PASTOR JOHN CAO’S FIRST TESTIMONY AFTER RELEASE | PART 2: NEVER BOW DOWN TO AUTHORITY

Now, I’ve just returned. According to the sentence, I was released on March 4. Normally, the release would have to wait until 9:00 or 10:00 a.m. on March 4, when they go to work. But I had to return to Changsha from Kunming. I didn’t have an ID card, and I couldn’t take a plane and couldn’t take a train. The prison was quite thoughtful, although they didn’t return my letters to me, they were still quite humane with this. At midnight on the 4th, just ten minutes past zero, they processed my release and let me go. I didn’t even know how to get back to Changsha. They specially prepared a car, with four police officers taking turns driving continuously, and they drove me from Kunming to Changsha in one go. They took me to a subordinate agency of the Changsha Judicial Bureau, probably the Changsha Police Station, for a handover procedure.

I actually arrived in Changsha at 2:30 a.m. However, they were long-winded, and began to educate me again, “For five years, (they) will educate me regularly, educating me not to commit crimes again.”

I said, “Officer, thank you. But we need to clarify our position. I have not committed any crimes, so there is no need for you to educate me. We are good friends. If you want to come visit, anytime is fine, you are welcome to come as a guest. There is no need for education, I have not committed any crimes. My lawyer, my God (righteousness), will litigate for me.”

Although this lawsuit is meaningless, do they hold the power? We do not place our hope in secular power, but we still need to clarify our position because we have not committed any crimes, right?

I said, “You are welcome to come. You can come anytime as we are good friends. If you invite me, I can come too, but we have not committed any crimes between us.”

Wa State in Myanmar is very very poor. Brothers and sisters from all over the country have helped them. We teach Chinese and spread Chinese culture there. The drugs on that border, 100 percent of them come from over there, and when we were in Wa, we all advised them not to bring the drugs over here; the three men who were supervising me in the prison, they were all drug lords, they were all drug lords who were serving life sentences. What I do, what all Christians do, is to love the country, to love the people, to tell the Burmese not to bring drugs into our country.

We helped them establish drug rehabilitation centers and helped them build schools, all for free. And the people around me, especially in the detention center, eighty percent of them are involved in drugs, and the sentences for drug offenses are very heavy, all of them are life sentences. We are actually helping these people, so what crime are we committing? We have not committed any crimes, no matter from which angle you look at it. I told the officer this.

The officer said, “I only believe the judge. If the judge determines that you are guilty, then you are guilty.”

I said, “You can also think like that, I’m not saying you’re wrong. But, whether a person has committed a crime is actually determined by people from four aspects.”

First, the judge, does he think you are guilty? Will he sentence you?

Second, the defendant himself. Does he think he has committed a crime? In this Kunming prison, there is a man living next to me who was accused of murder. He said, “I didn’t kill anyone. There is a lot of evidence to prove that I didn’t kill anyone,” but the judge still sentenced him to life imprisonment. This man has been in prison for 26 years, and he has never admitted guilt. The prison told him, “As long as you admit guilt, we will release you,” but he didn’t admit guilt. This man’s name is He Xiuguang. In the end, he was released because the investigation found that he was innocent. He spent 26 years in prison, compared to my 7 years, so I say He Xiuguang is my role model . The defendant [Pastor Cao] and my lawyer do not think I have committed a crime.

Third, the public, that is, whether the jury believes I am guilty or not. In many countries, there is a jury, but we do not have a jury in our country, but the trial is open to the public, everyone can come and watch, which means it is a fair and open trial, this is what the law requires, fair, just, and open. I said, “In this world, probably only ten people think I am guilty, that is you few judges and police officers (laughs), the vast majority think I am innocent, this is a big jury.”

Fourth, it is the heavens, as the Chinese say, “Whatever people do, the heavens are watching.” Chinese people believe that the final judgment is from the “heavens,” the “heavens” that Chinese people refer to is not the weather. The “heavens” Chinese are referring to is the father, which refers to our Heavenly Father, ultimately the Heavenly Father is the one who determines whether a person is guilty or not.

There are four aspects to determine guilt or innocence, now only you few judges think I am guilty, I do not think I am guilty, my lawyer believes one hundred percent that I am innocent, and all the evidence proves “you [Pastor Cao] are innocent.” You know, my lawyer is from Fuzhou, he came all the way from Xiamen, Fujian, and when we were in court, he was not allowed to say a word, why did you even notify him to come? At least you could have saved us some money, why did you call him to come? Because there was a camera next to him? Did the defense lawyer come just for show? Not allowing the lawyer to speak a word, not allowing me to speak a word.

The lawyer said, “You are one hundred percent innocent.” All the evidence and witnesses say there is no guilt, isn’t that the case? But the police, the entire jury, the big jury, everyone, not just Christians, but also many non-Christians have written letters for me to prove my innocence. Our God also thinks I am innocent, as Christians, we must live up to God, and we must live up to the people. Amongst our brothers, we should also have a clear conscience towards each other, and we should be of one mind.

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PASTOR JOHN CAO’S FIRST TESTIMONY AFTER RELEASE | PART 1: PRAYERS THAT TRANSCENDS THE PRISON WALLS

PASTOR JOHN CAO’S FIRST TESTIMONY AFTER RELEASE | PART 2: NEVER BOW DOWN TO AUTHORITY

PASTOR JOHN CAO’S FIRST TESTIMONY AFTER RELEASE | PART 3: MORE WILLING TO BE BROKEN AND MOLDED