Former Professor in the Development Research Institution of the University of Geneva (Universit' de Gen've)
Jiang Zemin and his associates first launched their persecution of Falun Gong on July 22, 1999, and they have intensified it steadily ever since. Claiming that Falun Gong did not register properly according to regulations, the Civil Administrations Bureau of China arbitrarily prohibited the group, citing a variety of trumped up charges such as "superstition, deceiving people, and endangering the stability of society."
The decision to prohibit Falun Gong was made without any legal procedures or public auditing, so the decision itself violated Article 18 in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which China had endorsed. It also violated the principle of not undermining or discriminating against religions or assemblies by any means.
Later the prohibition developed into a crackdown. Based on official news estimates, the Chinese government has arrested and detained more than 50,000 Falun Gong practitioners. The government has brutally and inhumanely persecuted these practitioners, with the treatment towards female practitioners being especially gruesome. Without a time limit and without any administrative or legal procedures, the government has imprisoned these people in jails, detention centers, and labor camps. The trials of leading practitioners were not fair, nor did they follow internationally accepted standards. These practitioners were even deprived of their right to appoint a lawyer. Millions of copies of Falun Gong books, audio tapes, and videotapes were confiscated and destroyed. Extensive punitive measures were imposed on Falun Gong practitioners, causing them to lose jobs, housing, and/or their right to get an education. The punishment of Falun Gong practitioners working in government agencies was even harsher.
At the end of October, 1999, in order to pacify discontent over the inappropriate treatment of Falun Gong practitioners, the National People's Congress passed a law for obstructing and criticizing religious activities. The vote was 114 for, 0 against, and 2 abstentions. So the government and the media were given a new and powerful tool with which to persecute spiritual groups, especially Falun Gong.
Why did Jiang Zemin and his accomplices get so worried about a spiritual movement? The fact is that Jiang and his associates were feeling very insecure. Recently there have been various kinds of demonstrations due to economic instability or the crackdown against Falun Gong. Jiang Zemin and his associates take such events as threats even when the demonstrations are made up of students, unemployed workers, or drifting farmers.
Incorporating principles from Buddhism and Taoism with Qigong, Falun Gong developed rapidly among the masses. The widespread practice filled the spiritual emptiness that existed under the corrupt dictatorship in China. Falun Gong is based on "Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance," and Falun Gong practitioners try to assimilate to these fundamental principles of the universe.
From the beginning, Falun Gong practitioners have steadfastly persisted in non-violent, passive resistance to protest against the crackdown by the Chinese government.
March 13, 2001
