Ms. Zhang Meilan and Ms. Peng Sufen File Appeal to the Supreme Procuratorate

Ms. Zhang Meilan and Ms. Peng Sufen, Falun Gong practitioners from the Dongchuan District, Kunming City, Yunnan Province, filed a complaint with the Supreme Procuratorate regarding the Yunnan High Court, which sentenced them.

Ms. Zhang, Ms. Peng, and practitioner Ms. Liu Rong made banners bearing the following inscriptions, “Falun Gong is Good. Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance is Good.” “The World Needs Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance.” On the night of October 16th, 2009, they hung the banners on the Kaitong Road New Bridge overpass and near the railroad exit in the Dongchuan District, Kunming. Officers from the Domestic Security Division of the Dongchuan District Police Department subsequently searched the homes of Ms. Zhang and Ms. Liu, and detained the three practitioners before releasing them on bail.

The Kunming Middle Court tried them on May 13th, 2010. The practitioners defended their actions.

Ms. Peng said, “I am in my seventies. I did not know how to be a good person or the purpose of life until I practised Falun Gong. I learned how to follow the Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance principle to be a good person, considering the interests of others in all situations. Now, I not only have a healthy body, but I have also improved morally. Falun Gong brings peace and kindness to both families and society. 'Falun Gong is good. Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance is good,' are words from my heart.
Persecuting Falun Gong practitioners is a crime devastating the Chinese nation and devastating human beings. When we hung the banner 'Falun Gong is Good. Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance is Good,' you found us guilty of a crime. Did you ever think about what you were doing? 'Falun Gong is good.'

The court did not make a decision that day. The three practitioners received a verdict dated June 2nd, 2010, on September 9th, 2010. In this Kunming Middle Court, Year 2010 KunXingYiChuZi No. 71 Criminal Verdict, Ms. Zhang and Ms. Peng were sentenced to one year in prison, and the sentence was to be served outside of jail.

Ms. Zhang and Ms. Peng appealed to the Yunnan High Court. They stated that they benefited from Falun Gong in their minds and bodies, that Falun Gong is legal in China according to the law, thus promoting Falun Gong is also legal, and that they were innocent.

On May 9th, they received the Yunnan High Court final verdict dated December 10, 2010. Their appeal was dismissed.

Ms. Zhang and Ms. Peng filed a complaint involving the final verdict. Their comprehensive and detailed legal analysis shows that the verdict is illegal, and that Falun Gong is legal in China.

Seventy-one-year-old Ms. Peng stated, “I previously had problems all over my body including high blood pressure, gallstones, kidney stones, rheumatoid arthritis, heart disease, dizziness, and a constant headache. I lost consciousness twice a day. All these diseases disappeared after I started practising Falun Gong in 1998.

Seventy-five-year-old Ms. Zhang is a retiree from the Dongchuan Bureau of Mines, and lives in Tongdu Town, Dongchuan District, Kunming. She states in the appeal, “I grew up poor, never going to school. I worked for the Dongchuan Bureau of Mines after moving from a remote mountain area in 1958. I had worked in underground tunnels for more than seventeen years, carrying ore on my back, and pushing mineral carts.

As a result, I had many diseases, including thrombosis, heart disease, rheumatism, stomach problems, vitreous opacity, and macular disease. My vision was 0.02. I had to wear 1,000 degrees glasses. My vision was so weak that I often fell down while walking. I retired early in 1984 due to my health conditions. To recover, I tried practising many different qigongs, but my health was getting worse. I started practising Falun Gong in 2004. Following Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance requirement, I fully recovered."

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2011/5/24/241374.html