By Dan Zhai

(Clearwisdom.net) After Hitler's demise, an international court martial convened in Nuremberg to try the Nazi war criminals. These war criminals hid behind the excuse of "the sacred duty of a soldier is to obey orders," hoping to escape being held accountable for the unforgivable crimes that they committed against mankind. Of course, none of these war criminals were able to escape their downfall, and this monumental trial set the precedent that so-called sacred duties and orders from superiors do not constitute valid reasons for committing crimes.

On March 14, 2002, sixteen Falun Gong practitioners held a peaceful sit-in hunger strike in an open area in front of Hong Kong's Chinese Liaison's Office. This legal appeal resulted in their violent arrest by the Hong Kong police. Nine of the practitioners suffered injuries, and they were denied medical attention for several hours. Astonishingly, the very police who knowingly violated the law then turned around and accused the Falun Gong practitioners of "obstructing traffic." Four of the practitioners were accused of "assaulting police." This trial began on June 17, 2002. On August 14, Magistrate Symon Wong followed the script and upheld all of the Hong Kong police's accusations, giving the verdict that the sixteen Falun Gong practitioners brought inconvenience to "the public" and fined them various amounts. Among those practitioners on trial were four Swiss citizens and one New Zealand citizen.

The police authorities accused the Falun Gong practitioners of "obstructing traffic," but laughably, outside of the policemen themselves, they could not find anyone, an "obstructed" pedestrian for example, who could serve as a witness to this charge. Even more telling is the video provided by the defense and the raw numbers. There is open space in front of the Hong Kong Chinese Liaison Office covering over 140 square meters, but the Falun Gong practitioners took up no more than seven square meters with their peaceful appeal. There is no way they could have obstructed the traffic, then whom did they bring an inconvenience to?

The Hong Kong police's accusation of "assaulting" police is even more of a blatant reversal of the truth. Aside from the fact that the police were in violation of the law to arrest the practitioners in the first place, it was precisely the police that used violence and acted deviously during the arrest. From the video footage, the police could be clearly seen pinching the practitioners' pressure points in the neck and head area, and forcefully twisting the practitioners' arms. One female police officer even went so far as to stand next to a female practitioner who had been contorted into a bundle by the police, and yell, "She's biting me!"

A few individual male police officers even acted against female practitioners. One female practitioner nearly fainted on the spot. During cross-examination, one Hong Kong policeman even admitted that their actions were intended to cause pain so that the practitioners would give in.

In the face of such clear evidence, the verdict should not have been difficult to reach. However, the presiding judge disregarded the protocol for ensuring a fair trial and ignored justice, repeatedly favoring the prosecution and trying to help the police find anything at all wrong about the Falun Gong practitioners. The judge repeatedly limited the defense attorney's questions as well as the defendants' testimony. When no fault could be found with the practitioners, the trial was extended repeatedly. A trial that normally should not exceed two weeks was extended to nearly two months, repeatedly giving the police time and opportunity to come up with anything against the practitioners, and hoping to wear down the Falun Gong practitioners financially with mounting legal fees. The judge even made personal attacks against the defense attorney twice, hoping to distract the defense. This is quite possibly the most outrageous behavior by a judge since courts were established in Hong Kong. Today, this judge's actions have shown him to be no different than his counterparts in Mainland China. They are all political tools being manipulated by Jiang. Just like courts in Mainland China, this so-called judgment was decided before the trial even began, and the proceedings themselves were just for show and to pay lip service to "One country, two systems." Now the façade has been ripped off and the truth is apparent -- innocent, good people are being persecuted, while Hong Kong's freedoms are dying away.

The ultimate reason for all of this was the directive of the Chinese Liaison Office, behind which was the wicked Jiang regime. Even the police admitted that they arrested the Falun Gong practitioners under pressure exerted by the Chinese Liaison Office. However, the evil's orders can never become the safety net for one's own wicked actions. Since Jiang's regime first suppressed Falun Gong three years ago, Falun Gong has been spread to more and more countries throughout the world, and more and more governments have given their support and respect. On the other hand, Jiang's evil regime is losing steam, showing fear at the sight of yellow or blue clothing (typical attire for Falun Gong practitioners conducting peaceful appeals) and the sight of palms being held upright. In order to avoid seeing the Falun Gong practitioners, Jiang even directed his underlings to apply diplomatic pressure and provide blacklists to the Icelandic government, hoping to prevent Falun Gong practitioners from entering Iceland. Little did he know that the people of Iceland would put on the yellow and blue clothing, learn the Falun Gong exercises, and send the same message to Jiang's gang. In the long run, how much longer can Jiang go on like this? To the policemen of Hong Kong who participated in falsely accusing the Falun Gong practitioners, and that judge who obediently framed the Falun Gong practitioners, have you thought about your futures after Jiang?

When that time comes, can you still argue that it was following orders from above? The Nazi war criminals could not escape using the excuse of "the sacred duty of a soldier is to obey orders," can your duties be used as a defense? We'd like to ask that female police officer who feigned being bitten, is your sacred duty to frame people? We'd like to ask those Hong Kong policemen giving false testimony during the trial, is lying a part of your sacred duties? We'd like to ask the judge who left a stain upon the Hong Kong court system, is tossing aside justice and the rule of law to persecute good people a part of your sacred duties?

Heavenly justice is boundless and no one is exempt. Your offenses against justice in the human world and divine beings in the heavens will all be recorded. In the face of heavenly judgment, you will have no excuses whatsoever!

Posting date: 8/16/2002
Original article date: 8/16/2002
Category: Open Forum
Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2002/8/15/34921.html

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