On May 6, mainland attorney Wang Yonghang published an article titled “A Make-Up Law Class for Hu and Wen.” The article reads that it is extremely absurd to use “the crime of using an evil cult organization to destroy the law of the country and the implementation of administrative regulations,” to arrest, try, sentence, and imprison Falun Gong practitioners.
Wang is a resident in China’s Northeast Dalian City. On April 30, his wife was detained by the authority for posting a Falun Gong information brochure. He went to the police and asked the police to release his wife unconditionally. “I told them, there is nothing to argue about, because you have arrested a good person, the wrong person,” Wang told The Epoch Times in a phone interview.
Wang’s wife is a graduate student at the Medical Institute of Fudan University studying for a Ph.D. and will graduate next year.
Wang’s wife was arrested by Shanghai police in the morning of April 30. Wang rushed to Shanghai from Dalian the next day. A colleague advised Wang to “persuade his wife to give in.” Wang refused and said, “I am not going to do that, if I wanted to, I would have done it a long time ago.”
Wang went to the police and requested that they immediately release his wife unconditionally. He said, “As an attorney, I know the current persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China, one must demand the release in confidence, because they arrested good people, they arrested those whom should not be arrested. Letting them go is something that they have to do.”
About his wife, Wang said, “She has a good personality; she used to be impatient and anxious, but Falun Gong has helped her a great deal. Therefore, I am supportive of her practice of Falun Gong, and strongly oppose the Chinese Communist Party’s suppression of Falun Gong.”
Wang’s Defense of Falun Gong Practitioners
In March, Wang was also retained by the family of a Falun practitioner to appear in court, but was blocked by the authority. He could not even get into the courtroom, not even as an observer. In another case, while in the process of appeal, he was told there was no court session, and that the case ended without a ruling. However it was later heard that the original sentence was sustained during the hearing. These two Falun Gong practitioners, one sentenced to five years in prison because banners were found in his home, and the other was sentenced to three years in prison because he wrote an appeal letter to the Ministry of Public Security.
Wang pointed out that the legal issue of Falun Gong is that during the past nine years, the regime has not allowed Falun Gong believers to talk in court, nor allowed attorneys to defend their innocence. “Generally, Falun Gong practitioners have no right to talk, and they even have difficulty hiring attorneys. As an attorney, I often express my own views, but in vain. Now I am facing my own emergency, I have no alternative but to speak up on overseas’ websites.”
No Law Broken
“Actually, should there be a law, as an attorney, I would not be worried. But in China today, there is no law to speak of when it comes to Falun Gong practitioners.”
“While appealing for my wife, it would be nice if more people get to know my view points. It will be most gratifying to be able to help mainland Falun Gong practitioners and their families.”
According to Wang’s understanding, the so-called crimes on which the authority bases its detention, abduction, conviction, and sentencing of Falun Gong practitioners in mainland China are almost all under Criminal Law 300, “Use of a cult organization to destroy the law of the country and the implementation of administrative regulations.”
Wang pointed out that regardless what Falun Gong practitioners have done and what they have said, such as the hanging of banners, distributing CD’s or pamphlets, regardless how much they have done or how big the impact, not any one of them has broken the “implementation” of any “law, or administrative regulation,” nor is there any implementation of the law or administrative regulation that can be found that was destroyed by any Falun Gong practitioners.
Regime Has No Qualification to Brand Falun Gong a Cult
“As an administrative organization, it has no right to define what is orthodox and what is cult. Much more so, the CCP itself is an atheistic regime, it has no qualification to make a pronouncement of what is orthodox and what is cult, it is obviously absurd.” Wang commented.
Wang said that he was very moved by attorney Gao Zhisheng’s third open letter to the Communist Party leaders. He said, “I cried every time I read it. I cannot figure it out why would such a group of believers suffer such cruel treatment! I began to have some understanding of the problems in this area. Gao is indeed China’s conscience, a remarkable person!”
Since last year, Wang has seen the reality of many problems. Falun Gong practitioners are in a very weak position under the law, the attorneys who provide help and support are mostly not very thorough or profound, and therefore he began to help defend Falun Gong practitioners.
Pitiful Position for Attorneys in China
He told the Epoch Times reporter, “In China, attorneys are in a pitiful position. In the regular civil cases, the role of an attorney is not much to begin with, it is even less in a criminal case. As for Falun Gong cases, no matter how well the attorney defends the case, the influence on the result is miniscule, the court does not believe in your viewpoint from the start.”
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