第二部：律师侠义 依法援救“海上皇宫”

[2] 2. A Lawyer Should Uphold Justice

[3] Amid such a one-sided public opinion environment and with the government having already taken drastic measures against the "Sea Palace," Lawyer Wang Tengfeng dared to publicly express dissenting views. This was both an act of defying the world and a challenge to authority. It was not a whim or an accident but a habitual action driven by his steadfast belief in "a lawyer should uphold justice," which he had maintained over nearly three decades of practice, and a natural expression of his chivalrous spirit as a lawyer.

[4] Born in 1963 into a cadre family in Tongling, Anhui, Wang Tengfeng was deeply influenced by his family's simple and upright atmosphere. His childhood coincided with the unprecedented ten-year turmoil, a special era marked by the absence of the rule of law, social disorder, and suppressed human rights. Countless injustices left a deep imprint on his young heart and planted the seed of his lifelong commitment to fighting for justice. As he grew older, he encountered figures like the impartial Judge Bao, the righteous Lu Xun, and the outspoken Shi Yang in books, inspiring him to become a lawyer who would speak up for justice and defend the wronged. In 1985, Wang Tengfeng began his legal career as a novice lawyer in his hometown of Tongling (Figures 62, 63). In the early 1990s, to adapt to the reform and opening-up and meet the demand for interdisciplinary legal talent in national economic construction, he resolutely took unpaid leave to pursue a second bachelor's degree in International Trade at Southeast University in Nanjing. After two years of "sharpening his sword," he earned a Bachelor of Economics, and with dual degrees in law and economics, he laid the foundation for his life and career direction. At this point, Wang Tengfeng's theoretical knowledge grew increasingly refined, his horizons broadened, and he reached a critical turning point. After careful consideration, he decided to leave his hometown again and head south to Shenzhen to carve out a new path. In midsummer 1995, he joined the surging tide of migrants heading to Shenzhen. Newly arrived and unfamiliar with the place, his situation was naturally extremely difficult, but it also ignited his ambition—if he could succeed in Tongling, he could do the same in Shenzhen with effort! Past achievements and glory were behind him; it was time to start anew. To quickly gain a foothold, while others enjoyed leisure, Wang Tengfeng communicated with clients; while others slept soundly, he delved into legal knowledge and analyzed typical cases. After years of hard work, combined with his solid legal foundation, innate exceptional insight, and talent, Wang Tengfeng quickly grew into a litigation lawyer embodying chivalrous righteousness, outstanding legal wisdom, extraordinary litigation talent, and masterful strategic acumen.

[5] Figure 62: Street view of Tongling, Anhui, in the late 1980s.

[6] Lawyer Wang Tengfeng has always believed that chivalrous spirit is the foundation of a litigation lawyer's existence. Without standing up for the rights of the weak or fighting against injustice, one cannot be a true litigation lawyer. In a lawyer's eyes, the "weak" should be broadly interpreted in line with modern rule-of-law principles. Undoubtedly, the most marginalized people in society are often the weak, and their rights deserve special attention from litigation lawyers. However, in the eyes of a litigation lawyer, even criminal suspects and defendants facing the death penalty for heinous crimes are "weak" before the powerful state legal machinery. Fighting for their rights, ensuring fair trials, and safeguarding procedural justice are the inescapable duties of litigation lawyers, even if misunderstood by the public, with no room for retreat. In the "Sea Palace" incident, Guo's artistic free-spiritedness, inventor's arrogance, and successful entrepreneur's wealth made him a target in a specific social atmosphere. His "Sea Palace" became a symbol of corrupt power-money deals. Amid the overwhelming public opinion that could melt metal and destroy bones, and under the irrational, law-breaking administrative actions of government departments, Guo and his Sea Palace Elite Entertainment Co., Ltd. were genuine "weak" parties. Bravely stepping forward to speak for them was a natural manifestation of a litigation lawyer's chivalrous spirit!

The chivalrous spirit of lawyer Wang Tengfeng was already fully evident in his early career in his hometown of Tongling, Anhui Province, in the 1980s. Let's take a moment to revisit the first criminal private prosecution case of insult and defamation he handled that gained national influence.

It was a day in April 1986. Xi, a female employee of the Post and Telecommunications Bureau in Tongling City, Anhui Province, came to the local judicial bureau's legal advisory office and tearfully recounted to lawyer Wang Tengfeng, who had only been in the profession for a year, her painful experience of having her personality and reputation long insulted and defamed by her colleague Pan. Xi and Pan were originally colleagues and had a mentor-apprentice relationship, initially getting along well. Unexpectedly, over time, Pan developed improper intentions toward the young and attractive Xi. After Xi noticed this, she felt disgusted and began to deliberately avoid and distance herself from Pan. Dissatisfied with this, Pan maliciously fabricated rumors that Xi had had ten illicit relationships with multiple people, including himself, to ruin Xi's reputation. To achieve his dishonorable desires, Pan also tracked Xi's whereabouts, harassing her over a long period. When Xi still refused to submit, Pan even posted big-character posters and repeatedly verbally abused and physically assaulted her in public. Xi suffered immense physical and mental trauma, felt life was unbearable, and eventually attempted suicide by poisoning, but was fortunately rescued in time. However, Xi's suicide attempt sparked much gossip among locals unaware of the truth, causing a very negative social impact.

Figure 63: Today's Tongling City, with Tianjing Lake Scenic Area, known as the "First Scenic Spot" of Tongling, in the foreground.

Extremely distressed Xi, with the comfort and support of her husband, finally emerged from the shadow of despair and turned to the law for help. However, Xi searched through the few lawyers in Tongling at the time, but none were willing to take on her criminal private prosecution case. Besides the difficulty of gathering evidence, the main reason was that Pan had considerable influence at work, being a mid-level cadre in the Post and Telecommunications Bureau, and even the bureau's leadership protected him, so lawyers were reluctant to provoke Pan, like poking a "hornet's nest." In this desperate situation, Xi approached the young lawyer Wang Tengfeng. After hearing Xi's tearful account, Wang Tengfeng stood up in righteous indignation and immediately accepted Xi's commission, filing a criminal private prosecution for insult and defamation in court.

However, as he began preparing the case, lawyer Wang Tengfeng soon encountered the unique challenge of gathering evidence in insult and defamation cases—a "roadblock." Especially in that era, high-tech recording and video equipment was unheard of, and Pan's infringing acts left no other physical or documentary evidence. The young, enterprising, and insightful lawyer Wang Tengfeng quickly realized that the evidence for this case could only rely on witness testimony and the parties' statements! But the probative value of human testimony was low, and convincing the judge with just one or two witnesses would be difficult. Mobilizing numerous employees from the defendant's unit to testify against their colleague was even more challenging.

Lawyer Wang Tengfeng was not intimidated by the difficulties. He first quietly worked on the mindset of some employees within the Post and Telecommunications Bureau. Although many initially adopted a "mind your own business" attitude and refused to testify against Pan's misconduct, inspired by Wang Tengfeng's chivalrous spirit of pursuing justice and never giving up, 11 employees of the bureau eventually agreed to Wang Tengfeng's request, driven by their conscience and disgust for Pan's wrongdoing. Subsequently, to achieve effective cross-examination and protect the witnesses' safety while addressing their personal concerns, Wang Tengfeng, after collecting written witness statements, brought some witnesses unwilling to testify in court before the presiding judge to verify the truthfulness of their statements face-to-face. Through these arduous efforts, lawyer Wang Tengfeng finally gathered a large amount of firsthand material, forming an interlocking chain of evidence, and based on this, developed a rigorous and complete representation opinion (Figures 64-67).

Figure 64: Handwritten "Statement of Representation" by Attorney Wang Tengfeng.

Figure 65: Handwritten "Statement of Representation" by Attorney Wang Tengfeng.

Figure 66: Handwritten "Statement of Representation" by Attorney Wang Tengfeng.

Figure 67: Handwritten "Statement of Representation" by Attorney Wang Tengfeng.

In court, facing the accusations of the private prosecutor Xi, Pan not only flatly denied them but also spread his hands and said smugly, "Accusing me of defamation? Wishful thinking!" When the judge questioned the defendant on what grounds he claimed the private prosecutor had an improper relationship, Pan retorted casually, "The world is full of wonders! Why can't it be true that she had a relationship with a man?" However, Attorney Wang Tengfeng then delivered the private prosecutor's statement, using "ironclad evidence" painstakingly gathered through meticulous investigation, combined with reasonable legal logic and empathetic psychological analysis, to expose Pan's deeply hidden, malicious subjective criminal intent. This was corroborated and linked with his overt objective actions, forming a seamless and irrefutable case. Seeing his dirty, shameful private desires laid bare before the public, Pan's facade crumbled, and his psychological defenses finally collapsed. His face flushed and paled, cold sweat poured down, and he hung his arrogant head in shame and dejection, clearly revealing his inner state of guilt.

But after coming to his senses, Pan realized that he was well-connected in the post and telecommunications bureau, favored by his superiors, and considered a notable figure. Even if someone accused him of defamation, he thought no one would dare testify in court. Pan began to ramble on with his sophistry, his arrogance flaring up again. However, Attorney Wang Tengfeng turned the tables, targeting the fabricated "facts" Pan used in his defense. He presented testimonies from over a dozen witnesses and other evidence, using rigorous logical reasoning and precise psychological analysis to refute Pan completely, shattering his outwardly strong but inwardly weak psychological defenses. In the end, Pan had no choice but to obediently accept the court proceedings and was forced to confess the basic facts of his criminal offense. After careful and thorough trial and deliberation, considering Pan's subjective refusal to admit guilt, the court of first instance ultimately sentenced him to one year in prison (Figures 68-70).

Upon learning that he was sentenced to one year in prison, that his "position" in the post office would be given to someone else, and that his status as a public official would be lost, Pan refused to plead guilty and appealed. His family hired a well-known local senior lawyer to defend him in the second instance. However, facts are facts. All the "efforts" of Pan and his family failed, and the local famous lawyer's defense for Pan in the second instance was defeated by the fearless young lawyer Wang Tengfeng. The Intermediate People's Court lawfully rejected Pan's appeal and upheld the original verdict.

In the late 1980s, when the legal system was far from perfect and people's awareness of law and rights was just emerging in Tongling City, a young lawyer with no power or influence dared to break through numerous obstacles and take great risks to send a mid-level post office cadre, who was highly favored by leaders, to prison. This caused a sensation in the then relatively closed Tongling City, spreading by word of mouth among the public, and its social significance far exceeded the case itself. This successful criminal private prosecution for defamation was considered a typical case nationwide at the time. As a result, national media such as the People's Daily and China National Radio reported on it (Figure 71). After Xi's unfortunate experience and legal rights protection story were disclosed by the media, many sympathizers and supporters from all over the country called and wrote to Xi, sending endless care and comfort like snowflakes. Xi thus emerged from the shadows, and his family lived with dignity and pride, becoming close friends with the courageous and righteous lawyer Wang Tengfeng.

Figure 68: The first page of the Criminal Judgment issued by the Tongguanshan District People's Court of Tongling City on October 31, 1986.

Figure 69: The second page of the Criminal Judgment issued by the Tongguanshan District People's Court of Tongling City on October 31, 1986.

Figure 70: The third page of the Criminal Judgment issued by the Tongguanshan District People's Court of Tongling City on October 31, 1986.

Figure 71: A newspaper clipping reporting on the case.

　　(待续)