(Clearwisdom.net August 26, 2003)
The Epoch Times reported that after the Conference on Bringing Jiang Zemin to
Justice in Paris on August 3, 2003, the preparation committee of the Global
Coalition for Bringing Jiang to Justice again gathered in the Boston Common on
the afternoon of August 23. Over fifty groups and organizations have joined the
coalition. They span Europe, North America, Asia and Australia.
About one hundred people attended the gathering. The theme of the gathering
was to demand freedom of religion, freedom of belief, and freedom to gather
publicly in China.
Over Fifty Groups and Organizations Join the Coalition in Europe, North
America, Asia and Australia
The gathering in the Boston Commons was sponsored by the preparation
committee of the Global Coalition to Bring Jiang to Justice. Dr. Wei Pengfei,
a member of the preparation committee started his speech by giving an account of
the status of establishing the Global Coalition for Bringing Jiang to Justice.
Dr. Wei said, "The coalition's mission is to expose Jiang's crimes and
bring him to trial on the grounds of conscience, morality, and justice."
This mission has won widespread support from those who are interested in
upholding justice around the world. Since the formation of the preparation
committee a month ago, over fifty groups and organizations in Europe, North
America, Asia, and Australia have signed up. The number of individual members is
also increasing as each day goes by. It has been reported that the coalition
will continuously hold public gatherings around the globe to put Jiang Zemin on
trial in various forms.
Meng Lang, a freelance poet from China who now lives in Boston, expressed his
personal support for freedom of thought, speech, and religion. Mr. Meng said,
"In China's modern history, the vast number of victims abused simply for
holding up freedom of belief and speech as well as the intensity of the
persecution are something rarely seen anywhere else in the world." Mr. Meng
hopefully said, "Whether you are a Chinese citizen or a Chinese living
overseas, everyone has the right to express themselves clearly and hold firm to
one's freedom of religion or belief, including the freedom to not having any
religious belief."
Mr. Xie Zhongzhi, who was born in Macao and grew up in Hong Kong, has been
observing the Falun Gong spiritual movement for over ten years. He has also
followed the propaganda in Mainland China after its ban on Falun Gong. Mr. Xie
pointed out, "Jiang is a dictator, and a big liar." He considered
Jiang's pressuring Hong Kong authorities to design and pass Article 23 a blatant
trampling of the democracy and freedom enjoyed by people in Hong Kong. Mr. Xie
expressed his hope that people of all walks of life will join forces to resist
Jiang's trampling of belief, human rights, and freedom.
The Truly Terrible Threat Is to Ordinary People
Mr. Fang Jue, a former Chinese official, is now a visiting scholar at Harvard
University. In his speech, Mr. Fang said that it is imperative to place Jiang on
public trial. At the same time, he expressed that this persecution of people's
freedom of belief is not something only Jiang is responsible for, but the
Communist Party of China should also take some responsibility.
Ms. Elizabeth Wang, Chairperson of an association that advances the rights of
women and children, recalled an incident where Jiang was asked about his
reaction to the prison gang rape of a female college student, who had been
arrested in the June 4th student movement in 1989. Jiang's answer
utterly shocked all the Chinese and foreign journalists present at the briefing.
He said that the student "deserved it." Ms. Wang stated that this
reflected Jiang's character and moral standard, or, more precisely, the lack
thereof. Ms. Wang cited another incident, which took place in the Masanjia
Forced Labor Camp, when a total of eighteen female Falun Gong practitioners were
stripped completely naked and thrown into male cells.
"Although You're Not Being Persecuted Right Now, Don't Think It's
Irrelevant"
Mr. Chen Zhiqiang, who represents the Friends of Hong Kong and Macao
Association, said, "Although you're not being persecuted right now, don't
think it's irrelevant." "As long as the regime holds onto power, it
will continuously suppress the people. Over the past fifty-four years, various
social levels in China have held onto this fantasy. When landlords were being
cracked down on, capitalists thought, 'Who cares, I'm not a landlord.' A few
years later, it was time for capitalists in urban areas to be cracked down on.
And then intellectuals thought, 'So what, we are not mixed up with the
capitalists.' Soon, in 1957, over five hundred thousand intellectuals were
classified as 'Rightists.'" Mr. Chen concluded his speech, "For those
who think that the suppression of Falun Gong, the activists of China's democracy
movement, and people of religious beliefs has little to do with you: it is time
to take history into account. You will fall victim to this brutality, and your
children will fall victim."
A representative from the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution
of Falun Gong (WOIPFG) revealed in his speech that his organization, since the day it was
founded, has been devoted to investigating all the crimes and responsible
organizations, groups, and individuals. It has at hand an overwhelming amount of
evidence documenting Jiang's persecution of Falun Gong, which offers strong
supporting material for the public trial of Jiang Zemin around the world. Bob
explained that they are not retaliating out of hatred. Instead they are doing
this to push the wheel of justice forward, to correct the wrongdoings, to stop
the senseless killing of innocent people, and restore what is good.
"Our Dream, the Dream of a Free China"
Mr. Tang Boqiao, chairman of a Chinese peace organization, said in his
speech, "Today's gathering puts not only Jiang Zemin in the spot light.
Being a killer who pulls down a country, Jiang has headed an entire evil regime.
Today's gathering has made it known that people from all walks of life in China
are standing up and placing Jiang on trial."
"All the speakers at the podium have their various perspectives, and we
are speaking our minds. This sends out a clear signal to Jiang that we are
coming together, which is what Jiang is afraid of the most. Jiang and his
followers have tried to segregate the public into little pockets, thus
disintegrating the power of the people. Today they should have learned that
their schemes are no longer working. I believe we are about to hear the true
voice and feel the true impact of the people of China."
"What Jiang Zemin represents is degeneration, a reversal of social
civilization, and a downward spiral of moral standards. What Jiang represents is
corruption. Just like going after Nazis and other criminals whose days were
numbered, placing Jiang on trial in the public spotlight itself shows the
gathering of momentum by the power of justice. The evil forces are on the run,
and eventually, they will have nowhere to hide."
Mr. Tang reiterated, "To publicly put Jiang on trial is not to overthrow
a regime with violence. This is not to fight violence with violence, or to fight
evil with evil. We are non-violent." "This non-violent movement is
unprecedented throughout China's history. Here I would like to express my
gratitude to our Falun Gong friends, who have pioneered this movement." At
the end of the speech Mr. Tang Boqiao said, "Over forty years ago, Martin
Luther King made his speech 'I Have a Dream,' and today everyone present here
also has a dream. A dream of a China that is free. It is my belief that our
dream is definitely going to come true."
Chinese version available at
http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2003/8/26/56257.html