(Clearwisdom.net) Falun Gong practitioners in Sydney held a press conference in front of the Attorney-General's Department office building at noon on November 14, 2007. They exposed the pressure put on the Attorney-General's Department in a CCP attempt to intervene in the due process of law in the case against Chen Shaoji.

Chen Shaoji was Secretary of the Guangdong Province Political and Judiciary Committee, and head of the provincial Public Security Department, among other other positions. He has actively participated in the persecution of Falun Gong ever since the Chinese Communist Party launched the persecution on July 20, 1999. Chen was directly in charge of the 610 Office, and ordered or supervised, controlled, assisted and instigated police officers to intensify the brainwashing, "reform" and general assault on Falun Gong practitioners. Chen Shaoji should bear responsibility for these crimes. Harvesting organs from living Falun Gong practitioners has also taken place in Guangdong Province.

Falun Gong practitioners Li Fuying and Xie Yan filed a lawsuit against Chen for torture in the New South Wales Supreme Court when Chen led a delegation to visit Australia in February 2006. Several hearings have been held in the Supreme Court. Chen failed to respond. The plaintiffs applied for a default judgment, hoping the court would follow the rule of law as in Bo Xilai's case to make a default judgment.

The plaintiffs were surprised to see an attorney from the Attorney-General's Department hand the judge a letter from the Chinese Embassy to the Attorney-General's Department, requesting to help the court in their decision as a third party. The Court decided to postpone the hearing for two weeks.

Barrister: Default Judgment Accords with Australian Law

Barrister for the plaintiffs, Angela Kate, spoke to the reporters after leaving the court. She said the defendant has failed to respond to the court since the lawsuit was filed in February 2006. According to Australian law, plaintiffs are entitled to apply for default judgment if the defendant fails to respond in twenty-eight days.

On whether Chen Shaoji had diplomatic immunity, Ms. Kate said if it were a normal lawsuit not involving human rights violations, Chen might have immunity. However, Chen violated international human rights conventions, and therefore shouldn't have diplomatic immunity. She believed the legal system should treat everyone the same. Ms. Kate expressed confidence in the lawsuit. She believes that the plaintiffs' application for default judgment accords with Australian law.

Plaintiffs' Legal Counsel: CCP Attempted to Block Default Judgment

Another of the plaintiffs' legal counsel remarked that an attorney from the Attorney-General's Department submitted a letter asking to assist the court with their decision as a third party. The letter was from the Chinese Embassy to the Attorney-General's Department. The specific content of the letter is unknown to the plaintiffs.

Former Chinese Embassy Official Chen Yonglin: Default Judgment in Bo Xilai's Case Was a Great Encouragement

Former CCP diplomat Mr. Chen Yonglin said the presence of the representative from the Attorney-General's Department in person, instead of sending a letter to the court, indicated unprecedented pressure from the CCP. This didn't happen even in Jiang Zemin's case.

Chen Yonglin said the default judgment in Bo Xilai's case was very significant. The CCP was afraid of being found out and was concerned about saving face. It would not respond to or send a representative to the court. Overseas lawsuits related to the persecution of Falun Gong have been ignored. Their loss of Bo's case was a heavy blow and frightened the leaders and subordinate CCP officials who have been active in the persecution of Falun Gong. The outcome of Bo's lawsuit showed that Falun Gong has been recognized by Australian mainstream society. The inhuman persecution of Falun Gong practitioners is widely decried in mainstream society. The ruling in the Bo Xilai case was a great encouragement to Falun Gong practitioners and others who are against the CCP's autocracy.

Mr. Chen said the great influence of Bo Xilai's case made the CCP very resentful. If Chen Shaoji's case turned out the same, more and more Chinese officials would face default judgment. So, he surmised that the CCP must have threatened the Australian government with such things as breaking off diplomatic ties or canceling free trade agreements, which might result in great economic loss for Australia. The CCP could therefore use these threat as leverage to coerce the Australian government to make concessions in Chen's Shaoji's case.

Plaintiffs: Disgrace of Chen Shaoji Is Permanently Written in History

Plaintiff Xie Yan said she had been imprisoned in a forced labor camp for two years and three months just for telling people the facts about Falun Gong. She was cruelly tortured in the camp. She was hung from a metal window frame for the first forty-eight hours. Her toes could barely touch the ground. In the following three days, she was hung for eighteen hours a day. Other tortures she experienced included being tied up for extended periods of time, being force-fed and subjected to brainwashing, and forced to do hard labor for sixteen hours a day. Ms. Xie was lucky to be rescued out of China. She wished to bring chief persecutors like Chen Shaoji to justice in Australia. She hoped the Australian government would not give in to CCP pressure but would instead safeguard the dignity of the law, so that the fair and lawful ruling in Bo's case would be followed by Chen's case. Xie Yan said, "We will continue with the lawsuit. Many friends are helping us. Many people of justice will help us continue in our pursuit in this lawsuit."

Xie Yan also said the path of Chen Shaoji's promotions is covered with the blood of Falun Gong practitioners. His crimes have made his disgrace permanently written in history.