China Fahui | Wrongful Sentence Dismissed with Solid Cultivation and Perseverance

(Minghui.org) I struggled with all sorts of illnesses after my child was born when I was in my late 20s. I had neurasthenia, irregular heartbeat, back pain, low blood sugar, and rheumatoid arthritis. I felt fatigued and lightheaded. Nothing helped, even after I took medicine for four years. I felt miserable that I was just like my mother, who was sick all the time. 　　

In addition to the physical suffering, my tense relationship with my mother-in-law also caused conflicts between my husband and me.

I lost hope until I began practicing Falun Dafa in 1998 at a friend’s recommendation. In less than a month, all my illnesses were gone, including the sinusitis I’d had since childhood.

But as time passed, I slowly slacked off in my cultivation and found myself still yearning for a good life without realizing my various human attachments.

In 2015, I filed a lawsuit against Jiang Zemin, the former head of the Chinese Communist Party, for launching the persecution of Falun Dafa in July 1999. After the police found out, they arrested me and raided my home. After being held in a detention center for one week, I was issued a formal arrest warrant.

Only then did I awaken and realize that my cultivation was off track. I searched within and discovered all sorts of attachments: seeking comfort, pursuing fame and profit, being competitive, harboring resentment, showing off, being jealous, and having strong sentimentality.

I calmed down, stopped thinking about how long I would be detained, and decided to take it as an opportunity to cultivate myself. I focused my energy on memorizing the Fa, sending forth righteous thoughts, and talking to people about Dafa.

Sending Forth Righteous Thoughts

I sent forth righteous thoughts about 20 times each day, at the top of almost every hour. The more I did it, the sharper I was. I was able to wake up five minutes before the top of every hour and fall back to sleep after sending forth righteous thoughts for 15 minutes. If I was on watch duty for two hours, I would send forth righteous thoughts for two straight hours.

I sent righteous thoughts for the evil behind whatever government agency was in charge of my case to be eliminated. My celestial vision revealed that the evil forces in other dimensions looked like a big metal tree while my case was with the local police station. The tree did not move for several days. I was not deterred and continued to send forth righteous thoughts.

After my case was moved to the procuratorate, I saw with my celestial eye that a large, six-story tall piece of metal equipment with a gear system and a metal pillar in the middle. I sensed that this was the meticulously-arranged old forces’ mechanism. But I had the supernatural power of Dafa that Master bestowed on me. I was determined to negate the old forces and I did not fear it.

By sending forth righteous thoughts so many times, I felt my field cleared up day by day.

Memorizing the Fa

I memorized the Fa every day when we were forced to sit still for long periods of time. I regretted that I had not studied and memorized enough Fa in the past. I could only study and memorize the Fa with fellow practitioners at night.

Later, fellow practitioner Yuan was assigned to my cell. She had memorized many Fa teachings. I learned the Fa from her at night and memorized it during the day. Even though it was hard, I felt fulfilled. I often felt a warm energy going through my whole body. I stumbled due to my slacking off in cultivation, but Master did not forsake his disciple, still protecting and supporting me. Several times, I sensed that Master came to see me, standing in the hallway. I was surrounded by Master’s compassion.

Saving People

I used any free time I had to clarify the truth to other detainees as much as possible. As they witnessed my words and deeds and acknowledged that I was a good person, they were willing to talk to me. Almost 90 % of them agreed to quit the CCP and related organizations.

Yan was a farmer in her 50s, honest and kind. Her family struggled financially. She worked in a restaurant during the farming off-season to earn some extra money, but the chef and others kept bullying her. She took revenge on the chef by hiding his electric scooter. He was very worried about it. Her attitude softened and she told him where to look for it. He found it, but turned around and reported her for stealing.

A drug addict cursed Yan whenever she was upset. Yan was scared but did not retaliate. She sighed and wondered why she was bullied everywhere. I told her the principle of “no loss, no gain” and she liked it very much.

“Nobody has ever told me such things.”

“The more you dislike her [the drug addict], the more she will curse you. Next time when she curses you, just smile back.”

She did what I told her. The drug addict smiled when she saw Yan smiling. She also stopped cursing her.

I also urged Yan to recite the auspicious phrases “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good” daily. She told me that she did not get detained in vain and she was grateful to have learned something so precious.

Master saw that I had the heart to save people, so he arranged a way for me to save more. The detention center often transferred detainees to different compounds, so I was able to reach more people. During the more than 19 months I was detained, I persuaded about 200 people to quit the CCP and its two youth organizations.

But the fellow practitioner and I never separated and were always moved to the same cell. I learned a great deal of Fa teachings from her and greatly appreciated her help.

Resist Persecution

We were able to go out to the exercise yard for outdoor activities twice daily. There was square dancing and other qigong practices. When we refused to learn another qigong and stayed firm in Falun Gong, the guards wouldn’t let us buy daily necessities, such as toilet paper, sanitary napkins, and shampoo. They also forced us to stand day and night for two hours at a time. The inmates were prohibited from lending us daily necessities or even talking to us.

Since we refused to cooperate, the guards forbade other detainees from doing laundry or having free time. Some detainees got upset and blamed us for being selfish and inconsiderate.

When we still refused to cooperate, the guards made things worse for us. They took away the other detainees’ food, utensils, glasses, and daily necessities. Some detainees began to curse us. Some begged us to cooperate with the guards. Some let all their anger out on us.

Just then, the whistle for emergency assembly sounded, and everyone stood by the door of their cell, not knowing what had happened. Everyone was nervous.

We then saw a practitioner paraded through the building. The shackles dragged along the floor, making an ear-splitting sound. The guards had her stop at each cell and said, “She promoted Falun Gong here and violated our rules. She will be held in solitary confinement in shackles for a week. I hope everyone can learn a lesson!”

I made up my mind that even if I was taken to solitary confinement, I would not practice another qigong. That afternoon, I said to a guard. “I was locked up here for practicing Falun Gong, so I will keep practicing it while I am here.”

When I was told, “We organized these qigong activities for your health. If you do not participate, it is a violation of the regulations,” I asked to speak to the director.

The guard refused, saying “He’d think that I was incompetent.”

“In that case, just punish me and do not implicate everyone.”

She was furious and gave me an extra night shift.

Most detainees were afraid of standing on night duty and they would suffer back and leg pain after standing for two hours. For me, I sent forth righteous thoughts and recited the Fa during that time, so it did not bother me at all. Thinking about it now, I realized that even this kind of persecution should have been negated.

Defending Myself

When my hearing drew near, my family contacted two lawyers, but both of them wanted to enter a guilty plea for me. I dismissed them and decided to act as my own lawyer.

The detention center gave practitioners only one piece of paper on which to write their defense arguments; all other detainees had unlimited paper available. The guards also ordered us practitioners to submit our defense statements to them for review. I gave mine to a guard hours before my hearing. After she read it, she crumpled it up and threw it on the ground, yelling at me, “It’s no good to write like this. The sentence will be severe! You have to plead guilty to get a lighter sentence!”

I ignored her and sent forth righteous thoughts the entire morning. The hearing scheduled for the afternoon was canceled. When the hearing was held two months later, my family hired another lawyer to enter a not-guilty plea for me. This time, I asked for two pieces of paper on which to write my defense statement, and the guards agreed.

I was wearing handcuffs when I was taken into the courtroom. Due to my repeated demands, the judge finally signaled for the bailiff to remove the handcuffs. I also refused to sit in a metal tiger bench, and they replaced it with a high-back, cushioned chair.

My lawyer entered a not-guilty plea for me. He argued that Falun Gong wasn’t on the list of cults identified by the authorities and that no law says that practicing Falun Gong is a crime.

I added that almost all Falun Gong practitioners were charged with violating Article 300 of the criminal law, which states that anyone using a cult to undermine law enforcement will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. But the prosecutor never explained which law I was undermined or what damage my practice had done to society. The prosecutor had nothing to say. “Suing Jiang Zemin is our legally protected right,” I said.

In my final statement, I explained how my illnesses disappeared by practicing Falun Gong and how it helped me to better handle my relationships at home. I urged the judge and the prosecutor to stop participating in the persecution and help practitioners to the best of their abilities.

I reminded them that justice will always be upheld. Even the new “Civil Servant Law” will hold government officials accountable for their wrongdoings for up to 20 years [even after they’ve retired or quit their jobs]. When the persecution is over one day, they will have to face the consequences. I tried my best to clarify the truth to the judges and prosecutors, whom I normally didn’t have access to.

I was still sentenced to three years in prison. Two months after I filed the appeal, a judge and his assistant from the intermediate court came to talk to me.

I said, “I don’t know which law I broke.”

“If you didn’t break the law, why are you locked up here?” they asked.

“Can you please tell me which law I violated and how I harmed society?”

The judge was speechless, and his assistant went into a rage. He yelled at me and punched the wall.

I said, “What right do you have to be angry with me? I’ve been detained here for nearly two years for no reason. I’ve lost over 40 pounds. I don’t know what law I’ve broken. I am just asking you to give me an explanation.”

Realizing that I was getting emotional, I slowed down, lowered my voice, and said, “I’m sorry. I practice Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and I shouldn’t get upset.

“Falun Gong is practiced and celebrated all over the world, except China, where it is persecuted. Dignitaries at all levels in many countries around the world have sent thousands of proclamations and letters of support to Falun Gong.”

The judge said nothing, just listened, and the assistant calmed down, too. “After I began practicing Falun Gong, all my illnesses disappeared. Guided by its teachings, I resolved my conflicts with my in-laws and improved my relationship with my spouse. Family is the building block of society. If the family is harmonious, society will be stable. Falun Gong’s principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance are beneficial to both individual families and the nation as a whole.

“I hope that when you handle Falun Gong cases, you will help us to the best of your ability. It’s not only helping us, but you are also doing yourself and your family a big favor!”

In the end, the judge asked, “What do we put on the interview record?”

“You can say something like ‘The facts are unclear, the evidence is insufficient, and the law is not properly applied.’”

Two months later, a detention center guard said to me, “Every time I talk to you, you are smiling. You have a strong character.” She also told me that my case had been returned to the lower court for a retrial.

Two months later, the procuratorate dismissed my case and withdrew the indictment against me. I was formally acquitted and released after 19 months of detention.

Thank you, Master, for protecting your disciple! The persecution was brought on by my human heart and attachments. When I solidly cultivated myself and met the Fa’s requirements at different levels, Master showed me the Fa’s boundless power and blessing.

Master told us:

“Cultivate as you did at the beginning, and you are sure to succeed!” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2014 San Francisco Fa Conference,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. XIII)

I will keep in mind Master’s teachings. In the limited time left, I will cultivate solidly and complete my historic mission. Only then can I repay Master’s compassionate salvation.

This is my understanding at my level. Please kindly point out anything inappropriate.