(Minghui.org) Thirteen Weichang County, Hebei Province residents are scheduled to appear in court on September 28 and 29, 2020 in a joint trial for their faith in Falun Gong.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is an ancient spiritual and meditation discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
The 13 practitioners were arrested along with another 23 on July 13, 2019, while studying Falun Gong’s teachings together. It was reported that the police had monitored the 36 practitioners in Weichang for seven months, before arresting them during their gathering.
Most practitioners had their homes ransacked the next day. Their Falun Gong books, computers, and printers were confiscated. While 23 of the practitioners were later released and cleared of prosecution, the remaining 13 practitioners’ cases were submitted to the Luanping County Procuratorate.
Although the prosecutor returned the practitioners’ cases to the police for insufficient evidence in November 2019, the police refused to release the practitioners and submitted their cases again a month later. The prosecutor indicted them on January 19, 2020 and moved their cases to the Luanping County Court.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the court trial for the practitioners was postponed. The court initially assigned judge Li Shuangli of the criminal division to handle the practitioners’ cases, but later replaced him with Zhao Yajun, a civil case judge, to be the presiding judge.
Among the 13 practitioners, Mr. Wang Guangxue, Mr. Chen Haidong, Mr. Liu Zhifeng, and Mr. Wang Yongxing are now being detained at the Luanping County Detention Center. Ms. Du Guilan, Ms. Wang Haiqin, Ms. Wang Sufang, and Ms. Ge Sufen are being held at the Chengde City Detention Center. Ms. Li Yanhua, Ms. Liu Lina, Ms. Wang Haibing, Ms. Tang Fengxia, and Ms. Liu Fengxia have been released on bail.
Mr. Liu Zhifeng and his wife Ms. Wang Haiqin, Mr. Chen Haidong, and Ms. Liu Lina have hired lawyers to represent them.
Mr. Liu Zifeng, the owner of a food factory, took up Falun Gong in 2012. He used to have a hot temper and often had conflicts with his family members. But after learning Falun Gong, he became a different person. His tone became softer and he now often talks to people with a smile. When his employees make mistakes, instead of scolding them, he now points out the issue with patience and provides a solution to the issue.
Mr. Liu also stopped selling defective products, a practice very common in China. Some of his business partners commented that he became a fool for not wanting to make more money. But Mr. Liu insisted that since he has learned Falun Gong, he could no longer do such things against his conscience.
At home, he no longer fought with his wife, and began to care for her. Although he has four siblings, he took over the responsibility of caring for their parents. He said that Falun Gong had changed him and taught him to be a good person.
Upon Seeing Mr. Liu’s changes, his wife, Ms. Wang Haiqin, also began to practice Falun Gong. Their family became ever more harmonious, and she was delighted to find that many of her ailments disappeared.
During the past year when the couple remained detained, their employees managed the factory on their own and maintained smooth operation. Many of their clients said they couldn’t understand why the police arrested such good people, and they urged the factory’s employees to seek justice for the couple.