(Minghui.org)
Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Zhao, has been on a hunger strike for over a year to protest his illegal imprisonment. Below is a letter he wrote to other imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners:
Dear fellow practitioners:
They sentenced me based on an order by the party secretary [Jiang Zemin]. From a legal standpoint, the party secretary's words are not the law and certainly cannot be used to guide the law. Neither the district court or the higher court could find any legal justification that Falun Gong is a cult, so such claims are baseless. All I could do was go on hunger strikes to protest the wrong accusation against me.
Neither courts could find any codes in the criminal law that applied to Falun Gong. We were charged under Article 300 of China's Criminal Code with “using a cult organization to undermine law enforcement,” which is routinely used by the Communist regime to imprison practitioners. However this code cannot be applied against practitioners and our sentences have no legal basis.
When I requested my immediate release during the trial, I was told: “We have no authority to release you. We will bring it up for discussion.”
I went on hunger strikes to protest against the injustice against me, of fellow practitioners and Dafa.
People asked: “You'll die of starvation if your hunger strikes go on for two more months. Are you ignorant?” There are more important things. No one would call those who sacrificed their life in upholding justice ignorant. I will continue until I see the daylight.
The first time they sentenced me to eight years in prison. I would have been released if I had written, “I will stop practicing.” This time, I would have been paroled if I had admitted guilt. But I have come this far. All I have is determination.
My health is no problem. Teacher has been taking care of me all these years. I survived all scares and am used to them now. When I was in the intensive training unit recently, I meditated three to four hours every night.
Although I have not had any food in over a year, I am all right. No medication is needed. When examined in the hospital, they only found that I had lost weight and my blood pressure was low. They could not find any serious problem. On the cultivation path, wonders abound.
Mr. Zhao Hongli, a farmer from Jianping City, Liaoning Province, and was sentenced twice to prison terms.
The first time he was sentenced to eight years for refusing to renounce Falun Gong. He went on hunger strikes during the first two years and was persecuted in the Liaoning Police Hospital for half-a-year.
The second time he was sentenced to six years in prison for refusing to admit guilt to criminal activities. He has served two years so far and has gone on hunger strikes.