Lawyer Offers Spirited Defence of Ms. Li Yanling in Tangshan City Court

On October 21st, 2010, a court in Leting County, Tangshan City opened a session for Ms. Li Yanling, who had been persecuted for nearly half a year. Lawyer Jin Guanghong from Beijing defended her innocence against hundreds of unreasonable questions from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) court. Li Yanling explained the facts about Falun Gong in the courtroom, and a DVD which helped do this was played during the session.

Li Yanling was arrested by police officers from the Leting 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong), who broke into her house on May 25th, 2010. On October 11th, lawyer Jin requested her indictment, but was not successful in obtaining it. Geng Lijun, the judge, told him it was forbidden unless he had the privilege granted by a higher level. The lawyer had to go back to Beijing. It wasn't until the afternoon of the day before the hearing (the 21st) that Mr. Jin was allowed to see the indictment and thus prepare for the case. Lawyer Jin wanted a copy, but was told that the copier was broken and that he had to write it down himself.

Jin Guanghong indicated in his statement of defence that "what one believes cannot be the same as committing a crime"; that "one's freedom of belief" and "freedom of religion" are a basic part of civilisation, and that it is a principle both in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. China is a signatory of both and has been for many years. Article 36 of the Chinese Constitution states that a Chinese citizen has freedom of religion and belief. Thus, Li Yanling's belief in and practice of Falun Gong is legal according to the Constitution. No department of the Chinese government can lawfully forbid her from believing in it. According to Chinese Criminal Law, Article 251, government officials who forbid citizens' religious beliefs or cultural gestures, if severe enough, can be sentenced to two years of prison.

The lawyer indicated that a peaceful group like Falun Gong doesn't have any political involvement, and practitioners only want to be better human beings using the standard of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. They don't disagree with their government, they have done nothing against the law, they don't violate others' rights of life, liberty, and property, and they don't harm society - so why should they be persecuted? Why does the government punish these compassionate practitioners as criminals?

When we look at the results, Li Yanling's cultivation doesn't do any harm to society, and quite to the contrary, it has benefited society. Li became healthy because of cultivation, and she became a better person. She also introduces more people to Falun Gong, letting more people become better persons. Not only did she save money from medical treatment, bringing happiness for the family, but she also saved medical costs for the country, and in as much as she has personal belief, that she has Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance as her guiding principles, she is contributing to society's stability.

Ms. Li is only a normal Falun Gong practitioner, and all she wants to do is to become a better person. She is a citizen who obeys the law, and she is practising Falun Gong because she wants good health.

The lawyer also stated that such religious beliefs can make the heart and soul pure, and help upgrade people's moral standards. Religion encourages people to do good deeds, and to obey the law and the social order. It is good not only for becoming a better person, but also for building a more stable society. In fact, Falun Gong practitioners uphold those factors, and the government should encourage that instead of persecuting them. The government's actions of persecuting citizens because of their beliefs amount to human rights violations.

Related article:

http://www.clearwisdom.net/html/articles/2010/6/24/118131.html

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.ca/mh/articles/2004/11/30/90383.html