(Clearwisdom.net) Regarding Jiang Zemin's stepping down, the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG) has written an open letter to Chinese officials at all levels calling for an end to the persecution and punishment for the murderers. The letter follows:

End the Persecution, Punish the Murderers

In China, the persecution of 100 million innocent Falun Gong practitioners has lasted for more than 5 years. Now that Jiang has stepped down, this national catastrophe should be immediately stopped. The persecution of Falun Gong has caused the deaths of more than 1000 innocent people from beatings and torture, has utilized vast resources and affected almost all of the people in China. All the murderers who initiated and participated in the persecution should also be punished.

This cruel and irrational persecution was entirely based on the personal will of Jiang Zemin. It is illegal and unrighteous, and it was never the will of the people.

Jiang Zemin disregarded the opposition of several fellow Politburo members and went ahead with the persecution of Falun Gong on his personal whim in July 1999. He went on to establish the "610 Office," an extra-judicial organization charged with carrying out and directing the illegal persecution of Falun Gong.

As the persecution unfolded in subsequent years, Jiang continued to abuse his authority and ordered escalations of the persecution many times. Jiang took advantage of his dictatorial authority, wielded his despotic power, misappropriated the country's resources and forced the entire nation to be involved in his genocidal campaign against 100 million of their countrymen. And it continues even to this day. (For more details, see the "Special Report on Jiang Zemin's Crime of Genocide in the Persecution of Falun Gong" at: http://www.zhuichaguoji.org/en/ )

Now that Jiang has retired from the highest positions of authority in China, he is no longer able to manipulate the entire state apparatus to his personal will. With Chinese and international awareness of the facts behind the persecution of Falun Gong steadily increasing, Jiang will not be able to sustain the persecution much longer, but for the time being, he still uses his personal chain of command to maintain the persecution.

According to the WOIPFG investigative report, Jiang directly commands and controls the people that he personally appointed, and just about every government department employs some of his appointees. He controls them, and they use their authority to further deceive the nation and the people, mistakenly creating the impression that the persecution is carried out in the name of the country, when in fact it is carried out as Jiang's personal will. Cases of practitioners being tortured to death are still appearing everywhere. WOIPFG has registered the names of those who, by following Jiang Zemin's orders to continue the persecution, are responsible for the killings. WOIPFG collects information from investigators in China and reliable sources at all levels of the Chinese government.