By ZHIMIN LI

Tuesday, February 10, 2004

At the end of 2003, when the whole Western world was celebrating the Christmas and New Year holidays, the tragic death of a man named Cheng-jiu Liu shed darkness onto the joyful season.

Mr. Liu was an upright Chinese citizen who was killed because of his belief in Falun Gong and his involvement in transmitting the truth about the government's persecution. Mr. Liu, with other Falun Gong practitioners, had successfully intercepted the government controlled TV system that is virtually the only source of news that the Chinese people are permitted to see.

The Western world already knows that there is no freedom of speech, freedom of belief or freedom of inquiry for ordinary Chinese people inside of their own country. This situation was exacerbated after the former dictator, Jiang Zemin, launched an unprecedented scale of persecution against Falun Gong in July 1999.

Dictator Jiang saw the 100 million peaceful Falun Gong followers, who believe in truthfulness, compassion and tolerance, as a primary threat to his dictator supremacy. Hence, he abused his position.

Jiang used judiciary and military power to set off a nationwide brutal persecution. He defamed Falun Gong through the "610 Offices," a Gestapo-like organization especially created to persecute Falun Gong. The authority of the 610 Offices lies outside the Chinese legal system and thereby is not subject to any kind of restraint on its power.

Jiang also used embassies and delegations worldwide to extend hate against Falun Gong practitioners overseas. There is no legal avenue for Falun Gong practitioners inside of China to tell the truth to the public.

Under such a circumstance, in March of 2002, Mr. Liu along with a group of Falun Gong practitioners from Changchun, intercepted the state-run TV system and broadcast Falun Gong's message to the Chinese people. All who had been involved with this event were arrested.

When Mr. Liu was captured, the policeman deliberately shot his leg after he was already cuffed with both wrists and ankles. In the detention center, he was mistreated and was forced into sitting in the "Tiger chair," an extremely awkward position, for 52 days. During his trial, he had to be carried into the courtroom. Later, he was brutally beaten and tortured in jail to the point he was not recognizable and had difficulty speaking. He was not allowed to receive any treatment at the hospital. Unfortunately, after suffering one year and nine months, Mr. Liu passed away in late December.

On the day of his death, the prison officials gathered a large group of policemen and forcefully cremated his body without autopsy, despite the protests of his family.

This persecution is not unrelated to the experience of an American.

In January 2003, U.S. citizen Charles Li was imprisoned in China. He was jailed and sentenced for three years because Chinese officials claimed that he had the "intention" of intercepting the Chinese TV system. Charles Li has been in Chinese prison for more than a year and suffers physical and emotional torture every moment.

More Americans should stand up and say "No" to Jiang's persecution against Falun Gong. This persecution is contrary to the most basic standards of goodness and human decency and tramples human rights.

Martin Luther King Jr. said, "A threat to justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

Source: http://www.gazettetimes.com/articles/2004/02/11/news/opinion/3see11.txt

Posting date: 2/12/2004
Original article date: 2/12/2004
Category: News & Media Reports

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