Han Guangsheng was once the vice chief of the Shenyang City Public Security Bureau in China. He was also the former chief of the Judiciary Bureau in Shengyang city of Liaoning province. But in September 2001 he escaped to Canada to seek political asylum. Han stepped forward at the end of June to formally defect from the Chinese Communist Party after seeing the Chinese officials Cheng Yonglin and Hao Fengjun defect from the party earlier that month.
He is yet another Chinese official who has come forward to expose the CCP. The Epoch Times had an exclusive interview with Han and got the inside story from the latest defector.
The Mentality of Chinese Officials
Reporter: You intend to let Western people know more about China. Don’t you think that Western people already know enough about China? At present everyone talks about China’s prosperity and more and more people are investing in China. What do you think is really going on over there? What is the mentality of Chinese officials?
Han: I think it is very difficult for Western people to truly know China. The new image that people have witnessed recently is only a superficial or temporary phenomenon. In recent years there has been rapid economic development in China and there have been major infrastructure projects in Chinese cities.
But on the other hand, there are a lot of social and economic problems, such as the discrepancy between the rich and poor and an unequal distribution of property. Moreover, the CCP has not reformed its political system at all. Under international pressure, the CCP releases a few dissidents here and there only as a token gesture. But there has not been any fundamental progress in terms of human rights. .
What is the situation in China? When I was there I realized that there is disunity, immorality, and a disbelief in the CCP ideology within the CCP bureaucracy, especially among the officials of the various levels. The officials as part of the CCP regime can do nothing about it. Everyone puts on a mask and has dual personality. They act one way during meetings or when they publicly express their opinions and another way when they think and talk in private. This is common among CCP officials.
Without any ideological guidelines to constrain their baser natures, many people have decided to take whatever they want. Bribery and corruption cannot be stopped. Having seen this, many officials say that maintaining the corruption will ruin China, but ending the corruption will ruin the CCP.
How extensive is the corruption? I can use as illustration a common perception among Chinese people: if all the officials were to stand in a line and be executed, innocent people would die. If every other official were spared, some of the corrupt officials would slip out of the line.
You can also get an idea of it from the present situation in China. If any city government were to come under investigation for corruption, you would find that the entire government infrastructure would crumble under such scrutiny.
I am from Shenyang city. Before I came aboard there was a widely publicized investigation into the “Muma Case.” Over 20 officials were arrested from a bureau chief level to a provincial governor level. They were given death sentences, lifetime sentences, or many years in prison. This is not only a problem in Shenyang city; all cities have the same issues and any city government would collapse in the same way. Those who have been investigated and exposed are unfortunate. Officials who have not yet been exposed and are still in power punish and alienate those that have been caught. However, many of these officials could very likely be next.
The CCP Monitors the Telephone Conversations of High-Ranking Officials
Reporter: How are officials exposed? How do a whole group of officials come to be exposed?
Han: Usually they are reported on. People continuously expose the officials’ crimes. This is the most common, but usually materials from this kind of source do not have any detailed information and cannot be used much. Many times, information comes from the inside. Another source is related to the ways the CCP monitors officials: monitoring officials’ office phones, mobile phones and home phones. Many officials above the level of bureau chief are monitored.
The majority of officials have two mobile phones; one is from the government, and the other is a private number that they use when they wish not to be monitored. I once visited Gu, the former vice CCP Secretary of Liaoning province. He did not dare to talk over the phone. The CCP definitely monitors high-ranking officials, especially those who work above the provincial and ministerial level.
Anti-Corruption is Based on Whether One is Allied With Jiang Zemin
Usually, nothing happens to officials who accept bribes, are corrupt, or have affairs. The key is their political stand; whether they are politically compliant with the central government. Who is the central government? It is Jiang Zemin. If you comply with Jiang Zemin and support him, you won’t have any problems no matter what illegal things you have done. If you do not support Jiang Zemin, your illegal activities will be used as evidence against you.
Reporter: Is this a tactic used to ferret out dissidents?
Han: Yes. Chen Xitong, the CCP General Secretary of Beijing, is a typical example. He accepted some gifts. Compared with those in power, he is a very clean official. But since he was against Jiang Zemin, he was sentenced to 16-years in prison. This is similar to the intelligence agents, Dongchang and Xichang [1], during the Ming Dynasty that treated internal officials in the same way.
Half of All CCP Officials Will Defect
Another fact is that the CCP is afraid of officials deciding to defect. Officials at the level of vice division chief or above cannot get a temporary passport. A passport is a citizen’s identification, why can’t these people have a passport? If officials need to go abroad for public affairs, they are only given passports right before the trip. The effective period of the passport has been reduced from five years to two years. A specific official is in charge of everyone’s passport that must be handed in when he or she returns.
Reporter: Many CCP officials have several passports, and some even have passports from other countries? Is that true?
Han: It is true. For example, Ma Xiangdong [2] has several passports. Officials want the ability to escape at any time.
Reporter:: If the CCP let everyone leave, what would officials do?
Han: I think at least half of them would leave the CCP if there were no repercussions.
Big Loss with No Regret
Reporter: Most officials choose to stay because of the CCP’s tight control and because there are some benefits, right?
Han: Of course there are benefits. The CCP offers huge benefits to its officials. The CCP no longer serve the people heart and soul. It has transformed into a group that entices its members with benefits. The government provides houses (now officials only need to pay a minimal amount to purchase a house), cars, and even food. The government pays for everything. Once, a woman US Mayor who was visiting China went to dinner with Chinese officials. She noted that: “Chinese officials do not have to pay for anything. I am a Mayor, but I am required to pay for everything myself.” It’s true. When I see the simple life of the Prime Minister of Germany, I really respect him. A Chinese official at a section level doesn’t even need to drive himself.
Actually, even though some officials do not believe in the CCP, they don’t want to or can’t separate themselves from the CCP, because they fear the CCP’s control and they are too attached to the benefits.
Reporter: They do not have the courage that you have.
Han: I lost a lot, but I do not regret it at all.
Reporter: Thanks for the interview. I wish you good luck.
Han: Thank You.
Note:
[1] Liu Jin (1451-1510), a eunuch during the reign of Emperor Zhengde, was popularly known as the Nine Thousand Age (one of the emperor's honorifics also being the Ten Thousand Age), implying that his status was inferior only to that of the emperor. Liu not only dominated administrative power and law enforcement in the imperial court, but also commandeered its intelligence agents, Dongchang, Xichang, and Neixingchang, who summarily eliminated all dissidents. Thousands of civilians and officials were persecuted to death under his despotic rule. This eunuch's tyranny provoked widespread loathing and indignation, and he was finally executed on charges of treason.
[2] Former Shenyang vice-mayor Ma Xiangdong, convicted for gambling away millions of dollars in public funds in Macao, was sentenced to death and executed in December 2000.
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