Zheng, 72, was very happy to receive the call and asked Ms. Wu to convey his greetings to Master Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Gong, and wish him a Happy Chinese New Year!

“I Know Someone Is Tapping My Phone But I Am Not Afraid”

Mr. Zheng is a well-known human rights lawyer in China and has represented clients in 500 demolition lawsuits. In 2003, he defended his clients in the demolition case of the “East Eighth Block” in the Jing’an District in Shanghai and sued the former “richest man in Shanghai,” Zhou Zhengyi. Because of that, he was accused of “leaking state secrets to foreign entities” and sentenced to three years in prison.

In 2008, he spoke at a seminar about the publication of the book Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party and the wave of Chinese people quitting the CCP and its two affiliated organizations, the Youth League and the Young Pioneers. On November 20 that year he announced he was withdrawing from the Youth League and the Young Pioneers with his real name.

He believes that from his father’s generation to the younger generations, nobody likes the Party and many people are abandoning it.

Mr. Zheng said to Ms. Wu, “I know someone is tapping my phone but I am not afraid. I quit the CCP’s organizations back in 2008.

“I have relatives who have practiced Falun Gong, so I have a special feeling for it. Even though I am a Christian, I believe that Falun Gong is bringing peace and health to China. The risks faced by Master Li are not small, but history will see that the force is unstoppable. I would like to express my deep personal respect to Mr. Li Hongzhi before the New Year.”

“This Government Is Doomed”

Because Mr. Zheng has been very outspoken, he was targeted by the CCP over the past two decades. “From the time I was released from prison in 2003 to the 19th National Congress [in October 2017], I was interviewed by overseas media every day. They [the CCP regime] can’t do anything about it. They forced me to have talks with them more than a hundred times. They raided my house dozens of times and confiscated hundreds of computers and cell phones.

“I asked them, ‘Why are you afraid of Chinese lawyers? I help you fight corruption and expose the suffering of the people, and yet you arrested me? Isn’t such a government doomed?’

“They are now officially admitting that I am too outspoken. They said if I spoke on behalf of the government instead for the people, I could have several houses, several cars, and many other things. They said that they were sorry for me, but I said I had nothing to regret.

“When Falun Gong is suppressed, we have so many lawyers who dare to speak up. This is the excellent character of Chinese human rights lawyers. The sacrifices they made, the price they paid, and the suffering they endured for this will be recorded in China’s history.”

Falun Gong Breaks Down China’s “Berlin Wall”

During the call, Mr. Zheng also mentioned that Falun Gong practitioners are helping people circumvent the Internet blockade. “The Chinese Communist authorities are censuring information, but because Falun Gong practitioners invented software to circumvent the Internet blockade, the Chinese people have been able to access information from overseas media. China’s Berlin Wall has fallen. The software is a gift from God.”

Mr. Zheng said public opinion in Western countries is very important in supporting China’s human rights lawyers, and he called on the outside world to help more people gain access to uncensored information.

He also said that he’d learned from sources that, among the 18 million residents in Shanghai, 50 percent of the households have access to the Internet, and 30 percent of them are using software like Freegate or Wujie (No Boundary) to break through the Internet blockade and read the news on overseas websites.

Gathering Evidence to Bring CCP Officials to Justice

In recent years, the U.S. government has been more stringent in reviewing visa applications, especially when it comes to the perpetrators involved in the persecution. Even those who have been issued visas or permanent residence may be denied entry or face deportation.

On June 3, 2019, the U.S. Embassy in Beijing published a post about the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act on Weibo (a Chinese microblogging website), signaling more severe sanctions of corrupt Chinese officials, including Jiang Zemin, the former head of the communist regime who ordered the persecution, and many of his followers who engaged in corruption to gain political advancement.

Mr. Zheng revealed that he has been urging those who’ve been persecuted by the communist regime to collect evidence against the perpetrators, including their detention notices, forced labor camp term certificates, court verdicts, victims’ photos, etc.

“Your Way of Telling the Truth Is Excellent, and It Is What People in China Need Most”

Mr. Zheng commended Falun Gong practitioners’ persistent efforts in calling the Chinese public. “Your way of telling the truth is excellent, and it is what the people in China need most. You can help more people quit the CCP and its organizations. Most of the information put out by the Chinese media today is false, so you are really bringing light to people by making the truth available to them through various channels.

“I don’t think I can blame those who haven’t awakened yet. The communist regime’s influence over them is too powerful. That’s why your persistence is so valuable. [With your help], people are slowly waking up.”