HONG KONG – Mr. Edward McMillan-Scott, a Vice-President of the European Parliament embarked on a three-day "journey of exploring the truth" in mainland China that started on May 21. Afterwards, Mr. McMillan-Scott stated in a news conference held in Hong Kong that the Chinese communist regime has been the same for the past decade. He described it as still "brutal and inhumane" and "a system of committing outrages at will." In addition to supporting withdraws from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in mainland China, he affirmed that the communist regime must disintegrate. The Vice-President hopes 100 percent of the CCP's members will withdraw from the Party because he believes a couple of million people is not enough.
The CCP Still Has Not Changed
In 1996, Mr. Edward McMillan-Scott was assigned by the European Parliament as a special investigator to investigate diplomatic affairs and writing reports on the strategic relationship of the European Parliament and the CCP. Mr. McMillan-Scott was surprised that the Chinese communist regime is still the same as 10 years ago.
Mr. McMillan-Scott said, "Ten years later, I am very sad to submit this report. The Chinese communist regime is still a system of atrocity, despotism, and bigotry. There is no freedom of speech, freedom of press is limited and freedom of religion is seriously deprived. However, in the process of revolution of politics and society, frankly speaking, this is negligible."
According to Mr. McMillan-Scott, in mainland China, 1.2 to 1.3 billion people are still lacking freedom. Many places in the world have given up one party dictatorship, only China seems to be embracing it.
At the press conference in Hong Kong on the afternoon of May 24, Mr. McMillan-Scott met with many diplomats, experts, scholars, NGOs and individuals. The Vice-President also chose to meet with some Falun Gong practitioners to understand more truth of the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong.
After meeting with European Parliament representatives, including some diplomats, experts, NGOs and some individuals, Mr. McMillan-Scott said the only conclusion he could draw is that: The CCP is a system of "atrocity, despotism and bigotry". He announced that he would expose specific details at a seminar on Saturday.
Determining the Truth of the Persecution of Falun Gong Practitioners
In Beijing, Mr. McMillan-Scott met with some Falun Gong practitioners who testified to the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. They confirmed that persecution consists of a series of suppressive measures and unjust treatments, including illegal detention, abuse and torture. Such brutalities have been used to persecute this group, whom the Chinese communist regime has labeled as another internal enemy.
Mr. McMillan-Scott said that Falun Gong, a new religious movement, has become a significant factor in the political machine, but it is the Chinese communist regime, not Falun Gong, that has made it so. Mr. McMillan-Scott said that as a Catholic, he holds no particular attitude toward Falun Gong, but he admires the power of religious beliefs on the value and improvement of human life. Religions advocate peace and harmony, the exact opposite of what communism advocates.
The Importance of Falun Gong Should Not Be Underestimated
Mr. McMillan-Scott was very interested in meeting Falun Gong practitioners because he believes Falun Gong is too important to China to be neglected. Mr. McMillan-Scoot said, "When they told me about their experiences, I felt very sad, not only for them, but also for each and every religious group persecuted by the Chinese communist regime."
He said frankly that there could be no proper discussion over China's human rights, because no human right exists at all in China. He said that the structure of the Chinese communist regime does not allow any organization or movement to grow outside of the one-party framework. He believes that the prevailing movement of renouncing the CCP is very important to China's future development.
Mr. McMillan-Scott said he could not say for sure whether the reported number of people who resigned from the CCP is real, but if it is, he feels it is far from enough. He added, "I hope all CCP members would tear up their party certificate once they became aware of the truth."
Mr. McMillan-Scott will continue to speak frankly on the China issue after he leaves China. He believes direct action is important, and sometimes it is necessary to take prudent and well-organized direct measures to support and speak for the illegally detained or jailed minorities and let these autocratic regimes know that their wrongdoings are not to be tolerated.
"I think we need more information," concluded Mr. McMillan-Scott. "Before the 2008 Olympic Game, world human rights organizations need to unite their forces and focus on China's communist regime, because, after all, it is the biggest and most hard-line regime still left in the world."
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