A True Chinese Renaissance

David Kilgour on Human Rights in China

2012-01-27T15:35:00.000-08:00

China’s 5000+ year old civilization has given much to the world. Domestically, the economic policies launched by Deng Xiaoping after 1978 lifted hundreds of millions of nationals out of grinding poverty. My own longstanding respect for the Chinese people grew during several visits to the country and I was honoured to represent some Canadians of origin in the Middle Kingdom in Parliament for almost 27 years.
Canadians should remain fully engaged with China despite the difficulties created by its governance model. Democracy with very Chinese features is probably closer than many think. How many ‘experts’ anticipated the Arab Spring? We shouldn’t forget in this engagement that the values we represent are both Canadian and universal ones, including human dignity, rule of law, multi-party democracy, corporate social responsibility and the need for access by people everywhere to good jobs.
You have just heard David Matas outline the persecution underway since mid-1999 against China’s peaceful Falun Gong community. Organ pillaging is a new crime against humanity and is completely contrary to the traditional values of the Chinese. I’ll now attempt to show how Mao Zedong’s’s value system, maintained today by the Communist party, made this continuing barbarism possible.
Jung Chang and Jon Holliday end their biography, Mao, The Unknown Story, by stating, “Today (2006), Mao‘s portrait and corpse still dominate Tiananmen Square in the heart of the Chinese capital. The current Communist regime declares itself to be Mao’s heir and fiercely perpetuates the myth of Mao.” Many historians include him with Stalin and Hitler as the three worst mass murderers of the 20th century. Chang-Holliday note, “In all, well over 70 million Chinese perished under Mao’s rule in peacetime.”

Mao Zedong portrait in Tienanmen Square

Yang Jisheng, author of Tombstone
“Great Leap Forward”
The worst of Mao’s assaults upon fellow citizens is detailed in Yang Jisheng’s 2008 book, Tombstone. It documents the death by starvation of 25-40 million Chinese from 1959-1961. Richard McGregor notes in his own recent book, The Party: The Secret World of China’s Communist Rulers, that Tombstone confirms “what any serious student of world affairs outside of China already knew—that Mao Zedong’s utopian plans to accelerate the establishment of ... ‘true Communism’...produced the worst man-made famine in recorded history, a disaster of Holocaust-like dimensions” Disillusioned with the Party over the Tiananmen Square massacre, Yang, a journalist with Xinhua, the party-state news agency, used access granted to Xinhua to locate and publish the truth from party-state archives and to expose denials spread over decades. The Party has banned mention of Tombstone in all media.
Mao Practices Continue
Practices of the “Great Helmsman” continue. In 2003, for example, the Party sought to hide the impact of the deadly SARS virus, which began in southern China and spread to its major cities. Only when a surgeon, Jiang Yanyong, sent to foreign media the actual numbers of Beijing residents struck by SARS did it launch quarantine measures.

SARS Epidemic in 2003 Victims of Sanlu Dairy Scandal in 2008

Similar indifference to the public good recurred in 2008 over the Sanlu dairy tainted milk scandal, which caused sickness or death to some 300,000 Chinese babies. Zhao Huibin, a dairy farmer, revealed that quality testers at Sanlu took bribes from farmers and milk dealers in exchange for “looking the other way” on milk adulterated with melamine. Arthur Kroeber of the Beijing-based consultancy Dragonomics, later stated that the Sanlu disaster was rooted in the Party’s continued involvement in pricing control, company management and flow of information, “(It) views control of all three as necessary to its rule….Further scandals are thus inevitable.”
Tibet and Dalai Lama
Another instance of Mao governance tactics persisting is Tibet and the Dalai Lama. In 1959, Mao wrote about the uprising, caused in part by the famine created by his Great Leap Forward. Quoting again from Mao, The Unknown Story: “When word spread… that Mao planned to kidnap the… young Dalai Lama, thousands of Tibetans passed in front of his palace, shouting, ‘Chinese get out.’ Mao cabled that the Dalai Lama should be allowed to escape because he feared that his death would inflame world opinion… Once the Dalai Lama had escaped, Mao told his men: ‘Do all you can to hold the enemies in Lhasa…so… we can surround them and wipe them out’.’’ An estimated half of all adult Tibetan males were thrown into prison, where they were basically worked to death.
The young Dalai Lama His Holiness
Today, the Party continues to accuse the Dalai Lama of fomenting violence in Tibet. In fact, as the spiritual leader of Tibetans, an honourary Canadian citizen, and respected world leader, His Holiness is Beijing’s best chance for a peaceful resolution of the Tibet issue. Advocating Tibetan autonomy under Chinese rule, he disavows violence, does not favour secession and last year gave up his political leadership of Tibetans in exile.
Suppression of Dissent- Gao Zhisheng
The party-state still uses overwhelming force to suppress voices advocating dignity for all and the rule of law. One is Gao Zhisheng, a twice Nobel Peace Prize-nominated lawyer. A decade ago, he was named one of China’s top ten lawyers. Party wrath was released, however, when Gao defended Falun Gong practitioners. It began with the removal of his permit to practise law, an attempt on his life, a police attack on his family, and a cessation of any income. It intensified when Gao responded in the nonviolent tradition of Gandhi by launching nationwide hunger strikes calling for equal dignity for all nationals. One of his communiques described more than 50 days of torture in prison. In January 2009, his wife and two children escaped China, obtaining asylum in the U.S.
On New Year’s Day 2012, Gao’s wife wrote him a reassuring letter “...I am no longer afraid of the police….while I was in China, I was often bullied by (them)... which left me paranoid.” She also recalled, “Do you remember what (our son) said ...? ‘I have a red string in my heart, and no matter where (Father) goes, the red string will be tied to him.’ ... Even if you go to the ends of the earth, we will remain connected to you…”

Gao Zhisheng Liu Xiaobo

Liu Xiaobo
Liu Xiaobo , a prominent intellectual and drafter of Charter 08, on Christmas Day 2009 was sentenced to eleven years in prison for advocating democracy. In 2010, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in absentia.
Trials in China are mere theatres. The deciding ‘judges’ usually don’t even hear evidence given in ‘courts’. Canadian Clive Ansley, who practised law in Shanghai for 13 years, explains the fate of Gao,Liu and so many others by observing: “There is a ... saying amongst Chinese lawyers and judges who truly believe in the Rule of Law…(which) illustrates the futility of attempting to ‘assist China in improving its legal system’ by training judges. It is: ‘Those who hear the case do not make the judgment; those who make the judgment have not heard the case’.... Nothing which has transpired in the ‘courtroom’ has any impact on the ‘judgment’.”
Religious Persecution
Mao championed ‘the death of God’. Churches were banned. After his death, restrictions were loosened. Today, worship is legal at churches controlled by the State Administration for Religious Affairs (SARA), such as the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA) and the Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) for Protestants. Similar SARA-controlled patriotic organizations exist for Buddhism, Islam and Taoism.
The Party stresses that “religion must have mutual adaptation within socialist society.” It defines what ‘adaptations’ are required and by whom, so religions have to ‘modify’ their practices to suit the Party’s political objectives (Chandler and Pan, 2001). Consequently, the CCPA rejects the Pope’s supreme authority, and sham ordinations of bishops are conducted without a papal mandate. The TSPM is so tightly regulated that millions of Protestants have fled to illegal ‘House Churches’ where they are persecuted.
House church destroyed Uighur Muslims
Other faith communities are also suppressed. The Winjiang-Uighur region has been the scene of rioting, injuries and death. The large Muslim population considers Xinjiang its homeland. The Hui, in contrast, form a Muslim group which has, until recently been granted more freedoms by the Party than other embattled minorities. They are more assimilated and, at times, have taken the side of authorities on other minority groups, especially the Tibetans. However, Hui in Taoshan clashed earlier recently with authorities who had destroyed their refurbished two- century-old mosque, saying it was an ‘illegal structure’.
Freedom of belief or non-belief is essential to any open society. Only those who have lived under totalitarianism can understand the ways of the party-state in China, especially on the matter of religion. The picture is not entirely bleak. Edward Friedman, political science professor at the University of Wisconsin, has studied China for decades and notes, “There is a crisis of faith in a China where ‘money is everything’. The societal response is a religious revival. Buddhism (but not the Lamaist variety) Daoism and Confucianism are flourishing.”
Natural Environment
Three decades of ‘anything goes’ economics have done major harm to the people of China, their natural environment, their neighbours and our shrunken planet as a whole. Consider:
• Nearly half a billion Chinese citizens now lack access to safe drinking water, yet many factories continue to dump waste into surface water with impunity.
• A World Bank study done with China’s environmental agency in 2007 found that pollution was causing 750,000 premature deaths a year.
• Coal now provides about two-thirds of China’s energy and it already burns more of it than Europe, Japan and the U.S. combined. Sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides from Chinese coal plants are now reaching well beyond China’s borders, yet Beijing has failed to achieve anything substantive concerning the protection of water, air and soil. Many experts conclude that that China cannot go green without political change.
Lake Tai today Farmer Wu with petitions
Note, for example, the fate of Lake Tai, China’s ancient ‘Land of Rice and Fish’. By 2007, it had turned a fluorescent green because of effluent waste. Two million people lost their main source of water. Local farmer Wu Lihong protested for over a decade that the chemical industry and its friends in the local government were destroying an ecological treasure. He was imprisoned on what was described as an “alchemy of charges that smacked of official retribution.” The larger tragedy, of course, is that Lake Tai is only one instance of what unregulated capitalism since 1978 has done to much of China’s natural environment. Instead of stopping the pollution, the regime punishes whistle-blowers such as Wu.
Public Health
The state of public health in China today is troubling to friends abroad, largely because of the ‘no limits’ and ‘pollute anything’ capitalism. There was no health system for rural people and those not on state payrolls. Under the new privatized model, doctors, hospitals and pharmacies were made ‘profit centres’ and expected to finance their activities through patient fees. The current regime is trying unsuccessfully to build a minimal health care safety net. Fortunately life expectancy continues to rise in China, from 62.3 years in 2000 to 74.68 years in 2011.

‘Ponzi Capitalism’
Jonathan Manthorpe concluded last year in the Vancouver Sun,
“What one is seeing in China is variations of what can only be called a Ponzi scheme. A local government, without a functioning system for raising tax revenue—and… so riddled with corruption…sells development land to garner cash… (first getting) rid of peasants living on the land ...) The land will then be sold to a development company ... owned by the local government. And, this being China, where the remnants of the command economy survive, the municipality has the power to instruct banks to lend the development company the money for the sale. So the local government gets its cash, the municipally-owned company gets to build a speculative residential or industrial complex, and all seems well.”
Here’s something relevant from the Financial Times recently about the housing bubble in China. In the coastal city of Wenzhou, luxury apartments are to be built for as much as 70,000 Yuan ($11,000) a square metre, which is about twice the annual income of the average resident. To finance a 150 square metre apartment in the building would consume every penny of a typical resident’s income for 350 years.
Need for tangible safety nets
The party-state continues to mistreat large segments of its own population in order to keep down domestic consumption, including the absence of an effective social net. For example, less than a fifth of Chinese workers have pensions; even less are covered by unemployment insurance. Simultaneously since 1998, the government’s holdings of foreign-exchange reserves have risen to $US 3.18 trillion by the end of last year.
Earlier this month around 150 Chinese workers at Foxconn, the world’s largest electronics manufacturer, threatened to leap from their factory roof in Wuhan to protest working conditions. One explained, “We were put to work (on a new production line) without any training, and paid piecemeal. The assembly line ran very fast… we all had blisters and the skin on our hands was black. The factory was also really choked with dust and nobody could bear it.” In 2010, fourteen Foxconn workers died by throwing themselves from the tops of company buildings…Safety nets were installed in some factories and counsellors were hired to ‘help’ the workers.
A Way Forward
Universal values must be asserted continuously in dealings with Beijing. Sun Liping, sociology professor at Beijing’s Tsinghua University, noted that there were 180,000 “mass incidents” in China in 2010, everything from strikes to riots and demonstrations, twice as many as in 2006. The regime continues to rely on repression and brutality to maintain itself in office.
Canada could seek to replay in China the important role it had in establishing popular democracy in South Africa in the late 1980s. There are lessons in China from the non-violent civic resistance which has occurred in many nations. Each was different in terms of boycotts, mass protests, strikes and civil disobedience. In all, authoritarian rulers were delegitimized and their sources of support.
When Prime Minister Harper visits China next month, he should make it clear that:
• We stand with the oppressed people of China and seek their peaceable transition to the rule of law and democratic governance
• There will be zero tolerance in Canada when unfair trade practices are used by China, including theft of intellectual property and the continued refusal to honour commitments made to the World Trade Organization in 2001
• Canadian investors in China must be protected much better than at present
• Canada will sell products from the Alberta oil sands to Chinese customers, but is unlikely to sell ownership of any more plants to state-owned companies
• Our border and other customs personnel will seize counterfeit products made in China and seize precursor chemicals used to manufacture cocaine, heroin, Speed and Ecstasy.
Taiwan Election as Mirror for China
Canadians and 23 million Taiwanese share a number of characteristics, including, respect for human dignity, multi-party democracy, rule of law and national self-determination. We can admire the emergence of Taiwan from brutal martial law to a full-fledged democracy. Its prosperity rise is impressive: starting decades ago with a per capita income in the US$ 150 range, to an estimated US$ 35, 700 on a purchasing power parity GDP basis (versus $7,600 in the PRC). Taiwan, along with other familiar countries, is a democratic beacon in Asia- and is what the PRC can, should and I believe will be.
President Ma Ying-jeou Tsai Ing-wen
The January 14th election in Taiwan marked another step in the advance of democratic governance. Nearly three quarters of those registered voted and the candidates of the two major parties, the incumbent president Ma Ying-jeou (KMT) and challenger Tsai Ing-wen (DPP), both campaigned well and attracted huge rallies, the former being re-elected, but the opposition DPP increased both its voter support and seats in the Legislative Yuan.
On election day and in several preceding ones, 21 of us from eight countries observed the election in several centres. Our preliminary conclusion, (which can be accessed here) was that the election was “mostly free, but partly unfair.”
I’ll only mention some indications of interference from Beijing we learned about:
• making it evident to voters which party it favoured, thankfully not by testing missiles off Taiwan as in the 1996 presidential election
• Subsidizing by about 50% the flights of an estimated 200,000 Taiwanese business people returning from China to vote
• reducing the number of tourists visiting Taiwan during the election campaign period (presumably to minimize the number of nationals who observed a peaceful democratic election campaign)
• Sending procurement delegations from China to southern Taiwan in company with KMT officials before the election
• pressuring business leaders from Taiwan doing business in China to endorse the KMT
• creating voter fear about economic uncertainty if the DPP won a major factor favouring Ma and the KMT.
An interesting post-election piece appeared in the New York Times. The party-state news agency, Xinhua, avoided the words “president” and “democracy”, presenting the election as a merely local one. A businessman from China who had observed the election noted, “This is an amazing idea, to be able to choose the people who represent you. I think democracy will come to China. It’s only a matter of time.”
It goes without saying that a democratic China would not be killing Falun Gong citizens in forced labour camps. That it continues to happen is a key indicator of misgovernance today in China.
Thank you.

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Shen Yun’s Display of Traditional Chinese Culture Scares Chinese Regime

2012-01-26T01:44:00.000-08:00

Chinese consulate sends letter to discourage support from Seattle council member

By Stephen Gregory
Epoch Times Staff

A curtain call for Shen Yun Performing Arts at the California Center for the Arts in San Diego on Jan. 23, 2012. (The Epoch Times)

Shen Yun Performing Arts has begun its 2012 season with full houses and sold-out shows in cities throughout America. Along with its success has come some unwanted interference. Due to its mission to revive the 5,000 year old, divinely inspired culture of China, Shen Yun has become a target of the Chinese regime.
Over the past 60 years, atheism has been forced upon China by the Chinese Communist Party, and decades of campaigns, particularly the Cultural Revolution, have been carried out to eradicate every vestige of traditional culture, says Shen Yun’s website.
Chinese consular officials continue to attempt to thwart the performances and success of Shen Yun around the world. This time government officials in Seattle have been targeted. In a letter dated Jan. 18 Gao Zhangshang, the Chinese Consul-General in San Francisco, asked a Seattle City Council member not to provide a proclamation or letter of support for Shen Yun, not to attend the performance, nor give interviews to media about Shen Yun. The name of the council member who provided the letter is being withheld at the member’s request. (View the letter below)

The Chinese regime representatives’ actions reflect a ‘deep-seated fear, paranoia, and sense of inferiority.’
— George Mason University Professor Zhang Tianliang

In writing such letters, the Chinese regime representatives’ actions reflect a “deep-seated fear, paranoia, and sense of inferiority,” says George Mason University’s Professor Zhang Tianliang, in a 2010 article published in The Epoch Times.
“What the regime fears most is that Shen Yun, which has swept across Europe, the Americas, Australia, and Asia, will eventually clear the clouds of deceit spread by the communist regime, and the vulgarity and ugliness of the Communist Party culture will only become more apparent.”
Shen Yun is scheduled to perform in Seattle’s Marion Oliver McGraw Hall on Feb. 7 and 8.
Since Shen Yun first began performing in 2006, the Chinese regime has sought to interfere. On a blog titled “Who’s Afraid of Shen Yun?” Leeshai Lemish, an emcee for the performance, has documented 46 cases of interference in 20 countries that have taken place since 2008. The incidents run the gamut from the slashing of bus tires in Ottawa to the threat to withhold loans promised by the Chinese regime to the Moldovan government.
Lemish believes that the Chinese regime seeks to block the performance because Shen Yun typically includes one or two acts that depict the persecution of Falun Gong in modern-day China.

A scanned copy of a letter sent to a Seattle city council member by Gao Zhangshang, the Chinese Consul General for San Francisco. The council member's name has been blocked out. The marks on the letter were made by the member's office staff.

“PRC ‘diplomats’ have been engaging in covert action in North America, Europe, Australia, and, really, wherever they are found, to try to sabotage any activity that exposes persecution in China,” writes Lemish.
The Seattle Falun Dafa Association is bringing Shen Yun to Seattle. The association’s president, Ms. Zhiping Kolouch, Ph.D., agrees with Lemish.
“The performance tells the truth about what happens in China—that you can’t follow your own spiritual path,” said Kolouch. “Right at this moment you have millions of people in China who stand to lose everything they have because of their beliefs.”
It is outside of China that Shen Yun’s artistic creators have the ability to freely express themselves and their ancient culture. Their courage to speak up is an integral part of Shen Yun’s spirit, the company’s website says.
The Consulate-General’s letter begins by stressing “friendship” and “bilateral cooperation” with the Seattle council member. The letter continues by complaining that the Shen Yun show in Seattle is presented by Falun Gong, and goes on to repeat stock propaganda phrases the Chinese regime has used to attack Falun Gong in and out of China for many years.
That propaganda has long been discredited by human rights groups. Human Rights Watch in 2000 wrote, “Falun Gong members are peaceful, law-abiding citizens, and there is no excuse for the human rights violations they have endured.”
Amnesty International, also in 2000, wrote, “the crackdown is politically motivated.”
An NGO, the United Nations International Education Development, declared in a testimony before the U.N. Human Rights Commission in August 2001 that an incident of self-immolation that the Chinese regime used to claim Falun Gong was an “evil cult” was in fact staged by the Chinese regime itself.
Falun Gong, also called Falun Dafa, involves five sets of meditative exercises and following moral teachings based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance.

In 1999 then-CCP President Jiang Zemin feared that too many people were following beliefs outside of CCP doctrine and control. According to Chinese state estimates in early 1999, about 100 million people were practicing Falun Gong. In July 1999 he ordered a campaign to “eradicate” the practice.
Kolouch said that Chinese consulate officials have sent letters similar to the one in Seattle to government officials in other cities in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. She is not concerned the letter will damage either Shen Yun or Falun Gong.
“They are trying to destroy us and they just help us by doing more advertising,” Kolouch said.
Previous examples bear her out. Lemish’s blog points out a recent case in which the efforts by Chinese Consular officials to shut down a January 2011 performance in Busan, Korea, caused such a media frenzy that it easily sold out.
Kolouch says Seattle ticket sales are going well.
“Shen Yun, in the last few weeks sold out several performances in Lincoln Center in New York, and also sold out shows in Los Angeles and in San Francisco,” Kolouch said. “The Seattle performance will do very well.”
“The American people realize Shen Yun is a very beautiful thing that uplifts people’s spirit and gives them a good education about China’s authentic, traditional culture.”

Mainland Chinese Audience Member Sees ShenYun in New York City and rejects atheism

2012-01-15T15:18:00.000-08:00

Atheism is evil and wrong for the Chinese people.
He says China is place that needs ShenYun the most

Chinese Censorship in 2011: The Worst and the Weirdest (Freedom House)

2011-12-20T23:10:00.000-08:00

By Freedom House

There is never a dull moment for the media sphere in China, home to the most elaborate censorship apparatus in the world. Drawing on nearly 40 issues of the China Media Bulletin, Freedom House staff have identified the following as the year’s worst and weirdest developments surrounding press and internet freedom in China.

The Worst:

1.     More state, less capitalism in China’s state capitalism
2.     Thuggery and abusive detention
3.     The rise—and threatened fall—of microblogs
4.     An endless stream of forbidden topics
5.     A quagmire for foreign companies
6.     Beijing’s growing media influence abroad
7.     China-based cyberattacks

The Weirdest:

1.     Things are not as they appear
2.     Censorship to the max
3.     Maoist, mind-numbing, and mandatory
4.     An open internet is harmful—unless you’re a golfer
5.     False flags
6.     I know you are but what am I?

The Worst
1.     More state, less capitalism in China’s state capitalism: Over the past decade, the Chinese media sector has undergone a process of commercialization and the introduction of some competition, with ownership remaining in state hands and all media required to follow state and party censorship directives. In 2011, however, Chinese leaders appeared to be retreating from these reforms, strongly emphasizing propaganda value over commercial viability and audience demand. For example, all commercial TV ads were replaced with propaganda messages in Chongqing; sharp new restrictions were imposed on TV “reality” shows, ads during TV dramas, and the volume of entertainment general; and several periodicals respected for their muckraking journalism faced closure, dismissals, or tighter supervision. As if these moves were not clear enough, the authorities signaled their intentions with the announcement of across-the-board “cultural reforms” designed to reinforce public support for “socialism with Chinese characteristics.
2.     Thuggery and abusive detention: In addition to censorship and criminal charges, a growing number of journalists, bloggers, and online activists were subjected to physical violence and arbitrary detention under harsh conditions, with sometimes fatal results. The year began with a reporter in Xinjiang being beaten to death and a dissident writer dying after delayed medical parole. Then came a string of abductions by authorities—including that of prominent artist and blogger Ai Weiwei in April—after calls for a Tunisian-style “Jasmine Revolution” in China appeared online in February. Ai was held incommunicado for months and threatened with torture, while others were beaten, deprived of sleep, and forcibly medicated. In May, reports emerged that government-hired thugs had poured boiling water on the outspoken father of a child killed in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, and in September a reporter was stabbed to death after exposing a food-safety scandal. In what has become an iconic symbol of the paranoid thuggery used to isolate dissidents in China, netizens and journalists have repeatedly faced assaults and detentions while attempting to visit activist Chen Guangcheng, a blind, self-taught lawyer being kept under a draconian form of house arrest. In December, Oscar-winning actor Christian Bale became the latest victim of these assaults, though his experience was comparatively mild.
3.     The rise—and threatened fall—of microblogs: Although Twitter remains blocked in China, domestic microblogging services have rapidly grown in influence as a source of news and an outlet for public opinion, with the number of Chinese users surpassing 200 million during 2011. Despite the robust censorship already in place, including automated filtering of sensitive keywords and manual monitoring and deletions, microblogs’ speed of transmission and other “loopholes” enabled netizens to draw attention to incipient scandals and mount online campaigns on various topics. These included outrage over a notorious hit-and-run case involving the arrogant son of a powerful official, a campaign to identify abducted children, a bid to name and shame corrupt officials based on their luxury watches, efforts by independent candidates to run for local council seats, and most notably, the circulation of real-time news on a fatal high-speed rail crash and official attempts to cover up its cause. In response to these challenges, throughout the fall, top officials made repeated visits and statements designed to emphasize the need for domestic microblog providers to ramp up controls and eradicate “rumors.” Amid other reports of increasing controls and deletions, last week Beijing announced new rules that require real-name registration and avoidance of a laundry list of vaguely defined topics. If this trend continues, the “microblogosphere” of 2012 may be a shadow of its former self.
4.     An endless stream of forbidden topics: Editors and internet-portal staff reportedly receive as many as three notices per day—by text message, phone call, or e-mail—that contain updates, adjustments, and minutiae pertaining to official censorship directives. The sheer breadth of topics allegedly targeted by such directives in 2011 indicates that the Chinese people are being systematically deprived of important information related to social affairs, governance, public health, and the wider world. News and discussion of the Arab Spring protests in the Middle East were sharply curtailed, with even the word “Egypt” censored online at one point. Other forbidden or restricted topics during the year included the above-mentioned train crash, an oil spill, the death of a herder in Inner Mongolia, labor unrest, a recent village revolt, official corruption, and assorted content related to Xinjiang and Tibet. Of particular note is the targeting of individuals’ names as “sensitive keywords.” A CMB special feature in July found that as prominent activists and lawyers were rounded up by security forces starting in February, their names began disappearing, in whole or in part, from the Chinese internet.
5.     A quagmire for foreign companies: Foreign firms attempting to gain access to the vast Chinese market have faced countless obstacles, and the internet sector is no exception. Applications that fail to comply with the government’s censorship and surveillance demands, which many in the democratic world would find unpalatable or even illegal, are generally banned in China, allowing their domestic competitors to flourish. Vexingly, these same competitors are allowed to court foreign investors with U.S. stock listings. In 2011, various applications that still have access—including LinkedIn, Google+, Skype, and Gmail—were plagued by rumors or temporary disruptions indicating that they might join the likes of Facebook and Twitter, which are permanently blocked. Others, like Flipboard or Bing, made compromises that entailed partnering with censored domestic services like Renren or Baidu to gain a foothold in China. Engagement in the Chinese market can even bring risks at home. Cisco faced two lawsuits in the United States claiming that its network technologies had been used to monitor, identify, and arrest democracy activists and Falun Gong practitioners, who were subsequently imprisoned and tortured. In a promising development toward year’s end, the U.S. Trade Representative took an important first step in confronting the Chinese government on its opaque, discriminatory censorship policies vis-à-vis U.S. companies, filing a request for information at the World Trade Organization.
6.     Beijing’s growing media influence abroad: Barely a week goes by without some new evidence of the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts to sway foreign audiences, partner with other regimes’ state media, or suppress overseas criticism of its policies. During 2011, news items in the CMB’s Beyond China section covered China-related developments in over two dozen countries. These included content-sharing agreements with state media in Syria and Zambia, assistance to Ethiopia’s government in jamming dissident broadcasts, the launch of Arabic and Thai-language versions of China’s Baidu search engine, and the jailing of Falun Gong radio broadcasters in Indonesia and Vietnam. Perhaps most bizarrely, an enormous, Chinese-donated television screen showed progovernment programming in the capital of Zimbabwe. Such efforts were not limited to the developing world. Tibetans faced protest restrictions in Hungary, various encroachments were made into the media scene in Taiwan, and the United States witnessed Chinese state-sponsored Bible tours, a Maoist ballet, Chinese state-media inserts in leading American newspapers, and a new Chinese state television office in Washington, DC.
7.     China-based cyberattacks: Throughout 2011, there were numerous reports of cyberattacks, cyberespionage, and hacking that originated in China, and evidence steadily accumulated that these acts were carried out with government approval. The targets included Britain’s Foreign Office; at least five multinational energy companies; the French Finance Ministry; and the accounts of hundreds of Gmail users, including human rights activists, journalists, military personnel, and senior government officials in the United States and South Korea. Despite Chinese denials of official involvement, various incidents pointed to a robust government—and often military—connection to these attacks. In July, a short video clip from a state-run TV program about cybersecurity inadvertently admitted that the Chinese military had designed and used special software to target overseas critics. In October, the Financial Times reported that many of the 500 employees at a technology company near Beijing belonged to a militia unit organized by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to specialize in cyberwarfare. And in December, U.S. intelligence agencies identified between 12 and 20 Chinese groups—many connected to the PLA—as being responsible for cyberespionage attacks that have stolen billions of dollars’ worth of data from U.S. companies and government entities.

The Weirdest
1.     Things are not as they appear: Chinese officials frequently call for a crackdown on “fake news,” but the targets often involve factual accounts of corruption, police brutality, and other abuses. To make matters worse, state media were repeatedly caught indulging in fabrications of their own during 2011. In January, alert netizens noticed when state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) used footage of fighter jets from the 1986 Hollywood blockbuster Top Gun as part of a news segment on a Chinese air force drill (video). In June, a government website in Sichuan Province posted a photograph of three local officials inspecting a newly constructed road, but in the blatantly altered photo, the men appeared to be floating above the road without casting shadows. Dozens of parodies soon blossomed online, showing the three officials with dinosaurs, on the moon, or examining an injured soccer player. Such fakery was not limited to government entities. In July, an American blogger reported sightings of a fake Apple store in Yunnan Province (photos). Even some of the salespeople said they believed they were working for a genuine outlet. According to the blogger, “A ten minute walk around the corner revealed not one, but TWO more rip-off Apple stores.”
2.     Censorship to the max: The Chinese Communist Party is well known for its hypersensitivity to information that would be considered innocuous in most countries. But sometimes the extent of the censors’ paranoia still manages to surprise. In March, China’s media regulator urged television broadcasters to refrain from airing popular fantasy dramas that involve characters traveling back in time, as they could encourage harmful phenomena like “feudalism, superstition, fatalism, and reincarnation.” In September, the same regulator issued a one-year suspension for Super Girl, a wildly popular American Idol–like talent competition, possibly because it was devoid of propaganda value, entailed subtle democratic ideas, and generated unchecked emotion in viewers. But perhaps the most notable excess during the year was the relentless crackdown on “jasmine” after the so-called Jasmine Revolution that unseated the authoritarian president of Tunisia in January. In May, the New York Times reported that the word itself had been targeted by Chinese censors in virtually all contexts, both online and off. Even video clips of President Hu Jintao singing the folk song Molihua (Jasmine) at public events were removed from the web, and in an unfair blow to the flower industry, the China International Jasmine Cultural Festival was cancelled.
3.     Maoist, mind-numbing, and mandatory: In June 2011, a state-sponsored movie celebrating the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party was released in theaters in China and overseas. The soporific film was widely panned and proved unable to draw crowds on its own, prompting the Chinese authorities to employ various tactics to ensure its “success.” These included censoring online reviews to prevent critical comments, requiring state-owned enterprises to arrange theater trips for employees, and delaying the release of Hollywood blockbusters such as the new Transformers and Harry Potter films. Most creatively, some moviegoers reported being forced to purchase tickets for the party film and then having the tickets manually altered to show the movie they were actually going to see. Other preparations for the party’s 90th anniversary included authorities in the city of Chongqing ordering local residents to familiarize themselves with 36 Maoist-era “Red Culture” songs, holding a Communist-themed singing competition at Henan Normal University, and organizing a Beijing event in which 90 senior Chinese officials sang revolutionary classics. In a peculiar endorsement, state media reported that former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder praised the creativity of the campaign, and suggested that Chongqing’s “red song” artists carry out cultural activities with German arts groups. Separately, in a display of the absurd monotony that results from a harsh censorship regime, the party mouthpiece People’s Daily published a front page—covering the closing ceremony of the annual National People’s Congress session—that was virtually identical to the previous year’s.
4.     An open internet is harmful—unless you’re a golfer: In November, organizers of the World Cup golf tournament held on the southern Chinese island of Hainan succeeded where the International Olympic Committee failed in 2008—they convinced the Chinese government to grant uncensored internet access for the international sporting event. The open access, which was made available through a server based in Hong Kong to more than 120,000 attendees and participants, allowed journalists and fans from China to temporarily enjoy a privilege that is routinely denied to their 1.3 billion fellow citizens. The Communist Party constantly warns that an uncensored internet would be terribly harmful to society, but it apparently believes that golf lovers are immune to these insidious effects.
5.     False flags: In March, reports emerged that the U.S. film studio MGM was digitally removing Chinese flags and military symbols from its forthcoming remake of the Cold War drama Red Dawn, in which a gaggle of American farm kids help repel a Communist invasion. The replacement emblems are apparently North Korean. According to the Los Angeles Times, a leaked version of the script had drawn critical comments from the Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece Global Times last year, prompting the change. It is unclear how the filmmakers might deal with scenes in which the invaders speak in their native tongue. In November, a scene featuring the Tibetan flag was reportedly altered for a new Bollywood film, Rockstar, sparking protests among Tibetans living in exile in India. The two incidents illustrate the preemptive self-censorship carried out by some foreign media producers as they seek a greater foothold in China’s fast-growing film market.
6.     I know you are but what am I?: In April, the Chinese government published a tit-for-tat response to the U.S. State Department’s annual human rights reports, which cover nearly every country in the world, including China. Oddly, the Chinese critique of U.S. human rights practices included “fairly strict restriction” of the internet. CMB editors found that roughly 80 percent of the sources cited in the Chinese report were U.S. media outlets, websites, government entities, and civil society groups, indirectly undermining the report’s claim that the United States had “turned a blind eye to its own terrible human rights situation and seldom mentioned it.” In a similar case of turnabout, an editorial in a Chinese state-run newspaper criticized what it said was a U.S. media blackout on the Occupy Wall Street protests in September. Even as U.S. media coverage ramped up, China’s media quickly lost their enthusiasm for the protest movement, particularly after online appeals called for similar protests in China. Domestic microblogging services began blocking all phrases that combined the word “occupy” with the name of a place in China, including “Occupy China.”

Falun Gong practitioners Believe that CHinese people will be free soon

2011-12-13T17:19:00.000-08:00

=====================================

Statement by Jared Pearman, Spokesperson for the Falun Dafa Association of Washington, DC, at the National Press Club on December 8, 2011

R.E.A.L. Courage (USA)
http://www.realcourage.org/2011/12/falun-gong-human-rights/

Hello Everyone, It’s an honor to be here today to mark World Human Rights Day. I’d like to especially thank Jeffrey and everyone at Responsible for Equality And Liberty for putting today’s event together.

Some people here may be familiar with the persecution of Falun Gong in China, but perhaps for others, this is the first you’ll be hearing about this in-depth. So let me begin with a brief introduction to the issue followed by some of the key developments we’re seeing in China today.

Introduction

Falun Gong, which is often also called Falun Dafa, is a peaceful spiritual practice rooted in traditional Chinese culture. It consists of meditation, five gentle sets of exercises, and a moral philosophy centered on the values of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. Practitioners of Falun Gong aspire to live in accordance with these principles in their daily lives. It’s a very simple, very effective method of achieving a healthy mind, body, and spirit.

Although it is rooted in ancient Chinese spiritual tradition, Falun Gong was first taught publicly in China in 1992. It spread quickly through word-of-mouth as tens of millions of Chinese citizens took up the practice. By the mid 90′s every park in every city of China had people practicing the graceful movements of the exercises. Today, people of all ages and backgrounds practice Falun Gong in over 80 countries worldwide. It is always taught free of charge by volunteers, and can be practiced individually or in groups.

Unfortunately, as Falun Gong grew in popularity throughout the 1990s, China’s communist leaders began to view the practice and its moral philosophy as ideological competition. Although Falun Gong is peaceful and possesses no political aspirations, the Communist Party of China does not tolerate large independent religious or spiritual practices. Thus, on July 20th, 1999, China’s rulers began a campaign to eradicate Falun Gong. Since then, like underground Christians and Tibetan Buddhists, millions of Falun Gong adherents have been denied the right to peacefully practice their faith.

Falun Gong in 2011

Now, let’s talk a bit about what’s happening with Falun Gong today. In the last year, Falun Gong practitioners in mainland China continued to be the targets of a severe, centrally-coordinated suppression at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party. Hundreds of thousands of practitioners are estimated to be detained extra judicially in detention centers, labor camps, prisons, and in the network of ad hoc “transformation-through-reeducation” centers. In all these facilities, adherents of Falun Gong are subjected to varying degrees of psychological and physical torture and coercion as authorities seek to force renunciations of their beliefs. In the last several years, we’ve received verifiable reports of over one hundred deaths due to torture, and this year’s numbers sadly look to be on par with that, bringing our confirmed total to 3427. The real number could be many times higher.

The campaign against Falun Gong continues to be coordinated by what’s known as the 610 Office—an extrajudicial, Communist Party-based security agency named for the date of its creation on June 10, 1999. The Central Leading Group oversees the 610 Office for Dealing with Heretical Organizations, headed by Politburo member Zhou Yongkang. Corresponding local 610 Offices exist at the provincial, municipal, district, and neighborhood levels, as well as in some large workplaces and universities. Although they possess no legal authority, the 610 Office wields substantial influence in coordinating the anti-Falun Gong campaign, as well as the power to direct media entities, courts, and the state-based security forces.

In 2010, the central 610 Office ordered the launch of a three-year campaign to intensify the coercive “transformation” of Falun Gong practitioners nationwide. Transformation here refers to a process of ideological reprogramming, the objective of which is to force the Falun Gong practitioner to renounce their belief in Falun Gong. If they fail to renounce their beliefs, they are sent to labor camps or sentenced in sham trials to lengthy prison terms.

In February, the Jiamusi Prison in Northeast China established a special unit to increase the transformation rate of incarcerated Falun Gong practitioners. Within two weeks of the unit’s establishment, three middle-aged, male Falun Gong practitioners were tortured to death in custody at the prison.

Although the majority of Falun Gong adherents unlawfully detained are held in reeducation-through-labor camps, in recent years a greater proportion of practitioners have been sentenced in sham trials to prisons. Most are tried under a vaguely worded provision that outlaws “using a heretical religion to undermine the implementation of the law.” Which laws are being undermined is never made clear. Moreover, as lawyers have pointed out, there are actually no laws in China that formally ban the practice of Falun Gong.

Lawyers who have sought to defend Falun Gong clients continue to face harassment by security agencies and the 610 Office. These lawyers have reported being denied access to clients, barred from entering courtrooms, or facing harassment, detention, imprisonment, and even torture for their advocacy on behalf of Falun Gong. Dozens of lawyers who have taken Falun Gong cases have been either disbarred or have been unable to renew their licenses to practice law.

Chinese authorities, under the direction of the Communist Party, have also continued to intensify the response to Falun Gong’s efforts to disseminate information to the general populace of China. This includes cracking down on underground “material sites” run by Falun Gong practitioners, which produce literature and information on the practice and its suppression. Ongoing crackdowns on black market satellite equipment, on the Internet, and on shortwave radio broadcasts are also strongly linked in official literature to the anti-Falun Gong campaign.

Although the central 610 Office and Communist Party continue to pursue the eradication campaign as a national priority, grassroots opposition to the persecution has been steadily increasingly since approximately 2005, as has the efficacy of Falun Gong’s resistance to suppression. As I said, human rights lawyers continue to risk their careers and personal safety to defend Falun Gong adherents. In a series of wonderfully surprising events, thousands of ordinary Chinese citizens in multiple locales have openly petitioned for the release of imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners—something that would have been inconceivable only a few years ago. Anecdotal reports from across China speak of local 610 Officers and public security agents who have grown resentful of the central orders to crack down on Falun Gong, and who secretly protect the Falun Gong practitioners they are charged with persecuting. Similarly, many judges and prosecutors participating in anti-Falun Gong cases now do so with disdain, and sometimes openly express admiration for Falun Gong (though they still comply with 610 Office directions).

Perhaps the best evidence of the waning support for the party’s anti-Falun Gong campaign comes from official documents themselves. Publicly available documents published online in recent years describe Falun Gong’s resistance efforts as a potential existential threat to the party—a “matter of life or death.”

This erosion of grassroots support for the anti-Falun Gong campaign is significant. As with other political “douzheng” (struggle) campaigns launched by the Communist Party, the anti-Falun Gong campaign has been carried out with the support and participation of the citizenry, co-opted through propaganda. Although many citizens do continue to participate actively in the suppression, growing proportions now refuse to be complicit. Some of these—perhaps tens of millions of people—have gone so far as to symbolically disavow their affiliations with party organizations in a movement known as Tuidang, which literally translates as “quit the party.”

Outlook

The trend lines are now clear: Falun Gong has not been crushed, and reports from China indicate that the number of practitioners is instead growing. Ordinary citizens are increasingly standing up in defense of Falun Gong and are refusing to participate in the persecution. At the same time, however, it is vitally important to make it clear that the Communist Party has not given up its campaign against the practice, and in all likelihood, it never will; to do so would be a potentially fatal admission of fallibility, one that would lay bare the truth of a campaign that has taken thousands of lives, costs billions of dollars, ruined innumerable families, and deceived a nation.

It is important to state here, that Falun Gong does not seek political power in China or elsewhere. The pursuit of worldly influence is viewed as being inconsistent with the transcendental objectives of our practice. Falun Gong has never prescribed what kind of system of governance China should adopt, nor participated in unrelated social or policy debates. Falun Gong is, and has always has been, apolitical. Our interest is purely to secure basic human rights.

Yet in the course of our efforts, we have presented an alternate vision of what China could be—an alternative way of conceptualizing Chinese national identity. Like Falun Gong itself, this vision connects with China’s moral and spiritual traditions of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism, and holds that the cultivation of virtue, honesty, and humanness are the true sources of national greatness. Put simply, Falun Gong is challenging the Communist Party’s hegemony over what it means to be Chinese, and has done so in a manner that is credible, accessible, and inspiring to the Chinese people. If this vision gains momentum over the Leninist / Legalist paradigm currently in place, it is our belief that the Chinese people will enjoy greater freedoms and security, and China will become a more transparent, cooperative, and stable partner for the world.

Chinese communist regimes Slavery: A 21st Century Evil

2011-11-30T17:06:00.000-08:00

China is the world's factory, but does a dark secret lurk behind this apparent success story?

Slavery: A 21st Century Evil

http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/slaverya21stcenturyevil/2011/10/2011101091153782814.html

Once an isolationist communist state, over the last 20 years China has become
the world's biggest exporter of consumer goods. But behind this apparent success
story is a dark secret - millions of men and women locked up in prisons and forced
into intensive manual labour.

"We were not paid at all, we were forced. If anyone refused to work,
they would be beaten, some people were beaten to death."
Charles Lee, former prison inmate

China has the biggest penal colony in the world -
a top secret network of more than
1,000 slave labour prisons and camps known collectively as "The Laogai".
And the use of the inmates of these prisons - in what some experts call "
state sponsored slavery" - has been credited with contributing to
the country's economic boom.

In this episode, former inmates, many of whom were imprisoned for
political or religious dissidence without trial, recount their daily struggles
and suffering in the "dark and bitter" factories where sleep was a privilege.

Charles Lee spent three years imprisoned for religious dissidence.
He says: "For a year they tried to brainwash me, trying to force me to give up my
practice of Falun Gong. They figured me out ... so they changed their strategy to
force me to feel like a criminal ... because, according to their theory, a prisoner
should be reformed through labour .... So they forced me to do slave labour."

This episode of Slavery: A 21st Century Evil can be seen from Monday, November 21, at the following times GMT: Monday: 2230; Tuesday: 0930; Wednesday: 0330; Thursday: 1630.

Click here for more on the series.

Chinese Officials Visiting Taiwan Sneak ‘Nine Commentaries’ Into China.

2011-11-30T16:33:00.000-08:00

Many Chinese Communist officials, including officials from the central government, sneak copies of the “Nine Commentaries” from Taiwan into China, a Chinese tour guide told The Epoch Times.

First published in November 2004 as an editorial series by The Epoch Times, The Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party is a comprehensive analysis of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) history and has triggered a tidal wave of Chinese people quitting their memberships in the CCP and its affiliated youth groups. Over 100 million Chinese have quit during the past seven years.

The following is a statement by A-Guang, a Chinese tour guide:
I am a tour guide, and I take people from mainland China to Taiwan. There are often people distributing copies of the Nine Commentaries at tourist spots in Taiwan. I always encourage the tourists from China to take them.

In 2005, a friend of mine in the U.S. told me about the Nine Commentaries. He said it was very well written and he wanted me to take a look at it. However, I could not find it in China.

In 2006, I went to Taiwan and a person gave me a special issue of the Nine Commentaries. After I was finished reading it, I felt so hot-blooded that I went to The Epoch Times’ office in Taiwan and quit the CCP with my real name.

I knew that the CCP exploits and enslaves the Chinese people. The people suffer a lot of bitterness. The official media glorifies the CCP, but in reality it is nothing but lies. When I see the officials being aloof and snobbish, and trampling on the people, I feel disgusted.

The CCP’s propaganda inundates the country, and the Chinese people are blinded by it. The propaganda also defames Falun Gong and prevents people from knowing what Falun Gong really is. I have a friend who has studied at Beijing Medical University and later went to Peking University. He told me that the kidneys and organs sold at the university-affiliated hospital were likely taken illegally from Falun Gong practitioners.

The Nine Commentaries systematically and coherently exposes the real face of the CCP. It reveals how the CCP’s tyranny preys on and enslaves the Chinese people and brings misery and brutality. After reading it, I had a deeper understanding of the CCP. The book says everything that I wanted to say. It is very well written and awakens the Chinese people.

As a tour guide, I know that many officials take the book back with them. I once had an official from the administration office of the State Council in my tour group. He seemed very snooty and praised the CCP all the time when we had group conversations. However, I saw him take the Nine Commentaries in Taiwan, and before we went back to China, he sneaked the book under his luggage and took it home.
Although he looked aloof on the outside, I felt that he was actually scared and feeling a sense of crisis. People like him probably know the nature of the CCP the best. They know that once they side with the wrong faction, they will soon be in trouble with the inter-clique struggles.

Some tourists from China were so deceived [by the CCP’s propaganda] that they talked about how people who practiced Falun Gong could become possessed. I asked every one of them, “Have you seen one with your own eyes?” They all said no. They simply repeated what they read in the CCP’s official mouthpiece media. I would tell them that since they have now come to a democratic country, they should use their own eyes and brains to find out what Falun Gong is really like. In an overseas society, unlike in China, they can pick up and read any materials and decide for themselves which is good and which is bad.
Read the original Chinese article.

URL to article: http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/china-news/chinese-officials-visiting-taiwan-sneak-nine-commentaries-into-china-150019.html

Click here to print.

Harvest of horror- David Matas wants this story in the Museum

2011-11-26T21:23:00.000-08:00

Harvest of horror

Persecution, murder and organ removal of Falun Gong practitioners in China a story that belongs in Winnipeg museum, human rights lawyer David Matas argues,

A Falun Gong practitioner is arrested in in Tiananmen Square.

Leo Tolstoy began the novel Anna Karenina by writing "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."
One can say the same about human rights. Respect for human rights everywhere is alike. That is what the universality of human rights means.

Falun Gong practitioners hold portraits of victims of China's crackdown during a vigil in Taiwan. (THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES)

Violations of human rights occur each in their own way.

Human rights standards and mechanisms teach us the same lesson everywhere about how to respond to atrocities. Each atrocity, though, teaches us something different about how to develop human rights.
Atrocities have a place in the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, but not as histories or memorials. Rather they serve the purpose of teaching us how human rights have developed and should develop. The Holocaust has to be central to the museum not because it was a particularly awful tragedy, though it certainly was that, but because of its importance for the development of human rights standards and mechanisms, the breadth and depth of the lessons we have learned and can learn by focusing upon it.

On Nov. 28, I, alongside Maria Cheung, a professor in social work, and Terry Russell, a professor of Asian studies, will explain why we think the persecution of Falun Gong belongs in the museum. Our presentation is part of the University of Manitoba seminar series Critical Conversations, which is free, open to the public and held in the Faculty of Law (www.chrr.info).

What does the persecution of Falun Gong in China teach us about human rights that we did not already know? Falun Gong is a set of meditation exercises with a spiritual foundation, a Chinese yoga, begun in 1992 and banned in 1999 out of Chinese Communist Party jealousy of its increasing popularity. Falun Gong practitioners were arrested in the hundreds of thousands and, if they recanted, released. Those who refused to recant, even under torture, disappeared.

David Kilgour and I have concluded in two reports and a book, Bloody Harvest, that these disappeared individuals have been killed in the tens of thousands for their organs, which are sold to transplant patients, often transplant tourists. I suggest we can draw these lessons from this experience.

-- International human rights mechanisms work ineffectively in confronting human rights violations of a major power, particularly where that power has a veto in the Security Council, as China does.
-- Governments, which juggle a wide variety of interests, have difficulty effectively pursuing a human rights agenda against a major economic and political power such as China, because pursuing that agenda may compromise their other interests.

-- New technology developed for human benefit -- in this case, transplant technology -- can all too easily become a tool of repression and human rights abuse. Technology can change, but the human capacity for good and evil remains constant.

-- The safeguards that need to be in place to prevent abuse of transplant technology are largely absent and need to be implemented in China and abroad.

-- Preventing abuse of transplant technology engages a wide range of actors, many of whom historically have not had exposure to preventing human rights violations. For instance, transplant professionals, insurance companies providing coverage for transplantation abroad or pharmaceutical companies engaged in clinical trials of anti-rejection drugs in China.

-- Allowing the military to engage in commercial enterprise in a country without the rule of law is a licence for human rights abuse. In China, the military is a conglomerate business that sells transplants to the public.

-- Denial of access to statistical information can cover up human rights abuses. The release of death penalty statistics and transplant volumes, statistics that China now covers up, would make obvious what estimates now tell us: the volume of transplants far exceeds the volume of identified sources, primarily prisoners sentenced to death and then executed.

-- Slave labour camps lead to other abuses besides slave labour. These camps are vast forced organ donor banks.

-- Sourcing organs from prisoners sentenced to death is an abuse in itself and leads to other abuses, the killing of other prisoners for their organs who are not sentenced to death -- in China, the Falun Gong.
-- The Chinese capitalist variation of communist rule generates its own particular forms of human rights violations. The killing of Falun Gong for their organs, which are then sold for huge sums is the direct result of the communist repression and demonization of spiritual belief systems they cannot control plus the unbridled drive for profit without the rule of law.

Some of these lessons are not completely new. Yet, the repression of Falun Gong, even for the old lessons, gives new insights.

The list here, though not exhaustive, teaches us that by focusing on the repression of Falun Gong we can do more than help to end that abuse, as important as that is. We can learn how to improve human rights generally.

David Matas is an instructor in the University of Manitoba's Faculty of Law and an international human rights lawyer based in Winnipeg.

The Learning Curve is an occasional column written by local academics who are experts in their fields. It is open to any educator from Winnipeg's post-secondary institutions. Send 600-word submissions and a mini bio to julie.carl@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition November 26, 2011 J16

China: Thousands of residents petition for Falun Gong release

2011-11-24T00:28:00.000-08:00

Posted: 16 November 2011

Rare mass act of defiance – Amnesty urges no reprisals for the public support shown

The Chinese authorities must immediately release two Falun Gong practitioners jailed for their beliefs in Hebei province, Amnesty International said today, as petitions by local residents calling for an end to their imprisonment reportedly reached almost 3,000 signatures.

Zhou Xiangyang, 38, was released in 2009 after serving six years of a nine year prison sentence. He was detained again in March this year and is currently being held in Gangbei Prison in the northern city of Tianjin where he has reportedly been repeatedly tortured. After his wife issued an open letter detailing the couple’s hardships, she was detained on 29 October.

Catherine Baber, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Asia, said:

"In a gesture that’s rarely seen in China, thousands of ordinary people have dared to publicly show their support for individuals unfairly imprisoned and tortured in detention. This shows that the Chinese public is aware of and condemns persecution of people for their spiritual beliefs. It’s high time that the Chinese authorities heed this call and end their brutal suppression of the Falun Gong group.

"Zhou Xiangyang and his wife Li Shanshan must be released immediately. Given the pattern of retribution that is almost always seen against people who show any kind support for Falun Gong practitioners, we are urging the authorities not to target people who have peacefully petitioned for the release of Zhou Xiangyang"

The Chinese authorities have refused to inform Li Shanshan’s family or lawyer of her whereabouts. However, the Tangshan City Public Security Bureau told Li Shanshan’s mother and lawyer on 9 November that she had been sentenced to two years re-education through labour, and had been sent away.

She was last seen on 4 November by her family at the Tangshan Legal Education Centre, a type of detention centre set up especially to force Falun Gong practitioners to renounce their beliefs.

Zhou Xiangyang has been on a hunger strike since his detention in March. His family were repeatedly interrogated and intimidated by local police over the petition earlier this month.

Gangbei Prison is notorious for its ill-treatment of Falun Gong practitioners. In July this year, one practitioner, Li Xiwang, is reported to have died in the prison after being subjected to torture.

Falun Gong is a spiritual movement which gained large numbers of supporters in China during the 1990s. After it staged a peaceful gathering in Tiananmen Square in July 1999, the government outlawed the group as a "threat to social and political stability" .

Tens of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners have been arbitrarily detained as part of a campaign of intimidation and persecution targeting the group.

Practitioners have been held in psychiatric hospitals, re-education through Labour (RTL) facilities - a form of administrative detention imposed without charge, trial or judicial review - or sentenced to long prison terms.

Falun Gong broadcast 2 videos on CCP controlled media “Self-immolation or Deception? and Falun Gong around the world

2011-11-04T05:31:00.000-07:00

What Did Sun Changjun and His Fellow Practitioners Tell the World?

By Feiming

(Clearwisdom.net) The story of Mr. Sun Changjun was recently published on the Clearwisdom website (http://clearwisdom.net/html/articles/2011/10/25/128976.html). The Changchun City Cable Television network was tapped into almost ten years ago, and five of the practitioners involved in this incident were tortured to death while in custody. Mr. Sun Changjun, then only 26, has been incarcerated in Jilin Prison for nine years. His condition was once critical, and now he needs to be rescued.

On March 5, 2002, Mr. Sun Changjun and other Falun Gong practitioners tapped into the Changchun City Cable TV network and broadcast two videos: “Self-immolation or Deception?” and “Falun Dafa around the World.” The documentaries stayed on the air for 40-50 minutes. Hundreds of thousands of Chinese citizens watched as the truth of Falun Gong was explained. The Minghui website reported this as a feature article on the evening of March 6, 2002, and the BBC, Reuters, AFP (Agence France-Presse) also reported the story on March 7, 2002. The Reuters report said this incident was “one of Falun Gong's bravest acts.”

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has used all of the state run media to slander Falun Gong during the persecution. The staged self-immolation incident was used to incite people's hatred. At the same time practitioners were not allowed to speak out. Given such restrictions, practitioners exercised their right to speak by tapping into cable television. The people had a right to know the truth. The practitioners paid a huge price when they spoke out truthfully. Their courage was admired and their suffering now needs our attention. Imprisoned practitioners are urgently in need of rescue.

The Weekly Standard published a long report authored by Ethan Gutmann, in part 12 of volume 16, on December 6, 2010, entitled “Into Thin Airwaves—How a few unknown Chinese heroes helped world freedom.” Mr. Gutmann is an adjunct fellow with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. From a Westerner's viewpoint, he retold the moving story of tapping into the Changchun Cable Television. He believes the current, widely-used circumvention software, such as Dynamic, Noboundary, and Freegate, were developed as a result of the inspiration of these heroes. This incident sparked the push for information freedom.

Through their tremendous sacrifice, what were Mr. Sun Changjun and his fellow practitioners trying to tell the world? The titles of the documentaries help to give us some answers.

“Falun Dafa around the World” is the story of Falun Gong, also called Falun Dafa. The founder, Mr. Li Hongzhi, introduced this cultivation practice in Changchun in 1992. In just a few years, the practice spread all over China and then overseas. People's illnesses improved, the exercises helped people keep fit, and the moral character of practitioners was deeply affected. After the CCP started persecuting Falun Gong openly on July 20, 1999, Falun Gong spread overseas to more than 100 countries and regions. The main book of Falun Gong, Zhuan Falun, has been translated into more than 30 languages.

Overseas and Chinese practitioners come from all walks of life. Overseas practitioners have the freedom to come and go as they like. They can obtain information, enjoy a normal life, and have families. They often join community activities and are welcomed by local folks. They are peaceful, rational, and have no political agenda. In Taiwan, there are several hundred thousand practitioners. They are an integral part of society and are never involved in Party conflicts during elections. Falun Gong practitioners can peacefully exist in any society and benefit the society. Falun Gong is only severely persecuted in mainland China.

“Self-immolation or Deception?” is a documentary about a fabricated, self-immolation incident. To defame Falun Gong, the CCP staged a self-immolation tragedy on Tiananmen Square on January 23, 2001. CCTV quickly broadcast a news report on television. Close up and distance images were shown, and clearly shouted slogans could be heard. But many flaws can be seen throughout this video. If the self-immolation incident was not staged, then how were the police able to access so many fire extinguishers and fire blankets so quickly? How was the CCTV able to record so many close-up shots as soon as the tragedy began? How were they able to record Wang Jindong shouting slogans so clearly? Wang's clothes were burned, but the Sprite bottle filled with gasoline sitting on his lap was untouched. These unanswered questions help to prove that this unfortunate incident was staged.

An officer waiting for Wang Jindong finish shouting his slogan to cover him with a blanket

The principles of Falun Gong clearly forbid killing or suicide. For the nine years before this incident, and the ten years after this incident, there has never been a similar event in China or overseas involving Falun Gong. A journalist with the Washington Post went to Kaifeng City, Henan Province, the hometown of Liu Chunling, one of the victims from that day. Her neighbors told him that they never saw Ms. Liu practicing Falun Gong. She worked in a bar and was known to have beaten her foster mother. She was not a practitioner of Falun Gong.

Mr. Sun Changjun and fellow practitioners have been tortured in prison and some of them have been tortured to death. This is an example of how hard it is to speak the truth under the CCP regime. Let us remember that Mr. Sun Changjun and so many other practitioners continue to suffer in prison. Please stand up and condemn the persecution and stop the killing.

Posting date: 11/4/2011
Category: Opinion
Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2011/10/22/孙长军等真相插播者告诉了人们什么--248199.html

Who is killing who in Communist China -You be the judge

2011-10-29T00:04:00.000-07:00

1400 Alleged Deaths or CCP propaganda?

Background: Chinese authorities have alleged that "the practice of Falun Gong has led to more than 1,400 deaths" of followers. Although Falun Gong was widely practiced in China throughout the 1990's, this claim was first made only in July of 1999, after the regime had commenced the persecution of Falun Gong. The claim has been repeated by communist party publications and spokespersons since. It is meant to undermine support for Falun Gong practitioners, who are regularly victims of severe rights violations in China, including unlawful detention, deprivation of constitutional rights, forced labor, and torture, the latter of which have resulted in more than 3,400 documented deaths.

The Problem: While the burden of proof lay squarely on Chinese Communist Party authorities, who continue to make this claim, evidence was never furnished. More importantly, no independent investigation was ever allowed. Where individuals have managed to investigate, cases of alleged Falun-Gong-induced "deaths" have been found to be fabricated, with in some instances the victim never having existed. Nor have such "deaths" ever occurred outside of communist China, where Falun Gong is practiced freely. The claim is also staked on a distortion of Falun Gong's teachings on health and medicine, often depicting the Falun Gong practice as dangerous or unhealthy. However, even on its own terms, the claim fails to hold up upon analysis.

Why it Matters: Falun Gong adherents in China continue to be subjected to a litany of documented human rights abuses. Various misrepresentations of Falun Gong and its members, spawned by Chinese communist officials and publications, seek to discredit the group (portraying it as dangerous, misguided, or nefarious) and undermine support in the free world. Inside China, in particular, propaganda surrounding the "1,400 deaths" has played a central role in fostering disgust and animosity toward Falun Gong among a large segment of the population. Historical parallels from as recently as the 20th century Nazi Germany suggest that such misrepresentations, as happened to Jews, can have devastating consequences.

KEY ANALYSIS

1,400 Deaths or Party Propaganda?
When subjected to a healthy dose of scrutiny, the claim of "1,400 deaths" oft-repeated by Party officials not only fails to hold up, but even, surprisingly, argues the opposite of its intent.

ILLUSTRATIVE CASES: Fabrications and Frame-ups to Pin Deaths on Falun Gong

The Victim Who Never Quite Existed
Zhang Zhiwen killed her child, then herself, so claimed a Party-controlled newspaper. The only problem is, independent investigators found that Zhang never existed.

A "Victim's" Daughter Speaks Out
Ma Jinxiu hardly died on account of refusing medical intervention when ill, her daughter reveals. In fact, she died in the arms of the physicians who treated her.

Li Youlin: A "Practitioner" Who Never Practiced
Li Youlin's suicide could hardly be attributed to Falun Gong says a close neighbor: he never practiced it in the first place.

Bribed to Blame to Falun Gong
Unable to pay their daughter's hospital bills, the family of Li Shuxian agrees to a bargain: blame Falun Gong and we'll cover your fees.

A Mother Sets the Record Straight
The mother of a suicide victim speaks the truth about her son's death and the coercion faced by widowed daughter.

A Case of Twisted Facts
Xiao Yufen was surprised to see her husband's death in the newspaper, attributed to Falun Gong, as he never had practiced.

AU CONTRAIRE: Reports of Falun Gong's Health, Well-Being Benefits Abound

Wellness Up Close: Personal Accounts
How has Falun Gong benefited the health and lives of individuals? A range of personal accounts provide a fascinating glimpse.

Heightened Health and Wellness ***
Research conducted at the University of South Australia finds that Falun Gong adherents have "very healthy lifestyle habits" and experience "better health-wellness" than others.

Abundant Health in Dalian, China
A 1998 study found that residents of Dalian, China, reported vastly better health after taking up Falun Gong.

Falun Gong at the Cellular Level ***
Research published in the Journal of Alternative Complementary Medicine finds that Falun Gong practice may positively regulate immunity at the genomic level.

Fostering Healthy Lifestyles
A research report at Taiwan's leading university finds that Falun Gong helps people quit smoking and drinking and make healthy life choices.

WHO IS KILLING WHOM?

3,400 Deaths at the Party's Hand
Over 3,400 Falun Gong adherents have been killed by Chinese authorities since 1999. These are real people, known to us from eye-witness accounts and families of the victims. Unlike the CCP, we welcome investigation into each and every case.

Amnesty International on Torture in China ***
One leading human rights organization finds official Chinese claims of no wrongdoing bogus. To the contrary, it's the Party behind it all.

United States Congress Concurs
With the passage of House Concurrent Resolution 188, the United States Congress concluded that Chinese officials were guilty of "brainwashing, torture, and murder" in their campaign against Falun Gong.

A Chinese Attorney's Account
In wrenching detail, one of China's leading rights attorneys, Gao Zhisheng, documents the torture Chinese authorities have perpetrated against Falun Gong practitioners.

Human rights in China still matter

2011-10-27T19:38:00.000-07:00

Great understanding of the Chinese Communist Party and its deadly control, and how all democratic nations should be dealing with the regime by Rep Christopher Smith.

I would say the deadliest words in China are "Falun Gong"

And as a westerner please never use the words Chinese Government, they dont govern the Chinese people..

These descriptions are more accurate

The Chinese gangster regime, The Chinese communist regime, The Chinese Dictators

Human rights in China still matter

By Rep. Christopher H. Smith

The Washington Times

Eleven years ago, the U.S. Congress passed Public Law 106-286, granting permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) with China. I was among the vocal opponents of this legislation, citing concerns about China's egregious human rights record and the risks to U.S. businesses when trading with a country that plays by its own rules instead of abiding by the rule of law.

As chairman of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, a bipartisan body established to monitor and address the human rights concerns raised during the debates on PNTR, I know these concerns remain as relevant today as ever. However, in the years since the granting of PNTR, China has continued to abuse the fundamental human rights of its citizens while failing to establish a fair and transparent legal system. Indeed, as I wrote these words, Nobel Laureate Liu Xiaobo was languishing in a Chinese prison for promoting peaceful democratic reforms, but he is just one of 1.3 billion Chinese who live under the Chinese state's repression.

On Oct. 11, our commission issued its 10th annual report on China's progress in human rights and rule of law. A decade since our inaugural report documented China's failings and stagnancy in these areas, China's human rights record remains grim and has regressed in many respects.

The 2011 report notes that China's leaders have tightened their grip on Chinese society and grown more aggressive in disregarding the very laws and international standards that they claim to uphold. The government's campaign to "disappear" numerous lawyers and activists following pro-democracy protests elsewhere in the world - one of China's harshest crackdowns in recent memory - is but one example.
The commission's 2011 report also documents ongoing abuses in the areas of religious freedom. Protestant house church members, "underground" Catholics and Falun Gong members continue to risk detention and abuse for attempting to worship freely. Tibetans and Uighurs face harsh curbs on their cultures and languages in addition to religious repression
.
China's implementation of the one-child-per-couple policy remains one of the most brutal and barbaric attacks against women and children ever. Through coercion, financial penalties and the use of forced abortion and sterilization, the Chinese government continues its population control program and limits the number of children women may bear. It is no coincidence that according to the World Bank and the World Health Organization, approximately 500 women committed suicide a day in China in 2009. The Nuremberg Nazi war crimes tribunal properly construed forced abortion as a crime against humanity, but nothing in human history compares to the magnitude of China's 30-year assault on women and children.
Women bear the major brunt of the one-child policy not only when they become mothers. Because of the male preference in China's society and the limitation of the family size to one child, the policy has directly contributed to what is accurately described as gendercide, the deliberate extermination of a girl - born or unborn - simply because she happens to be female.

It has been noted that the three most dangerous words in China today are "It's a girl."
China's workers lack freedom of association and the right to form independent unions, while poor working conditions and low wages remain rampant. The report also documents incidences of forced and child labor. And 10 years since China joined the World Trade Organization, China's disregard for the rule of law and unfair trade practices also brings harm to U.S. companies. Tragic cases of political imprisonment abound in the report. "Disappeared" lawyer Gao Zhisheng, Catholic bishop Su Zhimin, and Mongol activist Hada are but a few of the prisoners mentioned.

The report draws on the work of the commission's political prisoner database, a publicly available resource that documents more than 6,600 cases of political imprisonment in China. Given China's controls over the free flow of information and lack of transparency, the true number of political prisoners in China is certain to be much higher. But our database is not simply about numbers. Each record tells the story of a person targeted by authorities for daring to exercise his rights - including lawyers, activists, religious leaders, farmers, parents, teachers and factory workers.

The Chinese government has long claimed that our report amounts to anti-China rhetoric and interference in its internal affairs. We are not, however, holding China to a unique measure but simply monitoring its compliance with the same universal human rights standards that apply to all countries. As China adopts a rhetorical strategy of claiming it abides by international law, we also hold China to its stated acceptance of international norms.

Moreover, the point of our report is not simply to single out problems, but to extend a hand to the Chinese people in their efforts to seek reform and defend their rights. To that end, each report includes recommendations for advancing the rule of law and human rights in China. They include support for legal cooperation, training for advocates to promote religious freedom, and dialogue on advancing commercial rule of law. In addition, where we see areas of potential progress, including recent reforms in the areas of criminal law and legal aid, our report notes them.

In the end, however, the good news is far outweighed by the bad, reminding us of the importance of sustained monitoring of China's human rights record. As a nation committed to freedom, democracy and the rule of law, the United States must redouble its efforts, work harder to hold China accountable for its actions and ensure that any push for enhanced economic ties with China does not come at the expense of our own economy, national security and our commitment to help the Chinese people secure human rights protections from their own government.

Rep. Christopher H. Smith, New Jersey Republican, is chairman of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China and a senior member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Publication:	The Washington Times
Article:	SMITH: Human rights in China still matter
	© The Washington Times

Why Did 18 Passers-by Do Nothing to Help the Dying Toddler? Chinese follows English

2011-10-24T23:51:00.000-07:00

The Chinese gangster regime has destroyed the true Chinese nature

By Danchen
(Clearwisdom.net) Major media in various countries have been reporting the sad news that after a two-year-old toddler was run over by two vehicles, 18 passers-by walked past her in indifference. The news shocked everyone who heard it. What is going on here? How could this happen?

A van hit and ran over the little girl, and the driver at first appeared to intend to slow down and stop, but he then hit the accelerator causing the rear wheel of his van to run over the toddler a second time before he drove away. Another truck ignored the little girl lying in the road, and instead accelerated and ran over her himself. Pedestrians behaved in much the same way. They took a blind eye and did nothing to help the dying little girl. None of the eighteen passers-by stopped to attend the toddler, not even making a phone call for help, until a street cleaner saw her and carried the dying baby to the roadside.

This callous indifference towards a helpless child makes people’s hearts tremble with sorrow. How could a society become so cold blooded? Surely it couldn't happen overnight. It must have been a long process, over many years, for the extent of people's indifference to reach this tragic event. Such things are unheard of in other countries in the world, and it is even unprecedented in China’s long five thousand year history. However, similar incidents have become commonplace in today's communist China. People who hear of this horrific incident cannot help but reflect upon what the communist regime has instilled into the minds of Chinese people that they have become so callously indifferent towards each other. Let's take a look at a few things that have happened.

1. Eighteen religious statues destroyed
For over two thousand years, the Chinese people held beliefs in Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. People understood the meaning of etiquette and shame and they believed that good would be awarded with good and evil met with evil. However, after the CCP usurped state power, it used the warped Party nature to replace humanity and advocated atheism while promoting their theory of class struggle. During the “Cultural Revolution”, the CCP unscrupulously destroyed traditional culture in the name of “breaking the four olds” (old thoughts, old customs, old habits and old traditions). During all of the CCP’s series of political movements, it always punished the good and promoted evil. After they had failed in their propagation of Communism, they turned to promoting the notion of “putting money above all else”, with the CCP officials taking the lead in corruption and debauchery and in ruining China’s social morality.

The quoted Ding Shu from “How Many Cultural Relics Were Committed to Flames” to describe this atrocity. “There was a White Horse Temple production brigade near the temple. The Party branch secretary led peasants to smash the temple in the name of ‘revolution.’ The over 1,000-year-old statues of the Eighteen Arhats created in the Liao Dynasty (916-1125 AD) were destroyed. The Beiye scripture that an eminent Indian monk brought to China 2,000 years ago was burned. A rare treasure, the Jade Horse, was smashed to pieces.”

This only speaks about the destruction in the White Horse Temple in Luoyang of Henan Province, a small part of the total destruction of Chinese traditional culture by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). China’s five thousand years of civilization is based on spiritual beliefs and highly respects morality. The CCP’s deliberate destruction and distortion of China's traditional culture would definitely lead to a state of thought vacuum in people’s minds and confusion over life's values.

2. Eighteen women were stripped naked and thrown into prison cells filled with male inmates
The CCP destroyed China’s traditional culture in an attempt to alter the minds of the Chinese people so as to achieve what they wanted. Consequently, Chinese people's souls were seriously contaminated. Furthermore, the CCP also forbids people to cultivate themselves according to traditional ways of practice. This is clearly shown in their persecution of Falun Gong.

The CCP has spared no effort in their unscrupulous persecution of Falun Gong. According to reports on Clearwisdom.net, the police in Masanjia Labor Camp in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, stripped 18 female practitioners naked and threw them into prison cells filled with men. What happened next makes one sick with anger. Many of the women told their family members, “You can never imagine the brutality and evilness in this place……”

There are factors rampant in today's China that allow such things to happen. On the one hand, there is the persecution policy implemented by Jiang Zemin when he headed up the regime: to ruin their reputation, bankrupt them financially, and destroy them physically. On the other hand, the morals of Chinese people today have been ruined by the CCP. The damage is immeasurable. Falun Gong practitioners cultivate Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Having such a group can only bring benefit to society. Falun Gong practitioners show consideration for others in all situations and there are countless cases of practitioners sacrificing their own interests for others. However, precisely because they strive to be good people and to speak the truth, they are cruelly persecuted by the CCP. The principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is suppressed, and as a result, “falsehood, evilness and violence” have prevailed across China. What’s going on in this society? What will such a society turn into without any moral basis?
3. Indifference of the 18 passers-by

Coming back to the tragedy in China this past week, after the toddler was hit, 18 passers-by walked past her without stopping to help. This is absolutely not an isolated case. In September last year, street cleaner Ma Xiuying in Xincheng District of Hohhot was run over by a heavy truck carrying coal. Afterward, dozens of trucks followed suit and ran over her at high speed. In the end, Ma Xiuying was no more than a thin layer of skin on the road. Indifference has become a social norm in today’s China.

The indifference shown by the 18 passers-by is not characteristic of just these 18 people. Looking at the heart-broken parents, one cannot help but think: If the accident had happened to another person’s child and they happened to pass by, would they have offered help? Or would they have behaved in the same indifferent manner? When we take an indifferent attitude towards other people’s lives, we are also giving rise to the indifference of others towards our own life and that of our relatives. This is not the personal sorrow of any individual, but the sorrow of the entire Chinese nation!

What has caused this tragic state of affairs? This needs to be rationally analyzed. The CCP has destroyed China’s traditional culture, which always respected morals and promoted doing good deeds. The evil CCP takes great pleasure in fighting against heaven and earth and against humanity, and what it has instilled into people’s minds can only be selfish indifference. The persecution of Falun Gong practitioners who adhere to the principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance will inevitably lead to moral degeneration and the moral collapse of the entire society.

Eighteen religious statues were destroyed -- one episode of the CCP’s destruction of China’s traditional culture; 18 women were stripped naked and thrown into prison cells filled with men -- one case of the CCP’s brutal persecution of kind-hearted Falun Gong practitioners; and the indifference of 18 passers-by is a natural consequence of the corruption of social morality spearheaded by the CCP.
The awakening of the Chinese people must start with recognizing the true nature of the CCP. Doesn't the revival of the Chinese nation need to begin with the complete elimination of the CCP?

十八名路人为何见死不救？

【字号】中大特

打印版本

文／掸尘

【明慧网二零一一年十月二十日】这几天，国内各大媒体报道了佛山两岁女童被车反复碾压后，十八名路人漠然走过的消息，闻者莫不惊心。这是个什么世道啊？司机冷血，前轮碾压过后，车本来有减速停下的迹象，可是竟然又一加油门，后轮再次碾压过去后，逃离现场。而另一货车竟然无视已倒在地上的孩子，也是加速碾压过去。汽车如此，行人也是视若无睹，见死不救，竟然连续十八个路人无一人停下，甚至连个求救电话都没人打。直到一个捡破烂的老妇看到，才将孩子抱起……冷血，如此地冷血，真让人从心底里发颤。然而一个社会冷血到这样一种程度，绝不是一朝一夕所能达到的，它必然有一个长时间的累积。这种现象在世界各国前所未闻，在整个中华五千年文明史上也是从未有过。可是在最近几年，类似的事件却是屡见不鲜。这不能不让人反思中共的统治，它究竟给中国人灌输了什么？让人们彼此之间变得如此冷漠。我们从几个方面作简单的剖析。
一、十八罗汉塑像被毁
《九评共产党》引述丁抒的作品《几多文物付之一炬》说：“寺院旁边有个白马寺生产大队，党支部书记率领农民去革命，乱砸一通，一千多年的辽代泥塑十八罗汉被毁，两千年前一位印度高僧带来的贝叶经被焚。稀世之宝玉马被砸烂。”
文中记述的只是河南洛阳白马寺被破坏的情况，这只是中共对整个中华传统文化破坏的一个片段。中华五千年文化以信仰为本，以道德为尊，中共对传统文化的破坏和扭曲，必然导致民众思想的真空与价值观的混乱。
儒释道在中国传承两千多年，一直被中国人所信奉，人们知道礼义廉耻，相信善恶有报，常怀恻隐之心。可是在中共窃夺政权后，以党性取代人性，宣扬无神论，提倡斗争哲学。在文革时，更是以“破四旧”为名大肆毁坏传统文化。中共的历次政治运动无不是在惩善扬恶，在其邪恶的共产主义破产后，则宣扬“向钱看”，中共官员带头贪污淫乱，败坏社会道德。
二、十八位女性法轮功学员被剥光衣服投入男监牢
中共破坏了传统文化，妄想改造中国人的思想，以达到为其所用的目的。这样做的后果严重地污染了中国人的心灵。不仅如此，中共对民众按照传统的方法修心向善也是根本不允许的，这突出表现在其对法轮功的迫害上。
中共迫害法轮功可谓不遗余力、不择手段。据报道，辽宁省沈阳市马三家监狱的邪恶警察，将十八位女法轮功学员扒光衣服，投入男牢房，与男犯人同居一室，其后果令人发指。许多女学员告诉亲人：“你们想象不到这里的凶残，邪恶……”
这样的事情发生，一个方面是因为有中共江泽民集团邪恶的迫害政策：名义上搞臭，经济上截断，肉体上消灭；再一个就是现今人的思想道德被中共败坏了。这样的邪恶导致的后果无法估量。这是一群“真、善、忍”的人，对社会有益啊。法轮功修炼者时时处处为他人着想，有很多舍己为人的事例。可是就是因为他们坚持做好人、说真话，就被中共残忍的迫害。“真、善、忍”被打压，造成“假、恶、暴”横行，我们这个社会怎么办？没有了道德的支撑，这个社会该走向何方？
三、十八个路人的漠然
这就是我们开头所说的，孩子被车碾压后，十八个路人都冷漠地绕开。这绝不是一个孤例。去年九月，呼市新城区国道环卫清洁女工马秀英，被一辆几十吨的拉煤车撞倒，并从她的身上辗过。后边又是紧跟着的几十辆大车，呼啸着从她的身上轧过。马秀英只剩下了薄薄的一层皮摊在马路上。冷漠已经演变成了一种世风。
这十八个路人的冷漠代表的何止是他们自己啊！看到孩子的父母悲痛欲绝，笔者在想，要是别人的孩子遇到了这样的情况，而他们正好路过，他们是不是会象这十八个路人一样漠然？当我们对别人的生命漠然时，我们也是在滋长别人对我们自己或我们亲人生命的漠然。这不是我们哪一个人的可悲，这是整个中华民族的悲哀！
而造成这一切者是谁？我们应该理性地分析。中共毁坏了重德行善的传统文化，这个与天、地、人斗其乐无穷的恶魔，灌输给中国人的思想只能是自私与冷漠。加之对按照“真、善、忍”修炼的法轮功学员的迫害，造成的必然是整个社会道德的大滑坡、大崩溃。
十八罗汉泥塑毁掉了，这是中共毁坏中华传统文化的一个片段；十八位女性法轮功学员被剥光衣服投入男牢，这是中共迫害修心向善的法轮功学员的一个案例；十八名路人的冷漠，则是我们这个社会道德被中共败坏后的一个恶果。
中国人民的觉醒，只有从认清中共的本来面目开始。中华民族走向新生的前提，就是将中共彻底

King Wu, the Zhou Dynasty’s First Emperor, Respected Heaven

2011-10-24T17:45:00.000-07:00

Epoch Tmes Staff

King Wu of Zhou was the son of King Wen of the Zhou Kingdom. In the twelfth year after King Wu succeeded to the throne, he started the Zhou Dynasty (B.C. 1122–B.C. 222). The Zhou Dynasty was an important period of Chinese history. 37 emperors ruled for nine hundred years before the Zhou Dynasty was conquered by the Qin Dynasty in 221 B.C.

Not only was the Zhou Dynasty the longest dynasty in Chinese history, but it was also the heyday of ancient Chinese civilization. Confucian and Taoist philosophies developed during the Zhou Dynasty have influenced generations throughout Chinese history.

At the beginning King Wu’s rule, he asked Jiang Ziya, his military advisor, if there were a way that was easy to preserve, simple to operate, and effective to use that would enable future generations to keep forever the national foundation created by their ancestors.

Jiang Ziya told King Wu that there was such a method in a book handed down from preceding kings, and that he should be very sincere and respectful before reading this book.

Three days later, King Wu wore a crown and stood upright facing the east. He respectfully requested Jiang Ziya to grant to him the book.

Jiang Ziya then started to read out: “Whoever is diligent in administrating the nation, respects heaven and gets rid of slothfulness and the desire for comfort, will prosper. Whoever neglects duty and covets comfort, that one’s affairs will decline. The affairs of one with a sense of righteousness more than personal desire will be successful; the affairs of one with a sense of personal desire more than righteousness will be thwarted. This is the way, which is easy to preserve, simple to operate, and effective to use, for future generations to follow forever.”

Upon hearing what Jiang read, King Wu felt more respectful and convinced. He ordered these words be written on the mirror, washbasin, pillars, doors, and windows, so that he would warn and encourage himself with the words all the time.

Although he was the king and the emperor, King Wu could still ask a sage for beneficial advice to use as commandments to correct his conduct and thoughts; he thus strove to achieve a pure wisdom that allowed him to understand God’s will.

The Zhou Dynasty therefore lasted and reigned for nine hundred years, thanks to the emperors who kept the founder’s teachings, cultivated their moral character, respected heaven, and were compassionate to the people.

Quitting the Chinese Communist Party Renews the Soul

2011-08-06T04:26:00.000-07:00

Epoch Times Staff
Created: Aug 5, 2011 Last Updated: Aug 5, 2011

(Epoch Times)

Editor's note: The Epoch Times here publishes direct translations of statements made by Chinese people in ‘renouncing’ the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its subordinate organizations. Statements such as these are submitted to a website affiliate of the Chinese version of The Epoch Times, Dajiyuan. The movement to renounce, withdraw from, or quit the CCP, called ‘tuidang’ in Chinese, began in late 2004, soon after The Epoch Times published the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, an editorial series that explores the nature and history of the CCP. The statements offer a rare and candid glimpse of history in the making: the Chinese people turning their backs on the Communist Party, choosing conscience over pragmatism, and peacefully ushering in a future China free of Party rule.

I want to withdraw from the Youth League

I live in Urumqi city. I joined the Chinese Communist Youth League in 2003. In my childhood and youth, I used to obey whatever the communist party said because of the party’s constant brainwashing. I also had a wish to join the communist party some day. However, I started questioning things since I learned about the June 4 Tiananmen Massacre. At first, I didn't fully believe what they did, but I finally realized the truth after learning so many facts. I didn't withdraw from the Youth League then, because I thought people were still happy under the party’s leadership. At least, China doesn't run into chaos and wars like some other countries, and society is still relatively stable. But after the July 23 high-speed rail collision, I changed my mind. What kind of a society is this? What kind of a system is this? Cold! Numb! Brutal! I wouldn't be doing justice to the memory of the 200 victims in the accident if I were to continue the membership in the Youth League! Hereby, I officially announce my withdrawal from the Youth League! I don't want to have any connection with it and its related organizations!

Ma Long
July 28, 2011
Urumqi City, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region
http://tuidang.epochtimes.com/index/showpost/id/9197759

Quitting the CCP gives a fresh start to my soul and life

As a Chinese with conscience and justice, I can't be a bystander anymore. Under the leadership of the CCP, people have all become passengers on the high-speed rail. We can't freely express ourselves. We can't express the most basic demand for human rights. We are forced to become numb and heartless. We can't go on like this any longer. What I can do right now is withdraw from this inhuman communist party.

Luo Weirang
July 30, 2011
http://tuidang.epochtimes.com/index/showpost/id/9208718

Declaration

I am a farmer born in the '' 50s. I've been through the Cultural Revolution, the 1989 Democracy Movement, and lost my son-in-law, who was illegally sent to a labor camp for practicing Falun Gong and for sending out materials stating the facts about Falun Gong. A graduate of a well-known University in Beijing, he was persecuted to death at the end of 2008 when he was only 31.

After losing her husband, my daughter has still been holding to the principles of Truth, Compassion, Tolerance when interacting with people. I experience the mercy and power of Falun Gong through her. I hereby ask my daughter to send this statement on my behalf. I solemnly declare my withdrawal from the Youth League and all other organizations affiliated with the evil communist party.

He Yongxiang
China
July 27, 2011
http://tuidang.epochtimes.com/index/showpost/id/9190423

Voluntarily quitting the Young Pioneers

I was forced to join the Young Pioneers when I was in first grade. I was naive and ignorant. Looking back, I have to say that my basic human rights were violated when they fooled and forced me to join the Young Pioneers. I would like to state this explicitly, even though human rights are never respected in China.

Eventually, this decayed system will become history. I hope that in the near future the so-called Young Pioneers will be nothing more than a joke. Innocent kids who don't know what communism is are being forced to take an oath to follow and fight for communism the rest of their lives. This country is so sad and ridiculous. Now I just hope more people will come to understand the truth.

Wang Mingxue
July 27, 2011
http://tuidang.epochtimes.com/index/showpost/id/9191321

Where Is the “Black Armor Troop” Today?

2011-07-19T00:30:00.000-07:00

Where is the Black Armor Troop today?

By Zhong Gulou
(Clearwisdom.net) One thousand and four hundred years ago, because Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty (Yang Guang) was brutal and immoral, the whole nation of China was in turmoil, and many rose to rebel. Li Shimin, who later became Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, started a military campaign to take control of China when he was only eighteen years old. He defeated Liu Wuzhou, Wang Shichong, and Dou Jiande, as well as other warlords. Emperor Taizong consequently unified China. He thus created the prosperous epoch of the great Tang Dynasty. The most critical battle in Li Shimin’s effort to unify China was the Battle of Luoyang City, which was located in central China. At that time, Luoyang was the eastern capital of the Sui Dynasty, and it had the sturdiest and most powerful defense. It was occupied by Wang Shichong. Li led his troops from Xi’An City to attack Luoyang. The war lasted a long time. It was during this time that Li established his powerful Black Armor Troop, the mere sight of which made its enemies shake with fear.

According to Zi Zhi Tong Jian [literally, Comprehensive Mirror to Aid Government, a famous Chinese book by the great historian Sima Guang (1019-1086) that covers 16 dynasties and spans 1363 years], “Li Shimin, the King of Qin, selected over one thousand cavalry soldiers, who all wore black armor and uniforms. He divided the soldiers into left and right divisions, and let Qin Shubao, Cheng Zhijie, Yuchi Jingde, and Zhai Zhangsun [famous generals of the Tang Dynasty] lead the divisions. In every battle, Li would wear black amour and lead the troop as the forward force to attack the enemy. When the troop attacked, no enemies could stop it. So the enemy was very afraid of it.”

This Black Armor Troop once defeated an enemy that had ten times more soldiers. It killed and captured over six thousand enemy forces. In the Battle of Hulao, Li again led the Black Armor Troop as the forefront force. He ordered the three thousand cavalry soldiers to directly attack the enemy. The troop defeated Dou Jiande’s force of over a hundred thousand soldiers and captured over fifty thousand. Wang Shichong was driven to despair and then surrendered. Because of this victory, Li Shimin was appointed the Supreme General of Tiance Palace by Emperor Gaozu of the Tang Dynasty, a position that ranked above all others. (Emperor Gaozu was Li Yuan, Li Shimin’s father, and the first emperor of Tang.)

It has already been nineteen years since Master Li started Fa-rectification in the human world. Facing the rampant evil, the lost sentient beings, and the old forces’ manipulation, where is the “Black Armor Troop” today? The frightening combative power of the Black Armor Troop is not a myth; it was a real entity in history. I am wondering where the extraordinary fighting power of the Black Armor Troop came from and what lessons we Dafa disciples, who are assisting Master in rectifying the Fa today, can draw from it?
First, each solider in the Black Armor Troop was very good at combat, as each of them was chosen from among a multitude of candidates.

Second, the Black Armor Troop as a whole had extremely strong combat power. The Book of Changes said, “As long as two individuals can do things with the same mindset, the concerted effort is as powerful as a sharp sword that can cut metal into halves.” Modern scientific studies also show that when two people work closely without conflict, the combined power is not the same as the simple addition of the two individuals’ powers; it is many times stronger. The combative power of one thousand soldiers, who as a whole shared the same goal and made a concerted effort, would be much greater than that of an enemy that has ten times as many as soldiers, but who do not work cohesively as a unit.
Third, the Black Armor Troop was under the direction of superior commanders, who were all famous generals, while its highest commander was Li Shimin himself, an extremely gifted military strategist.
Fourth, the Black Armor Troop had a strong desire for victory as well as high morale. The soldiers held an invincible faith, regardless of how strong the enemy appeared to be. This kind of faith allowed the troop to exhibit extraordinary power on the battlefield and form a mighty momentum that could defeat anything blocking their way.

We Dafa disciples are one body. How large a force this one body can exhibit and how large a role this one body can play during Fa-rectification is very closely related to the four factors described above. The first is Dafa disciples’ cultivation of themselves. The second is the cooperation among Dafa disciples. The third is the role of the Dafa coordinators. The fourth is Dafa practitioners’ will and self-confidence.

Who can become a Fa-rectification period Dafa disciple is not a simple matter. Everything that has occurred today was carefully arranged a very long time ago in the cosmos. This detailed arrangement is not limited to our current lives in human society. Moreover, it was not limited to our various lives in the human world. From the very moment that we, while we were still in the heavens, were initially chosen as the beings who would become the present Fa-rectification Dafa disciples, everything in our lives has been rearranged. Since then, the existence of our lives is not for ourselves, but for Fa-rectification.

During the very long history of the cosmos, we have been tempered according to the requirements of Fa-rectification. We have been endowed, according to the requirements for Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples, with all the abilities that we need today. We, the disciples of the Fa, were not only heroes and influential persons in history. Additionally, as we, following Master, gradually descended from the high realms to the low realms in the cosmos, we were also arranged to have played magnificent roles and left unfading accomplishments in those realms, which allowed us to accumulate great virtue. During this process, our lives have been replenished with the best. In the meantime, we have also established predestined relationships with the lives in those different realms. All these are for the Fa-rectification today, and for our being able to do well as Fa-rectification Dafa disciples.

Why are we the most fortunate beings in the cosmos? It is not only because we are able to attain the Fa in this life of ours. It is also because what we have obtained is the best in the whole evolving process of the cosmos, and it has continued from a very remote age to our coming down to the earth from heaven, step by step.

Not only were the Three Realms created for the Fa-rectification, the cosmos, from a remote age, has been arranged for the current Fa-rectification. In the history of the cosmos, what has occurred in the various dimensions was not accidental. Many things have occurred to enable us to become Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples. If Master had not chosen us, if we had not been arranged to assist Master in rectifying the Fa today, we would not have been so fortunate in history, and we would not have gained so much.
Today we are able to become Dafa disciples, we all are very capable, or at least have great potential. Otherwise, we would have never been able to become Dafa disciples. The difference between capability and potential needs to be emphasized; in the former case, one has already exhibited his/her power, while the latter means that one has not yet exhibited one's capability, and one still needs to make one's ability emerge.

Every Dafa disciple hopes that he or she can have very strong ability and play a large role in the process of assisting Master in rectifying the Fa. However, some Dafa practitioners feel that they do not have enough ability, so they do not have enough confidence while doing things, and they even doubt that they can do things well. Many practitioners have had such a thought, which was, in fact, because they did not have sufficient understanding of themselves, because they did not have adequate understanding of the special meaning of Fa rectification period Dafa disciples, and because they have not gained sufficient understanding of Dafa.

How many Buddhas, Taos, or other divine beings are there in the cosmos? They are simply innumerable. Even in a low realm, there are as many Tathagatas as there are grains of sand in the Ganges River. Today we are able to walk into Dafa and become Fa rectification period Dafa disciples--how could we still doubt our own abilities? Regardless of whether our supernormal capabilities have been displayed in ordinary society or not, we at least have huge potential. While we cultivate ourselves in Dafa and assist Master in rectifying the Fa, as we ascend to higher realms through cultivation, our huge potential will be exhibited. As long as we do the three things well that Master has asked us to do, we will find that our abilities will become increasingly stronger during the process. This is definitely the case. This is, in fact, because our own potential capabilities have manifested. There are many such examples, and there are even miracles in various regions, which are often reported on the Clearwisdom website.

There is nothing strange about this view, as each and every Dafa disciple was a heavenly king who came down to earth to assist Master to rectify the Fa. Each heavenly king is the most capable in his realm. However, because there are many kings who have come down to the human world from high dimensions, one issue has surfaced; that is, how well these kings cooperate with each other and whether they instead work in concert.

Whether Dafa disciples can cooperate well does not only refer to whether they can do things even better and more efficiently in human society. Because each Dafa disciple represents a gigantic cosmic body and the numerous beings in it, there is a very powerful element behind each disciple. So behind each thought, word, and action of a Dafa disciple is the corresponding gigantic cosmic body and the numerous beings in it. So isn't the cooperation among Dafa disciples the same as cooperation among the cosmic bodies and the numerous beings that we have represented, or the same as the resonance between the powerful elements that are behind Dafa disciples?

The cosmos is one body. The Fa-rectification situations in the cosmos and the human world correspond to each other. We, with our human eyes, can only see what has manifested on the surface dimension in human society. So even though the cooperation among Dafa disciples may appear simple and ordinary, it is, in fact, very significant and extraordinary in terms of the elements behind us that are involved, the role that they have played, as well as the impact that they have made.

Although we appear as ordinary human beings and do ordinary things in human society, we are actually the disciples of Dafa, and we are helping Master rectify the Fa. There is a powerful element behind each Dafa disciple. How can we enable the powerful elements that we already have to form a cohesive force, generate resonance and a magnifying effect, and play the huge role that they should play during Fa- rectification? This is a question that each and every Dafa disciple should ask him or herself. It is related to whether the one body of Dafa disciples can play the role it should play during Fa-rectification and whether we can harmonize what Master has wanted. Isn't this extremely crucial? How can one count what Dafa disciples have accomplished in Fa-rectification? How can one imagine how each Dafa disciple will be positioned after Fa- rectification? Can all these just be ignored?

Master has taught us the Fa (in Zhuan Falun) about several enlightened beings from extremely high realms who sat there with minds that were like still water; they seemed to have nothing there. I came to understand that the still water that Master referred to is the original water of a specific dimension. It is extremely microscopic and has extremely high density. When anything is thrown into it, it does not even generate a ripple or wave, and anything thrown into it will instantly dissolve.

Master said that “...mind and matter are one and the same!” (“Teaching the Fa at the Conference in New Zealand” in 1999)

Furthermore, the higher the practitioner’s realm, the more obvious is this the case. I came to understand that the original water is a manifestation of the of those great enlightened beings; it is a reflection of their diamond-solid nature, and it is also an exhibition of their extremely powerful gong potency.

The original water in a certain realm of the cosmos is composed of even tinier particles in an even deeper dimension. Each and every Dafa disciple is a Dafa particle. If every Dafa disciple can achieve the state of being diamond-solid in xinxing, no one would be able to move the one body of Dafa practitioners. The one body would be like the still water; no matter what bad things are thrown into it, they would be instantly disintegrated, and would not cause any waves among Dafa practitioners. If we can achieve this state, the old forces’ interference would have no effect.

On the other hand, is it the case that the evil beings can do what they want to do because they are still being utilized by the old forces? The old forces think that Dafa disciples must go through such tests to see if they are really diamond-solid and whether they can be aware of and eliminate their own shortcomings. So the old forces have kept utilizing the evil to do what they want to do. If we Dafa disciples cannot control ourselves well, our minds will become agitated, and we will fan the fires once we encounter issues, which would cause waves among Dafa disciples. So does this mean that we have played our roles badly? Does it mean that it is our own elements that are disseminating, promoting, and enlarging these waves? Is it the case that we, by doing so, would have given the old forces an excuse to cause trouble? The old forces may say, “You see that we have done things correctly. The one body of Dafa practitioners has not achieved the state of being unshakable like diamond. They are still fanning the fires from within. How could they, by acting that way, meet the requirements of Dafa? So we still need to get involved again and again until they can meet the requirements.”

Although we do not acknowledge the arrangements of the old forces, Dafa disciples still need to meet the requirements that Dafa has for us! When the one body of Dafa practitioners has done well, the old forces will have no excuses to cause interference. Otherwise, if we do not do well, the old forces will still take advantage of our loopholes. Isn't that the same as our having acknowledged their existence?

Each practitioner has his or her own energy fields in other dimensions. The one body of Dafa practitioners also has its own energy field. Whether a practitioner’s personal energy field is good or bad, strong or weak depends on the xinxing of that practitioner. Similarly the energy field of the one body of Dafa practitioners is good or bad, or strong or weak, depending on each disciple and the cooperation among all practitioners.
A troop consists of individual soldiers, just like tiny particles combining and forming a larger particle. So the fighting between two warring troops is like the collision between two big particles. One side can defeat another side because the victorious side has a stronger energy and a more powerful cohesive force than the defeated side. It was by the same token that the Black Armor Troop could repeatedly defeat enemies that had a lot more soldiers. Today, whether the one body of Dafa disciples can become mature quickly is directly related to whether we, in the limited period of time available, can meet the requirements of Fa-rectification and harmonize what Master has wanted.

Master told us,

“…the person in charge of a practice site is no different from the abbot or senior monk who cultivates in a monastery.” (“Explaining the Fa for Falun Dafa Assistants in Changchun” in Explaining the Content of Falun Dafa)

Before the persecution of Falun Gong started on July 20, 1999, it was primarily a period of personal cultivation. However, after July 20, 1999, the situation changed; henceforth, we needed to take validating the Fa and saving sentient beings as the priority. In order to stop the evil's persecution, validate the Fa, and offer sentient beings salvation, we need to break through the blockage by the old forces, layer by layer, and completely eliminate the evil. Isn't this a duel between the righteous and the evil in the cosmos? Is this any different from a battle between two armies in the past? So isn't it correct that the coordinator of each Fa-validation project, who has led in the establishment of the project, is equivalent to a commanding general from history?

Being a commanding general on the battlefield, one needs not only to command the troops well, but also to cooperate well with other parts of the army. This is a huge responsibility. In a big battle, whether each commanding general does well or not is critical. This is also the case for the coordinator of a Dafa project. When the coordinator does an excellent job, he not only plays his role well in his own project, but he can also contribute to good cooperation between projects, so an even more powerful resonance can occur. Otherwise, if the project coordinator does not do well, he will not only affect the project he is leading, but he can also cause separation between Dafa projects. As a result, there is no way for Dafa practitioners to take concerted actions and exhibit even greater power.
Master said,

“It is true that in the past I've said that the time left for Fa-rectification was not that long, quite short in fact. I had really hoped that you would quickly mature and grow rational, thus allowing this affair to be concluded in a short time. If Dafa disciples cannot all be rational and mature, and instead often act with a human frame of mind--and one that manifests so strongly, at that--how could this affair be concluded? How could one say that Dafa disciples have completed their cultivation?” (“Fa Teaching at the 2009 Washington DC International Fa Conference”)

It has been twelve years since July 20, 1999. Why can’t Fa-rectification be concluded? We really need to take a good look at ourselves. Either each disciple or the one body of Dafa practitioners should carefully think how to become mature and rational as quickly as possible so as to harmonize with what Master has wanted.

As the Fa-rectification period is extended, some practitioners have shown different degrees of slacking off, feeling that they are doing the three things and that they would not be left out when the moment of Dafa disciples’ reaching Consummation comes. With such a mindset, they no longer exhibit the diligence that Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples should have. Even when they are doing some Dafa work, they appear as if they are doing things in a relaxed manner. They lack the uplifting morale, the invincible faith, and the momentum of striking forward and breaking through all obstacles, like the Black Armor Troop.
“The Fa's rectification of the cosmos is sure to succeed.” (“Teaching the Fa at the 2004 International Fa Conference in New York”) However, this does not mean that we Dafa disciples can do our Fa-validation efforts in a relaxed way. The Fa-rectification has dragged on for too long because we have not been able to make breakthroughs. If it were not for Fa-rectification, humankind would have been long gone. Now each and every day that mankind sees is extended for Fa-rectification. However, when mankind has become corrupt to this extent, many people in the world are still committing sins. So how much sin does the extension by one day mean to mankind? How could they handle the extra sin that is accumulated during the extension of the Fa-rectification period?

There are several billion people in the world waiting to attain the Fa after the evil persecution ends. They have been committing sins in their delusion. The more the end of Fa-rectification is postponed, the more sins they will have committed. With so many extra sins, together with their original sins, how could they repay them? So in the future, when several billion people walk into Dafa and start their cultivation, how will they be able to handle the sins that they have committed during the extended period of Fa-rectification? Who will bear it for them? If Master does not bear a portion of their sins, they will not be able to succeed in their cultivation. With Master’s compassion, we can imagine what Master will do for them. Extending the period of Fa-rectification may mean that Dafa disciples have an opportunity to accumulate even more mighty virtue, but for Master, it may well mean that He needs to bear more sins for the sentient beings. We can only feel grateful to Master and work diligently, while we should not doubt Master or bear grudges.
Extending Fa-rectification for one more day means that Master needs to bear more sins. So our slacking-off means more suffering for Master. Being Dafa disciples, if we do not become mature as quickly as possible, if we do not form an even greater force to move Fa-rectification forward, how could we allow ourselves to continue like this? Compared to what Master has borne for us, any estrangement and conflicts between practitioners mean nothing. We must form a mighty cohesive force to break through the blockage by the old forces and harmonize what Master wants.

The appearance stems from the mind. Whether we Dafa disciples can fully exhibit our capabilities during Fa-rectification depends on ourselves. If we all are not deluded by the surface manifestations of the human world; if we are not deluded by the surface difficulties that the old forces have created; if we can go ahead and do what we should do with full confidence, and with close and harmonious cooperation and form a powerful cohesive force, then the old forces cannot hope to block us.

Where is the Black Armor Troop today? This legendary force exists in the hearts of Dafa disciples. If we look inward, we will certainly find it.
Posting date: 7/6/2011

What can China teach us?

2011-07-18T20:47:00.000-07:00

The Chinese history up to today reveals the real nature and intent of the Chinese Communist Regime

Amazon: Read the Nine Commentaries here

In addition, the continued large-scale suppression of Falun Gong spiritual practice which lasts 12 years. After Chinese authorities estimate that the number of people who perform meditation exercises of Falun Gong far exceeded the number of members of the Communist Party, Jiang Zemin, the former leader of China, launched a broad campaign of suppression of Falun Gong across the country.

Nominated in the Nobel Peace Prize 2010, an international human rights lawyer David Matas argues that China continues large scale organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners. Herewith, international pharmaceutical companies play an important role in providing the unauthorized practice of harvesting organs from prisoners in China during the trials of their drugs.

Incidentally, during the Beijing Olympics, according to the rights of Falun Gong, Chinese authorities arrested at least 10,194 Falun Gong adherents, fearing their appeals to protect their rights. Of these, about one hundred persons died in prison in a few weeks or days. Many of them have still not released, some were sentenced to long term imprisonment.

At the same time the popularity of the people of the ruling Communist Party in China has been steadily falling. In recent years become a mass movement of an abandonment of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its affiliated organizations (pioneer and komsomol).

In 2006 it was published a book "Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party," which outlined the results of research into the Chinese Communist Party. This book changed the political views of millions of Chinese. More than 94 million people inspired by this book almost-thirteenth of the population of China (using aliases) since 2006 announced at a special web-site on their abandonment of the Communist Party, komsomol and pioneer. Every day to this number is added 40-50 thousand people.
More at UNIAN

2011-07-18T20:40:00.000-07:00

Members of US Congress Rally for Falun Gong - Video

Tuidang Rally at the “Freedom Plaza,” Washington DC (Photo 2010)
Go Falun Gong Go!

Senate resolution 232 supports "Tuidang" CCP withdrawal movement

Video: The resolution is the first to be introduced in the Senate, and also the first U.S. government resolution to recognize Tuidang, a growing peaceful movement of Chinese people who are withdrawing from the Communist Party. This year’s rally, held annually, celebrates the approaching milestone of 100 million Chinese who have renounced the Communist Party since 2004.

“We, as human beings, must stand together. The good people of this world must stand together against the type of tyranny, injustice, and the human suffering that has been brought about by this dictatorial regime in China,” said Rep. Dana Rohrabacher.

“This fact is so important for the Americans to understand—that that force in the world—if you allow an evil force like that to continue without being challenged that evil force will someday affect us here,” Rohrabacher added.

More at Epoch Times

see my next post to read about Tuidang

Man and Science- Understanding Falun Dafa - the unlimited science

2011-07-15T22:30:00.000-07:00

Sen Yang, Ph.D.
Chicago, Illinois

As a child, I often sat in the backyard, gazing at the numerous stars twinkling in the night sky, with all sorts of questions floating in my mind. Are there people out there? What are they doing? Are there bigger objects in the boundless universe? Can our solar system be just a tiny molecule of a much larger living being? Time is running from the remote past towards the unforeseen future without ever stopping. Is one's life, which is merely a brief period in the long river of history, really like a spark, disappearing in the universe after a flashing glimpse? How advanced will the science of mankind look in several centuries? How I wished that I could take a look at it.

Then I went to high school and college. Although I read more and more books, my imagination was increasingly diminished and replaced by the knowledge from the books. I learned from textbooks about the theory of evolution, which suggests that mankind evolved from apes, and all creatures originated from single cell microorganisms that evolved into more complex life forms. However, the transitional links between mankind and apes, as well as those between species have not yet been discovered, which makes me sometimes question Darwin's theory of evolution.

From the physics point of view, every ordered system evolves in the direction of disorder. However, the motion of the universe is so harmonious, and all creatures in the world such as flowers, grasses and plants are created so miraculously that even modern scientists are constantly amazed. As we all know, the human body is extraordinarily complex and sophisticated, being composed of the building blocks of life, proteins and nucleic acids. Amazingly, proteins are sequences of twenty basic types of amino acids, whereas nucleic acids are coded by only four nucleotides. If life had indeed evolved without purpose, step by step, there could have been many different evolutionary paths, among which, Nature chose the optimal one. Is there a crucial yet unknown objective element acting behind the superficial phenomena?

There have been a lot of mysterious phenomena observed by man from ancient times to the present. Just like the mystery of life, the mysteries of pre-historic civilizations, UFOs and the Bermuda Triangle are far beyond the scope covered by modern empirical science. Although modern scientists have been attempting to offer explanations for such mysterious phenomena using the available knowledge and the current understanding of our world, they all appear rather incomplete and contrived. For example, UFOs are explained by spherical lightening, and the disappearance and re-emergence of ships are attributed to the large number of bubbles floating up from the bottom of the sea. In the latter case, it was often reported that missing people returned after several decades without apparent change in age and without any feeling that time had elapsed. To them, the world appeared to have changed instantly. Some people who are unable to understand these phenomena would just casually pick an explanation that sounds plausible to them, such as labeling the missing people as psychologically abnormal. Let's assume, however, that some of these incidents did happen. Then what do they imply?

Can man unveil these unsolved mysteries? Can the universe be understood or not? Is man the dictator or the dictated in the universe? Are there alternative paths or even short cuts in the development of human science? The answers are all affirmative, but with conditions.

Throughout this human civilization, scientific thinking can be divided into eastern and western systems, which differ dramatically in their guiding ideologies and research methodologies. Ancient Eastern culture studied life and Nature from a very high standpoint. For example, the Theory of Five Elements held that everything could be classified into five major categories, metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, which rely on and interact with one another. Although this idea seems quite abstract, it has already been applied to diverse topics such as Chinese medical science and battlefield strategy, and has proved surprisingly effective. Eastern scientific thinking tends to capture the essence and principles of Nature first, and then apply them to specific cases.

On the other hand, western scientific thinking has been developed based on experiments and observations, where general principles are extracted from specific examples. The basic criteria for testing various theories are from experiments, i.e. only theories that can be confirmed by experiments are accepted. Throughout the modern age, the western scientific system has played a leading role in the advancement of science. At the same time, however, its limitations are becoming more evident. It can only advance within our physical world; only those visible, tangible and repeatable experimental phenomena are recognized and studied.

Modern western science has a very limited understanding of time, space and energy. It attempts to understand the law of the motion of the entire universe from the space-time where human beings exist, which inevitably results in a partial and biased understanding. Although the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics proposed at the beginning of this century have widened the scope of man's understanding of the world, there is an insurmountable gap between these two theories. This leads us to the implication that man's understanding of nature is still quite superficial.

For example, an early astronomer accurately predicted the specific locations and orbits of two moons of Mars in 1762, which was experimentally confirmed nearly 150 years later. The scientific community was greatly puzzled by how the person managed to make this remarkable prediction.

Two thousand years ago, a great enlightened person from the East proposed the Theory of Three Thousand Worlds, which held that there are three thousand planets that are populated by living beings in our Milky Way. He also stated that there are three thousand such worlds in a tiny grain of sand. Given that science at that time was far less advanced than it is today, how could he see this if his theory was correct?
All these puzzling thoughts were effortlessly solved once I read the book ZHUAN FALUN, written by Mr. Li Hongzhi. In his book, Mr. Li Hongzhi thoroughly expounds the characteristic of the universe from a very high level, discusses the most profound principles in the plainest language, and proposes the Theory of Multi-Dimensions. I was quickly convinced that this was the true science! In fact, there is not just one space-time in this universe. Human beings, however, can only recognize the space-time where they live. Consequently, modern science cannot go beyond this limit no matter how advanced it is. Though other dimensions of space-time have been mentioned in science fiction writing, the conceptions of these other dimensions have always been confined by the understanding of our own space-time. In this universe, there exist countless dimensions both vertically and horizontally. Consider the following simple example. Everything that is visible or tangible belongs to our physical dimension, whereas molecules, atoms, nuclei, electrons and quarks belong to other dimensional levels.

Why is that? As we know, a molecule is made up of atoms, which in turn are made up of protons, neutrons and electrons. However, protons, neutrons, electrons and even bigger objects differ dramatically in their physical properties as well as in their manifestations. The fundamental reason is that there are different energy structures in different dimensions, and each specific energy structure forms a specific dimension of space-time.

Classical mechanics can successfully describe the laws of motion for our physical dimension using physical quantities: mass, velocity, acceleration, etc. The matter in our dimension is made up of molecules that are combined together rather loosely. As a result, the capabilities of living beings in our dimension are very limited. For instance, man cannot run very fast or jump very high. Similarly, materials such as wood, stone, and even iron can be broken. To break or smash matter in this dimension requires only a small amount of kinetic energy. This fundamentally restricts the motion of matter in this dimension. In addition, there is a field of time, which dictates everything in our dimension. For instance, the time it takes for Earth to complete one revolution is one day. This period influences the biological rhythm of human beings as well as other creatures. Furthermore, the time it takes for Earth to complete an orbit around the sun is one year. This period governs the lives of plants and the rotation of the four seasons. Living beings can get tired. People experience birth, aging, illness and death. Everything evolves in the field of time following the laws in this dimension. These laws, however, may not apply to other dimensions. It is also observed that when things in this dimension are broken, their molecular structures stay unchanged. For instance, when a glass cup is broken, the pieces, however tiny they may be, remain as glass without their molecular structure having been altered.

Larger energy is required to alter molecular structure, and conversely, larger energy can be generated through the breaking and recombination of molecules. The energy level of molecules belongs to a different form of space-time, which possesses a stronger energy system. This energy system provides most of the energy that human beings on earth are utilizing. During production activities, for instance, coals or gases are burnt so that the energies released can be transformed into kinetic or electronic energies. We have not, however, gained a complete understanding about molecules because we are not capable of observing the dimension of molecules directly.

At an even deeper level, the dimension of atoms has an even stronger energy structure, where different combinations of elementary particles form all of the elements known to man. Atomic energy is already a little beyond the imagination of human beings; it is much stronger than chemical and kinetic energies, and is more difficult to control. However, we can only partially understand its manifestation in our dimension, because we are not able to study it in the dimension of atoms.

For still deeper dimensions, it will be very difficult to study them using western scientific techniques, because the microscopic objects in these dimensions very rarely or never manifest themselves in our dimension. Therefore, the science of mankind has no projection from which to study them.

There are other dimensions besides the horizontal dimensions discussed above. Different dimensions can exist simultaneously at the same place. The fact that we cannot perceive them with our eyes nor can we detect them using modern scientific techniques does not imply that other dimensions do not exist. Instead, this only suggests that our capabilities are severely limited. Our eyes, which collect most information throughout our lives, cannot even perceive the electro-magnetic waves outside the short range of spectrum from 400 to 700 nm in our dimension, let alone scenes in other dimensions.

Some may argue that we can study molecules and atoms using scientific instruments even though our naked eyes cannot observe them. Indeed, we need the aid of scientific methods to study phenomena in larger or smaller scales that are beyond the capability of our eyes, for which scientific instruments can serve as extensions. These instruments, however, detect only the reflections or projections of molecules, atoms, and nuclei in our dimension, instead of the true forms of their existence. To fully investigate a dimension, we may have to be physically there. Let's consider the following example, which may not be entirely appropriate. Seen from a larger dimension, our planet may be just a point, which is rather an inadequate understanding and keeps us from learning that there are lands and oceans, four seasons, temperature and humidity, and a wealth of plants and animals on earth. Due to the conceptual difference among different dimensions, there could be different physical quantities in different dimensions. In our dimension, we have physical quantities like electricity, magnetism, mass, momentum, and gravity. In other dimensions, however, there may be other distinct physical quantities due to the differences in space-time and energy systems.

When studying microscopic objects in other dimensions, people still tend to use the physical quantities in our own space-time, such as using X-rays or electron microscopes to study the structures of objects by observing the reflections or diffraction of particles. As a consequence, people can only study indirectly the reflections of objects from other space-times into our own. Because of the fundamental difference between physical quantities in different dimensions, the physical quantities that can be reflected into our dimension are rather scarce. For example, there is not much that can be reflected from the dimension of molecules into our dimension. Neither is there much that can be reflected from the dimension of atoms into that of molecules, and even less so into our dimension. This is even more the case with deeper dimensions.
We already know that there are numerous space-times and energy systems in nature. We may then want to ask whether life can only exist in our own dimension. All of us can feel that we are living in a very colorful world full of wonders. If you could get into a different dimension, you would find out that it is also an immense space with living beings and objects of more sophisticated and miraculous forms. If we ordered the dimensions according to their energy levels, we would notice that the human race happens to be at the lowest level. Does that mean that the living beings in higher dimensions, equipped with higher levels of energy, possess higher levels of intelligence and wisdom?

If we could enter the level of atoms, the dimension where the human race exists would manifest to us in a different way. Human beings, air, and other creatures are all existing in the same dimension, as human bodies are made up of elements like carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Seen from the dimension of atoms, the binding force between these elements is very weak and unstable. Going one step deeper, if we could enter the dimension of protons, it would appear to us that the sun does not exist any more, neither do the galaxies, because the energy at the dimension of atoms appears very weak in the powerful energy field of the dimension of protons, and the dimension of human race looks even more unreal, just like an imaginary shadow. Therefore, it would be very easy to control low level dimensions from the high dimension levels. Conversely, it would be very difficult to study high level dimensions using experimental techniques from low levels. Both time and space are specific manifestations of different levels of energy. While the time of some dimensions runs faster than that of our dimension, the time of some other dimensions goes slower, as suggested by an ancient Chinese saying ''One day in heaven above is equal to a thousand years on earth.'' Some people would go momentarily into different dimensions, only to find out that dozens of years had passed in our world during their short experience in other dimensions.

UFOs have been a hot topic. According to many witnesses, the motions and trajectories of UFOs are very peculiar. They can accelerate and turn abruptly, stay in the air quietly, and disappear instantly, which are all beyond the explanation of concepts like gravity and inertia. If we could assume that UFOs can break into other dimensions, where the matter is not governed by the laws of our own dimension, then it can move from one galaxy to another in the blink of an eye without being confined by the speed of light.

Does the fact that we are living in this physical world imply that we will never be able to understand the matter in higher dimensions? The answer is no. Besides the physical body, man has the other side, i.e., the spiritual side. Man's consciousness, which exists as a form of matter in a different dimension, is the key to understanding things, although its existence has been denied by modern people because they cannot detect it. However, given the many forms of space-time and energy, can they all be generalized to obey certain laws in their evolution?

Mr. Li Hongzhi, in his book, Zhuan Falun, thoroughly expounds the laws of motion for matter in various dimensions, as well as the unity of matter and mind. He reveals the truth that has never been conceived: man's insights into the universe depend directly on his Xinxing (mind and heart nature; moral consciousness). By cultivating his Xinxing, and assimilating with the characteristic ''Zhen-Shan-Ren'' (truthfulness, benevolence, forbearance), man will upgrade himself and attain further understanding towards the objective world as well as himself. Thus, he will return to his original true self, and gain deeper insights into the universe.

Many people would be very surprised if cultivation were to be compared to science. How can those monks and Taoists in the past be mentioned and discussed together with scientists, as they are usually treated as complete opposites? However, if a scientist is someone whose goal is to unveil the mysteries of the universe, then the comparison between them does not sound so absurd, as they are just going along different paths towards the same destination. The fact that some people see real scenes in other dimensions during meditation or have developed the supernormal capability of clairvoyance easily explains why some people in ancient times could see and feel what can only be recognized or even what still cannot be recognized by modern science. Only through the cultivation of Xinxing and with assimilation to the characteristic of the cosmos, can man gain insights into the truth of the cosmos.

The progress of science will be very slow if we follow the present path of development. It is very much like a blind man touching an elephant: he can learn a little bit about the elephant only after he touches a little bit. When people search for extraterrestrial lives, for instance, they always hold the congenial notion that only the environment on earth is suitable for the existence of life, whereas it is either too cold or too hot, or there is no oxygen or water on other planets. Viewed by living beings of other planets or dimensions, however, our planet may be one of the least suitable ones for life. For the past few decades, there have been many movies developed in America. They told stories about human beings on earth protecting themselves from invasions by living beings from other planets. As a matter of fact, "the characteristic of the cosmos is governing everything'' *. The higher the level of living beings, the more benevolent they are, since they would otherwise not be able to achieve those high levels. Human beings on earth tend to judge others by their own mentality and moral standard. This leads to the assumption that living beings at high levels are as greedy, selfish and brutal as themselves. In fact, if they really wanted to interfere with the earth, there would be absolutely no way that human beings could struggle against them, just as one cannot battle against atomic bombs with knives and spears. The decline of the moral standard of modern human beings, and the deterioration of the environment have put mankind in a very dangerous situation. So the true threat does not come from others, but from mankind itself.

The universe is immense and complex, but only a tiny portion can be reflected into our dimension and can be perceived by man. Empirical science has reached its limit, whereas the development of science is unlimited. The only way to truly advance science is for modern man to discard incorrect acquired notions and face the objective reality courageously. "If mankind could take a fresh look at itself as well as at the universe, and change its rigid mentality, it will take a leap forward.''* In front of us will be an entirely new and more splendid human civilization.

Maybe someday, my childhood dream will come true.
* Excerpted from Zhuan Falun by Mr. Li Hongzhi. This book can be viewed or downloaded from www.falundafa.org

USA Senate resolution supports "Tuidang" CCP withdrawal movement- Precious Chinese Hurry up and withdraw quick

2011-07-15T02:50:00.000-07:00

The resolution is the first to be introduced in the Senate, and also the first U.S. government resolution to recognise "Tuidang", a growing peaceful movement of Chinese people who are withdrawing from the Communist Party. This year’s rally, held annually, celebrates the approaching milestone of 100 million Chinese who have renounced the Communist Party since 2004.

By Andrea Hayley
Epoch Times Staff
Created: Jul 14, 2011 Last Updated: Jul 14, 2011

STRONG WORDS: Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla), speaking at a rally on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, Thurs.

July 14, said "the persecution of Falun Gong must end, and it must end now." (Shaoshao Chen/The Epoch Times)

Over a thousand Falun Gong practitioners and supporters gathered on Capitol Hill today in Washington to mark 12 years of persecution of the peaceful spiritual practice also known as Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong), in China.

A Senate resolution introduced July 13 is calling on the Senate to mark the official anniversary of the day the persecution of Falun Gong by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began. It also calls for the CCP to “cease and desist” from its persecutory campaign.

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) said during a speech, “The persecution of Falun Gong must end, and it must end now.”

“I find it deplorable that the government of the People’s Republic of China only protects citizens’ freedom of religion and spiritual practice if they submit to the authority of the Communist Party—and if they do not, as in the case of Falun Gong, orders an intensive and unforgiving campaign against them that includes abduction, detention, and torture for refusing to recant their practice,” said Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), co-sponsor of S. Res. 232, in a statement.

Falun Gong espouses a teaching of the universal principles of truthfulness, compassion and forbearance. The practice involves a set of slow-moving exercises and meditation believed to improve health and well-being, according to the Falun Dafa Information Center, an official source of Falun Gong.

The resolution is the first to be introduced in the Senate, and also the first U.S. government resolution to recognize Tuidang, a growing peaceful movement of Chinese people who are withdrawing from the Communist Party. This year’s rally, held annually, celebrates the approaching milestone of 100 million Chinese who have renounced the Communist Party since 2004.

“The seeds of reform are being sown by this wonderful movement,” said Congressman Chris Smith, (R-N.J.)

“Tuidang is about building a movement that begins to undermine the Communist Party from within. It is kind of like the sinkhole mentality, where there is nothing under it, and pretty soon the ground just sinks,” said Smith.

“This resolution will further empower the Chinese people to break away from the shackle of CCP’s despotic rule and eventually obtain the most deserved freedom,” said Rong Yi, president of the Global Service Center for Quitting the Chinese Communist Party, headquartered in Flushing, New York.

Smith, chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights, said that he planned to introduce a similar resolution in the House of Representatives.

Continued: Challenging Evil

Challenging Evil

PEACEFUL APPEAL: Falun Gong practitioners perform slow-moving exercises on the West Lawn of the Capitol in Washington, DC, Thurs. July 14. The practitioners were part of an annual rally marking the 12-year persecution of Falun Gong in China, and calling for its end. (Shaoshao Chen/The Epoch Times)

“We, as human beings, must stand together. The good people of this world must stand together against the type of tyranny, injustice, and the human suffering that has been brought about by this dictatorial regime in China,” said Rep. Dana Rohrabacher.

“This fact is so important for the Americans to understand—that that force in the world—if you allow an evil force like that to continue without being challenged that evil force will someday affect us here,” Rohrabacher added.

Smith said he was encouraged by the possibility that China could actually become a democracy through the power of the Tuidang movement.

“If China is a democracy, there is no global threat—they are not going to invade Taiwan, threaten the islands, or any other ASEAN country, or anything else, because they are a democracy,” he said.
Jin Pang, daughter of a Falun Gong practitioner detained in China since before the 2008 Beijing Olympics, said she was only 15 years old when the persecution began, but she can still remember every minute of it.

“It is not only my family, but my mom, my aunt, and the people that I know every day who were persecuted to death—there are still thousands and millions of Falun Gong practitioners detained.”

Falun Gong Practitioners, Supporters Rally at US Capitol (Photos)

Pang says she feels fortunate to be able to attend such a rally with so many VIPs and members of human rights organizations supporting Falun Gong.

“I believe that their voices are very encouraging to the people that are suffering there, like my mom,” Pang said.

Dr. Scott Flipse, deputy director for policy and research with the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, and a number of prominent NGOs, including Amnesty International and Hudson Institute, spoke at the event.

Dr. Sue Gunawardena-Vaughn, senior program manager with Freedom House, co-sponsor of the rally, said “Freedom House remains deeply concerned about the ongoing human rights abuses committed against adherents, their families, and increasingly, their lawyers.”

Jiang Zemin’s Bitter Legacy

Vaughn said, "Over the past twelve years, Falun Gong practitioners and their families have suffered greatly at the hands of the Communist Party, simply for exercising their fundamental rights to freedom of belief and peaceful expression of their views.”

Why Would Jiang Zemin Die On a Holiday?

2011-07-09T01:00:00.000-07:00

For those who dont know who Jiang Zemin is - He is the jealous CCP leader who started the persecution of a nation and the rest of humanity by vowing to eradicate Truthfulness Compassion and Forbearance in China and outside of China.

By Tai Sima
(Clearwisdom.net) On July 6, 2011, Hong Kong-based Asia Television (ATV) reported Jiang's death, but the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has not acknowledged his death. Even though people were not sure if Jiang had indeed died, they began setting off fireworks to celebrate. A “Preparatory Committee to Celebrate the Death of Jiang Zemin” popped up on the Internet.

There was a popular joke that Jiang Zemin went to find a monk to have his fortune told. When he asked when he would die, the monk told Jiang that he would die on a holiday. When Jiang asked which holiday, the monk said that whichever day that Jiang died, it would become a holiday.
Eight years ago, I wrote a series of articles on the subject, "Why Jiang Zemin is the most vicious person in history." Today, with Jiang Zemin either dead or dying, I'd like to cite several paragraphs from one of the articles, “Who Planted Hatred Against Falun Gong in People's Hearts?” (http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/9/7/39977.html)

If we take a look at how Jiang Zemin employed the most evil means in persecuting Falun Gong and Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, we will then understand why the date of Jiang Zemin's death will come to be celebrated as a holiday.
Jiang controlled a huge media system, with the Party's newspapers, TV stations, radio stations, and computer systems. Jiang's lies about Falun Gong could be spread around the world almost instantaneously. From the staged "Tiananmen Square Self-immolation Incident," to "The Murderer Fu Yibin," to "The Killing of Beggars in Zhejiang Province," the false propaganda campaigns put together to discredit and turn public opinion against Falun Gong were heard not only in China, but also in the U.S., Taiwan, and in fact, around the world.

Jiang tightly controlled organizations at all levels in China, including the Party, various levels of government, the army, the police, special agencies, foreign affairs, labor unions, student associations, women's associations, political associations, scientific associations and more. He used all of these organizations as tools to brutally suppress, monitor, and persecute Falun Gong practitioners, a group of peaceful people.
Both people and science were employed to cover up his crimes. He didn't allow people to appeal to higher authorities, to spread truth-clarification materials, or to hold up banners. He forbade media from reporting the facts about Falun Gong. He built an army of Internet police, and set up Internet firewalls to block Falun Gong websites from abroad. In a word, he used all kinds of ways to block the facts about Falun Gong. Concealing his crimes is a huge part of Jiang's nature.
Jiang used every chance he could to spread lies about Falun Gong when he talked to the international media or leaders of other countries. During an interview with the French newspaper Le Figaro, he defamed Falun Gong directly. During an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit meeting, he personally handed a booklet slandering Falun Gong to the American president. When he was interviewed by CBS, he claimed several thousand Falun Gong practitioners had committed suicide. When meeting with officials from Japan, he said he had never heard of Falun Gong before he launched the persecution. However, on another occasion, he said he knew all along that one of his classmates went insane because of practicing Falun Gong.

Jiang was head of state for the biggest potential market in the world, with over one billion consumers. He held this over the heads of other nations, so that they would repeatedly yield and compromise with his crimes of persecuting Falun Gong and other groups.

Exploiting people's notions, Jiang forced people to accept his lies and engendered hatred toward Falun Gong. For example, if you believed in science, he would tell you that Falun Gong was superstitious. If you didn't like politics, he would tell you that Falun Gong had a political agenda. If you were jealous of people who went abroad and got rich, he would tell you that Falun Gong had collected tons of money from overseas. If you were tired of cults of personality that past leaders of China developed, he would tell you Falun Gong would control your mind. If you were patriotic, he would tell you that Falun Gong is a tool of overseas forces bent on damaging China. If you didn't believe that qigong was effective, he would tell that you practicing Falun Gong would lead people to mental illness. If you wanted a stable society, he would tell you Falun Gong undermines social stability.

He would make up lies, each one bigger than the other. From hurting oneself, to committing suicide, to setting oneself on fire, from killing one's own family to killing a stranger, from killing one person to killing a group of people, he would tell you so many lies that eventually you would accept them as facts. If you had sympathy for Falun Gong, he would connect your personal evaluations and advancement opportunities with how you treat Falun Gong. You would lose your bonuses, be demoted, or even lose your job if one of your subordinates went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong. In this way, he would force you to be an enemy of Falun Gong.
Jiang ordered the arrest of Falun Gong practitioners and sent them to " classes." In order to force practitioners to sign a to give up practicing Falun Gong, they used all kinds of ways to attack practitioners' weaknesses. Then they would expand on those weaknesses by using distorted theories, pressuring practitioners' families to persuade them, threatening practitioners with not allowing their families to work or go to school, and physically torturing practitioners. They would then order the "transformed" practitioners to brainwash other practitioners until they also gave up their righteous belief. The purpose was to transform people with high moral standards into automatons that didn't respect virtue.

Out of his personal jealousy, Jiang Zemin launched a war to attempt to eradicate Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. People had been waiting for this opportunity to rebuild respect for virtue, but Jiang Zemin did his utmost to undermine it. Hasn't he committed a huge crime? It is important for people to see Jiang and his crimes for what they are, and awaken from the lies fabricated and instilled by him.
Posting date: 7/8/2011
Category: Opinion
Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2011/7/7/江泽民为什么会死在一个节日里-243561.html

The Buffoon Jiang Zemin's media blackouts of yesteryear

2011-07-08T05:26:00.000-07:00

The toad is responsible for the spread HIV in China, persecution of the truthful compassionate and forbearing Falun Gong and the spread of SARs.

What else could expect from a cane toad?

Threesday: Jiang Zemin's media blackouts of yesteryear

by Fotini Gan
The Shanghaiist (USA)

A state of speculation and ambiguity surrounding Jiang Zemin's (江泽民) possible death (or not!) is the perfect way for such a censorship-loving leader to (allegedly) end this journey called life. In honor of the media blackout going on concerning Jiang's name and current whereabouts, we review the top censored news items from Jiang Zemin's presidency.

1. The Henan Blood Scandal

This is definitely a story to make your skin crawl and stomach turn. In an effort to encourage blood donations in the early 90s, Chinese “bloodhead” companies told peasants in Henan Province that they could donate blood plasma for money—meanwhile, the donors would also get blood plasma made available to them in return for their donations, in addition to monetary compensation. The catch? The blood they would receive would not necessarily be their own, but from a general pool of other donors’ blood, and there would be no background check for HIV. The result was the biggest public health debacle in China, massive government cover-ups along with the jailing of whistleblowers, and entire villages contracting HIV/AIDS. About 55,000 people were said to have been infected, but estimates go as high as 200,000.

Falun Gong

Jiang Zemin was particularly known for the crackdown on Falun Gong, a spiritual movement that took hold in China in 1992 and quickly attracted thousands of followers. By 1999, the group was regularly staging peaceful protests in Tiananmen Square for the right to be allowed to practice openly. Fearing the strength of the movement, Chinese news agencies were told to report that the Falun Gong was a dangerous cult, and many Falun Gong followers were jailed and even tortured. The Chinese Embassy to the US has a disclaimer on its website (a statement made by Jiang) regarding the danger that Falun Gong presents in “jeopardiz[ing] the normal social order.”

SARS

Before Bird Flu, SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, not Special Administrative Region Sickness) was the most infamous health crisis to hit China. Confronted with a potential plague, Chinese officials covered up the severity of the virus and limited foreign news reports, and only began releasing reports on SARS after 300 people had already been infected. The desire for a peaceful timed transition of power in 2003 from Jiang’s presidency to that of Hu Jintao's is often cited as the reason for censorship of the SARS epidemic. Chinese news agencies were only allowed to start reporting on SARS following Hu’s ascendency—five months after the onset of the outbreak.

The fifth president of China from 1993-2003, Jiang followed Deng Xiaoping and was succeeded by Hu Jintao. He is also known for adding the “Three Represents” into the Chinese constitution, and being a member of a powerful informal political faction known as the Shanghai Clique, four members of whom are currently reigning in the Politburo Standing Committee, China's supreme nine-member oligarchy.

Jiang is (was?) also known as the 'Flowerpot', for being 'all show, no action,' a criticism leveled at him in light of his emphasis on cultivating a charismatic and media-oriented personal image on CCTV.

Whatever command over dissemination Jiang might've had in years past, the current weibo'ing, blogging and texting media environment might have proven too much for the former string-puller if he was still in charge, with whatever message that might've been easily blockable even a decade ago no longer suppressible in the here and now.

Which leads us to speculate that a leader of Jiang's ilk, one who bluntly attempts to cut off the means of information distribution whenever necessary, rather than attempting to persuade and spin their own version of the truth to counter conflicting messages, has become a thing of the past.
-----------------

The Chinese Communist Party is a religion

2011-06-22T19:25:00.000-07:00

After 12 years of murder,persecution and world wide slander by the Chinese communist regime it is quite clear that Falun Gong is accepted, practised and admired all around the world. It is also clear that they will never defeat the universal principles Truthfulness Compassion and Forbearance.

The facts remain that Falun Gong is not a religion or a cult. We are all about freedom of mind and heart. We have no registration so no list of practitioners, There are no fees, everything is taught for free and is voluntarily and we can come and go as we please.

Yet the Chinese communist regime is the biggest cult in the world today. Here is list of their traits in comparison to the existing religions today.

Read The Nine Commentaries which will help all Chinese young and old to remember the the real China before communism . These commentaries reveal to westerners just who is the real dangerous cult of today - the Chinese communist regime.

So far after reading the Nine Commentaries nearly 100 million Chinese in China and over seas have turned their back and withdrawn from the CCP cult.

Religious Traits of the CCP.

	The Basic Forms of a Religion	The Corresponding Forms of the CCP
1	Church or platform (podium)	All levels of the Party committee; the platform ranges from Party meetings to all media controlled by the CCP
2	Doctrines	Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong's Ideology, Deng Xiaoping's Theory, Jiang Zemin's "Three Represents", and Party Constitution
3	Initiation rites	Ceremony in which oaths are taken to be loyal to the CCP forever
4	Commitment to one religion	A member may only believe in the communist party
5	Priests	Party Secretaries and staff in charge of party affairs on all levels
6	Worshiping God	Slandering all Gods, and then establishing itself as an unnamed "God"
7	Death is called "ascending to heaven or descending to hell"	Death is called "going to see Marx"
8	Scriptures	The theory and writings of the Communist Party leaders
9	Preaching	All sorts of meetings; leaders' speeches
10	Chanting scriptures; study or cross-examination of scriptures	Political studies; routine group meetings or activities for the Party members
11	Hymn (religious songs)	Songs to eulogize the Party
12	Donations	Compulsory membership fees; mandatory allocation of governmental budget, which is money from people's sweat and blood, for the Party's use
13	Disciplinary punishment	Party disciplines ranging from "house arrest and investigation" and "expulsion from the Party" to deadly tortures and even punishments of relatives and friends