A Statement By the Sixteen Falun Gong Practitioners in Hong Kong Regarding their Trial, Verdict, and Fines

To all media: A few days ago, an anonymous person paid the fine for the sixteen Falun Gong practitioners who were wrongly convicted in the political trial. Ten of the sixteen practitioners who are now in Hong Kong will petition the Western Magistracy at 2:30 pm today (August 26). They will reiterate their position against the unjust verdict, and urge the judiciary to repudiate the verdict and return the money as soon as possible to whoever paid the fine.

August 26, 2002

After the Western Magistracy delivered a verdict that betrayed human rights and the rule of law completely, all sixteen of us felt that we were unable to accept such a verdict morally or legally. So, we decided that we would appeal immediately and that we would not pay the fines. We wanted to express our strong objection to the court's wrong and unjust verdict while calling on the Hong Kong public to stand up to the imposing dictatorship and fight for freedom and the rule of law in Hong Kong.

Although we realized that such a decision might put us in an unfavorable situation, we deeply felt that only by doing it this way could we live up to our conscience as well as the well-being of all Hong Kong people. Our actions gained not only understanding and support from people with a strong sense of righteousness, but also closer attention from the international community.

However, a few days ago, we learned that someone had paid our fines for us. We tried to track this person down, to no avail.

If the money did come from a sympathetic member of the public who had a strong sense of justice, we'd like to express our sincere gratitude to him or her. We are all touched by his or her kindness. Nevertheless, we would like to take this opportunity to stress that our position and principles remain unchanged. From the very beginning, there should not have been such a political persecution exercised by the SAR Government under the pressure of Jiang Zemin's regime. There should not have been an arrest. There should not have been a political prosecution. There should not have been a conviction and sentence. Thus, there should not have been a fine to be paid by some kind-hearted person. This "obstruction case" lasted 26 days, and the Hong Kong government has already spent a lot of the taxpayers' money. The best way to help us out at present is to call on all communities in Hong Kong to pay attention to what is going on, and to show concern for the future of Hong Kong. We urge the judiciary to repudiate the wrong and unjust verdict immediately and return the money to whoever paid the fines.

As we understand, there might have been another possibility--the government may have paid the fines because it was afraid of and embarrassed by the international criticism as the result of the wrongful verdict. If this is true, we feel sorry for the dilemma that our government was forced to face. Under the totalitarian pressure of the Jiang Zemin regime, our government should believe in the sense of righteousness of the general public and enter into peaceful dialogue with Falun Gong and other peace-loving groups. With the righteous support of the general public and the international community, the interference from the mainland's tyranny could be removed.

The SAR government should face the historic mission bestowed upon it, genuinely protect freedom and the rule of law in Hong Kong and the well being of the Hong Kong people!

Contact: LU Jie 9853-8289