A Letter Written in Prison by Ms. Liu Fengmei for Her Family

To my husband, son and all my family, how are you?

On August 27th, 2008 when the Chinese Communist Party Court sentenced me to 13 years of imprisonment, my heart was trembling. At that moment I saw even more clearly the evil nature of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which is made up of gangsters and resorts to violence and deceit. I knew that the result of this trial would be too much for my family and all my relatives to bear.

During the four-day-long trial, a Beijing lawyer argued a not-guilty defence. It was pointed out that the law did not declare Falun Gong a cult and that practising Falun Gong was practising freedom of belief and promoting Falun Gong is promoting freedom of speech. Both are basic human rights protected by the constitution, and there is no legal basis for sentencing Falun Gong practitioners. Sentencing Falun Gong practitioners was following orders issued by Jiang Zemin. At the trial several practitioners explained the tortures they had been subjected to and showed the court their scars from the electric baton shocks. Not a single judge came over to look. They were completely indifferent. In the end, the judges publicly read out a statement fabricated by the police. It stated that the police did not obtain confessions in these cases by resorting to torture. This openly denied the facts that had been presented by the Beijing lawyer and only supported fabricated lies. Some of the police officers told me personally, "I can arrest, beat, and sentence you. You do not have anywhere to appeal."

Cultivating Falun Gong can relieve sickness, bring about fitness, and encourage people to do good deeds. Falun Gong practitioners are all good people; this has been acknowledged by their family members and as well as by others. It is such a good practice, but the Party actually does not allow us to study and follow it. As practitioners we do not accept or acknowledge the deprivation of our most basic right, the freedom of belief. Telling people the facts about the persecution of Falun Gong, which started in July 1999, serves a two-fold purpose. The first is to help people understand that Falun Gong is good and the second is to inform the public about the persecution we practitioners are suffering. We are mistreated, beaten, arrested, tortured, imprisoned, and tortured to death, just for practising Falun Gong.

I am in pain, our whole family's is in pain, and all our relatives' worry and are in pain because millions of practitioners and their families are suffering. It was Jiang Zemin and the Communist Party that initiated the suppression of Falun Gong. We are not suffering because we practise Falun Gong. If the CCP did not suppress us, we would live safe and healthy lives. Practising Falun Gong will only make us healthier both physically and mentally and fill our lives with goodness and tranquillity. People in more than 80 countries and regions, including Taiwan and Hong Kong, can freely practise and believe in Falun Gong. However, as Chinese people, we have been deprived of our most basic human right to freedom of belief, and so many people have died during this persecution.

Actually, it does not matter from which angle you look at this issue, whether it be your conscience, human nature, morality, justice, or the law, Falun Gong should not be suppressed. Falun Gong is beneficial to the country, beneficial to the people, has hundreds of benefits, and does not a single bit of harm. It can alleviate sickness, improve health, and teach people to do good deeds. Such a good cultivation way has been practised by practitioners and acknowledged by even more people. Falun Gong has been widely promoted for 16 years and suppressed for nine years, but it still remains solid as a diamond. The police do not have popular support for this suppression! Ending this catastrophe and once again having a peaceful country and safe lives for people are what we common people have been hoping for.

It is a heavenly principle that good and evil will receive their reward or retribution respectively. I would urge my family members and all the family members of Falun Gong practitioners who are suffering not to be sad, as this period we are in is only the darkness before dawn. Do not be frightened by the darkness, because our spirit and will cannot be broken. The situation is not as bad as you imagine. Are there not upright lawyers already publicly defending innocent Falun Gong practitioners? In the past nobody dared to do that. With more and more people understanding the facts and daring to step forward and say the truth, it will not be long before the persecution will end. Although I have been sentenced to 13 years, soon there will be a different situation. Do not imagine that I'm going to suffer even greater tortures. As long as my will does not break down, nothing will frighten me. What I worry about is that my family may not be able to accept this brutal fact, and I worry about the pain my family must endure.

Liu Fengmei

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2008/9/14/185861.html