Older Practitioner Mr. Shang Dexing Arrested While Shopping with His Grandson

Falun Gong practitioner Shang Dexing of Qingdao City was window shopping on the afternoon of May 3rd, 2010, with his seven-year-old grandson. His grandson gave someone a Falun Gong CD, the only CD he had at the time. Because of this, Mr. Shang was arrested by officers from the Zhonghanbianfang Police Station of Laoshan District, in Qingdao City. He was sent to Qingdao No. 2 Detention Centre on the afternoon of May 4th, and on June 9th, the Laoshan Division of the Qingdao Police Station officially approved the arrest. During that time, his family requested that the relevant authorities release him, but without success. They also hired two lawyers from Beijing.

Mr. Shang Dexing, 65, lives in the South District of Qingdao City. Before he practised Falun Gong, he had serious illnesses, including nodular vasculitis and gallstones. The doctor even wanted to perform an amputation on him because of his vasculitis. Since he started practising Falun Gong however, all of his illnesses have disappeared. He has been trying his best to be a good person and base his actions on "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance," the principles of Falun Gong. He always thinks of others first, which wins respect and affection from his relatives and friends.

During his detainment, his family went to the police station, requesting to see him. However, their request was turned down without any good reason. His family asked why the police officers didn't release Mr. Shang. The police hesitated to respond. Finally, the police gave a very absurd explanation. They said that Mr. Shang had been detained for three years in the labour camp due to his belief in Falun Gong. His family was very worried about Mr. Shang's health, since he was in his mid-sixties. Thus, they appealed to the police at various levels and hired two lawyers.

On June 21st, 2010, when the two lawyers were applying for a meeting with Mr. Shang at the Office of Legislative Affairs in the Laoshan Division of the Qingdao Police Station, staff at the office shifted responsibility to the Home Security Division. The Home Security Division then dismissed them, and asked them to talk to the Prejudication Office. In the Prejudication Office, the two lawyers turned in the authorisation letter from Tian Jinlan, Mr. Shang's wife. They also asked to meet Mr. Shang, the party concerned. However, a police officer whose last name is Xin refused to let them. His explanation was that Tian Jinlan practises Falun Gong, so she can't authorise the letter. He also threatened to arrest her. The lawyers argued that based on the law, the police could not deprive Tian Jinlan from her right to authorise lawyers to work on her husband's case. The police officer became speechless, so he had to make a concession that Mr. Shang's son could authorise the lawyers to work on the case. The police officer said that it was easy to apply again, but the lawyers replied that it was even easier for the police to obey the law.

Faced with the law, this officer didn't know what to say. So he asked his supervisor for instructions. They finally agreed that Tian Jinlan could be the person who authorised the lawyers to work on Mr. Shang's case. When the lawyers completed all the paperwork, they went to the detention centre to meet Mr. Shang, however they were denied again. They were sure that the detention centre had disobeyed the law by denying their effort to see Mr. Shang. Therefore, they handed in a letter to the Laoshan Division of the Qingdao Police Station, entitled, "Some thoughts on how to protect lawyers' rights granted by the law to meet the party concerned." In this letter, they argued that the police officers' denial of the lawyers' access to meet the party concerned was against the law. They called for the relevant authorities to correct the wrongdoings of the officers, and allow one lawyer to meet Mr. Shang. The detention centre subsequently allowed the lawyers to meet Mr. Shang. The lawyers further argued that Mr. Shang was almost seventy years old, and he could not move easily, and that Mr. Shang presented no potential harm to society, so he could be bailed out. The police agreed at first, but when bail was applied for, it was denied.

During the whole process, the lawyers have been doing things according to the law. They have been appealing to the police, since they want justice. On July 4th, they turned in an application to the Laoshan Division, to withdraw Mr. Shang's case. They argued that Mr. Shang was only shopping with his grandson, who handed a Falun Gong CD to someone, and it presented no harm to society at all. They asked the police to withdraw the charges against Mr. Shang for criminal offence. At this time, the case is still in negotiation.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2010/7/10/226763.html