FDI: Jiang Zemin's Personal Crusade: (Part I)
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here "Jiang's efforts to downplay criticism for his handling
of Falun Gong and stifle support for the practice in other countries looms large
on his foreign relations agenda. In fact, it dominates that agenda on many
fronts." -- Dr. Shiyu Zhou, Professor at Rutgers University "Jiang has mobilized a Mao-era mass movement against [Falun
Gong...] Yet, the most severe criticism leveled at Jiang's handling of the Falun
Gong is that he seems to be using the mass movement to promote allegiance to
himself." -- Excerpt from a July, 2000 article by CNN's Senior China
Analyst, Willy Wo-Lap Lam Table of Contents Section I: Who is Jiang Zemin? Section II: Why Jiang Zemin Launched the Persecution Against
Falun Gong Section III: The "6-10" Office and Jiang's Disregard
for Rule of Law in China Section IV: Jiang Mobilizes China's Security Apparatus Section V: Falun Gong Issue Permeates Jiang's Foreign Relations
Agenda We wish to thank Amnesty International, the Committee to
Protect Journalists, the Wall Street Journal's Ian Johnson and many
others whose work has been instrumental in revealing the true nature of Jiang
Zemin's dictatorial regime, and the devastating effects it has on Falun Gong
practitioners as well as all Chinese people. We also wish to thank the Falun
Dafa Information Center volunteers in Washington D.C., New York, Chicago,
Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles and other cities for their time, diligence
and care in assembling this report. Most of all, we offer our deepest respects to those in China
who -- in the face of imprisonment, torture and even death -- continue to
peacefully appeal for the freedoms of speech, assembly and belief in China. The Information presented in this report was gathered by a
team of Falun Dafa Information Center researchers and writers. Some excerpts
were taken from reports issued by The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post,
CNN, and The New York Times. Report Authors: Mr. Tao Wang, Washington DC Mr. Levi Browde, New York City Mr. Jason Loftus, Toronto, Canada Report Editors: Dr. Shiyu Zhou, Philadelphia, PA Mr. Stephen Gregory, Chicago, IL What is Falun Gong? FALUN GONG (also called Falun Dafa) is an ancient form of qigong,
the practice of refining the body and mind through slow-moving exercises and
meditation. Many have come to call qigong, "Chinese Yoga." Like
yoga and tai chi, qigong is a vital part of many people's lives in
Asia; almost every Chinese park is brimming by the break of dawn with people
practicing these arts. Yet Falun Dafa is different from most other qigong
practices in that it goes beyond the pursuit of health and fitness to the goal
of wisdom and returning to one's original, altruistic nature. At the heart of
the practice are three principles: Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance.
Through a combination of studying the books of Falun Dafa and performing the
exercises, practitioners strive to become better people by embodying these
principles in everything they do. The Evolution of Falun Dafa Falun Dafa was introduced to the public in May of 1992, when
Mr. Li Hongzhi gave his first lecture in Changchun City, China. Soon afterwards
he traveled with several students to the Oriental Health Expo in Beijing where
Falun Dafa earned several awards, prompting organizers to invite Mr. Li to give
several impromptu lectures on the principles of Falun Dafa. During the following two and a half years, Mr. Li lectured on
invitation in almost every major Chinese city, giving fifty-four lecture series
in all. All instruction at that time was overseen by the Chinese government's
top qigong organization, the China Qigong Scientific Research Society. Although Mr. Li gave his last lecture series at the end of
1994, the practice continued to grow from 1995 to 1999 at an explosive rate.
During those years, the practice was passed on by word of mouth and free of
charge, and volunteers organized practice sites. Since 1995, Mr. Li Hongzhi has traveled to countries around
the world to lecture on Falun Dafa and discuss the practice with students. All
lectures have been free and open to the general public. By the middle of 1999,
Falun Dafa was practiced in over 40 countries around the world
[1] . The Persecution of Falun Dafa in China Many Chinese leaders, including Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji
and the Director of China's Sports Commission, Mr. Wu Shaozu, applauded the
health benefits the practice brought to the nation.
[2] Communist Party head, Jiang Zemin, however, grew
fearful of such a large number of people and -- believing that the peaceful
nature of Falun Gong made for an easy target -- banned the practice in 1999.
Failing to "eradicate Falun Gong in three months
[3] ," as Jiang had proclaimed, Jiang has intensified
the propaganda campaign to turn public opinion against the practice while
quietly imprisoning, torturing and even murdering those who practice it. China experts point to the systematic campaign Jiang has
carried out against Falun Gong, saying it also demonstrates an ulterior motive:
In a Feb. 9, 2001 article, CNN's Senior China Analyst, Willy Wo-Lap Lam, quotes
a senior Chinese Party member as saying, "By unleashing a Mao-style
movement [against Falun Gong], Jiang is forcing senior cadres to pledge
allegiance to his line...This will boost Jiang's authority:" By painting
Falun Gong as an enemy of the state, Jiang hopes to mobilize the nation into a
struggle with himself at the helm, and thereby consolidate power. As of October 14, 2002, the Falun Dafa Information Center has
verified details of 493 deaths [4] since
the persecution of Falun Gong in China began in 1999. In October 2001,
government sources inside China, reported that the actual death toll was well
over 1,600. On October 14, 2001, the confirmed death toll was 323. If the actual
death toll shows the same increase as the confirmed death toll has, then we
would expect the true death toll today to be well over 2,500. Due to extreme
difficulty in discovering and verifying information in China related to wrongful
deaths, this higher figure also likely understates the true death toll. For
instance, in March of this year police from several provinces poured into the
city of Changchun and placed a several weeks long siege on the city. Residents
reported dozens, if not over one hundred, practitioners were killed. In this
chaos, little detailed information about these deaths could be gathered by the
Falun Dafa Information Center "Intensifying the Campaign Overseas" Soon after Jiang Zemin began persecuting Falun Gong in China,
the international community reacted, condemning Jiang's actions. On November 18,
1999, the United States Congress passed joint resolutions (House and Senate),
condemning the persecution. The Wall Street Journal's Ian Johnson
began authoring a series of articles exposing the atrocities committed against
people who practice Falun Gong in China that would later win him the Pulitzer
Prize for International Reporting. U.S. governors, mayors and state legislators
began issuing proclamations of support and encouragement to people who practice
and/or support Falun Gong throughout the U.S. This response by the international community put pressure on
Jiang to end his anti-Falun Gong campaign. Jiang, however, responded by issuing
a directive: "intensifying the campaign overseas." [5]
Thus, Chinese Embassies and Consulates around the world began
escalating efforts outside China to stamp out support for Falun Gong, to disrupt
Falun Gong activities, and to try to get them banned. For the past three years, Chinese Embassy and Consulate
officials have worked to slander and persecute Falun Gong here in the United
States, and in other countries around the world. Jiang wishes to nullify any criticism of his handling of
Falun Gong.?He also wishes to maintain absolute control over what Chinese
citizens hear and see about Falun Gong. Most mainland Chinese only know what the
state-run media report. Nevertheless, the more positive support Falun Gong
receives overseas, the more difficult it becomes to hide this support from the
people of China. "Jiang has mobilized a Mao-era mass movement against [Falun
Gong...] Yet, the most severe criticism leveled at Jiang's handling of the Falun
Gong is that he seems to be using the mass movement to promote allegiance to
himself." -- Excerpt from a July, 2000 article by CNN's Senior China
Analyst, Willy Wo-Lap Lam Who is Jiang Zemin? Jiang Zemin came to power in the wake of the Tiananmen Square
Massacre. Hard-liners within the Communist Party had been impressed with his
willingness to toe the Partly line, and so appointed him to the nation's top
post on June 24, 1989. During Jiang's leadership, he implemented a wide-scale system
of giving lavish economic benefits to would-be supporters in order to
consolidate a power base in the Party. As Jiang continued extending wealth and
benefits to his circle of influence, however, many of the nation's problems were
left unattended. Why Jiang Persecutes Falun Gong? Jiang believed that the explosive spread of Falun Gong
throughout the country in the later half of the 1990's posed both a threat and
an opportunity. Falun Gong was a threat, he felt, because there were so many
people practicing, and because Falun Gong was rooted in traditional Chinese
culture and values -- something the Communist Party had spent years trying to
eradicate from the country. Yet, for Jiang, Falun Gong also posed an opportunity. With the endemic problems of corruption, unemployment and
poverty, the pressure on Jiang was increasing. Thus, to consume the nation in a
political campaign against a "public enemy" would not only divert
attention away from Jiang, but also provide the circumstances necessary to force
rivals within the Party to toe his line, thereby consolidating his power within
the Party. Thus, on the evening of July 20, 1999, Jiang unleashed a
nationwide persecution campaign against the peaceful practice, and has, since
that time, continually escalated the campaign both in severity and scope. A Nation's Security Apparatus in Turmoil To implement the persecution, on June 10, 1999, Jiang
established a "6-10 Office" -- an illegal, above-the-law entity
reporting directly to the Politburo, and with jurisdiction over the entire
country. Utilizing a top-down, by-any-means-necessary approach, Jiang
has whipped the nation's security apparatus into a frenzied system of bribery,
extortion and systematic torture. Those who carry out the persecution of Falun
Gong practitioners are, themselves, victims who are often forced into a choice
between their moral conscience and their job, their sense of duty to the people
and their livelihood. It is a system that has transformed regular Chinese cities
and towns into "death traps," where "local police regularly
torture residents to death," as reported in the Pulitzer-Prize winning
series of articles by the Wall Street Journal's Ian Johnson. The Cover Up Contrary to Jiang's perception that the peaceful nature of
Falun Gong made for an easy target, Falun Gong has responded with unwavering
peaceful appeal, determined to retain the rights to freedom of speech, assembly
and belief enshrined in China's own constitution. Thus, Jiang's campaign to
"crush Falun Gong in three months" has failed, and the campaign --
now in its fourth year -- brings an ever-increasing stream of criticism from
the international community. Requiring the leverage of good international
relations to build up a power base at home, Jiang has gone to great lengths to
stifle this criticism, thrusting the Falun Gong issue to the forefront of his
agenda when dealing with other nations. Indeed, coercing other nations to ignore his handling of
Falun Gong in China, while at the same time stifling support for the practice
overseas, has become a focal point for every trip Jiang has made overseas since
1999. Section I: Who is Jiang Zemin? As head of the Chinese Communist Party, Chinese Army, and the
Chinese Government in a nation of more than 1.3 billion people, Jiang Zemin is
perhaps one of the world's most powerful leaders.?However, most know very
little about Jiang, his rise to power and his policies as chief of the Communist
regime in China. Jiang can be said to be the biggest beneficiary of the June 4th
student massacre in Tiananmen Square.?Following the massacre, Secretary
General Zhao Ziyang was ousted and Jiang was appointed to the top position. From Technical Staff all the way to Mayor of Shanghai During the first four decades after the Chinese Communist
Party came to power, Jiang Zemin had risen steadily from his beginning as a
lowly technical staff member. Acquaintances of Jiang in his early days comment
that he did not possess a driving philosophy or ideology, as had his
predecessors Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping. Instead, Jiang had an instinct for
deftly landing on the advantageous side of the tumultuous political campaigns
that swept through the Communist Party over several decades. During the Cultural Revolution in China, most officials who
held "traditional" values were demoted or stripped of their posts.
Jiang managed to escape unscathed.?By the 1980's, Jiang was Mayor of
Shanghai, China's largest City. Jiang Zemin and the Student Massacre of 1989 In 1989, after a decade of economic reform and opening up,
many in China had begun to appreciate western ideals of freedom and democracy. A
Shanghai newspaper, World Economic Daily, became highly popular for its
willingness to publish content considered too controversial for most of the
state-run press.?In the spring of 1989, Jiang publicly expressed his
support of the paper and told the editor, Qin Benli, that the Shanghai municipal
committee would work to reduce pressure on the World Economic Daily. One month later, the World Economic Daily held a
memorial service for a deceased party member who had sought political reform.
The gathering drew a lot of students. Chinese leaders such as Deng Xiaoping,
although not opposed to the idea of economic reform, still believed in the
absolute power of the Party.?On April 26, therefore, the front-page
headline in the state-run People's Daily labeled the large student
presence a "riot." Jiang acted quickly. Almost immediately, he convened a meeting with thousands of
government officials. He announced that Qin Benli would be stripped of his post
and the World Economic Daily shut down. The decision drew large protests
but impressed Communist Party hard-liners in Beijing. Less then two weeks later,
hundreds of students were massacred in Tiananmen Square. Zhao Ziyang, who seemed
sympathetic to the students, was ousted from his post as Secretary General and
Jiang was thrust into his place. Jiang Consolidates Power: Promotions, Bribes, and Corruption Although Jiang Zemin assumed the post of Secretary General in
the wake of the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989, former Chinese leader Deng
Xiaoping, who had appointed Jiang, continued to hold the reins of power. When
Deng Xiaoping passed away in 1997, however, Jiang Zemin found himself not only
the head of the Chinese Communist Party, but President as well; he was at the
absolute top of the political ladder. But Unlike Mao Zedong, who founded the
People's Republic of China, or Deng Xiaoping, who led China to prosperity and
strength, Jiang Zemin was widely regarded as someone who had accomplished little
as the nation's leader. Jiang knew his position was far from secure and
immediately took action to consolidate his power. The Chinese people, after enduring 30 years of poverty and
isolation from the world under Mao, and then having enjoyed a taste of economic
reform and improved living standards under Deng, were terrified of being poor
again. Jiang Zemin took advantage of this fear. If Jiang could not gain the respect of the Party elite, he
could refashion the elite, making it dependent on him for wealth and privilege.
On October 24, 1997, six months after Deng died, Jiang Zemin appointed 152 new
generals. In the previous 10 years, Deng Xiaoping had only appointed 16 new
generals. Jiang also allowed certain favored groups of people such as veterans
of the Party, army, local government officials, intellectuals, and some
businessmen to gain great material benefits through their connections with the
state. This deliberate indulgence of corruption caused chaos in the social and
economic systems by seriously eroding the morality of the ruling class. Editorials in the state-run media raised Jiang's campaign of
self-promotion to a national virtue, "We should always rally around
Chairman Jiang, and adopt his views." The recent campaign that urges the
Chinese people to "learn Jiang's Three Represent's deeply and apply them
everywhere" is simply another version of this same theme. Those not eager to adopt the view that Jiang's welfare should
be the principle of China's politics have faced consequences.?Hong Kong's Zheng
Ming magazine reported that 157 veteran generals were forced into early
retirement in 2001 because they were not enthusiastic about Jiang's
self-promotion campaign.?50 of these generals were forced to leave the
army entirely. Section II: Why Jiang Zemin Launched the
Persecution Against Falun Gong "Originally, many China watchers believed the number of
people practicing Falun Gong -- 70-100 million by the Chinese government's own
estimate in 1998 -- was viewed as a threat by Communist Party leader, Jiang
Zemin. Over the last three years, however, much information has been brought to
light suggesting that Jiang's obsession with "eradicating" Falun Gong
is more deeply rooted in the personal fears and ambitions of Jiang himself. For
Jiang, it is a personal crusade, and one upon which he has banked his entire
political career." -- Dr. Yingnian Wu, UCLA 70-100 Million People -- A Growing Concern? Having significant health benefits and being something rooted
in traditional Chinese culture, the practice of Falun Dafa flourished in China
after its public introduction in 1992. Between 1995 -- 1999, the practice grew
at an explosive rate. A 1998 survey by the Chinese government determined that 70
million people were practicing Falun Dafa.
[6] In China's tightly controlled Communist society, no groups
have been allowed to be independent of government authorization and oversight,
let alone such a huge group. Many China watchers believe the size alone of Falun
Gong put Chinese officials on guard. But the government did not reflexively try
to smash Falun Gong. It twice investigated Falun Gong thoroughly. According to
sources familiar with the investigation, included in the findings from the
second investigation was the conclusion that Falun Gong is beneficial to health,
benign in nature and non-threatening to the government. Thus, while the
explosive growth of Falun Gong throughout the country clearly made some
officials concerned, this factor alone did not act as a catalyst for the
persecution that began in July 1999. Jiang's Circle of Corruption Breeds Growing Troubles in China In 1998, some Chinese officials estimated that 10% of the
Gross National product was embezzled by corrupt government officials. Premier
Zhu Rongji is reported to have once said in a government meeting, "Every
year, 80% of the military-owned enterprises' capital and income are embezzled by
the senior and mid-level military cadres." While the social and economic wealth of the country was
bestowed upon a privileged few, the common people suffered tremendous loss.
According to the book China by the Yellow River, within the first five
years of Jiang Zemin's rule, China developed the highest unemployment rate, the
largest scale of ecological damage, and the widest gap between the rich and poor
in the world. Robbery rates are the highest in the world. The violent murder
rate in Chinese cities is ranked No. 5. The rate of drug smuggling cases is No.
3, and illegal gambling is No. 1. Thus, with corruption and domestic problems in China
exploding, many began placing the blame on Jiang Zemin. Jiang Views Falun Gong as a Threat from Two Angles With a 5,000-year history, the Chinese civilization and
culture is arguably the oldest in the world. Since the Communist Party came to power in 1949, political
movements aimed at eradicating traditional culture have devastated the country.
These political campaigns attempt to cut all ties with the traditions and
culture of China, so as to leave only the Communist ideology in the hearts and
minds of the people. Chairman Mao's disastrous Great Cultural Revolution in the
late 1960's and early 1970's was the most extreme expression of this tendency.
Traditional temples and monasteries were destroyed. Great teachers of the past,
such as Confucius and Lao Tzu were condemned and ridiculed. Scholars and
historians were persecuted. Throughout China's history, the art of 'qigong,'
sometimes referred to as Chinese Yoga, has been a centerpiece of Chinese
culture. As an advanced form of 'qigong,' Falun Gong grows out of this
rich tradition, bearing the wisdom and spirit of traditional Chinese culture.
Thus, with the rise in popularity of Falun Gong in the early 1990's, China was
not just witnessing the growth of a qigong practice, but a resurgence of
traditional Chinese culture. Unlike the great majority of the qigong practices that
emerged in the early 1970s, Falun Gong goes beyond the pursuit of physical
health and fitness to the goal of wisdom and returning to one's original,
altruistic nature. At the heart of the practice are three principles: Truthfulness,
Compassion, and Forbearance. To practice Falun Gong does not simply
mean to perform the exercises and do the meditation. It involves truly taking
the principles to heart, striving to improve oneself by embodying these
principles in everything one does. As the practice flourished throughout the country, the people
of China could see how people who practice Falun Gong handled difficulty and
conflict with balance and calm, looking out for the welfare of others in all
situations. In the principles of Falun Gong and the degree to which
people stood by them Jiang saw a threat to his manner of rule. He could see that
those who practice Falun Gong represented a group of people virtually
untouchable by his methods of bribery, corruption, and lavish benefits. Still, Jiang also saw in the Party's long-standing opposition
to traditional Chinese culture something he could utilize for political gain. April 25th, 1999 -- The "Zhongnanhai
Incident" As a highly visible event and one that was unprecedented in
post-Tiananmen Square Massacre Beijing, the gathering of 10,000 practitioners of
Falun Gong around the central government compound in China's capitol on April
25, 1999 was viewed by many as the key turning point in Jiang's stance on Falun
Gong. Actually, the events of April 25 proved to be a major turning
point in how Jiang proceeded with the persecution of Falun Gong, but they were
not a turning point in his stance on Falun Gong itself. From the first written
attacks that began to appear in state-run newspapers in June 1996 to the
mobilization of police and use of violence in Tianjin in April 1999, the
persecution of Falun Gong had steadily developed and escalated over a period of
three or four years. The "Zhongnanhai Incident" provided Jiang with an
opportunity to escalate the persecution of Falun Gong into a systematic, highly
public, nation-wide effort, but judging from the attacks on the practice dating
back to 1996, Jiang had decided years before to eradicate the spiritual
practice. Conclusion -- Jiang Takes Aim at Falun Gong, Hoping to "Kill Two Birds
with One Stone" In July 1999, with the excuse of the Zhongnanhai Incident,
Jiang took aim at Falun Gong, unleashing a "Mao-era mass movement"
against the spiritual practice. [7] In seeking to "eradicate Falun Gong," Jiang hoped
to erase a perceived threat, and in doing so to divert the people's anger over
the state of the nation away from himself. He hoped to build up Falun Gong as a
"public enemy" and a "menace to society."?Then, by
mobilizing a political campaign with himself at the helm, Jiang could present
himself as the nation's "defender." If the people rallied behind Jiang,
even Jiang's rivals in the Party would be forced to step in line behind him. Thus, Jiang sought to kill two birds with one stone -- he
would eradicate a group he perceived to be a threat, and in doing so consolidate
his political power. Section III: The "6-10" Office and
Jiang's Disregard for Rule of Law in China "[The persecution of Falun Gong] violates the
Constitution of the People's Republic of China [...] Jiang Zemin's regime has
created notorious government '610' offices throughout the People's Republic of
China with the special task of overseeing the persecution of Falun Gong members
through organized brainwashing, torture, and murder [...] Official measures have
been taken to conceal all atrocities, such as the immediate cremation of
victims, the blocking of autopsies, and the false labeling of deaths as from
suicide or natural causes" -- U.S. House Resolution No. 188 passed unanimously by a 420-0
vote on July 24, 2002 Jiang's persecution of Falun Gong has not only taken place
outside of China's law, it has given birth to an extra-constitutional,
extra-judicial office that has no meaningful restraint beyond Jiang's will --
the "6-10 Office." The term "6-10 Office" is an alias for the
"Supervising team in charge of the dealing with Falun Gong." It is
described by human rights advocates as the central control structure for the
state terror employed against Falun Gong practitioners in China today. On June 7, 1999, Jiang Zemin gave a speech at a Politburo
meeting, where he fully laid out his policy of oppression against Falun Gong
calling for the "Handling and Resolving of the 'Falun Gong' Issue Without
Delay." He ordered his subordinates to establish a "leadership group
that will specialize in handling the 'Falun Gong' issue," On June 10, 1999,
under Jiang's direct orders, the Chinese Party Central Committee officially set
up an office for the "leadership group" and named it the "6-10
Office." In this meeting Jiang further specified that "the
Central Committee and government units in all ministries and commissions, and
all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central
Government need to act in close coordination" with the '6-10 Office.'"
The "6-10" became a well-organized and independent system reaching
from the Central Government to the local governments, having power over each
level of administration in the Party, as well as over the political and
judiciary branches. It is the highest authority deployed by Jiang Zemin and his
accomplices to specifically persecute Falun Gong. The "6-10" office is the embodiment of arbitrary
power.?It has been employed by Jiang on the basis of a legal foundation no
less arbitrary. In July 1999 Jiang Zemin, through the Bureau of Civil Affairs
(an Administrative branch), declared Falun Gong to be an illegal organization.
According to Articles 2, 80, and 81 of the Constitution of the People's Republic
of China, only the National People's Congress has the ability to declare an
organization illegal. The President does not possess such power. Yet, this
executive order initiated the widespread crackdown against Falun Gong. In October 1999, the National People's Congress passed a
series of laws targeting "evil cults." Regarding these laws, a
November 2, 1999, article from the Washington Post stated: "When
[China's Communist leaders] found themselves without the laws they need to
rigorously persecute a peaceful meditation society, the Party simply ordered up
some new laws. Now these will be applied -- retroactively." These laws
were dictated by Jiang Zemin, using the National People's Congress merely as a
rubber stamp. Doing so oversteps the authority granted to the President by the
Chinese constitution.?Applying these laws retroactively to prosecute Falun
Gong practitioners and sentence them to prison terms was also an illegal action. In the past three years, the "6-10 Office" has
orchestrated the persecution of Falun Gong and its practitioners. It has coerced
every Political and Judiciary branch and all levels of government into
implementing secret orders issued by Jiang Zemin--"Discredit Falun Gong.
Cut off any financial resources to Falun Gong. Physically destroy Falun Gong
practitioners." Labor camps, detention centers under the local civil
administration and the public security bureau, administrative lockup houses,
drug rehabilitation centers, and prostitute reeducation facilities have all
become tools for the "6-10" to illegally detain and torture and kill
Falun Gong practitioners. The "610 Office" is responsible for hundreds of
thousands of cases of defamation, extortion, expulsion (from school and jobs),
beatings, torture (medieval and modern), rape, mutilation, sodomy, forced
abortions, electrocution, arbitrary detention, false imprisonment, torture,
sexual and psychiatric abuse, disappearance, and murder. As of October 22, 2002, more than 500 practitioners have been
illegally sentenced to prison terms. Thousands have been sent to mental
hospitals. Hundreds of thousands have been forcefully arrested, detained or sent
to labor camps without any legal proceedings. The practitioners are forcefully
separated from their spouses and children, and their friends and relatives are
also punished. Section IV: Jiang Mobilizes China's Security
Apparatus "Under intense pressure to stem the flow of protesters
heading to Beijing, Weifang officials stationed police in Beijing, ran their own
prison there and sent detainees to 'transformation centers' back home where they
were beaten until they renounced their faith, or died. The ferocity of police in
these centers only increased after higher-level officials started fining their
subordinates." -- The Wall Street Journal, December 26, 2000 His name cannot be disclosed as it would bring him certain
imprisonment and torture at the hands of his fellow policemen, nor his rank and
badge number verified, but his story -- corroborated by an article written by The
Wall Street Journal's Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Ian Johnson in
December, 2000 -- reveals a shocking system of bribery and extortion at work
among the police officers and security personnel in Beijing that offers
financial incentives to torture Falun Gong practitioners detained in the capitol
city. Since 1999, leading human rights agencies have reported the
systematic torture and killing of Falun Gong practitioners in virtually every
region of China. What is less understood, however, is how Jiang Zemin has been
able to enlist on a wide-scale the police and security forces throughout the
country in such an endeavor. Pressure "From Above" Gives Free Reign to Prevent Falun Gong
Appeals In order to implement the persecution from the top down,
Jiang and his supporters have used pressure to recruit the support of policemen
and officials at every level. As a result, many officers comply to avoid being
persecuted themselves, which could take the form of being fired from their jobs,
harassed or even thrown into labor camps. Since Jiang Zemin made the persecution of Falun Gong
practitioners a top priority in 1999, the Central Government has held every
region directly responsible for stifling public appeals for Falun Gong from
their respective provinces. According to Officer Zhao, if a specified threshold
is surpassed, the local officials will be criticized by their superiors and
forced to write "self-criticism" statements, and often face financial
penalties or other punishments. Local officials, in turn, implement the same method to
further shift the responsibility down to the cities and towns, and finally to
the police stations, police chiefs and policemen who administer the torture.
According to Officer Zhao, this system of local suppression, known as the
"first hand project," is usually headed by the chair of the Political
and Legal Committee in each locality. In his article from December 12, 2000, Ian Johnson of The
Wall Street Journal states that this system "puts huge pressure on
local officials to comply with central edicts - but gives them absolute
discretion over implementation," which often means brutal torture. Johnson
reported that in Weifang, like many other cities, this policy led to
"tragic decisions," and that the cruelty of the police "only
increased after higher-level officials started fining their subordinates for
each protester who arrived in the capital." Officials Resort to Bribery to Avoid Punishment "From Above" When a practitioner is indeed arrested in Beijing, the first
task that faces the Beijing police is discerning which region that person is
from. The policemen then need to report to the "610 Office" how many
practitioners have been arrested from each region. "In order to have the practitioners' appeals not be
recorded so as to not tarnish the image of the local people in charge of
suppressing Falun Gong," Officer Zhao reveals, "the Tiananmen police
station [personnel] who persecute Falun Gong practitioners, from the patrolling
police to the department chief, are the target of bribing by the regional or
local governments. The prices for obtaining the record of one practitioner range
from 200 to 500 RMB or even higher." According to Officer Zhao, perhaps as few as one in ten
practitioners arrested at Tiananmen Square is reported. This reason may account
for some of the numerous cases of missing people, as well as for the discrepancy
between the accounts of Tiananmen vendors, who testify that appeals for Falun
Gong take place everyday, and those of the policemen, who claim they hardly
occur. According to the policeman, the Tiananmen police station is
not the only office receiving such a bonus. Various departments in Beijing that
compile name based lists of Falun Gong practitioners- such as the Public
Security Bureau, National Security Bureau, Railway Branch Bureau, Appeals
offices, different detention centers, and the "610 Office" itself -
are taking part in the subornment as well. Torture for Profit Indeed, persecuting Falun Gong practitioners has become a
profitable enterprise for many departments. In order to receive these bribes
officers must quickly obtain the addresses of those who appeal in Beijing. To
get them to disclose this information, the policemen will either trick or beat
the practitioners. If neither of these methods works, they send the
practitioners to other stations and detention centers for further torture in
order to obtain the information. The opportunity to receive bribes along combined with the
threat of punishment from their supervisors if they cannot successfully obtain
the practitioners' addresses has resulted in the application of systematic,
ruthless torture. Simply put, some policemen stop at no means to obtain the
desired information, not because they agree with the government's policy but in
order to make a few Yuan. Officer Zhao concludes: "Thus the persecution of Falun
Gong practitioners has become an effective way for related departments in
Beijing to make money. That's why they try best to find out a practitioner's
identity. A police in Fuyou Police Station disclosed that their office equipment
and air conditioners are obtained from a province's bribery." Losing Support However, as more policemen have become familiar with Falun
Gong, many are growing reluctant to go along with the persecution's corruption.
Scott Chinn from New York testifies that while detained in Beijing after
appealing for Falun Gong, a policeman showed him a message he had typed on his
cell phone; it read: "I know Falun Gong is good. I am terribly sorry."
A practitioner from Toronto, who often calls Chinese police stations, shares a
conversation she had with the chief director of a police department: "At
the end of our discussion he told me sincerely that he would no longer torture
Falun Gong practitioners". Indeed, many policemen, such as the one who provided the
information about the "torture for profit" system, have decided they
do not wish to persecute Falun Gong practitioners. Jiang's persecution has thus
put these policemen and officials in a position in which they have to choose
between profit and freedom from punishment on the one hand, or living according
to their moral principles on the other. As such, they too are victims of this
persecution. Section V: Falun Gong Issue Permeates Jiang's
Foreign Relations Agenda "Ever since Jiang Zemin came to power during the
Tiananmen Square Massacre, the focal point for China's foreign relations --including,
to some extent, economic/trade relations with the west -- has been human
rights. Since the Falun Gong persecution started in July 1999, Falun Gong has
become the most prominent human rights issue in China. Thus, Jiang's efforts to
downplay criticism for his handling of Falun Gong and stifle support for the
practice in other countries looms large on his foreign relations agenda. In
fact, it is the focal point on many fronts." -- Dr. Shiyu Zhou, Professor at Rutgers University John Kamm is a former President of Hong Kong's American
Chamber of Commerce. In 1991, Kamm left the business world and founded Dui Hua,
or "dialogue," a non-profit organization based in San Francisco that
works for the release of unlawfully jailed prisoners in China. According to the New
York Times, "No other person or organization in the world, including
the [U.S.] State Department, has helped more Chinese prisoners."
[8] During a talk with NYU law students in the fall of 2000
regarding his unprecedented success in negotiating the freedom of prisoners with
Chinese officials, Kamm revealed three things the Chinese regime wants more than
anything: 1)áááá?Entry into the WTO 2)áááá?To host the 2008 Olympics 3)áááá?To stop being censured for
its Human Rights record, in particular by the U.S. and UN China has won the bid for the 2008 Olympics and has gained
entrance into the WTO. Stopping censure of human rights violations, however,
remains an elusive goal. The human rights record in China has dramatically
worsened in recent years. [9] For Jiang Zemin, stifling criticism of China's human rights
record remains a top priority in relations and negotiations with the
international community. Indeed, it is the focal point for Jiang's foreign
relations, and for the past three years, Falun Gong has been the most prominent
human rights issue in China. To understand Jiang's deals and maneuvers on the
international stage, one must first understand the shadow Jiang's handling of
Falun Gong extends over the negotiating table with other nations. Consolidating Power at Home by Polishing Image Abroad At the 16th Party Congress later this year, Jiang Zemin is slated to step
down from his post as Party boss, handing the reigns to China's "fourth
generation" of leaders. Much like Deng Xiaoping before him, however, Jiang has made no secret about
his aspiration to maintain hold on the reins of power from behind the scenes
after he officially steps down. To do so, he will need a consolidated base of
political power in China. Under Jiang's leadership, however, human rights have
dramatically worsened. On May 30, 2001, Amnesty International listed Jiang Zemin
as one of five human rights "scoundrels." Also in 2001, the Committee
to Protect Journalists named Jiang one of the top ten "enemies of the
press" for the fifth year in a row.?To bolster an image abroad, Jiang
has resorted to the same methods and tactics he used to build his power-base
domestically -- inundate would-be supporters with financial rewards, while
employing dictatorial means to suffocate voices of dissent. Jiang has extended
financial and political favors to countries willing to accept rewards that come
with strings attached. The fundamental reason why the world media and governments
have not been more outspoken about the greatest human rights crisis in China
since Tiananmen Square is Jiang Zemin utilizes all financial assets at his
disposal to keep the Falun Gong issue -- and the human rights issue more
broadly -- under lock and key. Just how important is the Falun Gong issue to Jiang's foreign
relations agenda? Here are a few illustrations. Former President Bill Clinton At an hour-long summit with then U.S. President Bill Clinton
during APEC's 1999 meeting in New Zealand, Jiang Zemin made clear his concern
that the U.S. show the "correct" attitude on the Falun Gong issue.
Among the range of important issues discussed, only the Falun Gong issue was
both raised directly by Jiang Zemin as well as documented in a book that Jiang
gave to the President. The Associated Press reported: "As China and the
United States sought to mend recently damaged ties, President Jiang Zemin gave
President Clinton an unusual gift: a book defending China's ban on a popular
meditation sect [Falun Gong]. During their hour-long summit Saturday, Jiang
handed Clinton a book purporting to expose the crimes committed by Li Hongzhi,
founder of Falun Gong ...the book's 150 pages in English is a relentless barrage
of propaganda from China's entirely state-run media." The report pointed out that "Far from an academic
exercise, Jiang's gift seemed intended to head off a new human rights
dispute." [10] Germany Chinese Communist Party head, Jiang Zemin, visited Germany in
early April 2002. Included among the demonstrators during his visit were
practitioners of Falun Gong, whose presence was described by the German news
service Deutsche Welle: "Some 400 Falun Gong followers, all with
apparently peaceful intentions, came to Berlin and staged silent protests at
locations visited by Jiang...Most sat cross-legged on the pavement, meditating,
and others walked with placards opposing Beijing's policies."
[11] Despite the peaceful nature of Falun Gong's presence,
however, on the second day of his visit, Jiang made a bizarre series of
requests, threatening to leave Germany if the requests were not made, leaving an
important contact between automakers in their two countries unsigned as well as
other important business unfinished. Jiang's requests included: 1)áááá?Hotel Evictions: All
Asians staying at Jiang's hotel -- the Aldon -- during his visit were forcibly
evicted from the hotel, including citizens of the U.S., Germany, Canada, and
other countries. Asian hotel employees were also told not to report to work
during Jiang's visit. 2)áááá?Banning the Color Yellow:
Practitioners of Falun Gong have come to commonly use the color yellow on
T-shirts and banners used during peaceful, public appeals. Jiang ordered that
all those bearing yellow clothing be removed from his line of sight. Some native
Germans complained of being stopped and questioned by police because of their
clothing. 3)áááá?Tiananmen Square-Style
Force: Practitioners of Falun Gong that did manage to display a sign or call
out "Falun Dafa is good" to Jiang's passing motorcade were violently
apprehended by Chinese security guards and some German police under the
supervision of the Chinese delegation. Iceland Under pressure from Jiang Zemin to not allow any Falun Gong
appeals to take place in the country during his visit, the "world's oldest
democracy" -- Iceland -- built what is probably its first-ever makeshift
detention center used for holding people based on their beliefs. On June 7, 2002, the Danish Embassy in Washington DC began
notifying visa applicants to Iceland that their visas to travel to Iceland could
not be granted because the head office of Iceland's Immigration Services had
just passed down an order barring all Chinese and Taiwanese passport holders
from traveling to Iceland before June 18. On June 10, The Associated Press reported that a school
building has been set aside to serve as a makeshift detention center for any
Falun Gong practitioners who arrive in Iceland and seek entry during president
Jiang's visit. According to phone calls from Falun Gong practitioners seeking
entry into Iceland, 20 Taiwanese passport holders were stopped at the Iceland
border on Monday, June 10, and moved to the school building-turned detention
center. U.S. and Canadian citizens who arrived at Iceland's airport on June 10
called from cell phones saying they had been detained and were being loaded onto
a bus and driven to the makeshift detention center On June 14, 2002, dozens of individuals around the world were
surprised to find that their travel plans to Iceland to take part in a peaceful
appeal had been cancelled -- by the Chinese communist regime. Arriving at the
gate to board flights on IcelandAir in cities throughout Europe and North
America, many were told that their names were on "the black list"
because they practice Falun Gong. According to a June 8 report in Iceland's The
Visir, this list -- which has not been made public -- was compiled by the
Chinese government and supplied to Icelandic officials long before President
Jiang Zemin's scheduled arrival. The list is known to identify both Chinese
nationals as well as citizens of several Western democratic countries. In the spring of 1998, the Yangtze River was flooding. Jiang
visited the city of Wuhan on an inspection tour of the endangered areas.
According to eyewitnesses, a particular group working on the dikes caught his
eye. They worked very well together and with great enthusiasm. Their section of
the dike had stayed ahead of the flood. Jiang was very pleased. He asked who
these workers were. When told they were local Falun Gong practitioners who had
volunteered for this duty, he flew into a rage, turned on his heel, and stalked
off. This report has illustrated two motives for Jiang Zemin's
persecution of Falun Gong: ambition and fear. As illustrated by the Yangtze
River story, however, there is a third component that underlies and fuels these
motives: jealousy. Jiang stands in the history of Communist China as the third
of three all-powerful leaders, but he is acutely aware that his stature has
never approached that his countrymen have granted Mao and Deng.?Whatever
their flaws, they were perceived by the people as men of principle, visionaries
who inspired the nation. Jiang succeeded in Communist China's tortured politics
precisely because he did not stake himself to any particular belief.?He
learned how to look out for the main chance, to pick the winning side, and to
protect himself. Opportunism may be a strategy for survival, but it could never
satisfy the demands of Jiang's ever-growing ambitions. Thus, Jiang has ruled China in the same way in the same
spirit in which he advanced himself. He has corrupted others in order to buy
their loyalty. In Falun Gong, Jiang sees a belief that can inspire the
Chinese people where he cannot. He sees a group that does not need the only
means by which he knows how to wield power. In persecuting Falun Gong Jiang has
sought to consolidate his power, and has sought to destroy a group that he
perceives as a threat.?But he has also sought to vindicate himself. The means he has had to use, a propaganda campaign that
relies on inculcating a big lie about Falun Gong, can only satisfy his desire to
dominate. A campaign of lies cannot provide him with the stature he seems to
yearn for. The means available to Jiang all reflect back to him the truth he
seeks to avoid, that he can dominate others so long as he holds power, but he
does not know how to rest within esteem that has been earned. And in this
failure lies the drive to persecute. Jiang's lies, and payoffs, and bullying cannot change
nature.?No matter what he does, the rivers will still rise.?And
those whose character allow them to keep the floodwaters at bay will always
stand before their countrymen as an inspiration and the answer to their deepest
needs. China watchers have long discussed the problem of corruption
among Chinese officials as well as the fragility of the rule of law under
Communist rule. Jiang, however, is something new in Communist China -- one
who utilizes corruption as the primary means to consolidate and maintain power. (Copyright (c) 2000, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.) 
Download .pdf File: Click
here
[2] U.S. News & World Report report "An opiate of the masses?"; February 22, 1999
[4] See www.faluninfo.net for current statistics
[6] The New York Times "Notoriety Now for Exiled Leader of Chinese Movement"; April 27, 1999
[7] See Appendix F: CNN,"China's Suppression Carries a High Price"
[8] "John Kamm's Third Way," The New York Times; March 3, 2002
[9] Amnesty International 2001 Annual Report
[10] The Associated Press, September 12, 1999
[11] Deutsche Well: "Berlin Tastes Tiananmen" April 11, 2002
http://www.faluninfo.net/specialreports/jiangspersonalcrusade/
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