(Minghui.org) A 57-year-old former middle school teacher in Chongqing was sentenced to one year and eight months with a 5,000-yuan fine in late December 2023. Mr. Zhang Lijiang’s latest prison sentence was preceded by a prior three-year jail term and a two-year forced labor term, also for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Arrest and Sentencing
When he took a taxi in June 2023, Mr. Zhang gave the driver a Falun Gong pamphlet. The driver reported him to the police. After poring over footage taken by surveillance cameras on the taxi and in Mr. Zhang’s neighborhood, the police pinpointed his address and arrested him at his rental apartment on the morning of June 28, 2023. The arresting officers from the Cuntan Police Station and Jiangbei District Domestic Security Office smashed his lock and confiscated his Falun Gong books, informational materials, computer, cellphone, and flash drives.
The police held Mr. Zhang at the Fusheng Detention Center and later submitted his case to the Jiangbei District Procuratorate. He was indicted in late September 2023, and his case was moved to the Jiangbei District Court. His wife hired a lawyer for him and also applied to be his non-lawyer family defender.
Shortly after Mr. Zhang’s wife entered the courtroom for his hearing on December 12, 2023, the presiding judge ordered her to leave, because he claimed she was a prosecution witness in the case. She said that the police did ask her a few questions about Mr. Zhang, including how he rented the apartment and how long they’ve lived there. She didn’t know that her answers would be used against her and her husband and disqualify her from defending him in court or even attending his hearing. She later submitted a written testimony to the judge, recounting how Mr. Zhang became a better person after taking up Falun Gong.
Mr. Zhang’s lawyer entered a not guilty plea for him. He also testified in his own defense. He said that no law in China deems Falun Gong a crime and that the Chinese National Press and Publication Administration had repealed the ban of Falun Gong books in 2011. He didn’t violate any law by practicing Falun Gong, talking to people, or distributing informational materials about it.
The judge sentenced Mr. Zhang to one year and eight months in late December 2023. He filed an appeal with the Chongqing First Intermediate Court and is awaiting a response.
Mr. Zhang used to work at the Yifeng Middle School in Qitang Town, Bishan County. Because he refused to renounce Falun Gong, he was sentenced to three years on March 31, 2005, by the Bishan County Court and fired from his job. He was arrested again on May 4, 2012, by Yubei District Domestic Security Office officers and taken to the Xishanping Forced Labor Camp on June 5, 2012, to serve a two-year term.
Testimony from Mr. Zhang’s Wife
Changes in My Husband after He Practiced Falun Gong
I didn’t know much about Falun Gong before and I was strongly against my husband practicing it. One day at lunch, I got upset with him, kicked him, and dumped the food down his collar. He gave me a smile and simply cleaned himself up. Back then, I often lashed out at him, but he always responded with a smile.
In fact, Lijiang didn’t used to behave like that. He had a very bad temper and often hit and verbally abused our son and his students. He wasn’t serious about his work. He smoked and often got drunk and was addicted to gambling and playing cards. He was in poor health and often caught colds when the seasons changed.
But after Lijiang began to practice Falun Gong, he became a completely different person. He no longer lost his temper with our son or his students and tried to educate them with reason and compassion. He quit all his bad habits and became healthy.
He was later arrested for practicing Falun Gong. After he was released from his first prison term in 2008, I often accused him of not caring about our family or fulfilling his responsibility. I blamed him for the pressure and discrimination I faced daily. But no matter how unreasonable I was, he never got mad and just tried to clarify the facts to me. He said that he didn’t do anything wrong by practicing Falun Gong or following the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. It’s not that he didn’t care about our family, but that it was the persecution that prevented him from fulfilling his duty as a husband and a father.
At first, our son didn’t understand him and blamed him for our suffering. He once held a knife and threatened to kill his father. Still, Lijiang tried to explain to him that he didn’t do anything wrong, that it was the persecution by the Chinese Communist Party that was the cause of our family’s suffering. When our son finally understood, he became very respectful of him and opened his heart to him.
A Good Teacher
Lijiang worked very hard after he took up Falun Gong. He won the respect of his students and their parents and was awarded “Excellent Teacher” several times.
Once a student dropped out of school. He visited her at home and learned that her family was struggling to make ends meet and could no longer afford to pay her tuition. Lijiang offered to cover her tuition and fees, because he didn’t want her to miss out on the opportunity to be educated.
When his students gave him gifts, he always found ways to pay them back. When he later got a job at a tutoring company, some of the students invited him to give private lessons at their homes and offered to pay him directly (instead of paying the company). He kindly declined the offer, as he didn’t want to do anything to undermine the tutoring company.
A Truly Good Person
Lijiang has two siblings. But he was the only one who financially supported his parents until they passed away. He also treated my parents and other relatives very well.
For all these years since he took up Falun Gong, he never lost his temper with me once. He is polite and gentle and does not comment on others behind their backs. He is down-to-earth and conscientious. He is also reasonable and considerate, always bringing people together. He often said to me that Falun Gong taught him how to be a good person. When conflicts came up, he would examine himself and forbear instead of fighting back or pointing fingers at others.
From his actions, I came to understand what Falun Gong is all about. It’s not doing lip service, but about putting the principles into actions. I was often touched by his kindness.
I hope there are more and more good people like Lijiang. He didn’t violate any law or harm anyone by practicing Falun Gong. If everyone could follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, our society would be a much better place.
Related Report:
Copyright © 2024 Minghui.org. All rights reserved.
