Washington DC Press Conference: 38 Members of US Congress Co-Sign a Brief in Three Days to Urge the Court to Proceed with the Lawsuit Against Jiang (Photos)

(Clearwisdom.net June 13) On June 11 2003, Falun Gong practitioners held a press conference entitled, "Bringing Jiang to Justice" at Freedom Plaza in downtown Washington DC. They announced that 38 members of the US Congress had filed a brief as a friend of the court, or amicus curiae, with the Federal Court in the US to support the lawsuit against Jiang. These members expressed different opinions regarding the proposal raised by the Justice Department to dismiss the lawsuit.

Since June 9, Washington DC Dafa practitioners have been holding a "Journey of Falun Dafa" photo exhibition at Freedom Plaza. A stream of people came to view the exhibition.
On June 11, A "Bringing Jiang to Justice" press conference was held

As for whether Jiang should enjoy "immunity as head of state" and be free from the lawsuit, the Congressional brief emphasized that the fundamental principle for enacting the "Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act" was that such lawsuits should be decided by the court based on basic legal standards, and not through diplomatic channels due to strong political pressure.

Defendant Jiang is no longer China's president, and he did not come to power through any sort of popular electoral process. To the contrary, he rose to power as a result of his hard-line approach to crushing the democracy movement of 1989. The issue of "sovereign immunity" is a new issue that the court should carefully consider. The State Department's own Country Report on Human Rights referred to Jiang's rule as "authoritarian," while reputable sources such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have documented severe and systematic human rights abuses by defendant Jiang's government against its own people.

Regarding the Justice Department's concern that the lawsuit would risk "provoking retaliatory lawsuits against U.S. officials," the Congressional brief states that this concern was already raised and dismissed by Congress and then by President Bush when he signed into law the Torture Victims Protection Act of 1991.

The smooth proceeding of the lawsuit against Jiang not only represents the interests of millions of Falun Gong practitioners who suffer brutal persecution, but at the same time it also represents respect for democracy and the defense of human rights.

From the completion of the amicus brief last Friday to its submission this Tuesday, within three days, 38 members of the US Congress signed it, and more were expected later. It can be seen that the lawsuit against Jiang has many supporters in the US Congress, and it represents the voice of justice of the American people that these members of Congress represent. From last year's unanimous passage of Resolution No.188 to today's amicus brief, US Congress members have been requesting governmental departments to use various ways to urge the Chinese government to stop persecuting Falun Gong. The US Congress has also repeatedly criticized China's human rights records in its compiled Human Rights Report, and has repeatedly urged China to end its suppression of Falun Gong. However, all these efforts have not achieved their goal: dictator Jiang still acts according to his own will, and continues the brutal persecution. The lawsuit Falun Gong practitioners served against the former PRC leader, can in some sense truly suppress Jiang, who severely violates human rights, kills innocent people and commits genocide. This is also what democratic countries and people with a sense of justice expect to see.

Since Falun Gong practitioners filed a lawsuit against Jiang when he visited Chicago last October, the Chinese government has sent out different delegations to visit the US to exert diplomatic pressure on the US government at all costs in hopes of ending the case. Jiang has raised the case to the level that it determines the diplomatic relations between the US and China. Jiang's representatives once threatened that if the State Department did not protect Jiang's delegation from being served the lawsuit, they would cancel the meeting with President Bush in Crawford, Texas. The brief from the Justice Department was written under huge pressure from Jiang. Meanwhile, Jiang continued his evildoing in China by arresting American citizen Charles Li and retaliating against Falun Gong practitioners in China who are involved in the case. Maryland resident Ms. Zhao Lanxiang's sister, Zhao Meiyu, in Huizhou City, Guangdong Province was arrested due to this case. The police claimed that she "had committed a big crime."

But a dictator does not represent the people. According to a practitioner who often makes phone calls to China, the Chinese people are glad to hear about the lawsuit against Jiang, and many more people want to know the truth. The practitioner has made many phone calls, and no one was against the lawsuit against Jiang. So we can see, Jiang does not represent the Chinese people. Putting Jiang on trial is what people are expecting to see.

 Yearly Archive   Printer Version