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Update Report on the Jiang Lawsuit in Chicago, Illinois
By Zhen Yan
(Clearwisdom.net) September 30th report: after 11 months, the US District Court of
the Northern District of Illinois dismissed the plaintiffs' case, claiming defendant Jiang Zemin has
immunity as the head of a state, and also because of such technicalities concerning the nature and
extent of contact between the "610 Office" and the United States. This decision obviously
goes against the principle that "heads of state who have committed crimes of genocide are not
afforded Head-of-State Immunity." On September 29, human rights lawyer Terri Marsh delivered
legal documents to the same court representing the plaintiffs. It was learned that these documents
include legal evidence and an amended version of the lawsuit. Regarding the Chicago lawsuit, the famous US renowned attorney Alan Dershowitz, shared his
opinions. He said, "If the head of state orders the genocide himself, and he has control over
the situation. I think no one can escape legal justice just because he is the head of a state.
Obviously we all know Milosevic is being tried at The Hague Tribunal. He is in fact a head of
state. There are many similar lawsuits. If Hitler was still alive today, he would be sued as the
head of state in Nuremberg." Alan Dershowitz, is one of the most famous attorneys in the US. He
represented many famous cases. In 1981, he went to China on the Chinese government's invitation and
provided consultation on making laws. The plaintiffs' attorney Terri Marsh said after receiving the court's decision on September 12,
"This case is far from over. In fact, it had just begun." This round of document delivery gave Dafa practitioners around the world another opportunity to
improve as a whole body through cultivation. Practitioners can help the legal world, the government
and other parts of society to deeply and thoroughly learn the truth. The result of the lawsuit against Jiang on September 12, evoked much contemplation for many Dafa
practitioners. Many discussions were held at different Fa study groups and practice sites. Many
practitioners realized that the progress of the legal process is only a part of the truth
clarification around the lawsuit against Jiang, and it is based on Dafa practitioners' understanding
and attention we pay to the case as a whole. The cultivation state and the extent of truth
clarification by Dafa practitioners in China and abroad is the determining factor in the court's
understanding and decision on the case. Practitioners now have a clearer understanding on how to clarify the truth in a more thorough,
deeper and all-encompassing manner. They think that clarifying the truth doesn't mean telling
high-level Fa principles, as it should not exceed the level non-practitioners can understand.
Instead, we should clarify the cause, extent and scope of the nature of the persecution. We should
not be limited to letting people know about individual torture cases, and more importantly, we
should help people realize the effect of spiritual control this persecution has had on the Chinese
population. We should help them realize the deep damage this persecution has done to morality and
conscience of overseas Chinese communities and the whole world. Dafa practitioners in Canada pointed out that from the early political movements to the Cultural
Revolution and the June 4th Massacre, the Party rulers have deeply damaged the hearts of
the Chinese people. Nowadays, because of this damage, many people instinctively try to protect
themselves when they smell political persecution ten miles away, go along with the flow and only
think about making money, or stay indifferent in order to be safe. The result is people's morality
and conscience suffer even greater damage and the dictator now has more space to abuse his power and
do whatever he wants. In the four years after April 25, 1999, Jiang utilized the crisis of
conscience accumulated during the past half-century to launch a political movement to annihilate
Falun Gong. This giant country with one-quarter of the world's population has become the home base
for repelling "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance." What is the destiny that awaits such a
society and people? What impact will it have on the world? Isn't this a disaster for everyone and
for the whole human race? US practitioners said, "Indeed, this persecution has not yet ended, but its psychological
manipulation and mind-poisoning effects are quite common. The evil and terror it emits have not only
controlled China, but have affected the whole world. The scope of its effect is unprecedented. For
example, in both Eastern and Western society, many people already know about the existence and
brutality of the persecution. In an environment where there is no pressure and enticement for
self-interest, they would all say they are against the persecution. However, when they are
threatened and are told that if they don't keep í uniform' with those from í higher above,' they
would lose their jobs and suffer a loss of reputation, or they would be listed as "anti-China
forces" and lose the opportunity to do business with China, etc. Then people will change their
minds and wash their hands of the issue. As a result the human rights violations and persecution
continue and spread. Some people even help the criminals. This psychological damage and loss of
social conscience cannot be calculated in monetary terms." Attorney Terri Marsh said, "It is a fact that this [Jiang] lawsuit represents the idea that
heads of state cannot commit genocide and torture using their position yet escape punishment. An
overwhelming amount of evidence will bear out the fact that from both a legal and a public opinion
perspective, Jiang Zemin absolutely cannot escape being held accountable for initiating and
executing the suppression and persecution of Falun Gong." |