(Minghui.org) A 58-year-old woman in Shenyang City, Liaoning Province on October 24, 2023 lost her appeal against a four-year prison sentence for her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Ms. Wang Xiuying vows to keep seeking justice for herself. She said she also reserves the right to sue the perpetrators involved in her prosecution for exercising her constitutional right to freedom of belief. As the appeals judge said the decision was final, she submitted to Minghui.org a rebuttal of the statements against her in the ruling.
Ms. Wang Xiuying
A Quick Recap of Ms. Wang’s Wrongful Arrest, Indictment, and Sentencing
Ms. Wang was arrested on February 12, 2023, after a food delivery worker reported her for telling him about Falun Gong outside of a supermarket. Officer Zhang Shicheng of the Chengdonghu Police Station in Yuhong District was in charge of her case.
While Ms. Wang was released on bail the next day after the local detention center declined to admit her due to her high blood pressure, she was taken back into custody on July 7 and has since remained at the Shenyang City First Detention Center.
Prosecutor Piao Yunjing of the Yuhong District Procuratorate indicted Ms. Wang on June 28 and she stood trial on August 16. After judge Ge Lidan of the Yuhong District Court sentenced her to four years in prison with a 5,000-yuan fine on August 24, she filed an appeal with the Shenyang City Intermediate Court, only to be turned down by judge Liu Dayong on October 24.
Police, Prosecutor, and Trial Judge Violate Legal Procedures
Throughout her arrest and prosecution, the police (especially officer Zhang), prosecutor Piao, and Judge Ge have repeatedly violated legal procedures.
Officer Zhang once brutalized Ms. Wang when she refused to have a physical examination required for detention. He grabbed her neck and shoulders and pinned her down for the nurses to examine her. She was injured and bled as a result. He also harassed her three times at home while she was out on bail. At one point, he even yelled at her, “You damn old lady! Why don’t you go to hell! Why are you still alive and well?”
Prosecutor Piao refused to dismiss the case against Ms. Wang and said that the only way to avoid being prosecuted was to sever ties with Falun Gong. Ms. Wang requested that Piao be recused from the case but never heard back from the procuratorate. Piao also retaliated against Ms. Wang by pushing the police to take her back into custody while she was out on bail due to poor health.
Judge Ge did not allow Ms. Wang’s husband to serve as her non-lawyer defender, despite his repeated requests. The couple’s son, who works out of town, returned to Shenyang and managed to get Ge’s approval to serve as her family defender. He, however, was not allowed to question prosecutor Piao during the court hearing. Ge ended the hearing even before he finished reading the first sentence of his defense statement. The court-appointed lawyer, who Ms. Wang had declined to use, entered a guilty plea for her at Ge’s instruction.
Appeals Judge Also Violates Legal Procedures
After Ms. Wang filed an appeal with the Shenyang City Intermediate Court, her son, who again served as her non-lawyer family defender, submitted a series of documents to presiding judge Liu Dayong, including:
- Application for Review of Case File- Application for Visitation with Appellant- Application for Public Hearing- Application for Modification of Compulsory Measures (so that Ms. Wang could be released on bail during her appeal)- Application for Return of Seized Items from Ms. Wang’s Home Following Her Arrest”- Application for Exclusion of Illegal Evidence (requesting the appeals court to exclude prosecution evidence used in the trial to convict Ms. Wang)- Application for Acquisition of Innocence Evidence, (requesting the appeals court to admit evidence submitted by Ms. Wang and her defense to prove her innocence)- Announcement 50 of the General Administration of Press and Publication on March 1, 2011, which lifted the ban on Falun Gong books- A statement from Ms. Wang’s husband, Mr. Zhang Hongtao, to nullify the “testimony” that he was deceived into providing during police interrogation and was later used as evidence to convict his wife- Supplemental materials showing how appeals courts in other parts of the country revoked wrongful convictions against Falun Gong practitioners
Judge Liu, however, only allowed Ms. Wang’s son to review her case file and meet with her at the detention center. He denied all other requests and reiterated that there would not be an open hearing of the appeals case when by law he should have honored the appellants’ open hearing requests. He urged Ms. Wang’s son to submit a defense statement in writing.
Ms. Wang’s son submitted the statement on October 23, and Liu issued a ruling the next day to uphold Ms. Wang’s conviction.
Point-by-point Rebuttal of Judge Liu’s Statements
After Judge Liu issued a ruling on October 24 to uphold Ms. Wang’s wrongful conviction for her faith in Falun Gong, she and her family defender rebutted his statements against her.
Judge Liu wrote in his ruling, “The trial court determined that the police-supplied evidence, including testimonies from Chen Kai [the food delivery worker who reported Ms. Wang] and Liu Yuxi [who claimed to have witnessed Ms. Wang talk to Chen about Falun Gong], a decision to confiscate [Ms. Wang’s] personal belongings, the description of the suspected crimes, photos, and other relevant records, was admissible after examining it during [Ms. Wang’s] court hearing.”
Rebuttal: Judge Ge of the trial court never examined the police-supplied evidence during Ms. Wang’s hearing. Neither Chen nor Liu was present to accept cross examination.
Judge Liu wrote, “Appellant Wang Xiuying stated her reason for appeal as ‘Falun Gong is not a cult. It has never undermined the implementation of the law or committed any crime.’”
Rebuttal: Ms. Wang wrote in her appeal that “Falun Gong does not have any organization and is not a cult. It has never undermined the implementation of the law or committed any crime. We practitioners of Falun Gong follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and break no in law in trying to be good people.” While judge Liu cited some of her words, he did not include the last sentence that emphasized that practitioners broke no law in striving to be good people.
Judge Liu wrote: “Regarding the appellant’s request to exclude illegal evidence [used to convict her], the appeals court reviewed the case file and determined that the police had collected and authenticated all evidence in accordance with the law, and that the evidence was thus admissible in both the trial and the appeals cases.”
Rebuttal: The Shenyang City Domestic Security Office issued a certificate to authenticate the police-supplied evidence that painted the Falun Gong related items confiscated from Ms. Wang’s home as cult propaganda. For one thing, only independent, third-party forensic agencies are legally allowed to examine and authenticate prosecution evidence. The Domestic Security Office is part of the Shenyang City Police Department, which oversees the Chengdonghu Police Station that arrested Ms. Wang in the first place.
Additionally, prosecutor Piao cited in the trial as legal basis a statutory interpretation of Article 300 of the Criminal Law issued by the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate in November 1999. The interpretation required that anyone practicing or promoting Falun Gong be prosecuted to the fullest extent possible. A new statutory interpretation that replaced the 1999 version took effect on February 1, 2017. The new interpretation made no mention of Falun Gong and emphasized that any indictment against anyone engaging in a cult must be based on solid legal grounds. Since no enacted law in China labels Falun Gong a cult, the sentencing of Ms. Wang based on the statutory interpretation lacked legal basis.
Moreover, the evidence against Ms. Wang was illegally obtained by the police, and none of the evidence had ever been cross-examined and authenticated in the court hearing. As such, the evidence should never have been admissible in the trial.
Judge Liu wrote, “Regarding the appellant’s statement that Falun Gong is not a cult and her practice of Falun Gong did not break the law, the appeals court noted that the government has listed Falun Gong as a cult. The appellant thus lacked legal ground to file an appeal. Moreover, the appellant kept engaging in Falun Gong cult propaganda activities after being sentenced. The appeals court determined that the trial court correctly applied relevant laws and issued an accurate ruling. Therefore, the appeals court declined to accept the appellant’s grounds for appeal and defense opinions.”
Rebuttal: As indicated above, the trial court lacked legal basis to convict Ms. Wang. More importantly, given the principle of the separation of church and state, no government, including the Chinese Communist Party, is in a position to determine whether a belief system is a cult or not. The Chinese Communist Party’s own Constitution protects citizens’ right to freedom of belief. Ms. Wang’s practice of Falun Gong and telling people about her practice caused no harm to anyone or society at large, much less undermine law enforcement.
Ms. Wang and her defender concluded that judge Liu had committed the crime of dereliction of duty in rejecting her appeal.
Related reports:
58-Year-Old Liaoning Woman Sentenced to Four Years for Her Faith
Ms. Wang Xiuying from Liaoning Province Persecuted for Her Faith
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