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Canada Says "No" to Hate Propaganda -- Chinese Deputy Consul General Pan Xinchun Found Guilty of Libel
(Clearwisdom.net) On February 3, 2004, the Ontario Superior Court in Canada
reached a verdict in the libel lawsuit against Pan Xinchun, the Chinese Deputy
Consul General in Toronto. The judge ruled in favor of Toronto Falun Gong
practitioner Mr. Joel Chipkar. The court also ordered Pan Xinchun, who failed to
show up in court, to compensate for damage incurred by his libel.
On May 1, 2003, Pan Xinchun published a letter in the Toronto Star. He
made excuses for China's cover-up of SARS. In doing so, he used slanderous words
to attack Mr. Chipkar and other Falun Gong practitioners. In August, a lawsuit
was filed against Pan for libel.
The Ontario Superior Court's verdict in this civil lawsuit appears simple.
However, it has a deep significance. The plaintiff is an ordinary Canadian
citizen, while the defendant is a Consular Officer of China. In traditional
Chinese ideology, this is a typical case of "suing a government officer by a
civilian." As a defendant, the officer did not dare to show up in court. It was
also the officer who lost the case. This is very meaningful in itself. As a
peaceful and compassionate cultivation group, Falun Gong has been persecuted
widely and severely in China. In western countries, however, people ranging from
government officials to ordinary citizens are sympathetic toward Falun Gong and
like it. Such a clear contrast has attracted much attention.
A Warning to Diplomatic Officers Who Instigate Hate Propaganda under
Diplomatic Immunity
During this lawsuit, according to Canadian laws, the defendant's libel of the
plaintiff was in violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, to which Canada acceded on May 19, 1976. Through his refusing to accept
lawsuit files and show up in court, we can see Deputy Consul General Pan
Xinchun's fear of having his actions exposed. This verdict sent a warning out to
those diplomatic officers who instigated the persecution, while hoping to use
their diplomatic immunity as an umbrella.
In China, defaming Falun Gong in public has become Jiang's primary propaganda
tool. "Truth, Compassion, and Tolerance" is the object of slander on radio and
TV stations, in newspapers, and even in elementary school textbooks. Meanwhile,
Falun Gong practitioners are deprived of the most basic human rights and
dignity. For a simple appeal, saying "Falun Dafa is good" in public, or even
mentioning Falun Gong in emails to one's family can send someone to jail, and
even their family members could be affected. In addition to unlawful
imprisonment, Falun Gong practitioners' rights to appeal and defend themselves
are often taken away. The regulations that separated and broke apart
practitioners' families were some so-called "policies" made by Jiang via the
People's Congress. Such "policies" severely violated the constitution as well as
international human rights covenants. As Western media documented, after the
persecution began, the Jiang regime created laws to ban Falun Gong and applied
them retroactively to imprison practitioners.
The Canadian government clearly stated they would not intervene in the
lawsuit against Pan Xinchun. This demonstrates the independence and impartiality
of the judicial system in Canada. Moreover, further efforts to bring those
persecutors to justice are also taking place in Canada. According to articles in
the Ottawa Citizen and the Vancouver Sun on January 21, 2004, "The
RCMP is keeping a watch list of 15 high-ranking Chinese officials, accused of
torturing and oppressing members of the Falun Gong spiritual movement. If any of
the officials sets foot in Canada, the RCMP will 'look into' their alleged
criminal actions. Constable Nathalie Deschenes said, 'Under the Immigration and
Refugee Protection Act, applicants cannot be admitted to Canada if there are
reasonable grounds to believe they have perpetrated a crime against humanity'...
'The list of accused includes Jiang Zemin, the 72-year-old former president of
China and now chairman of the country's Central Military Commission, and Liu Qi,
the mayor of Beijing.'"
The Sinister Force behind the Hate Propaganda
Some people may wonder how Deputy Consul General Pan Xinchun dared to defame
a peaceful meditation group, and even publicly attack a Falun Gong practitioner
in the western media? The reason that Pan dared to do so is because defaming and
persecuting Falun Gong, as well as generating hate propaganda, have become a
special "responsibility" for Chinese diplomatic officers overseas. This can be
seen from the content and links on their websites, slanderous posters inside the
embassy or consulate buildings, and from the materials they send to local VIPs,
media or community libraries. This can also be seen in the activities they have
organized, including the so-called "religious delegates" and "cultural
delegates."
However, such hate propaganda and persecution are consistently and firmly
opposed in civilized societies. In Canada, such opposition comes not only from
Falun Gong practitioners, but also from mainstream society and government
officials. After receiving hate propaganda from China, many officials saw
through their lies and publicly denounced them.
Who is the Next Defendant?
In fact, if people knew where Pan's slanderous words came from, they would
not be surprised that Pan dared to do so with no fear.
In mainland China, after July 20th, 1999, many Chinese people were
tired of the persecution and propaganda tactics in the style of the Cultural
Revolution. At the end of October 1999, when Jiang was interviewed by Le
Figaro, he defamed Falun Gong publicly. People's Daily, the official
propaganda machine for the Communist party, echoed Jiang's slander closely, and
made up so-called evidence to support Jiang's speech. Five days after Jiang's
defaming Falun Gong, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
approved a resolution. By having the people's congress pass a resolution, Jiang
finished laying a foundation to justify his genocidal persecution of Falun Gong.
More than 4 years have passed and Jiang continues to persecute innocent
practitioners on a large scale via the "610 Office," using the policy of
"ruining their reputations, bankrupting them, and destroying them physically."
There are labor camps and brainwashing centers everywhere across China. Jiang is
utilizing one quarter of the nation's economic resources to persecute tens of
millions of practitioners. In fact, throughout the persecution, Pan Xinchun is a
person who has done bad deeds, but he is also a victim. The ultimate criminal in
the persecution is Jiang. However, everyone is responsible for his own actions.
In a society governed by the rule of law, anyone who is involved in this
persecution, no matter in what form, will be held accountable. Posting date: 2/14/2004 |