SAN DIEGO, CA—Beneath the blue skies of San Diego, onlookers and supporters, gathered at the open-air Spreckles Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park for the arrival of the Human Rights Torch Relay (HRTR). Giving voice to those silenced by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), a vast array of speakers and musicians assisted upheld the relay's message, "The Olympics and crimes against humanity cannot coexist in China."
With the torch held high, Kai Chen, a former Chinese national basketball player, jogged toward the stage, symbolizing the start of the day's event on Saturday, May 3. Moving to the microphone, Gisela Sommer, the coordinator of the HRTR in San Diego introduced the purpose of the event. "This event today is one of the most significant and far reaching human rights events of this decade. The reason for the human rights torch relay around the world is to expose the repetitive atrocities that the Chinese communist regime has been committing for decades and especially now."
Sommer continued, "Many times when kind-hearted, courageous people stand up for human rights in China and around the world they are labeled as being political, but this is very far from the truth. This is not an event to promote some kind of political agenda. We are here today to help stop the atrocities that the Chinese Communist Regime is committing."
Sommer quoted from a letter by Senator Edward Kennedy who expressed his support for the Human Rights Torch Relay event in Boston last month: "In China, freedom of the press is being undermined, and freedom of religion is under attack for religious minorities. Like all of you, I am deeply concerned about continuing reports of Falun Gong practitioners in China who are suffering from restrictions on freedom of belief and expression, arbitrary detentions, and even torture and death in custody. We as a nation also have an obligation to speak out about China's recent actions in Tibet and its role in human rights abuses in other nations as well. Especially now, as China prepares to host the Summer Olympic Games this year, it is time for the United States to urge all nations to come together to meet this great challenge. President Kennedy believed very deeply that 'each of us can make a difference, and all of us should try.' This principle should guide us now. Our nation and our world need your commitment, energy, and idealism to build a better future for all people everywhere."
Amidst banners and signs, various groups came together to expose China's numerous human rights abuses including the persecution of Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong) practitioners, house Christians, the Uighur Muslims, human rights lawyers, democracy activists, and Tibetan Buddhists. Also discussed was the CCP's ties to human rights abuses in other countries such as Vietnam, Darfur, Burma, Zimbabwe, and North Korea.
Kai Chen, the event's runner of the torch, spoke about his wish for freedom in China. He is the initiator of the Olympic Freedom T-Shirt Global Movement. Kai began his speech by sharing some of his father's last words to him. "My father passed away about twenty years ago. Before he passed he said this to me, 'After I lived in the United States for two years I suddenly realized that there's something wrong with the Chinese political culture. The Chinese have an unlimited tolerance for evil and a zero tolerance for being different,'" said Chen.
"When I thought about what my father said, a few days before he passed I realized what despotism and tyranny does to a person. Mostly it's not material, it's something spiritual, and it takes away your capacity to distinguish between right and wrong, between good and evil. It damages human souls. So this is what despotism and tyranny does," Chen said.
President of China Interim Government
Wu Fan, President of China Interim Government
Wu said, "When the International Olympic Committee (IOC) awarded Beijing the 2008 Olympic Games in 2001, it did so with an expectation that the Chinese communist regime would fix its appalling human rights record. Nevertheless, the Chinese communist regime has deceived the whole world, and has continued and stepped up the persecution against Falun Gong practitioners. According to sources in different regions of China, from January 1 to March 11 of 2008, about 2000 Falun Gong practitioners have been secretly arrested. Some of them were illegally detained or sentenced, some of them went missing, and some of them were tortured to death. A huge number of Falun Gong practitioners who were illegally detained in communist regime's force labor camps or prisons have suffered even more severe tortures because of the new instruction given by the government to escalate the persecution against Falun Gong."
Wu also condemned the measures by the Chinese regime in persecuting those who sympathize with Falun Gong, such as renowned attorney Gao Zhisheng and human rights activists Hu Jia, as well as the recent violent crackdown against Tibetan monks. He said the Human Rights Torch is also being passed on in China since late March with the slogan, 'One World One Human Rights.'
Wu continued, "The great majority of Chinese citizens in China who were persecuted or discriminated against, were deprived of their human rights. The concept of the human rights torch has extended from safeguarding Falun Gong practitioners' human rights to all Chinese citizens' human rights, and has been welcome and supported by people who have been persecuted across China."
Wu said, "At present time the Human Rights Torch and the Olympics Torch are passing around the globe concurrently, making this the first in the history of Olympic Games. The Human Rights Torch Relay has been warmly welcome and supported by the international community. Whereas the Olympic Torch Relay has been resisted and protested against in democratic countries in Europe and in the US, and there have been scenes of intense clash. This strong contrast is the result of the crime against humanity committed by the evil Chinese communist regime. "
Liu Yinquan is the Executive Director of the Chinese Anti-Political-Persecution Alliance and Secretary General of the Chinese Social Democracy Party. He said the Chinese communist regime must stop the control and persecution against house church Christians and Catholics.
Liu said, "The CCP-controlled 'Three-self' patriotic movement is a copycat church of the government's Bureau of Religious Affairs with many restrictions from the government, and is actually not a true Christian church. Because of this, a group of Christians with righteous belief preferred to worship outside communist-government control in what are called 'house churches' as they are often organized in homes of believers. As a result, they have been arrested, beaten, fined, and sentenced by the CCP."
"The Chinese constitution specifically states that Chinese people are entitled to freedom of religious belief," said Liu. "Yet, in reality the government only allows the government-backed churches to exist. Based on current statistics, there are over fifty million Chinese who belong to 'house churches,' and they do not recognize the government-backed churches. This is their rights. The government's repression of these churches is completely irrational and illegal."
Liu called for people from different communities to pressure the Chinese regime before the Olympic Games and to demand that they disband the Three-Self Patriotic Movement Committee of the Protestant Churches and Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, that they stop interfering with any religious activities, and that they stop persecuting 'house church' Christians and Catholics and truly fulfill their obligation to implement the rights to freedom of religious belief as stated in the Chinese constitution.
Letters and proclamations were issued in support of the Human Rights Torch by several San Diego governments.
Congressman Bob Filner issued a proclamation which was read at the event by Manny Doria, Special Assistant to the Congressman, proclaiming May 3, 2008 as Human Rights Torch Relay Day in the 51st Congressional District.
Joel Anderson, Member of the Assembly (District 77) of the California State Legislature issued a certificate of recognition.
Mayor Randy Voepel issued a proclamation, proclaiming May 3, 2008 as HUMAN RIGHTS TORCH RELAY Day in the City of Santee.
Mayor Art Madrid of the City of La Mesa said in a congratulatory letter: " It is commendable that such a large number of individuals are seeking their rights, freedom and dignity and your celebration provides essential moral support.
The principles on which America was founded are not just hollow words, they guarantee a free, healthy and open society. Communism suppresses those principles. A new China must allow freedom of speech, thoughts, ideas and an open democratic society."
Another speaker at the event, Geng Sa, shared his experiences of being persecuted in China. Sa had been a teacher at Henan Normal University in Xinxiang City, Henan Province, before he and his first wife had been targeted for persecution by the Communist regime in China for their belief in Falun Gong. In 2001, both he and his wife were imprisoned.
Sa said, "My wife was brutally beaten and illegally imprisoned for the next two years. I was detained for just over two months. During my detention, I was forced to work over ten hours daily, making paper medicine boxes. When I refused to do the slave labor, the police beat me and broke my ribs," said Sa. "The pain nearly made me unable to breathe. I went on a hunger strike to protest against the persecution. The guards force-fed me, causing me great pain and injury. Almost all of my teeth were knocked out from their violence, and I now have to wear dentures."
Sa went on to say that his wife had been sent to the Shibalihe Female Forced Labor Camp in Zhengzhou City, where she endured even more brutal treatment. She was eventually tortured to death on June 4, 2003 with an extremely cruel method known as "strapped clothes," in which the victims are forced to wear a straight jacket. The victims hands are tied behind their backs, brought up over their shoulders, and then tied to their legs. They are then hung from a window frame.
"The experiences of being persecuted in China still haunt me even though I am now in the United States and I know I am free," said Sa. "I take it as my responsibility to call for an end of the persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners in China by exposing the evil crimes of the Chinese Communist Party which is the chief culprit that launched the persecution of Falun Dafa."
Brian Gibbs, a speaker for 'Americans for a Department of Peace,'
Gibbs called upon the Chinese leaders to adhere to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations in 1948. He said, "As I informed myself about the Human Rights Torch Relay movement, my heart was broken and tears of sorrow streamed down my cheeks when I read of the alleged crimes against humanity that have been perpetrated by individuals in China against their fellow countrymen and women."
Gibbs continued, "When I saw pictures of some of the Falun Gong spiritual practitioners sitting in peaceful repose in some city square, thoughts came to my mind that here are some of the blossoming flowers of humanity to be nurtured and cared for, not oppressed and persecuted. My understanding is that these practitioners are developing their hearts and character according to the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. These qualities of being are a sublime incense that can inspire us all to further self development of our greatest human potential."
Gibbs said, "In this day and age where tremendous mass destructive power is wielded by so many nations, we need a global transformation of our hearts and minds to counterbalance instinctual aggressive tendencies that may be latent and, given certain conditions, can explode in a violent conflagration. Individuals such as the Falun Gong practitioners are playing a part in creating what could be called a 'Buddha field' in which the combined mass effect of their transformation of personal consciousness can make it easier for others in society to raise to a higher level of consciousness such that harmonious and fulfilling relations are a natural self expression."
The mission of the 'Americans for a Department of Peace' is to advocate passage of a federal bill (HR 808) that is now in Congress to establish a cabinet-level Department of Peace, and to introduce a corresponding bill into the Senate for its passage so that ultimately it can go on to the President for his approval.
Joe Chou, a member of San Diego City International Affair Board, and President of San Diego's Asian Business Association said that since 1989, the Tiananmen Square [massacre], the leaders of China have shown the whole world that they have no respect for basic human rights.
Chou said, "These past 20 years China has benefitted from the world economy; it has become one of the economic super powers, and they [China's leaders] claimed that they would do something to improve, that in order to become a super power they would bow to the international society. But during the past 20 years, when we look at the record, nothing has been changed, and the recent Tibet situation has confirmed that again."
Chou continued, "Even before the Olympics they [the Chinese regime] still show no respect for basic human rights and continue to do bad things to their people."
Besides the violence against Tibetans, Chou also mentioned abuse perpetrated against two other major groups: the Falun Gong and the Taiwanese. He said, "The Falun Gong have done a great job to improve human society in China and worldwide."
With regard to Taiwan, Chou mentioned that China has many missiles facing Taiwan and has boxed Taiwan into a corner. He continued saying, "In the free world we need to continue to do something to raise awareness of these issues and work hard together to try to pressure China's leader to change that. They said they will rise with peace, and what they do is not exactly what they say."
Chou concluded by saying, "I would hope that the Western leaders follow the footsteps of the British and French leaders and not show up for the Olympic opening ceremony and send a signal to the Chinese leader: it is not ok to ignore basic human rights."
With banners and flags held high, members and groups of San Diego's 33,500 strong Vietnamese-Americans turned out in large numbers to express their indignation of the rights violations by the communist regimes in China and Vietnam. They represented San Diego's Vietnamese Community, Vietnamese Federation, Vietnamese Veterans, Vietnamese Reform Party, Alliance for Democracy and Human Rights and the Vietnamese American Youth Alliance.
Miss ThienCo Lam, a representative for the Vietnamese Community read an article by famous writer and doctor Pham Hong Son who received a five-year prison term in 2003 for translating an article from the web site of the American Embassy in Hanoi titled 'What is Democracy?' Pham Hong Son is the recipient of a Hellman/Hammett award, given annually to persecuted writers. Long sentences imposed on cyber-dissidents in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam are of great concern and are being addressed by the Independent Chinese PEN Center and Writers in Prison Committee.
Tiet Tran, president of the Vietnamese Federation of San Diego, spoke about the significance of April 30. "On this day, in 1975, North-Vietnamese communists, following the orders of the Soviet Union, took over South Vietnam by force, using weapons and ammunitions made by the Eastern bloc and red China, like the infamous AK-47 rifle, the rocket launcher B-40, T-54 tanks, etc.", said Tran.
Tran continued, saying, "On this day, the anti-communist Vietnamese all over the world commemorate their mass exodus. Fleeing the totalitarian regime of Hanoi, the 'Boat People' crammed in rickety vessels and risked their lives on boiling seas in their quest for freedom. From this day, in 1975, the Viet Communist Party shackled the entire Vietnamese people in concentration camps, in prisons, in remote jungles dubbed new-economic zones. From this day, in 1975, the Vietnamese people have lost all the basic human rights. Today, they are still being deprived of these rights."
Tran said the communist regime has wreaked havoc in society, its culture, its environment. "After 33 years of communist governance, the regime sports Vietnam as a new nation in which men are exported for manual labor; women are auctioned on E-bay or trafficked in international dating services; children are condemned in sex slavery. 80% of the populace lives below the poverty line. Strikes, mass protests against social injustices become more frequent. The divide between the rich powerful and the poor helpless is unstoppably getting wider."
Adam Abakar, a recent refugee from Darfur spoke about his personal accounts of directly investigating the ethnic cleansing by the government of Sudan. He was introduced by Judy Bernstein, coauthor of the book They Poured Fire on Us from the Sky: The True Story of Three Lost Boys of Sudan.
Bernstein told the event organizers, "Chinese oil drilling in Sudan make up 70% of the Sudanese budget, and 80% of the budget goes to the military to fight their own people."
Abakar urges people to show courage and take action, using a quote by Albert Einstein, 'the opposite of love isn't hate, it's indifference.'
Arleen Freeman of the Conscience Foundation, a San Diego based NGO, spoke about the death of conscience, saying, "We, each and every one of us, have an innate knowing of what is good and what is evil. Conscience, the innate knowing of goodness, is the very essence of humanity. Everything else, even our 'inalienable rights,' can be forcibly taken away. But the alteration of conscience, no matter how small, must be consented to from within. Conscience, thus, defines human nature, and the right to conscience is a human being's most fundamental right. No crime, therefore, is worse than the crime against conscience."
Freeman said, "This then distinguishes the acts of China's communist regime from all other tyrannies. If you live under communism, you must subordinate yourself to the interests of communism. If you don't, they don't just attack your
physical body; they attack your mind and your conscience, your ability to think for yourself and the ability to distinguish right from wrong."
Freeman said that in the free world we are also in danger of losing, or giving up, our conscience because of investments and trade with China. She said, "The issue for human beings is no longer, How can we be the best possible people we can be? ... It is rather, What can we do to make more money, accumulate more stuff...?"
"If we really exercised our conscience, wouldn't we be outraged at everything
we heard today?" Freeman asked, "If we really exercised our conscience, wouldn't we all stand up and demand that everything we've heard today stop?"
Freeman concluded, "When so many of us sell our conscience for a tiny bit of personal gain, we sell our planet's future, our children's future to those who would desecrate it for their own gain. Is this tiny bit of personal gain worth it? I don't think so."
Initiated by the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong, the original flame for the global HRTR was lit during a ceremony in Athens, Greece on August 9, 2007. The HRTR is scheduled to have similar events in 37 countries and 6 continents, with the goal of shining light on China's human rights abuses.
For the latest news and the next stops of the HRTR see
www.humanrightstorch.org/
Persecution of Christians Must Stop
Local Governments Support Human Rights Torch Relay
Imprisoned and Tortured in China
Americans for a Department of Peace
Western Leaders Should Not Show up for Olympics' Opening Ceremony
Vietnamese-Americans Decry Communist Regime
Love Takes Courage and Action
The Death of Conscience
Human Rights Torch Around the Globe
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