Injustice Is Served: The Court System in Today's China—Overview (Part 1 of 8)

(Minghui.org) This 8-part series explores the role of China’s judicial system in the persecution of Falun Gong.

The facts show that the judicial system has lost its independence and, since 1999, follows the 610 Office, an extra-legal agency created for the sole purpose of eradicating Falun Gong.

Instead of righting the wrongs committed against innocent practitioners, the judicial system actively carries out the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution policies and spares no effort in imprisoning practitioners for crimes they did not commit.

Series Topics

Part 1: Overview Part 2: Who is Pulling the Strings? The 610 Office Part 3: Judges Show Their True Colors Prosecuting Law-abiding Practitioners Part 4: Practitioners Wrongly Accused and Denied Fair Trials Part 5: Groundless Verdicts at the Discretion of Corrupt Officials Part 6: Attorneys Punished for Representing Their Clients Part 7: Families Punished for Hiring Lawyers Part 8: Supporters Arrested for Standing Up for Justice

Part 1: Overview

In any country that follows the rule of law, the judicial system is a legal channel for the wronged (plaintiffs) to seek justice against wrongdoers (defendants).

Though the Chinese communist regime claims to be governed by the rule of law, it is anything but. The treatment of Falun Gong practitioners during the past nearly 15 years reveals a strange judicial system where practitioners are made defendants and those who have wronged them become plaintiffs who file fabricated allegations against them.

Why doesn’t the Chinese judicial system right the wrongs committed against practitioners detained and tortured simply for upholding their belief in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance?

It all began in June 1999 when former Party dictator Jiang Zemin secretly set up the 610 Office (in itself a violation of the Constitution) and gave it power over the entire judicial system (including courts, procuratorates, and the police.

In his desperate attempt to crush Falun Gong, Jiang Zemin issued a series of secret orders, including, “Ruin their reputations, bankrupt them financially, and destroy them physically,” “Beat them to death and count the deaths as suicide,” and “Cremate them without verifying their identities.”

Nothing is deemed excessive when it comes to Falun Gong practitioners. Under pressure and directives from the 610 Office, the judicial system goes all out to put practitioners behind bars, despite the lack of any legal grounds for the verdicts.

The end result is that the police have no reservations when it comes to arresting practitioners, the procuratorates have no qualms in filing fabricated allegations against them, and the courts comply by handing down pre-determined heavy sentences.

As lawless and ruthless as it is, the Chinese communist regime spares no efforts to glorify itself. With respect to Falun Gong, it often holds open trials for practitioners, hoping to create the illusion that it follows the rule of law.

As this series will show however, any such trials are just formalities, and the judicial system is just going through the motions. After all, the sentencing of Falun Gong practitioners has long been decided prior to the trials.

The Chinese regime has never followed any laws in its persecution of Falun Gong, and the judicial system is nothing but a convenient way for the government to carry out its persecution policies.

Below is a preview of what to expect in the next seven parts of this series.

Part 2: Who is Pulling the Strings? The 610 Office

Though it lacks any true legal authority, the 610 Office has final say in all Falun Gong-related cases. This part shows how agents from the 610 Office directly or indirectly interfere with the judicial system and pressure judges to hand down heavy sentences to wrongly-accused practitioners.

Part 3: Judges Show Their True Colors Prosecuting Law-abiding Practitioners

The persecution has brought out the worst in many judges, who have completely lost their professionalism and conscience in their pursuit of job security and political gain. During the prosecution of law-abiding practitioners, they show total disregard for the law, and often claim that politics is higher than the law. Instead of righting the wrongs, they do whatever it takes to send practitioners to detention.

This part provides examples of how lawless and shameless judges behave before, during, and after trials of practitioners.

Part 4: Practitioners Wrongly Accused and Denied Fair Trials

Falun Gong practitioners are made defendants even though they have broken no laws. Trials of practitioners are just a formality and the verdicts are often decided beforehand. Practitioners are denied the opportunity to rebuke false accusations, call witnesses to testify, or employ lawyers to defend them. Fact-based evidence in their favor is not admitted, yet the courts allow fabricated evidence to be used against them.

Part 5: Groundless Verdicts at the Discretion of Corrupt Officials

The verdict is usually pre-determined, and trials of practitioners are mere formalities. The judges increase or reduce sentences at will. They promise to shorten sentences if practitioners agree to give up their belief in Falun Gong, and threaten to lengthen them if they hold firm to their faith.

Part 6: Attorneys Punished for Representing Their Clients

The judicial system does everything possible to prevent attorneys from representing practitioners. The lawyers are often prohibited from seeing their clients or reviewing case documents. Sometimes they are not even notified of the trial times. Many are arrested and detained for standing up for practitioners.

Part 7: Families Punished for Hiring Lawyers

When practitioners’ families hire lawyers to represent their loved ones, they are often intimidated or even punished for doing so.

Part 8: Supporters Arrested for Standing Up for Justice

Supporters of victims are often implicated as well. In some places in China, the local police advertise open trials, only to use the opportunity to round up local practitioners who show up to support the defendants.