(Minghui.org) Police officers from Weifang City and Gaomi City arrested seven Falun Gong practitioners between August 15, 2013 and April 2014.
Two practitioners were thought to have installed satellite dishes and the other five were arrested for their belief and telling people the facts about Falun Gong. Officials are in the process of illegally sentencing them.
However it is not illegal to install satellite dishes, to practice Falun Gong or tell people the facts about Falun Gong under existing Chinese law.
Chinese State Council Lifted the Ban on Installing Satellite Receivers for Individual Use in 2002
Before 2002, individuals were not allowed to install and use satellite receivers and dishes without special permission according to “Provisions on the Administration of Ground Receiving Facilities for Satellite Television Transmissions” (Decree No. 129 of the State Council) and “Advice on Further Strengthen Satellite Television Ground Receiving Facilities Management” (Document No. 254 [2002] of the State Council).
Chinese police are still using the above law for confiscating satellite dishes and imprisoning practitioners who install them although both decrees were rescinded by the “Decision on Eliminating the First Group of Administrative Examination and Approval Items” (Document No. 24 [2002] of the State Council) published on November 1, 2002.
Thus the charges against Falun Gong practitioners for installing satellite receivers and dishes are without legal basis.
Acts That Are Not Explicitly Defined As Criminal Acts Cannot Be Used for Conviction
Article 3 of the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China states, “For acts that are explicitly defined as criminal acts in law, the offenders shall be convicted and punished in accordance with law; otherwise, they shall not be convicted or punished.”
Searching through all the Chinese criminal codes, one cannot find a single code stating that practicing Falun Gong, installing satellite receivers, or watching NTDTV through satellite is a criminal act. Therefore, one cannot be convicted for performing any of the aforementioned activities.
Article 300 of Criminal Law Cannot Be the Basis for Convicting Practitioners
Article 300 states,
“Whoever forms or uses superstitious sects or secret societies or cult organizations or uses superstition to undermine the implementation of the laws and administrative rules and regulations of the State shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than seven years. If the circumstances are especially serious, he shall be sentenced to fixed- term imprisonment of not less than seven years.
“Whoever forms or uses superstitious sects or secret societies or cult organizations or uses superstition to cheat another person, and causes death to the person shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph.
“Whoever forms or uses superstitious sects or secret societies or cult organizations or uses superstition to rape a woman or swindle money or property shall be convicted and punished in accordance with the provisions of Articles 236 and Article 266 of this Law respectively.”
Chinese courts have long been using Article 300 of Criminal Law to persecute practitioners. However it does not apply to Falun Gong practitioners because
1. Article 300 did not mention Falun Gong explicitly.2. Falun Gong is not among the 14 cult organizations specified by the Ministry of Public Security in Notice on Number of Issues Identifying and Banning Cults (document No. 39 [2000, 2005])3. Falun Gong practitioners did not “undermine the implementation of the laws and administrative rules and regulations of the State.”
Based on the above facts, the seven arrested practitioners were exercising their legal right when they told people the facts about Falun Gong, criticized government officials, watched programs received via satellites or helped others install satellite receivers. They did not break any law or harm anyone’s interest. They did not commit any crime.
Therefore the allegations against the seven practitioners is nullified given the above laws and they should be released immediately and unconditionally.
The seven practitioners are Li Deshan, Shan Yicheng, Jing Xiuling, Zhang Menglei, Chen Guangxia, Du Qihai, and Liu Wenming.
