(Minghui.org) After I got married to my husband, who does not practice Falun Dafa, the COVID lockdown occurred, and for several years I did not participate in group Fa study. My cultivation slacked, and my thoughts and actions were not always in accordance with the Fa teachings. To improve my family life I wanted to earn more money, and as a result, I became physically and mentally exhausted, and even developed serious sickness karma. My belief in Dafa had wavered, and I was seeking ordinary people’s medical treatments and advice.
I used to be a Dafa practitioner who was able to do the three things. Seeing myself becoming an ordinary person who was focused only on family life, I was deeply distressed and anxious.
I thought one day, “Master, I don’t want to keep sinking like this! I want to start over and cultivate Dafa.” Master saw my heart, and gave me an opportunity to cultivate again.
A local Falun Dafa practitioner, Ping, had been arrested while she was distributing truth-clarifying materials. Other practitioners were hoping to find someone to help Bai, including one of Ping’s family members and also a Dafa practitioner himself, to get a lawyer and start a lawsuit on the illegal arrest. Because I had some litigation experience in rescuing practitioners a few years prior, a local coordinator asked if I could help. Although I agreed, I was absolutely dreading it deep down. I felt that I had fallen too far behind in cultivation, and I was daunted by the challenge.
The coordinator encouraged me, and I knew it was my duty to cooperate and do my best to fulfill my responsibilities. I mustered my courage and approached Bai.
When Bai heard that Ping had been arrested, he was worried. The practitioners didn’t learn of Ping’s arrest until a month after she disappeared. We had no idea how she was doing in the detention center. I comforted Bai and told him that once we had a lawyer, we could learn more about the situation with an attorney-client meeting.
I shared my thoughts with Bai, that Master told us to clarify the truth right at where the problem arose. I had read many Minghui articles on using legal means to counter the persecution, without placing excessive reliance on lawyers who champion justice.
We randomly selected a law firm and arranged a meeting. We were surprised what the firm manager told us. “Every lawyer in this firm has withdrawn from the CCP [Chinese Communist Party]. They all know Falun Dafa practitioners are good people, and fellow practitioners will help each other out, contributing both money and effort.”
The firm’s manager said that whenever their lawyers held a client meeting, they remind the detained practitioners not to harbor resentment toward the police, as these participants were also coerced by the CCP. Some of the lawyers had seen Dafa information displayed at tourist attractions during overseas visits, and they knew that the CCP was not equal to China, the country. The manager promised to ensure the quality of the client meetings, and that they would provide the detained practitioners with sufficient legal support and emotional encouragement.
I deeply admired those practitioners who clarified the truth to the lawyers in the past.
We initially consulted several law firms. Most were willing to offer representation only on a flat-fee basis covering the entire process. Although they offered some discounts, the total amount remained difficult for Bai’s family to afford.
I suggested to Bai that since Ping would plead not guilty in court, an immediate family member could step in for the defense lawyer and appear in court as a “family defender.” This way, they could save the money that would have gone toward hiring a lawyer. We could learn about the litigation process and handle various departments ourselves. We could also register on justice-oriented forums to seek help from experts and follow the strategies shared there to oppose the persecution. We would figure things out as we went. With my encouragement, Bai felt highly motivated, and he was willing to try acting as a defender.
During the first lawyer’s visit we learned that when Ping arrived at the detention center, her physical and mental condition was extremely poor, and she even went into shock multiple times. Because she was slow at the forced labor work assigned to her, she was also ostracized and shunned by her cellmates and subjected to humiliating abuse.
We shared the details of this meeting on a justice forum and asked for a strategy to handle the situation. We soon received detailed and systematic responses and recommendations from other experienced practitioners. We knew we should take the rescuing process as an opportunity to clarify the truth to a larger range of public security, procuratorial, and judicial personnel who participated in the persecution. The result of the rescue effort would naturally emerge as we continuously strived for it throughout the legal proceedings and opposing the persecution.
I relayed the legal advice from the forum to Bai in easy to understand language. Bai agreed with it, and also gave his concern. Given his age and lack of litigation knowledge, he was unsure about what to say when dealing with the police, the procuratorate, and the court. I encouraged Bai, and suggested that we act as defense representatives for a family member and clarify the truth whenever we visited these departments.
Bai was simple and honest, and had few preconceived notions. After I reminded him that we should try to inspire those officers’ kindness and tell them to treat practitioners kindly, Bai wrote many exhortation letters, telling stories of how Ping benefited both physically and mentally from practicing Dafa. Having a belief and distributing truth-clarifying materials was not a crime, and advised those handling the case to follow their conscience while leaving themselves a way out. Every one of his letters was written with great neatness and care.
In the following six months, we prepared various types of exhortation letters as well as letters covering the true facts about Dafa. I accompanied Bai as we made the rounds to all the relevant departments, including the community office in the neighborhood where Ping lived, the local police station, the district public security bureau, the procuratorate, court, and the detention center. We talked to the community officers about the Tiananmen Square self-immolation hoax. We reported to the detention center where Ping was mistreated, and soon received a phone call response from the detention center, stating that they would “strengthen supervision and management and ensure that similar situations did not occur.” We tried to clarify the truth to the community police officers, sub-bureau police inspectors, director of the local Domestic Security Division, prosecutors, and judges. Some of them demonstrated kindness and sympathy.
It wasn’t always smooth sailing coordinating with Bai, partly due to differences in our experience on litigation and rescue efforts. I also tried to be more understanding of Bai’s difficulties and situation. While his family member was detained, he not only needed to let go of the attachment of family affection, but also proceed with full energy and determination to clarify the truth to various departments. I tried hard to make up for Bai’s shortcomings. Every step of the collaboration required careful consideration of many factors.
With no immediately apparent results, we had disagreements and even some resentment toward each other. The old forces took advantage of our loopholes. One day, when Bai went to the police station to clarify the truth, the director of the Domestic Security Division arbitrarily charged Bai with “disturbing public order” and imposed a penalty of 10 days of detention.
Just as Ping’s rescue was showing no signs of progress, Bai’s detention was a devastating blow to me. The terrified looks of Bai’s wife and daughter—both not Dafa practitioners—when they learned of his detention, kept flashing through my mind. I dared not look at Master’s portrait. The oppressive weight took my breath away. I sank into a state of despondency, consumed by negative self-reproach.
Fortunately, the local coordinator’s Fa study group provided tremendous support just in time. The practitioners spread the news of Bai’s illegal detention, and asked more practitioners to send righteous thoughts together. Meanwhile, the practitioners also communicated with Bai’s wife and daughter and suggested they go to the police station to demand Bai’s release. The next day, police notified Bai’s family that he would be released after 10 working days.
On May 14, a rare, beautiful rainbow appeared in the sky after the rain, and that very night, I had a vivid dream. At the end of a rainbow, Master’s Law Body appeared, turning a giant Falun (Law Wheel) in the air, similar to the scene at the end of a Shen Yun performance.
After waking up, I understood that Master was encouraging us, and also resolving the practitioners’ tribulations.
In the subsequent video hearing, Bai, acting as defense attorney for a family member, presented a well-reasoned and evidence-based defense for Ping’s innocence. Bai’s presence boosted Ping’s confidence. Ping appealed after the hearing. Through lawyer-client meetings, we often passed Master’s new lectures and poems to Ping, encouraging her to keep righteous thoughts and actions.
The practitioners who are involved in and concerned about rescuing Ping are also constantly reaching a consensus, that we practitioners are one body, and we are opposing the persecution together. Every day would be a day for Ping to come home.