Woman in Her 80s Faces Trial for Practicing Falun Gong, Urges Authorities to Dismiss Her Case

(Minghui.org) A Kunming City, Yunnan Province resident indicted for practicing Falun Gong is urging the authorities to dismiss her case. 

Ms. Wang Fengying argued that she didn’t violate any law in practicing her faith and that the prosecutor failed to exhibit evidence to show how she had “undermined the law enforcement with a cult organization,” the standard pretext used to criminalize Falun Gong practitioners in China. 

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Ms. Wang, in her 80s, was arrested at a farmer’s market on October 11, 2020, after being suspected by the police of distributing calendars with information about Falun Gong. 

The police took her keys and ransacked her home in the afternoon. No list of confiscated items was given. She was then released on bail.

When her one-year bail expired on October 11, 2021, Ms. Wang went to the Jinniu Police Station to demand that they formally terminate the bail terms. The police didn’t process the paperwork until December and put her on residential surveillance immediately afterwards. Yet on the notice given to Ms. Wang, the expiration date of the bail was written as October 11. 

Meanwhile, the police submitted Ms. Wang’s case to the Xishan District Procuratorate. She was informed by the Xishan District Court on March 7 that she has been indicted and is now facing trial.

Urging the Authorities to Dismiss Her Case

Upon receiving the indictment, Ms. Wang wrote to the prosecutor and judge, urging them to dismiss her case.

Below are excerpts from her letter.

“I developed a severe neck problem, high blood pressure and heart condition in the 1990s. I had to walk two or three hours every day to enhance my blood circulation, or my left hand and both feet would feel numb. I frequented various hospitals and tried various treatments. I also practiced different qigong schools. But none had any effect on me and yet my health was even worse.

“On September 15, 1997, the day I will never forget, I saw people practicing Falun Gong in a park. Thinking that the stretch of the exercise movements would help me, I learned how to do them. As I was doing the exercises, I felt strong warm currents flowing on my palms. Shortly after, all of my conditions, including sinusitis and rheumatoid arthritis that I’ve had since I was a teenager, were cured.

“Since then, I live by the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance to be a good person. I enjoy good health and abide by the law.

“After the persecution started, I gave up the practice due to the pressure. My heart condition and high blood pressure recurred. I saw many doctors and spent a fortune on treatments, but didn’t have much improvement. On top of that, I also developed depression. I became desperate about life and didn’t have any hope. Many years later, I resumed practicing Falun Gong and soon enjoyed good health again. Falun Gong saved my life for the second time.

“The prosecution evidence submitted by the prosecutor included the Falun Gong books and informational materials confiscated from my home. But neither the police nor the prosecutor could demonstrate how the confiscated items had anything to do with the charge of ‘undermining law enforcement.’ 

“Prosecutor Zi Liqiong also failed to show how I violated the law in practicing Falun Gong or what legal basis there was to label the practice as a cult. My Falun Gong books and materials are my personal property and shouldn’t be used as prosecution evidence against me.

“I urge the Xishan District Procuratorate to withdraw the indictment, and the police to return my confiscated items. I also demand to hold the police accountable for the two-month delay in lifting my bail conditions and compensate me for the mental distress and damage to my reputation.”

Perpetrators’ contact information:
Li Hui (李辉), head of Xishan District Police Department: [phone]Ye Bingsheng (叶兵胜), officer, Jinniu Police Station: [phone]Xi Liqiong (自丽琼), prosecutor, Xishan District Procuratorate: [phone], [phone]Pu Huijun (普会峻), judge, Xishan District Court: [phone]