China Fahui | Seeking Redress for My Imprisoned Husband and Clarifying the Truth About the Persecution (Part 1)

(Minghui.org) I’m 78 years old and I began practicing Falun Dafa in 1997. On the occasion of the 22nd China Fahui on Minghui, I would like to share my recent experiences while seeking redress for my husband and using the law to clarify the truth about the persecution. I asked other practitioners to help write my experiences, which I narrated.

I Began Practicing Falun Dafa After Seeing My Husband’s Transformation

Two practitioners at my workplace suggested that I practice Falun Dafa. They told me the practice has extraordinary health benefits, and they gave me several books including Falun Gong and Zhuan Falun. I felt that Falun Dafa was good after I read the books and watched three lectures of Master’s recorded lectures. I did not finish watching the lectures as I had to go on business trip. After I returned home, I did not continue to practice—I was busy with work and influenced by atheism, I had no concept of cultivation, Buddhas, or gods, thus I did not truly practice Dafa.

I asked my husband to practice but he did not take it up. He was busy playing mahjong, dancing, and going out with his friends. We moved in 1997, and didn’t know anyone in our new neighborhood. My husband did not have any friends to keep him company, and stayed at home. In his boredom, he noticed Zhuan Falun and began to read it. He found the book extraordinary, and said he had never read a book like this before. He read the book intently, from cover to cover.

Three days later, he felt a Falun spinning clockwise and counter clockwise in his abdomen, just as described in Zhuan Falun. He knew Master had given him a Falun because he truly felt it.

My husband did not go out for four days and quietly read the entire book. From then on, he was convinced by the principles taught in the book and realized this was a virtuous teaching that truly leads one on the right path.

My husband’s family believes in Buddhas. Perhaps he was influenced, therefore he was very diligent in practicing Falun Dafa. The changes in him were significant. Three days after he read Zhuan Falun, he quit smoking and his temper improved. Just this slight change impressed our friends and family because everyone knew he would swap his life for a cigarette, and when he lost his temper, it was frightening.

In 1986, he often had stomach pain, and was diagnosed with a duodenal ulcer. He went through surgery to cut off four fifths of his stomach. The doctor kept telling him to quit smoking or his body would collapse. He agreed, but did not quit smoking. But after he began practicing Falun Dafa, he stopped smoking in three days. He also no longer became angry when I criticized him. His health improved day by day.

I was deeply inspired by the huge transformation in my husband within such a short period of time, and I began truly walking on the path of cultivation following Master’s requirements. My husband and I have now practiced cultivation for over two decades, and we have both not spent a single cent on medicine. We’ve always been in good health.

Young Man Realizes Falun Dafa Is Good

I went out often to hand out truth clarification materials after the persecution began in 1999.

One time, a young practitioner and I went to give out fliers on the street, and took separate paths. The young practitioner came to me and said someone was following me, and even made a phone call. I told her to quickly get on a bus. It happened that there was a bus and she hopped on.

I walked in the opposite direction. The young man who made a phone call followed me. I said to him, “Young man, don’t do bad things.” He did not say anything and continued following me. After walking a long way, I saw that he was still behind me. I said, “Please remember, a good person will receive blessings his whole life. One who protects Falun Dafa practitioners will be blessed, and you’ll have a good career in the future.” He did not say a word.

I saw a bus approaching and wanted to get onto it. He suddenly shouted, “She is a Falun Dafa practitioner!” I turned around, took off my hat and said, “So what if I practice Falun Dafa? I am in my 70s, my health improved through practicing Falun Dafa. What’s wrong?” The bus stopped and I got on it.

Just then, the young man raised his hand and shouted, “A good man will live a peaceful life!” I smiled and waved back, “Indeed, a good man will be safe his whole life!”

It turned out the man hated Falun Dafa due to lies spread by the CCP. That day, his knowing side listened to a practitioner. It was great.

My Husband Was Persecuted

My husband and I did not give up our belief after the CCP began persecuting Falun Dafa. We continued doing the three things well. My husband was locked up in detention centers, sentenced to labor camps, and forced to leave home to avoid persecution. He was tormented physically and mentally, and went through a lot of hardship. I too was detained.

My husband was arrested once again in the first half of 2019. Our personal belongings, including Dafa books, and equipment to make truth clarification materials and fliers, were confiscated. He was subsequently placed on trial. With the help of other practitioners, I applied to defend my husband as a family member before the trial. But as I did not know what to do and did not prepare myself beforehand, I only stated that my husband was innocent at the trial. I didn’t know what else to say to defend him.

At the trial, the lawyer asked the judge to show evidence. The judge took out keepsakes containing the words “Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance.” The lawyer asked how could such a well made item, promoting traditional virtues, be considered evidence of a crime? Yet, the public prosecutor and judge insisted that my husband undermined the implementation of the law in making large quantities of these keepsakes. After the trial, I submitted documents that proved by law that Falun Dafa (Falun Gong) has always been a legal practice in China.

My husband was unjustly sentenced to over eight years in prison and fined after the first trial. He asked someone to inform me that he decided not to appeal the verdict, because he thought it was useless to appeal.

Practitioners quickly consulted the justice forum, and after discussions, I decided to appeal. Practitioners prepared appeal papers within a short period of time. My husband learned of my intention and completed the paperwork within the deadline.

After my husband successfully appealed, he submitted an application requesting that I defend him as a family member in the appeal trial. I then mailed various legal documents, along with letters asking people not to be involved in persecuting practitioners, to the court.

I met the judge in charge of the appeal twice and we spoke many times on the phone. After I lodged a complaint, the judge became more amicable and stopped interrupting me when I clarified the truth.

With the support of practitioners in the Justice Forum as well as local practitioners, I then embarked on the path of using the law intensively to oppose the persecution and save my husband.

Mailing Legal Documents to Various Departments

I was told to send documents to as many as 40 or 50 workplaces. I hesitated and only chose to send them to places I felt were related to overturning the case. Later on, practitioners kept asking me how many workplaces I mailed the letters to, and I admitted that I sent out only a few. I became scared after seeing a case reported on television where a lawyer was given a heavy sentence after his family sued him.

After several discussions with practitioners, I changed my notion and became bolder. I was later able to mail letters to all workplaces indicated on the complaint.

I remember we once prepared a dozen documents, adding up to nearly 200 pages, to clarify the truth to the judicial system. We mailed out 40 or 50 copies of the documents. In the end, the head of the local justice bureau was transferred to a workplace publicly known as exile. This bureau was at the bottom of the local government’s satisfaction survey. I became famous in the system.

I mailed legal documents openly using the postal system. But one day, when I went to mail letters again, staff in the post office told me I was not allowed to mail them. I said, “Can you show me documents showing what I am not allowed to mail?” He said, “If they contain contents about Falun Gong, then you cannot mail them.”

I said, “Please show me the legal provisions. We have been mistreated because we practice Falun Gong. If I don’t write about Falun Gong, what can I write? You have taken away my right to communicate, which is against the law. Where is your supervisor? Please call him out.” I was allowed to mail the documents after they made phone calls. Subsequently, whenever I went to the post office, the staff would call their superior. Every time, I was allowed to send the documents.

I later went to another post office. The staff in this post office were friendly. The manager said legal documents are written by lawyers, and I could simply send them out as long as there were no revolutionary slogans. A staff member was very helpful, and she often helped me record the documents I sent. All I had to do was pay for postage. I knew Master was helping me.

As I kept using various legal means to save my husband and clarify the truth, my hair soon turned all white and I lost a lot of weight. Several times, I felt tired and told practitioners I wanted to give up. However, after they shared with me, I usually thought about things from the perspective of the Fa, and would think things through that day. Thus, I never stopped in my footsteps and went to many places while mailing various legal documents, appeals, complaints, etc. I also often sent letters urging people not to take part in persecuting practitioners.

I once found a flier in my bicycle basket that was a letter to the Political and Legal Affairs Commission. I thought it was well written and I was excited. I immediately thought of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission in my province. If they knew these facts about Falun Gong, how wonderful that would be. Not only would they stop committing evil, they would protect practitioners in the province. Thus with this thought, I wrote a letter to the Political and Legal Affairs Commission in my province in my name. A few days later, the police came to see me.

Your Complaint Is Well Written

One day, I was summoned to the police station. I was asked if I had sent a letter to the Political and Legal Affairs Commission. I asked what was wrong with writing a letter. The police officer asked, “Why do you mail so many letters to various departments?” I said, “My husband has been unjustly sentenced to prison, I want everyone to know about this and see who is right, I also hope everyone can help us.”

Just then, my daughter called to ask me to go home for lunch. The deputy head said, “Why don’t you go home first, then later on I will print out something. Please come back and pick it up.” The next morning, I went back. They closed the curtains in the room and it was dark. I was asked to sign a document. As they had been polite, even though my eyesight was not good, I signed without reading the document, and took a copy home.

At home, I realized it was an administrative penalty decision. The reason for the penalty was I had been disseminating Falun Gong materials to various government departments through the mail. It said that such materials promote Falun Gong, defame the legal system, and interfere with administrative and judicial work. It was decided that a seven day administrative detention would not be enforced, but I was fined 300 yuan and had to pay the fine within several days or the fine would be increased.

I knew I had been tricked. Later on, the police station said they were acting on orders from above. I then wrote to the district government requesting that they cancel the administrative penalty decision, and I applied for administrative reconsideration. I also declared my signature void. The police station did not ask me to pay the 300 yuan fine and I did not pay it.

In my application for administrative reconsideration, I wrote, “I mailed a statement intended to be used in court to defend my husband to respective government organizations. Isn’t it ridiculous that you claim this is interfering with administrative and judicial work?”

The district government, as the legally designated review body, failed to fulfill its statutory duties, and did not respond within the sixty-day administrative review period. Within fifteen days after the expiration of the administrative review period, I directly submitted an administrative lawsuit to the Intermediate People's Court of the city.

A young female employee at the city Intermediate People’s Court customer service center looked at my complaint for a long time before going to her superior. After a long time, her superior came out asking who wrote my complaint. He said it was well written but that I should go to the Public Security Bureau to resolve things.

Exposing Details About My Husband’s Persecution to the Public

After my husband’s arrest, practitioners wrote articles exposing the persecution, compiled them, and sent them to the Minghui.org website. I went out to deliver these materials. As the articles talked about real incidents and people living in the area, people wanted to read the compilation once they saw the title.

I carried two bags of fliers to distribute. When I ran into young people, I said to them, “Let me give you this flier. Why don’t you regard yourself as a judge and see how you would decide the case.” They happily took it.

One day, I saw a car parked by the road side with a man sitting inside. I said, “Let me give you a flier to read.” He said, “I’m from the Public Security Bureau.” I said, “What’s wrong with that?” Aren’t you humans too? I have no ill intention, I just want you to see who is right and wrong.” He took it.

After my husband decided to appeal, we prepared a defense statement. I then handed out the statement. This was written with the help of experts on the Justice Forum, and local practitioners. The material explained clearly that practicing Falun Gong was legal, and that it was a crime to persecute Falun Gong. Those who read it would understand the truth. Thus while mass-posting documents, I also hand delivered materials to people on the streets.

Clarifying the Truth to Various Government Departments

In the past, I clarified the truth face to face and felt great returning home after I helped people quit the CCP. After my husband’s arrest, I felt I should clarify the truth to people in the Public Security Bureau, the Procuratorate, and the court. Although there was as strong a sense of accomplishment, if people in the Public Security Bureau, Procuratorate, and court learned the truth and stop participating in the persecution, it would also be a meaningful thing.

A practitioner told me one day that he had been reported while handing out fliers near a police station. That night, as the practitioner spoke to the head of the police station, he soon sensed that the police head already knew the truth. He asked if the head had spoken to a practitioner in the past. He said yes. When the practitioner asked who he had heard the truth from, the head said it was Zhou (alias). Zhou is my husband. In fact, I had also told them the facts before and submitted documents including the statement defending my husband in court. Afterwards, the head told the practitioner, “You can go, but don’t go to that place again to give out fliers, as there are surveillance cameras there.”

I had more confidence after hearing the feedback from this practitioner. It showed that my efforts were not wasted. The head of the police station knew the truth, and did not persecute practitioners.

To my knowledge, the majority of employees in the Public Security Bureau, Procuratorate, and court only heard lies and carried out wrongful orders from above. Very few got to hear the truth directly from practitioners, particularly prison management bureaus at the province level, justice bureaus, officials in provincial governments, who all the more need to hear the truth. If we can clarify the truth to them, perhaps they will not quit the CCP, but they can distinguish right from wrong in their hearts and there will be change.

Furthermore, these high ranking officials usually accept so called “tasks” from above. They only talk to people in their immediate environment, and rarely come into contact with ordinary citizens. Usually we have no excuse to go to them, but this is now an opportunity to approach them to clarify the truth.

This gives me courage to travel to provincial cities several miles away to see officials in various departments and let them know the facts about Falun Gong through my husband’s situation. I took the train to see prison heads at prison grounds several miles away to seek my husband’s release, I rode a bicycle, and took the bus to various government departments in my city to tell officials that my husband has been unjustly sentenced to prison.

Some of them don’t say it out loud, but in their hearts they admire us practitioners. At times, I prepared many notes with content from the Minghui website and handed it out. They smiled, nodded, and took the notes.

I went to the prison management bureau. Employees made things difficult for me in the beginning, and were very mean to me. I patiently explained things to them and they were not so mean. When I went to see the head of the judicial bureau, I mentioned the persecution my husband went through in prison. A young man said, “He is a criminal. That’s how he should be treated.” I said, “Who has committed a crime? There is actually no law proving that Falun Gong is illegal. Can you show me any legal basis? We practitioners are wrongfully convicted.” The man stopped talking.

I went to the court after the Social Security Bureau asked my husband to return the pension given to him. I told the judge that the pension was our own money and should be given to us. What right do they have asking us to return it? Just like the bank, the money we deposit belongs to us, who would say it is the bank’s? The pension given by the Social Security Bureau is money accumulated from work we have done all our lives, and is meant to be handed out after we retire. As long as the person is alive, the pension should continue to be given out, yet you want us to return the money. This is against the law.

The judge said, “This has to do with the Social Security Bureau. You should not come to me.” I said, “Who should I go to? You made a trip to the prison and announced the decision in front of my husband, telling him that his pension will be suspended and he has to return the monies given to him. This added much mental pressure for my husband, and it made his illness worse. What are you doing!? I came to you today to let you know that what you did is illegal.”

I saw a young man next to the judge, and I said, “Young man, you are still young, you must know what is good and bad, and you want a good future. It will be the end if you keep going along with them and doing bad things. You must know what the court is for.” The man smiled and lowered his head. In the end, I did not return my husband’s pension and they did not ask me for it either.

I went to see the head of the Intermediate People’s Court regarding my lawsuit against the judge in my husband’s first trial. The head was not around, but I stayed, waiting for him. I clarified the truth to several young employees. One of them said, “Aunt, stop saying, we will join in practicing Falun Gong soon. Look, our boss is coming!” They immediately stopped talking to me.

I asked their boss, “Why won’t you take my case? On what basis?” He said, “Recently there was a document that says we cannot take Falun Gong cases.” I seized the opportunity, and said, “Show me the document, I cannot just take your word for it, you have to show me the document.” He did not answer and walked into the room. He never came out.

Suing the City Public Security Bureau and City Government

In the first half of 2021, I submitted an application to the city Public Security Bureau, requesting government information to be made public. I asked the government to make public all the information regarding the time my husband was locked up in the detention center. In the City Public Security Bureau’s reply, they said this did not belong to government information, and refused to comply. I then applied for administrative reconsideration to the city government. The government maintained the original decision. I then applied for administrative litigation, as the defendants are the Public Security Bureau and government. The court refused to accept the case claiming it was past the deadline. I went to the post office to get a copy of the delivery status of the documents. After much effort, I finally received a summons from the court and a trial was held at the city court in late 2021.

On the day of the trial, I dressed professionally because this represented the image of practitioners. My sister-in-law accompanied me, helping me hold a mug and materials, and acted as my assistant. She sat next to me. As we were the plaintiffs, our seats were higher than the defendants, which felt great. Although it was a public trial, there was no one in the public gallery.

I later learned that a dozen practitioners from county had gone to the court to send righteous thoughts.

Sitting in the defendant’s spot across from us was the representative of the city mayor, two police officers representing the Public Security Bureau, and two lawyers acting on behalf of the government and the Public Security Bureau, five people in total.

A funny incident took place at the start of the trial. The police officer representing the Public Security Bureau stood up and began to say things claiming to be the plaintiff. He was stopped by the judge at once. The judge told him, “You are the defendant,” and asked him to sit and let the plaintiff speak first. The officer, who was used to being the plaintiff, was stunned, and sat down sullenly. My righteous thoughts became stronger seeing this.

I was not afraid despite facing five people, because practitioners from the Justice Forum had prepared materials for me, explained the procedure, and told me what to say at what stage, and how to handle special circumstances that may take place. They had written everything for me and I basically just had to read it out.

The entire trial lasted less than an hour. I spoke eloquently, and the defendants appeared prudish in the face of my powerful arguments. Although we are the victims in this political persecution, we never admitted to the charges the CCP forced upon us. Thus we never felt beneath anyone. I am able to stand as the plaintiff, and be respected. My sister-in-law said to me after the trial, “What you said was excellent.”

I applied for a copy of the video and audio recording of the hearing afterwards, but the court was nervous and gave all kinds of reasons to turn down my request. They never gave it to me.

I did not hire a lawyer for the trial because I had the support of practitioners and the Justice Forum. I did not think it was necessary to spend money on hiring a lawyer. I used the money to send more legal documents instead.

I thought that since the CCP uses the law to persecute us, we should use the law to oppose the persecution and clarify the truth. Otherwise who would know their actions were against the law? If we did not sue them for going against the law, would we have the opportunity to stand in the position of the plaintiff and clarify the truth? Regardless of the results, at the moment, the Public Security Bureau and the city government were the defendants. Although the court did not uphold justice in the end and kept the original decision, I used this incident to let public servants, lawyers, the judge, etc., listen to my speech, and I clarified the truth as the plaintiff.

(To be continued, Selected submission for the 22nd China Fa Conference on Minghui.org)