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A Reporter's Notes from Secret Documents: The Plot Hatched in April and May, 1999 - (Part 1)
By Chu Tianxing (Clearwisdom.net) It is May again. Over five years have passed since
the persecution targeting Falun Gong was made public on July 20, 1999. When I turned on my computer May 11, 2004, my eyes were drawn to the news
reports on the Minghui website (Chinese). Falun Gong practitioners from 94
different areas in China had written poems and greetings to wish Master a Happy
Birthday and celebrate the 12th anniversary of Falun Dafa's
introduction; Falun Gong practitioners from the Washington, DC area celebrated
the 5th World Falun Dafa Day; UK Falun Gong practitioners celebrated
the 12th anniversary of Falun Dafa's introduction together with
tourists in London's Trafalger Square; Falun Gong practitioners from Ottawa,
Canada, celebrated the 12th anniversary of Falun Dafa's introduction;
Guan Guimin had recorded a new song (Eulogy To Master's Grace composed by
a Falun Gong practitioner in China); and Minghui Net (Chinese) announced the
publication of a series of books called A Collection of Fortune Fairytales
for Children. Outside my window there is a spring breeze and the sun is shining brightly.
After the rainstorm, pine tress and cypresses are wrapped with a layer of new
green. Under the clear sky and pure white clouds, everything looks so peaceful
and serene. Deciding to read, I reach for a hardback book that I haven't opened for a
long time. A few pages of fax paper come fluttering out. I had received these
faxes during May and June of 1999. Instantly, the inside stories of that
historical time flash in front of my eyes. These are just a few of the secret documents sent to me from China before the
persecution started in 1999: The movement to "handle and solve the Falun Gong issue," which was
made public in July 1999 and continues to be in effect, actually began secretly
with the issuing and distributing of classified documents. During the process of
"handling and solving" the Falun Gong issue, the government has issued
more documents than ever, more frequently than ever, which makes the Chinese
people, who have experienced so many political movements, really surprised.
First there was a "Speech," then a "Notice" shortly after,
and then another "order" came out. However, all of these
"national secrets" originated and derived from the letter that Jiang
Zemin wrote to the Political Bureau on April 25, 1999, On the Issue of the
Fundamental Beliefs for the Communists (classified document). Later, those
documents upgraded quickly until they developed into an oral tradition of
"general knowledge" among the local police: "No need to follow
any laws in dealing with Falun Gong," "Death of Falun Gong
practitioners from beating is of no consequence and shall be counted as
suicide." The Dense Fog of April 1999 On April 27, 1999, the "Two Offices" (i.e. the Central Appeal
Office of the Chinese Communist Party and The Appeal Office of the State
Department) said in their statements that neither the Central Government nor any
other level of government had ever outlawed Falun Gong. In fact, however, many
secret documents were distributed inside the government, and again and again,
Falun Gong practitioners were subjected to surveillance, arrest, questioning,
wiretaps, home searches, threats, false accusations of destroying the stability
of society, etc., etc. On June 14, 1999, announcements by the "Two Offices" reiterated
that the State and all levels of government had never prohibited the practice of
Falun Gong and denied statements to the contrary as "rumors." In fact,
however, Falun Gong practitioners were already suffering from severe coercion
and suppression. At that time, many sincere Falun Gong practitioners felt very perplexed. When
they asked the relevant leaders, the answer they got--unexpectedly--was,
"The 'Two Offices' announcements were for the international community,
while inside the country we follow 'the secret documents.'" A month later, on July 20, 1999, under Jiang Zemin's personal orders, the
Department of Civil Administration publicly proclaimed a ban on Falun Gong,
immediately affecting from 70 to 100 million practitioners. The veil of
"rumor" was removed when the stark order was issued: "Destroy
Falun Gong in three months." (Jiang Zemin, 1999). May 10, 1999, Notice of Some Related Issues about Falun Gong (Secret) The first document, Notice of Some Related Issues about Falun Gong
(No. 27, Gongtongzi,1999, Secret) was issued and distributed by the Ministry of
Public Security on May 12, 1999, in the names of China's Ministry of Public
Security, China's Ministry of Education, the National Sports Commission, and
China's News Publishing Bureau. At the same time that this document was being secretly distributed, millions
of Falun Gong practitioners were being pacified with the rational settlement of
their April 25th appeal. When they occasionally heard another voice say,
"There are secret, contradictory documents," most practitioners
thought it was rumor and they should believe the spirit of the document that the
"Two Offices" had published in the newspapers on April 27. Luo Gang, who was solely in charge of the Ministry of Public Security at that
time, is on record as one of the two main instigators of the plot to brutally
beat up and arrest the Falun Gong practitioners in Tianjin. Foreshadowing the Persecution Plot In order to suppress Falun Gong completely, some individuals had already
started to act in secret; Luo Gan being one of the most active and unscrupulous
core members before Jiang Zemin came onto the stage. (Whether Li Lanqing, who
later took up the post of Director of the Central "610 Office," was
another core member remains to be verified). On June 17, 1996, Guangming Daily News, the mouthpiece of the State
Department, published an editorial criticizing Falun Gong. On July 24, 1996, China's News Publishing Bureau issued a Notice to the
entire country absolutely prohibiting the publication, distribution, or sale of
Falun Gong books. At the beginning of 1997, the Ministry of Public Security conducted an
investigation throughout the whole country, collecting evidence with the intent
of framing Falun Gong as "some kind of cult." On July 21, 1998, the First Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security issued Notice
about the Developing Investigation of Falun Gong (No. 555, Gongzheng,1998).
The accepted procedure adopted was "convict first and investigate
later." First they brought forth the false charge that Mr. Li Hongzhi
propagated rumors and heresies and that certain Falun Gong volunteer assistants
were engaged in unlawful, criminal activities. Keeping abreast of the Falun Gong
activities to use as evidence of lawlessness would be a priority. The local
departments of Public and Political Security were also required to conduct
thorough investigations. This Notice about the Developing Investigation of Falun Gong triggered
the local Public Security departments in many areas of the country to illegally
ban Falun Gong practice sites, forcibly disperse those practicing, search
practitioners' homes, rush into people's houses without permission, confiscate
personal property, etc., all without the need for "reasonable cause."
Since the national media took the attitude "Don't report on Falun
Gong," most people in society who did not practice did not notice a change. Luo Gan was certainly a primary instigator and promoter of these secret and
half-secret actions. When the persecution was made public on July 20, 1999, Luo
Gan was one of a few core members at the Central level who spared no effort to
carry out the suppression for Jiang Zemin. At the beginning of 1997, the secret
survey being conducted by the Ministry of Public Security was stopped because,
even after conducting detailed investigations, all the local Public Security
Bureaus in the country were reporting to the upper level, "No problems
found yet." Survey Results from the National Sports Commission and the National People's
Congress Retired Cadres In order to prevent a few individuals from the Ministry of Public Security
from taking continued secret actions, the National Sports Commission did a
comprehensive survey of Falun Gong, which showed that the overall efficiency of
healing and keeping fit was 97.9%. On October 20, the National Sports Commission
dispatched an investigative team to Changchun City, Jilin Province, and Harbin
City, Helongjiang Province, where the number of Falun Gong practitioners was
quite large. In a speech, the leader of the investigation team said, "We
think Falun Gong's health effect is pretty good. It has remarkable effects on
social stability and spirituality. It should be greatly commended." At the
same time, Dalian City in Liaoning Province and Beijing, as well as other
cities, also conducted nongovernmental surveys pertaining to Falun Gong's health
effects and obtained consistently positive results. After the Ministry of Pubic Security initiated the policy of "convict
first and investigate later" on July 21, 1998, some retired cadres from the
People's Congress, led by Comrade Qiao Shi, conducted a detailed investigation
of Falun Gong in the latter half of 1998, because massive numbers of letters
were reporting that the Public Security Bureaus were treating Falun Gong
practitioners illegally. They concluded that, "Falun Gong benefits the
nation and the people greatly without causing any harm". At the end of that
year, they also submitted a report of their investigation to the Political
Bureau that, at that time, was headed by Jiang Zemin. According to the May 10th secret document, however, "All
relevant departments must pay close attention to Falun Gong's activities, take
effective means to conscientiously strengthen your administration and prevent a
handful of people from taking advantage of their practice to undertake unlawful
and criminal activities, such as disturbing the social order, destroying social
stabilization, harming people's health, etc." The attitude displayed in
these national documents was of a determination to convict over and over again,
disrupting the daily lives of so many practitioners. China may have a signed
Constitution, laws and a national system, but in Jiang Zemin's mind they carried
no weight at all. Secret Public Security Document No. 27, 1999 There were 810 copies of document No. 27 (Gongtongzi, 1999) printed. Three
copies were filed in the Ministry of the Public Security, and the rest were
distributed through the General Office of the Ministry of Public Security to the
public security offices, bureaus, party committees and education branches in all
provinces, municipalities and cities under their direct jurisdictions, as well
as to the Commission of Education, the Commission of Sports, and the News
Publishing Bureau. The document was also copied and delivered to the Central
General Office, the General Office of the State Department, the Central
Political and Judiciary Committee, the Department of Civil Administration, the
National Labor and Commerce Administration Bureau, the National Bureau of
Religious Affairs, the Judiciary Office of the State Department, the Ministry of
Education, the National Sports Commission, related sections of the News
Publishing Bureau, the Party Committee of the Ministry of Public Security, and
all bureau-level divisions under the ministries. Nationwide, this document made
people feel very uneasy and had a very bad effect on the stability of society. Originally the document just said: "On April 25, many Falun Gong
practitioners gathered around Zhongnanhai, Beijing, which severely disturbed the
public order around the Central Government buildings and the State Department,
as well as interfered with normal life." This document was contrived to
publicize the personal letter to the Political Bureau that Jiang Zemin wrote the
night of April 25. The letter claimed, "Without a soul knowing anything
about it, more than 10,000 people suddenly gathered around the entrance to the
power center of the Party and the State and surrounded them for the entire day.
Seldom have we seen an organization with such strict discipline and the ability
to pass information so quickly." By the time the document was written, the
description of the incident was further "twisted" to contain a picture
more suitable for using it as an excuse for the persecution. At the same time, the Falun Gong practitioners who were actually there broke
through the information blockade and published their eyewitness accounts on the
Minghui (Clearwisdom) websites, one after the other. These testimonies
repeatedly mentioned similar experiences: in order not to disturb the public,
practitioners did not crowd or block the sidewalk; in order put less of a burden
on the public restrooms, practitioners did not drink water for the whole day.
Everyone silently awaited the results of the conversation between the leaders of
the Appeal Office and the practitioners' temporary representatives. Some were
reading books and some were practicing. Everyone was always well behaved and
quiet, and even little children did not act out. Such a crowd is a model of
civilization to its citizens and enough to "win honor for the country"
to outsiders. Because so many practitioners attended this appeal, many ordinary people also
knew the truth. No wonder the documents were distributed so stealthily: the plot
was too obvious. At the same time, the document notified all levels of the State to unify
their thoughts and actions and demanded, "The books related to Falun Gong
that have been clearly prohibited in the documents issued by the News Publishing
Bureau and distributed to the state publishing agencies, continue to be
confiscated. As for those Falun Gong books, videos and audiocassettes that have
been publicly published but do not fall under the current regulations, all news
and publishing sections should take the time to check and appraise the materials
and report their comments to the News Publishing Bureau." The distribution
of these documents confirmed that the secret suppression of Falun Gong had been
initiated as early as 1996 through official document circulation. The document also emphasized "strictly preventing the opposing forces
inside and outside China from their intervention of this matter." "The
forces outside China" are the official words in line with the state
political slogan "advancing with the times." In more common terms, it
is the same as "American Imperialism." In a society ever alert for
revolution, even the children in China in the period of the Cultural Revolution
understood that "the opposing forces inside and outside China" also
meant "American imperialism never stops destroying us." Although the
above terms are short, it has vividly depicted Jiang Zemin's knee-jerk hostility
to "the forces outside China." But this never kept him from showing
off his English. In the Summit in New Zealand, he personally handed a brochure
defaming Falun Gong to President Clinton. He actively lobbied to go to President
Bush's ranch in Texas. Before he left the central government, he arranged for
his children to immigrate to America; after he left the center of power, he
still regarded his interview with an American reporter as a great and glorious
event. There is a saying in Chinese that means "double-dealing," which
really suits Jiang Zemin. (To be continued) |