Never had I expected to become a prisoner because of telling the truth. I was an awarded engineer with China's Ministry of Construction.
In July of 2000, my wife and I got the immigration paper to come to Canada. In that month, I mailed letters before leaving China to my friends to clarify to them the truth of what Falun Gong really was and to help them see through the deception and lies that the Chinese regime was using to brainwash the public into hating Falun Gong practitioners. My letters were intercepted by the public security bureau. I was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison, in a sham court procedure and show trial.
I used to have poor health until I began to practice the gentle exercises and meditation of Falun Gong with its principle of Truth-Compassion-Forbearance. All illnesses disappeared. I greatly benefited from the practice like the millions of others.
However, on July 20, 1999, the former head of the Party labelled Falun Gong as enemy of the state due to Falun Gong's popularity and the fact that Falun Gong refused to be controlled by the communist party. The practice was demonized day and night by the state-propaganda media to turn people’s opinion against Falun Gong. I felt it my responsibility to tell my friends truth before leaving China. I then was arrested.
To give you a brief background, in order to eliminate Falun Gong, the communist party created the 610 office which was an extrajudicial body similar to the Gestapo in Nazi Germany whose power exceeds over all levels of government and police.
Through the 610 office Falun Gong practitioners have been arrested, and sent to brainwashing facilities, metal hospitals, labour camps, and prisons where they are humiliated, tortured, and even killed. The 610 office also manipulates the legal and judiciary system by threatening lawyers and telling judges how to sentence Falun Gong practitioners.
After I was arrested, my wife looked for a lawyer for me, but lawyers would not take my case. When the persecution of Falun Gong started, there were orders not taking Falun Gong cases passed down from the Beijing justice bureau through the local lawyers associations under its control.
After painstaking efforts she did find me a courageous lawyer willing to take my case. But on the 2nd visit, this lawyer told her that his licence to practice law was revoked because he had defended another practitioner in court and therefore lost his license.
Again after much painstaking efforts, she finally found another lawyer. However, he had been followed and his family harassed by the 610 office. Eventually this lawyer did not defend my innocence because he was scared for the safety of his family. He apologized to my wife.
The so-called “open trial” to convict me was held at a local court in Beijing in the morning of December 5, 2000. Even my wife was not allowed to enter initially. After much efforts, eventually she was allowed to enter but forced to sit between two security officers who monitored her every move.
This show trial only lasted a half hour. The judge announced in the court that I was sentenced to three years and 6 months in name of “sabotaging the implementation of law” for writing those letters.
About one week later, the judge came to the detention centre, asking me to sign and receive the written judgement. I questioned him about my case. In response, he said, “It was not me that made the decision of your sentence. The terms were set prior to the hearing. Besides, why did you go to find a lawyer to defend you? Wasn’t your action an effort to be against the government? Weren’t you forcing us to give you a heavy conviction? Now that you are sentenced, you can appeal at an intermediate court. The law gives you the right to appeal. But I advise you that your efforts will be fruitless.” He was right. “[My] … appeal was swiftly rejected within a few days.
The sham court and mock trial was exploited by the 610 office and the communist party to justify and cover up its crimes against humanity. The legal procedures to eliminate Falun Gong do not abide by the Chinese Constitution and violate Chinese law and also international legal standards.
The 3.5 year illegal imprisonment and mental and physical torture almost took my life. After being tortured by pouring freezing water over my body in winter, I got a high fever which lasted almost two months and I was given no medical attention and my lungs became severely damaged. I was electrocuted by electric batons. I was forced to run and jump beyond my physical capacity in freezing winter wind which caused me to cough blood and urinate blood. I was force to do exhausting heavy labour in the field digging ditches and carrying stones for long hours. I was often deprived of sleep and forced to watch bloody horrible videos of murder and suicide scenes that were fabricated to defame and demonize Falun Gong practitioners...
All the atrocities targeted my conscience and belief. The policeman told me that Falun Gong practitioners would never be treated as human beings unless we gave up our belief. A head policeman there told me that as long as the Communist Party ruled China, he would never fear going to hell no matter what he had done to Falun Gong prisoners.
I have to say that I am a lucky one. During my imprisonment, my wife landed in Canada, and together with the Falun Gong community in Canada sought help for me from the Canadian society. I was on the list of those on the unanimously passed motion initiated by MP Scott Reid to rescue imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners with Canadian family ties in 2002. Amnesty International in Canada declared me to be a Prisoner of Conscience and launched a rescue campaign. Tens of thousands of Canadian people signed petitions for my safety and release. I was able to come to Canada in 2004 to be re-united with my wife after the 3.5 years of imprisonment. I owe a lot of thanks to all of you, including the MPs who sponsored this forum Mr. Reid, Hon. Irwin Cotler, Madam Lalonde, Madam Davies and many others. I wouldn’t have been here without your help.
My experience of being incarcerated was just one of the hundreds of thousands of the experiences of the innocent Chinese people who practised Falun Gong. Such tragedies are still happening in China in the name of law. My brother and cousin recently were arrested because of their effort in truth clarification about Falun Gong and will face the sham legal system in China. Knowing first hand what happens to Falun Gong practitioners in police custody, I am deeply worried.
Please let me take this opportunity to urgently appeal to Members of Parliament and Canadian government for help. I believe your voice will make a great difference. Everybody please speak out to put an end to the persecution in China.
Thank you.
