Chapter 21: Waves of Litigation Surge Around the Globe; Caught in the Net of Justice, Jiang Has Nowhere to Hide
After Jiang Zemin was sued in Chicago he quickly grew preoccupied with the question of how to handle Falun Gong’s litigation efforts.It was said that Jiang ordered, “Everything must be done to prevent Falun Gong from winning the lawsuits.” Falun Gong thus became the first priority, both militarily and economically. Jiang was willing to make enormous economic sacrifices in exchange for intervention—or help, that is—by the U.S. government in the litigation he was subject to. To this end Jiang quietly dispatched a team consisting of 27 members to the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C. The team’s mission was to identify the hobbies and interests of congressmen and senators so that Jiang could, acting on these insights, win their support and get them to lobby on his behalf.
However, overall things didn’t go as Jiang had hoped. As of June 2005, 35 attorneys from 29 countries had come together to work as a team to bring Jiang to justice; to date the group has filed 16 lawsuits against Jiang in 15 different countries. Counting cases against Jiang and an additional 22 suits against CCP officials, a total of 47 lawsuits have been filed in connection with the suppression of Falun Gong. This amounts to the largest international human rights legal effort since the aftermath of World War II.
In light of this—both the extent to which they have affected and disturbed Jiang and their international, historic stature—the lawsuits warrant a close look.
In August 2000, Chu O-ming from Hong Kong and Wang Jie from Beijing mailed a petition letter to the Supreme People’s Procuratorate in Beijing, accusing Jiang, Lou Gan, and Zeng Qinghong of banning and suppressing Falun Gong illegally. This became the first lawsuit against Jiang. After the Procuratorate received the letter, the defendants Jiang and Luo Gan personally issued an order to arrest the plaintiffs. Two weeks after the letter was mailed, the two plaintiffs were arrested in Beijing. Among them Wang Jie was persecuted to death in 2001, and Chu O-ming was sentenced to five years imprisonment secretly and has since been in jail in Chadian Prison in Tianjin City ever since.
Since Jiang’s clique began persecuting Falun Gong comprehensively in 1999, Chu O-ming and Wang Jie had bought books on law, searching for relevant legal provisions inside them, and later drafted briefs detailing the illegality of the persecution in light of the facts and their research. They finished writing the petition letter to the Supreme People’s Procuratorate in July 2000. The petition letter accused Jiang (then President, Chinese Communist Party General Secretary, and Central Military Commission Chairman), Luo Gan (then State Councilor and Secretary of the Political and Judiciary Committee) and Zeng Qinghong (then Politburo member, chief of the secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, and Minister of Organization) of persecuting Falun Gong, claiming that they “seriously tarnished the state’s reputation, social morality, and undermined the state’s institutions, constitution and law.” [1] On Aug. 25, Chu O-ming and Wang Jie mailed the letter from a post office located on Changan Street in Beijing.
After Jiang and Luo Gan learned of this, they were flustered and exasperated, and immediately ordered a mass hunt as if this was a major incident. Soon after, it was found that Chu O-ming once acted as the manager of the international trade department in Yanshan Petrochemical Company in Beijing. Following that clue, at about 11 p.m. on Sept. 7, two weeks after the letter was mailed, more than 20 undercover policemen from Haidian District and Fangshan District surrounded the apartment where Chu O-ming and Wang Jie were temporarily staying, and both Wang and Zhu were arrested.
After Chu O-ming and Wang Jie were arrested on Sept. 7, there was no further news about them. After Falun Gong followers and friends who cared for them inquired about their situation through various channels, they learned that the two were “arrested on Jiang and Luo’s direct orders,” and “nobody is allowed to investigate this matter or intercede for them.”
After Chu O-ming and Wang Jie were arrested, Jiang and Luo Gan had nothing to interrogate them about, but were determined only to vent their personal spite. Therefore, the police officers didn’t bother to interrogate them, but instead beat and tortured them. However, both of them were resolute and steadfast, and would rather die than surrender. Since Wang Jie was a Chinese citizen (Zhu was not) he was subject to even more horrible torture methods.
On Nov. 30, 2000, the Beijing Hospital of Chinese and Western Medicine wrote on Wang Jie’s “Diagnosis and Treatment Record” (medical record no. 53791) “[Wang] was treated in the hospital from Nov. 24–30, a total of seven days. The discharge diagnosis was chronic renal insufficiency, glomerulonephritis.” At that time Wang Jie’s weight had gone down from 70 kilograms before his arrest to 50 kilograms after his arrest.
On Nov. 30, 2000, Wang Jie’s relatives were notified by authorities to come post bail for Wang and await trial. According to insiders, at the time Wang Jie was completely disoriented. He had lost control of his bowels and bladder, and needed dialysis every other day. Reporters saw another statement, which read Wang Jie was treated in Beijing Friendship Hospital, affiliated with Capital University of Medical Sciences, from Nov. 30 to Dec. 16 (a total of 16 days), with a total charge of 9806.98 yuan (US$1,200) mostly from the cost of dialysis.
When Wang Jie was hospitalized in Beijing Friendship Hospital, the police officers kept watch on him in the hospital every day. His health never improved, and he didn’t speak a word during that time. Afterwards the police officers allowed his family to bring him back home to be treated by Traditional Chinese medicine with the precondition that he was to be “awaiting trial.” Their intention was to allow him to recover so that they could arrest him again and continually persecute him.
After Wang Jie was brought back home, his symptoms were resolving. However, he still couldn’t move his body, not to mention walk. When his family members asked what kind of suffering he underwent while in police custody, he didn’t answer, but his eyes were filled with tears.
In late April 2001, Wang Jie was brought overseas with the help of some very kind people. On May 2, some Falun Gong practitioners discovered that Wang Jie displayed symptoms of losing memory, breathing difficulties, and extreme muscle weakness. Someone brought articles from the Minghui website which described very difficult situations (including the terrible police pouring boiling water, burning with cigars, freezing, and beating) that Falun Gong adherents suffered, and legendary cultivation stories about Buddha Milarepa’s difficult life journey all to encourage Wang Jie. One day, Wang suddenly started to talk, saying, “I have experienced all these tortures.” Wang once asked an adherent beside him, “Have you ever heard of Zhazi Cave? I suffered the tortures similar to that experienced in Zhazi Cave.” The friend asked, “When they were beating you, were you afraid?” Wang Jie, who was reserved by nature, suddenly opened his eyes widely and said, “That'd be unthinkable!”
Wang Jie’s skin around his ankles had been worn through to the bone from having been shackled for so long. The wounds didn’t heal for a long time afterwards. Wang said that one of the means of torture police often used was to wrap a person up with a layer of something before beating him violently. That way the wounds would not be visible.
A friend once asked Wang, “What was your most painful moment?” Wang replied, “The moment when the police officers kneed me in the kidneys.” After Wang was abducted to Fangshan District Detention Center, he was beaten by police every day. The police officers received instructions from Jiang and Luo Gan, and had no intention of interrogating him, but constantly beat him mercilessly. After the vicious police officers kneed him in the kidneys fiercely, Wang fell into a coma for one month and only regained consciousness after being rescued.
In his final days, Wang developed night sweats and hematemesis. Sometimes after eating one or two mouthfuls of food, he would violently vomit blood, and the blood was thick and mealy-looking. When recalling this experience, an insider said that this was a symptom often associated with damage to the central nervous system. Wang Jie at the time was extremely weak. To maintain breathing during sleep at night, he needed to slowly remove his underpants to relieve the pressure of the elastic band against his waist. But he endured the pain silently and firmly. In the midnight of June 18, 2001, Wang Jie fell to the ground in the restroom and never rose again. He was 38 years old at the time.
In February 2001, Chu O-ming’s family members were notified by authorities to go to Fangshan District to pick up Chu O-ming. However, when his family members reached Fangshan District, the police officers claimed that he had already been picked up, but they did not disclose who picked him up.
In April 2001, Zhu’s family members were notified again and they learned that Zhu was secretly sentenced to five years imprisonment and transferred to Chadian Prison in Tianjin City. The police officers kept a close watch on him. Zhu was called “the last one in the prison” since he not only refused to be brainwashed and transformed, but also wrote appeal letters every month.
The police officers told him that as long as he wrote one of the “four statements” (guarantee statement, repentance statement, separation statement, exposure and criticizing statement), he would be released. But Zhu stuck with his belief and never compromised. Also, the prison authorities never sent the appeal letters written by Zhu to their designated offices.
The lawsuit Jiang dreaded the most was the one filed in the United States in Chicago in October 2002.
In mainland China, Jiang monopolized the power of the Communist Party, the government and the military, leaving the average Chinese citizen helpless against him. After Chu O-ming and Wang Jie were horribly persecuted for filing suit against Jiang, people overseas sought to sue Jiang using courts around the world.
Jiang always enjoyed making a show in Western society so as to give a progressive image. His character on the outside appears to be strong but on the inside it is weak. He often ignores his own people’s opinions, but he cares a great deal about the attitude of the international community. Although he suppressed Falun Gong wantonly inside China, overseas he flatly denied the existence of any persecution. When the eyes of the international community began focusing on the persecution, Jiang quickly changed the persecution to become extremely covert and did it under the pretence of law. While Falun Gong practitioners manage to effectively expose the facts of the persecution internationally by legal means and allow the international community to understand the essence of the persecution, Jiang and his henchmen are extremely frightened.
Democracy and freedom are the foundation of America. Puritans came to America centuries ago to avoid religious persecution and pursue freedom of belief. So Americans value religious freedom and human rights greatly. America’s founding fathers, such as Madison, Jefferson et al., wrote a massive body of work expounding on the idea that people should relish religious freedom and other inalienable rights. In 1789, when America started to construct the federal judicial system, the Congressional House and Senate passed the Alien Tort Claims Act, which allows American attorneys to seek redress for illegal actions committed overseas by non-Americans. In 1992, the House and Senate passed by a unanimous vote the Torture Victims’ Protection Act, which permits American courts to consider genocide, crimes of torture and other crimes against humanity. No matter whether the criminals or crimes are in America, the criminals may become defendants as long as they step foot on America’s land. For example, after former Philipino dictator Ferdinand Marcos fled to Hawaii, the federal Grand Jury in the U.S. issued an indictment in Manhattan, New York, on Oct. 21, 1988, and accused Marcos and his wife of fraud. Other democratic countries also have similar laws.
Therefore, the lawsuits against Jiang possess sufficient legal grounds. The two American Acts provide the Falun Gong with the legal basis to sue Jiang in America. In October 2002, during the period of Jiang’s visit to Chicago, Falun Gong successfully completed the procedure of delivering a subpoena to Jiang and filed a lawsuit against Jiang in an American court.
The lawsuit filed against Jiang in Chicago was a milestone case. In the course of presenting the case to various levels of American courts, the whole world was able to learn that Jiang has carried out genocide and torture against the Falun Gong.
In addition, the lawsuit started a chain reaction of suing Jiang globally. The lawsuits against Jiang were filed one after another across the world. Altogether more than 30 attorneys from various countries sued Jiang. It is unprecedented, in the history of the world and law, for so many attorneys to sue the same person jointly.
The lawsuit also created a huge impact in China. The officials who were involved in the persecution of Falun Gong at various departments and agencies had to stop and seriously ponder what they were doing. They knew that whoever had a hand in the persecution would one day suffer the same fate of being sued.
China certainly does not equate to the Chinese Communist Party. Confused by the CCP’s propaganda, many Chinese people do not understand this and forget the China that has formidable spiritual, cultural and moral roots. True Chinese people would not come up with the Cultural Revolution, Tiananmen massacre, and suppression of Falun Gong. In this sense, the lawsuit was consistent with China’s spirit.
Besides the battle over the lawsuit during Jiang’s three-day visit to Chicago, there was another type of battle.
Before Jiang arrived in Chicago in October 2002, Alderman Preckwinkle of the 4th Ward in Chicago proposed a resolution supporting Falun Gong in the City Council. The resolution strongly condemned the suppression of Falun Gong followers, and requested the American government to investigate allegations of illegal activities in the United States by the Government of the People’s Republic of China and its diplomats, including allegations of unlawful harassment of United States citizens and residents who practice Falun Gong, and of officials of State and Local governments in the United States who support Falun Gong, and bring those responsible to justice or even deport them. Afterwards, the Human Relations Committee of the City of Chicago held a public hearing. They passed the resolution unanimously and forwarded to the City Council. At 10 a.m. on Nov. 6, 2002, Daley, the Mayor of the City of Chicago, and all of the City Council members gathered together at the council chambers in the City Hall of Chicago. After the resolution to support Falun Gong was read, it was passed unanimously. [3]
The resolution passed during the period of time while Jiang was visiting. The aftereffects would be far-reaching. However, another battle had just begun.
One day in the summer of 2003, an old man was sitting meditating in front of the Chinese Consulate in Chicago. A taxi stopped before him. A person got out of the taxi, placed a letter before the old man, and then left. The old man couldn’t read English. At night, his friends, who were able to read English, discovered that Xu Jinzhong, the new Chinese General Consul in Chicago, addressed this letter to the Illinois State lawmakers. It requested state lawmakers not to support the lawsuit filed in Chicago. Local legislators sympathized with Falun Gong’s bitter experience in China, and knew that Falun Gong followers did exercises outside the Consulate every day. Thus, the fiery letter to the state lawmakers from the Chinese Consulate would later serve as evidence for the lawsuit.
The lawsuit shocked the Chinese leadership. The CCP disclosed through diplomatic channels to the United States and other countries that “Jiang Zemin is willing to pay any price to prevent this case from being prosecuted,” [4] and asked the U.S. to terminate the lawsuit, citing immunity for heads of state. Some government officials revealed that the main Chinese diplomat who handled this was extremely nervous when he conveyed the CCP’s viewpoint on the lawsuit against Jiang. The diplomat was so afraid to make any mistakes that he pulled out the official document and read the CCP’s viewpoint word for word. An official from Chinese Embassy disclosed in private that the Embassy was requested to report all the international reports on the lawsuit and all materials on the opening of the trial to Beijing immediately since the Standing Committee Members of the Politburo needed to read them right away.
Although Jiang was willing to pay any price to stop the lawsuits against him, more and more lawsuits began popping up around the world. As of June 2005, 15 lawsuits against Jiang were filed. If lawsuits against Jiang’s cohorts are counted, at least 47 lawsuits were filed, making this the largest international human rights legal effort since World War II.
These lawsuits gained support from many of the most renowned human rights attorneys and scholars in the world.
In Germany, an eminent attorney specializing in criminal law, Wolfgang Kaleck, who once sued the former dictator of Argentina, helped Falun Gong in November 2003 to formally accuse Jiang, the former president of China, of genocide, crimes against humanity, and torture committed during the suppression of Falun Gong.
In Belgium, the internationally-renowned human rights attorney Georges Henri Beauthier filed criminal prosecution against Jiang on behalf of Falun Gong followers. He had become world famous for accusing former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet.
In Australia, artist Ms. Zhang Cuiying’s plan of suing Jiang gained assistance from Geoffrey Robertson, the prominent human rights attorney and president of the Special Court for Sierra Leone.
Harvard Law School professor Alan Dershowitz, who once provided advice for the codification of the Chinese criminal law, believed Jiang shouldn’t enjoy immunity as head of state. He indicated that if a head of state had issued a personal order to take actions of genocide and had control over the situation, he couldn’t evade judicature simply for his head of state status. Dershowitz analogized, saying that we all of course know that the former Yugoslavian dictator Milosevic is still on trial at the International Court of Justice in the Hague, and Milosevic was a head of state. If Hitler were alive, he would have likewise been charged as a head of state at Nuremberg. [5]
American human rights attorney Morton Sklar said, “The torture and genocide crimes committed by Jiang not only violate American law and basic international law, but also Chinese law. The lawsuits against Jiang thus aim at his personal criminality. It can be regarded as part of the international human rights movement. The meaning of the lawsuits lies in that they establish a foundation of global scope, namely, that any official committing serious human rights crimes, such as torture or genocide, must bear criminal and civil liability.” [6]
The group of attorneys dedicated to bringing Jiang to justice includes a variety of specialists. What brought these attorneys together? There are many rarely known stories behind their uniting. Here we will only cite one example.
Terri Marsh, the attorney in the Chicago lawsuit against Jiang, has earned a number of degrees. Her dissertation was on Socrates. Her training included the study of Greek and Latin, and extended even to include Pali.
After earning her Ph.D., Terri taught at the University of California, San Diego, mainly teaching comparative literature and classics. The courses she taught were on Socrates, St. Augustine, Homer, and ancient Greek women. At the time she lived only two minutes away from the sea. Her life was comfortable, relaxing and carefree.
However, Terri seemed not to be satisfied. She began studying law and politics. After hesitating for several years, she was drawn to law, but had not quite decided whether to continue to be a professor or to go to law school.
On June 4, 1989, she watched on TV the young students in China being run over by tanks and shot by soldiers on Changan Street (Tiananmen Square). Tears came to her eyes and she thought to herself, “What can a teacher do when students are being killed?” She had hoped that one day she could help and protect those innocent people. On that very day, she made up her mind to go to law school. She accepted an offer of admission to law school and started her new life’s journey.
Terri craved knowledge about Socrates because she felt deeply drawn to Socrates’ wisdom. In ancient Greece, to be a good man (“agathos”) meant that one had a high social status. Those who defeated the greatest number of enemies were considered the best people. The concepts of morals and obtaining power were totally mixed up. The people with the most power were considered to be the best people. The Greek people could not simply cultivate and develop the notion of good ethics since that was something treated as only belonging to the weak and women. The lifetime contribution of Socrates was teaching people the difference between morals and reputation, social status, wealth and the ability to dominate. In Socrates’ teachings he said that human beings have a natural disposition and divine characteristics, and those things make up a person’s true being. If we remained faithful to our true selves, he said, then we can become better human beings.
In Western academic circles, Socrates is considered to be the father of ethics and philosophy. His concept of ethics was not based on status, rank, wealth, or reputation, but rather on achieving moral transcendence through understanding of self (or through finding one’s own shortcomings), and by finding one’s own true nature. He taught by the method of asking and answering questions, which was dubbed “the Socratic Method” by later generations. Socrates was poor and his appearance was common. He did not have magnificent attire, but possessed superb wisdom.
Though common Greek people widely accepted Socrates’ teachings, the upper echelon of society in Athens started to fear and envy him. Finally, Socrates was officially charged with poisoning Athens’ young people by publicizing heresy and propagandizing Gods different from what Athens worshiped. Afterwards he was convicted and forced to commit suicide by drinking poison.
In his conversation with his student, Plato, in Socrates’ Defense, Socrates responded to all accusations against him, saying that if the men agreed to let him off on the condition that he no longer teach others, he would respond, “Men of Athens, I honor and love you; but I shall obey God rather than you, and while I have life and strength I shall never cease from the practice and teaching of philosophy, exhorting anyone whom I meet after my manner, and convincing him, saying: O my friend, why do you who are a citizen of the great and mighty and wise city of Athens, care so much about laying up the greatest amount of money and honor and reputation, and so little about wisdom and truth and the greatest improvement of the soul, which you never regard or heed at all? Are you not ashamed of this?” “… either acquit me or not; but whatever you do, know that I shall never alter my ways, not even if I have to die many times.” [7]
When Terri read an essay, titled “Some Thoughts of Mine,” by Mr. Li Hongzhi, founder of Falun Gong, her tears welled up and she thought, “My goodness! It’s as if the same person wrote these two articles. They’re so similar. Why does history have to repeat itself this way? Why don’t people accept historical lessons?” In order to prevent Socrates’ tragedy from repeating, Dr. Marsh decided to sue Jiang on behalf of Falun Gong.
In addition to the above, a group of regular folks launched an effort to “try” Jiang in a philosophical sense. People rallied in public places to perform mock trials of Jiang.
On Sept. 30, 2003, the Global Coalition to Bring Jiang to Justice, which is a jointly initiated and sponsored organization by more than 80 groups and individuals from Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Australia, held a press conference to announce its establishment. The coalition’s objective is to mobilize all forces of justice and expose Jiang’s crimes against humanity by taking him to the court of conscience and court of morality, as well as courts of law. Calling on the public to “try” such a major dictator in the court of morality took an enormous amount of courage. The establishment of the coalition signified that the effort to put Jiang on trial entered a new stage.
One commentator on the Internet wrote: “People’s hearts are the genuine court and the fairest judge, and the strongest fortress guarding social justice. The trial in people’s heart of hearts is the most thorough one.” Jiang never expected to encounter such a large-scale moral trial by people’s innermost feelings before he left office. Hardly any other dictators have ever experienced something similar. Jiang hated it, but could do nothing about it.
In January 2003, an international human rights organization called the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG) was established in the United States. The organization set up branches in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. The organization devotes itself to investigate all individuals and organizations possibly involved in persecuting Falun Gong and collects evidence about the persecution both inside and outside of China. It also coordinates closely with each local government and related international agencies. Its hope is to set up a “Special International Tribunal to Process the Cases of Persecution against Falun Gong by the CCP” and to carry out a comprehensive and historic trial of the criminals responsible for launching and participating in what might be called the most serious and widespread program of persecution in history.
The spokesman for the WOIPFG indicated that they would work with international organs of justice to investigate—broadly, thoroughly, and systematically—all instances of criminal conduct on the part of individuals, institutions, and organizations involved in the suppression of Falun Gong. Since its establishment, WOIPFG has released many investigational reports.
Besides Jiang, his followers were also sued in other countries. Among them many were sued on their visits overseas with the CCP’s delegations. However, to set the record straight only perpetrators of human rights violations were sued. Other innocent members or those who did not actively get involved in the persecution were not targeted.
After the year 2000, local American courts began handing down judgments in favor of Falun Gong one after another.
Zhao Zhifei, Deputy Director of Hubei Province Police Department and Deputy Director of the Hubei Province 6-10 Office, was the first CCP official who was sued. The 6-10 Office is the agency specifically in charge of suppressing Falun Gong.
When visiting the U.S. in July 2001, Zhao Zhifei received a subpoena and indictment at his hotel in Manhattan. He was accused of persecuting Falun Gong adherents in Hubei Province through murder, torture, crimes against humanity and other crimes violating international human rights conventions. He asked two questions when he received the indictment. The first question was, “What is this?” After the process server explained to him what it was, his second question was, “Can I still leave America?” Obviously he was quite nervous and fearful. After obtaining the answer “yes,” Zhao Zhifei was no longer in the mood for sightseeing. He cut his trip short by returning to China the very next day. He has never stepped foot in America again.
On Dec. 21, 2001, the judge of the Federal Court of New York leveled a default judgment against Zhao Zhifei, determining that Zhao Zhifei had killed Falun Gong practitioners by mistreatment, had violated American federal law under the Torture Victims Protection Act, and that the charge was tenable.
On Feb. 7, 2002, Liu Qi, Mayor of Beijing and President of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG), was indicted through the U.S. District Court in San Francisco when he was attending the Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City. The indictment accused Liu Qi of allowing police officers in Beijing to implement a systematic persecution of Falun Gong followers. Six followers who were seriously beaten and tortured in Beijing sued Liu Qi. He was charged with crimes of torture; other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment; arbitrary detention; crimes against humanity; and interference in the expression of freedom of belief. Another defendant was Xia Deren, Deputy Governor of Liaoning Province.
On June 11, 2003, Edward Chen, a judge in San Francisco, ruled that Liu Qi and Xia Deren were guilty as charged and not entitled to immunity granted to diplomats.
The ruling report was sent to a higher level local judge for examination and approval. After one-year of review, Wilkin, a judge from the federal court in San Francisco, concurred on Dec. 8, 2004. He declared Liu Qi guilty and stated that he bore responsibility for torture and crimes against humanity in suppressing Falun Gong, crimes which were committed by the police officers under his direction. [8] The decision affirmed the principle that U.S. law will punish any incumbent official, regardless of rank, if he commits crimes against humanity.
In order to carry out Jiang’s persecution policies overseas, Pan Xinchun, the Deputy Consul General in Toronto, had a letter published in a local English newspaper attacking Joel Chipkar, a businessman and Falun Gong’s volunteer spokesman in Toronto.
In August 2003, Joel Chipkar filed a lawsuit with the Ontario Superior Court, accusing Pan Xinchun of committing libel. Chipkar indicated that Pan’s article used phrases such as “hidden purpose,” “ulterior motives,” “sinister cult” and so on, which are typical words used by the Chinese authorities to smear Falun Gong. Chipkar said, “The Chinese official’s behavior of inciting hatred is a mockery of Canadian values, and a mockery of the rights bestowed upon on us by the charter.”
Pan Xinchun, now accused of libel, naively thought that consuls in the Chinese Embassy were entitled to immunity no matter what they did. He therefore refused to accept legal papers several times, and was later found guilty by default as a result.
On Feb. 3, 2004, Pan Xinchun was declared guilty by the Ontario Superior Court, and ordered to pay 1,000 Canadian dollars symbolic fine and 10,000 Canadian dollars for the plaintiff’s legal fees. Chipkar asked for only the 1,000 dollar indemnity since he wanted to indicate explicitly that he sued Pan Xinchun as a matter of principle rather than for money.
In order to extend the persecution of Falun Gong around the world, Jiang instilled a misconception in the staff of Chinese embassies and consulates, which was something to the effect of, “All consuls of China are entitled to immunity no matter what they do.” However, the conviction of Pan Xinchun on Feb. 3 became powerful evidence to the contrary.
On July 14, 2004, since Pan Xinchun refused to pay the fine, the Ontario Superior Court issued a garnishment against Pan Xinchun’s personal assets in the Bank of China, which has branches in Canada. On Nov. 16, 2004, the court subpoenaed Pan and conducted an asset audit, requesting him to explain his asset status and give the reason for ignoring the court’s order. The court also requested him to take an oath in the court. However, Pan didn’t appear in the court that day. Later, officials from the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that Pan had fled Canada and was hiding in China.
Joel Chipkar submitted an official request on Nov. 16, 2004, through his lawyer to Mr. Pierre Pettigrew, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, in which he asked that Pan Xinchun be declared a persona non grata.
Pan Xinchun in effect ruined his career by executing Jiang’s orders blindly to defame Falun Gong.
This was the first case in the world where a Chinese diplomat was sued in the name of Falun Gong practitioners and it was also the first case where a Chinese diplomat was declared guilty by a Western court of inciting hatred against Falun Gong.
As secretary of the CCP’s Political and Judiciary Committee, head of the 6-10 Office, and a member of the Standing Committee of the Politburo, Luo Gan went to great lengths to carry out Jiang’s policies against Falun Gong.
Luo Gan had attempted to incite the persecution of Falun Gong even before 1999. He staged the supposed “self-immolation” incident in Tiananmen Square to mislead Chinese people who were unaware of the facts during the time Jiang was still able to sustain the crackdown. Wherever Luo Gan went, the persecution would escalate. The death of Gao Rongrong, which has recently been widely spread on the Internet, is directly related to Luo Gan. Gao Rongrong, a former staff member in the finance department of Luxun Academy of Fine Arts in Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, was subjected to electric shock torture for 6 to 7 hours successively in Longshan Forced Labor Camp and her face was disfigured as a result. Gao Rongrong was later released from custody by the help of sympathizers, but Luo Gan personally issued an order to get her back and punish her. Gao Rongrong, who was extremely weak at the time, was abducted again and taken to the notorious Masanjia Forced Labor Camp. On June 16, 2005, after experiencing all manner of persecution, she passed away at the age of 37.
From August 2003 to April 2005, Luo Gan was charged overseas with genocide and torture 14 times. He was sued in Belgium, Finland, Armenia, Moldova, Iceland, Spain, Taiwan, Germany, Korea, Canada, Chile, Bolivia, Peru and Japan.
Since Sept. 7, 2003, Luo Gan visited four European and Asian countries: Iceland, Finland, Armenia and Moldova. During this period, he was sued at each leg of the trip, which set a record—he was sued in every country he visited, becoming the CCP official who encountered the most prosecutions during an overseas trip. Also, besides Jiang, he encountered the most prosecutions overseas in general of any CCP official.
Luo Gan’s role as the 6-10 Office ringleader and his despicable human rights record have made people compare him with a leader of the Gestapo. In Europe, a place that has experienced two world wars, the people by nature despise this kind of person. One can only imagine how bad Luo Gan’s reputation overseas is.
The people in Iceland publicly protested through the media before Luo Gan’s visit. They asked, “Why was such a terrible violator of human rights invited to Europe?” But the Icelandic officials indicated that it was Luo Gan who requested an invitation and the Icelandic government was caught off guard. Gudrun Erlendsdottir, President of the Icelandic Supreme Court even commented on TV, “He (Luo Gan) personally requested to meet with President of the High Court. But I was unaware of why he wanted to talk to me and what he would talk about.” After his unsavory background was exposed, Luo Gan boiled with rage.
Put simply, nobody thinks highly of a person who has no integrity. Even in the small country of Moldova, a local well-known newspaper published a lengthy article, titled “Moldova’s President Welcomes a Friend Who Committed Genocide.” [9]
Chen Zhili, the former Minister of Education and currently a member of the State Council, as well as a fervent follower of Jiang, was served with a lawsuit by a team of international human rights lawyers on July 19, 2004, during a visit to Tanzania. She was charged with torturing and killing Falun Gong followers and with maltreatment within the Chinese educational system, and had to make a mandatory court appearance on that day. In contrast to other Chinese officials who received subpoenas while overseas but quickly fled their visiting country and returned to China, Chen Zhili was the first highly-ranked visiting Chinese state official who could not find any excuse to escape and had to appear in front of a foreign court.
Chen Zhili held the post of Minister of Education from 1998 to 2003, and is currently a member of the State Council who is in charge of culture and education. By using her special relationship with Jiang and her privileges, she was able to carry out Jiang’s persecution policy by force within the educational system, which resulted in savage persecution of the Falun Gong. She took advantage of her post to instill in the minds of students the notion that hatred for and persecution of Falun Gong is justified. She is personally responsible for the arrest of large numbers of students, teachers and staff who practice Falun Gong. At least 61 of such persons arrested died as a result of torture.
On Dec. 7, 2004, a Tanzanian court held a preliminary judicial review of the charges of torture and killing brought against Chen Zhili. One source claimed that the evidence provided by the victims was sufficient to prove the charges leveled against Chen Zhili valid.
Su Rong, incumbent Party Secretary of Gansu Province, used to be the Party Deputy Secretary of Jilin Province. During his tenure in Jilin Province, he was the head of the Jilin Province Leadership Group Dealing with Falun Gong Issues, a.k.a. the 6-10 Office. Charged with the responsibility of handling the Falun Gong issue since the beginning of the persecution, he actively supported the brainwashing of Falun Gong adherents, and other means of punishment, such as dismissing them from the Party and public positions.
Su Rong was served with a summons delivered by a staff member of the Zambia High Court on the afternoon of Nov. 4, 2004. He was on his way back to his hotel while visiting Zambia with a Chinese delegation led by Wu Bangguo. Falun Gong had filed a lawsuit against Su for murder, torture and humiliation of Falun Gong practitioners during his tenure as the Head of the Jilin Provincial 6-10 Office. Su was forced to stay put in Lusaka as he waited to appear in court.
On Nov. 8, 2004, Su Rong was charged with contempt of court because he failed to appear in court as ordered. On Nov. 13, 2004, the Zambia High Court held a special hearing on Su Rong’s case, but he failed to appear again. Thus, the Zambia police issued an arrest warrant and dispatched personnel to conduct a manhunt. After an extensive and prolonged search, police found Su’s clothing and personal belongings at his hiding place, the Chinese Center for the Promotion of Investment, Development and Trade (Z) LTD, but he was nowhere to be found. According to the Hotel records where he lodged, Su Rong checked out on Nov. 8, at 2 p.m., and disappeared from the scene.
It was reported that, faced with an arrest warrant, Su Rong crossed the Chirundu border in Zambia, and hid in Zimbabwe. He then escaped to South Africa and flew back to China on Monday evening, Nov. 15, 2004. According to reliable sources, Su Rong indicated that after this trip, he would not be easily persuaded to travel overseas again. Falun Gong followers expressed that they would not give up on bringing the criminal provincial official to justice. They say they will file a lawsuit with the International Court of Justice in the Hague.
Liu Jing is the incumbent Deputy Minister of Public Security and Deputy Director of the 6-10 Office whose sole duty is to persecute Falun Gong. With the escalation of the violent suppression of the group, on the Internet “Liu Jing” has become synonymous with violence and butchery.
The connection between Liu Jing and Jiang Zemin may trace back to the early nineties. At that time Liu held the post of Kunming Mayor, and Zeng Qinghong asked him to talk to Deng Pufang to have him help overthrow Yang Shangkun’s family. Liu had dealings with Deng Pufang (Deng Xiaoping’s son) when Liu was a member of the China Disabled Persons’ Executive Council. Therefore, Liu Jing played a major role in Jiang’s efforts to overthrow Yang Shangkun and Yang Baibing. This special relationship may explain why Liu Jing was given the position of Deputy Director of the (Central) 6-10 Office and Deputy Minister of Public Security. It also may explain why he has remained a faithful perpetrator of Jiang’s persecution policy.
Whoever knows about Liu Jing’s past record will understand how ruthless he is. At the beginning of the Cultural Revolution in 1966, he was a student in Department III of Beijing University of Technology. Since he was from a senior official’s family, he was admitted into the CCP very early by the University Party Committee. Like his classmate in the same department, Tan Lifu, who was also a child of a senior official, he was obsessed with ambition in politics. In June 1966, Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping dispatched a task force squad, led by Du Wanrong, to Beijing University of Technology to implement the policies of the Cultural Revolution. Liu Jing realized immediately that this was an opportunity for him to make rapid advancement in his career in politics. He organized a group of senior officials’ children to get rid of the old Party Committee, which initially helped get him into the CCP, and labeled them a “reactionary gang” and brazenly censured them for “discriminating against and persecuting cadres’ children.” Coached by the team of workers, Liu Jing became the director of the “Cultural Revolution Committee” at the University, while Tan Lifu became the commander of the Red Guard. They both turned into people with a tremendous amount of arrogance. They fought with the “reactionary gang,” beat professors, and collected information on students and teachers who opposed the team of workers, and then classified them as Rightists. In brief, where there was persecution and violence, there were Liu and Tan as coordinators. According to incomplete statistics, around 300 teachers and students were classified as “reactionary gang” members or Rightists by the Cultural Revolution Committee that was led by Liu Jing.
In his tenure as Deputy Director of the 6-10 Office, Liu Jing directly made popular and carried out Jiang and Luo Gan’s persecution orders, including issuing the order of shoot to kill, massive arrests and killings of Falun Gong followers, and promoting and directing the brainwashing of Falun Gong followers. In addition, he spoke dishonest words at various human rights conferences and press conferences in order to smear Falun Gong, and glorified and praised the suppression of the group. Since he persecuted Falun Gong so aggressively, after the 16th Party Congress in November 2002, Liu Jing not only became Director of the 6-10 Office, Deputy Minister of Public Security, and Deputy CCP Secretary of the Ministry of Public Security, but also got promoted to the 16th Central Committee.
In March 2004 and November 2004, Liu Jing was charged in Canada with genocide, torture, and crimes against humanity via both civil and criminal lawsuits.
On the afternoon of Aug. 27, 2001, while he was visiting the U.S., Zhou Yongkang, former Party Secretary of Sichuan Province, incumbent Minister of Public Security, and self-proclaimed nephew of Jiang’s wife, was sued in the state of Illinois for his involvement in directing the torture and murder of Falun Gong practitioners and for defaming Falun Gong. He was the second CCP official who was sued overseas by Falun Gong practitioners. It was reported that the District Court for the Northern District of Illinois decided to accept the case.
Zhou’s tenure in Sichuan Province coincided with Jiang’s persecution of Falun Gong. He did everything he could to promote and directly participate in the persecution. He authorized, supervised, and endorsed such methods as murder, torture and kidnapping in order to intimidate and eliminate Falun Gong adherents in his jurisdiction. He also carried out a disturbing policy of implication, saying, “If parents practice, lay off the children from their jobs; if children practice, do the same to their parents. Stop their pension payments and cut off their financial resources.” Forty-three confirmed death cases of Falun Gong followers (not including unexposed and unconfirmed cases) occurred in Sichuan Province during his tenure.
Zhou Yongkang adopted a heavy-handed policy when he was a local official in Sichuan Province. The Sichuan people hated him and called him the “human rights assassin” behind his back. Besides persecuting Falun Gong and Tibetans in Tibetan communities, Zhou Yongkang also suppressed the media and persecuted reporters.
At the same time, Zhou Yongkang’s actions flew in the face of the constitution and the law, as he went outside his area of knowledge by appointing judges and giving major talks in the National People’s Congress and Political Consultative Conference. [When he spoke,] everyone was instructed to be docile and obedient, listen with reverent attention, and not daydream or even display the slightest hint of weariness.
He insulted senior cadres wantonly at cadre meetings, and frequently boasted that he was “dispatched by the Central government,” and “the right-hand man of president Jiang.” He also seduced internal female staffers many times in business hotels. When the Provincial People’s Congress was in session, Zhou Yongkang stayed in a hotel and openly summoned prostitutes, making the Provincial Party Committee and hotel staff feel indignant, but they didn’t dare speak up.
Jiang Zemin replaced the Director of the Shanghai City Police Department with his nephew Wu Zhiming, who used to be a worker on the railroad. Jia Chunwang, on the other hand—the Minister of Public Security—was not part of Jiang’s clique. So when a Tibetan religious leader with the title of the Living Buddha of Garmaba escaped from China, Jiang pretended to be furious and rebuked Jia Chunwang for it. Claiming that if one more person, e.g., Bao Tong (Zhao Ziyang’s secretary), escaped, he would dismiss Jia Chunwang. The next day, Beijing City Police Department dispatched 18 policemen to trace and monitor Bao Tong 24 hours a day. According to sources within the Chinese political elite, the purpose of Jiang’s display was to pave the way for promoting Zhou Yongkang to Minister of Public Security.
Jiang liked Zhou Yongkang for his tireless efforts in persecuting Falun Gong. In order to find someone to continue persecuting Falun Gong after he left office, Jiang promoted Zhou to the posts of Minister of Public Security (the position directly responsible for persecuting Falun Gong), Deputy Director of the Central 6-10 Office (the name of this office was later changed to, the “Office of Preventing and Dealing with Cults”), whose sole duty was to suppress Falun Gong, and Deputy Secretary of the Political and Judiciary Committee. As a result, Zhou made efforts against Falun Gong even more unscrupulously.
After Zhou Yongkang was promoted to Minister of Public Security in Beijing, the people of Sichuan Province were saying this like, “The more of a hoodlum one is, the greater possibility one has of being appointed Minister of Public Security. It seems this country is hopeless.” As expected, Zhou’s working style was quite different from that of Jia Chunwang. He constructed a “prevention and control system for public order,” which aimed to suppress, firmly and mercilessly, all groups that were against Jiang.
Afterwards, thanks to Jiang, Zhou Yongkang was admitted to the Politburo during the 16th Party Congress and promoted to member of the State Council, while concurrently holding the position of Minister of Public Security.
In November 2004, Canadian Falun Gong adherents filed lawsuits in Canadian courts against five current and former CCP senior officials—Jiang, Luo Gan, Liu Jing, Zhou Yongkang, and Li Lanqing.
In October 2002, a prosecution letter was submitted to the UN Committee against Torture, the Commission on Human Rights, and the International Criminal Court charging Jiang and Zeng Qinghong, Minister of the Central Organizational Department, and Luo Gan, Secretary of Political Bureau, with human rights violations. The letter asserted that they bear unwavering responsibility for launching and carrying out the suppression of Falun Gong. It also expressed the expectation that the International Criminal Court would conduct a comprehensive international criminal investigation of the three defendants. The plaintiffs were from Canada, the United States, France, Australia, Ireland and Hong Kong.
On Jan. 29, 2005, when Zeng Qinghong was visiting South America, the Peruvian Falun Dafa Association filed a criminal lawsuit against him, Jiang, Luo Gan and Bo Xilai, charging them with genocide and crimes against humanity in the persecution of Falun Gong. The Peruvian Supreme Court accepted the complaint that afternoon.
Zeng Qinghong is Jiang’s adviser, and has sole control over the Central Organizational Department. He was responsible for carrying out the organizational and logistical aspects of Jiang’s plan to suppress Falun Gong, as well as the ideological education aspects. According to insiders, Zeng Qinghong gave many despicable suggestions on how to carry out the persecution.
Li Lanqing was formally accused of torture eight times in France, Belgium, Taiwan, Germany, Canada, Chile and Holland. The lawsuit in France jarred Li the most, however.
In 1999, Jiang made up his mind to suppress Falun Gong. On June 10 of that year, at Jiang’s order, the Leadership Group Dealing with Falun Gong Issues was formed, called as a code name the “6-10 Office” (because of the date it was established). Li, who was First Vice Premier at the time, was drawn by Jiang into the awful scheme and assumed the position of Director of the 6-10 Office. From 1999 to 2003, Li Lanqing was in charge of the persecution across China.
The investigative report by the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong, a human rights organization, indicated that Li Lanqing personally conducted the persecution in many fields including science and technology, literature and art, education, senior citizen work and so on. He also made speeches to incite hatred at nationwide conferences and exhibitions whose purpose was to defame Falun Gong. On Nov. 26, 1999, he gave a special report, titled “Issues on the Struggle against Falun Gong,” at a meeting with 3,000 participants held at the Great Hall of the People.
Li Lanqing’s son once studied in Europe. Later he inherited his father’s trade and served at China National Heavy Duty Truck Group Co., Ltd, where his father once worked. In 1995, the company cooperated with Sweden in a 4.1 billion yuan project. Under suspicious circumstances, the 4 billion went down the drain, most likely directly into a few people’s pockets. Among the 4 billion in losses, 1 billion directly involved Li Lanqing’s son.
Although the parties concerned tried to cover up what happened, as the Chinese saying goes, you can’t cover up fire with paper. In Jinan City, where the company is located, the story was widely known. At the time there were many laid-off workers in Shandong Province. People were filled with grievances as it was. After learning that Li Lanqing’s son was involved in a shady way with this tremendous amount of money, people were furious.
Wu Guanzheng, Secretary of Shandong Provincial Party Committee, felt the soaring wave of public opinion. He realized that if he continued to pretend that he didn’t know about this issue, he wouldn’t be able to keep his position. So he had to make arrangements to investigate. Li Lanqing realized that his son definitely would not have a good end if Shandong Province really did investigate thoroughly. Since this is his only son, and he simply couldn’t bear the prospect of his son being struck with any misfortune, he complained tearfully before Jiang and begged Jiang to come to his aid.
Since Li Lanqing had been a close follower of Jiang, Jiang naturally wouldn’t treat him worse than Jia Qinglin. Since Jiang exempted Jia Qinglin’s wife from prosecution and give her a way out of her situation, Jiang felt that Li Lanqing should not have to suffer the pain of “losing his son.” According to Jiang’s instruction of “don’t treat every case the same way,” it finally ended up that nothing happened to Li’s son. Thus, Li realized all the more that he didn’t have to worry about any scandals as long as he kept in line with Jiang.
Toward the end of 2002, as head of the delegation applying for a World Exposition in Shanghai, Li Lanqing made an unofficial visit to France. On Dec. 4, based on United Nations and French human rights laws, four Falun Gong practitioners from France, Ireland and Canada accused Li Lanqing of torture through eminent human rights attorneys Georges-Henri Beauthier and William Bourdon.
Bourdon is an attorney who was involved in successfully suing former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. Since the time the lawsuit was filed in Nice, France, Li Lanqing has never felt relaxed or comfortable again. The CCP attempted to stop the case through diplomatic channels, and tried to prevent it from progressing in the Nice courts. In July 2003, Georges-Henri Beauthier and William Bourdon transferred the case to Paris, and the Paris Criminal Court agreed to accept it.
In July 2004, the criminal court sent out an investigation request to a Chinese judicial agency, asking the Chinese authorities to investigate the persecution case of French citizen, Ms. Helene Petit, as well as those of the other Falun Gong followers. Helene Petit was arrested in Tiananmen Square in November 2001 and was beaten up by Chinese police officers. Theirs is likely the first writ of investigation against a CCP senior official in the entire judicial history of France, and even Europe.
In December 2004, the court appointed a preliminary hearing judge to the case, which indicated that the case had moved forward into the stage of discovery.
The French mainstream media reported on the development, claiming it was remarkable that Falun Gong followers had made so much progress in their fight overseas for human rights. Li Lanqing had closely followed Jiang, and as a result he was sued overseas. If even Jiang could be sued overseas, what did Li Lanqing expect?
Wang Xudong, Minister of the Information Industry, was sued while he was participating in the Third Sino-U.S. Telecommunication Summit in Chicago in June 2004. Wang was sued for persecuting Falun Gong while acting as secretary of Hebei Provincial Party Committee from June 2000 to November 2002. The summit was hosted by the American Ministry of Commerce and the American Telecommunication Industry Association. The people attending the summit were astonished when they found out about the role Wang Xudong played in the campaign against Falun Gong.
In China, there are five provinces that suppress Falun Gong the most severely. The number of Falun Gong adherents who were tortured to death in the five provinces accounts for more than half of the total death cases in China. Hebei Province is one of the five provinces.
On the evening of June 18, in the Hyatt Hotel where Wang Xudong stayed while in Chicago, two bodyguards employed by Wang received the subpoena.
On the morning of the second day, other members of the delegation began whispering to each other about the news of Wang Xudong being charged and very quickly the news spread. The lobby of the hotel was filled with Falun Gong practitioners. They were prepared to once again give the subpoena to Wang Xudong at any time. The personnel from the Chinese Consulate and procommunist Chinese organizations ran around and tried to find an exit where there weren’t any Falun Gong practitioners. There was a white limo that was supposed to pick up Wang but because it was spotted by the protesters it could only be used for luggage. At a little after 8 a.m., Wang appeared on a bus wearing a large pair of sunglasses, with his head facing inside. Falun Gong practitioners spotted him and began shouting in unity, “Wang Xudong, you are sued!” When Wang’s bus arrived at the entrance of a famous telecommunication company in a northern suburb of Chicago, several Falun Gong followers who had been waiting there for a long time taped three envelopes, with a complaint letter and a subpoena inside, onto the door panel of the bus.
The next stop after Chicago was Washington, DC. Since this was Wang Xudong’s first visit to the U.S. he had planned on going sightseeing. However after being sued, he felt dejected and canceled his hotel reservation in DC. Instead he chose to stay in the Chinese embassy for one night. In a fit of rage, he ordered that no one in the delegation go outside of the embassy. Complaints could be heard from everyone. Originally Wang had the hope of becoming Vice Premier. However, after the lawsuit his official career was over. Who could he blame? If he hadn’t actively participated in the persecution, the lawsuit would have never fallen upon him. How could someone escape being held accountable after committing such heinous crimes?
Defendant Wang was very concerned about his lawsuit. An attorney in Chicago sent his assistant to the two hearings on April 4–5, 2005, and was not even invited to seek additional court information. He went so far as to call the plaintiff’s attorney, Terri Marsh, and tell her, “It will be very hard for you to win a lawsuit.” Terri replied by asking, “Do you represent Wang Xudong?” The attorney said, “I will represent him if he pays me.”
On the morning of May 26, 2005, the U.S. Federal Court in Illinois accepted a motion on the lawsuit filed against Wang, who is today the Minister of the Department of Information Industry. This was an important victory for the plaintiffs, who were Falun Gong followers, and it demonstrated that U.S. Courts care about the persecution of Falun Gong in China. The defendant, Wang, tried to evade receipt of the legal documents sent by the plaintiff’s attorney. Four times he refused acceptance of FedEx letters. The plaintiffs tried other methods to transmit the legal documents to him, such as faxes, and even using flowers. Finally, the Federal Court determined that the efforts of the plaintiff had met the federal regulations, so the motion was approved.
On April 24, 2004, Bo Xilai, who just assumed office as Minister of Commerce, was sued when he was visiting Washington, DC. He, along with a delegation led by Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi, came to America to participate in the 15th Session of the Sino-U.S. Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade. Since he threw the complaint letter and other related documents onto the ground and refused to accept them after they were delivered to him, he may lose the opportunity of defending himself and he may face trial by default.
Many media outlets in China flattered Bo Xilai as “the political nova,” “star governor,” “charming governor” and so on. However, that simply wasn’t true. Bo Xilai is good at currying favor and creating a nice-looking façade, but it has no substance behind it. In the 1990s, before Jiang went to Dalian City to inspect state-owned enterprises, Bo Xilai had a large portrait of Jiang put up in a very obvious place in Dalian City to help Jiang in his pursuit to create a cult of personality. He gained Jiang’s favor as a result. Bo Xilai was CCP senior statesman Bo Yibo’s son. Bo Yibo had previously helped Jiang purge many political rivals. Relying on this relationship, Bo Xilai’s political career made steady progress.
When Bo Xilai was the Mayor of Dalian City, he followed Jiang’s persecution policy to the letter, turning Dalian into one of the most severe places for the persecution of Falun Gong. During his term as Mayor from 1999 to 2000, at least 15 Falun Gong practitioners were persecuted to death in Dalian City. According to the investigation done by the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong, when Bo Xilai acted as the Governor of Liaoning Province, 103 Falun Gong followers were persecuted to death in Liaoning Province, proving it to be one of the areas where the persecution was most severe.
In May 2004, Bo Xilai visited five European countries with a delegation and drew protests from different human rights organizations. Prior to his trip he had planned to visit Germany around March 25. However, during that time Germany’s human rights groups and the Falun Gong protested and condemned Bo Xilai’s human rights violations, and requested the German Government to reject his admission into the country. Bo Xilai’s extremely grievous human rights record drew widespread concern from German society. Later, the German Government declared that China had postponed Bo Xilai’s visit.
During Bo Xilai’s travel in May, Bo Xilai’s name did not appear on the name list for attendees of the Sino-German IT Cooperation Forum, sponsored by the German Ministry of Economy and Labor. However, Falun Gong practitioners had acquired undisclosed information about his plans to attend, and decided to display a banner that read, “Welcome to Wen Jiabao, Bring Jiang to Justice, and Expel Human Rights Criminal Bo Xilai” during a protest rally on the day when the Chinese delegation first arrived. On the second day, before the opening of the forum, some Falun Gong adherents saw Bo Xilai’s car drive past the banner before entering the meeting hall of the forum.
In June, Bo Xilai was charged with crimes against humanity when he was visiting Poland. In August, Bo Xilai was sued in Russia during a visit.
From Nov. 14–21, Bo Xilai, the Minister of Commerce, had been charged with many crimes, including serious infringement of human rights, while he was attending the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference in Chile.
On Dec. 9, commercial talks between the European Union and China were held in the Netherlands at the Congress Center in the Hague. Bo Xilai delivered the opening address. Falun Gong practitioners were doing exercises outside of the building in order to welcome Wen Jiabao, to request the expulsion of human rights criminal Bo Xilai, and to call for Jiang, Luo Gan, Liu Jing, and Zhou Yongkang to be brought to justice.
On July 14, 2004, while Zhao Zhizhen, the former director of Wuhan Radio Broadcast and Television Bureau and former manager of Wuhan TV Station, was visiting New Haven, Connecticut in the United States, he received a subpoena for a civil lawsuit from the Federal District Court of New Haven. He had been sued by a group of Falun Gong adherents in New Haven, who charged him with inciting hatred, violence, torture, and genocide against Falun followers through television.
The successful filing of the suit against Zhao Zhizhen was due to the effort of The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG), whose tenable objective is: “To investigate the criminal conduct of all institutions, organizations, and individuals involved in the persecution of Falun Gong; to bring such investigations, no matter how long it takes, no matter how far and deep we have to search, to full closure; to exercise fundamental principles of humanity; and to restore and uphold justice in society.”
By the time Zhao Zhizhen stepped foot outside of China, the WOIPFG had obtained a report, promptly transmitted the information to the plaintiffs, and chose a suitable opportunity to deliver the court indictment to the defendant.
It was reported that Zhao Zhizhen appeared in court, becoming the only defendant to personally appear in court among all the overseas human rights lawsuits related to the suppression of Falun Gong.
Jiang transformed the Chinese Embassies and Consulates into bases transporting hatred towards Falun Gong. He tempted those with little conscience and who sought petty gain, with all kinds of economic incentives.
In the beginning of September 2001, Falun Gong followers in Chicago started a 10-day hunger strike in front of the Chinese consulate, to protest the CCP’s murdering of female followers. At approximately 4:40 p.m. on Sept. 7, a brand new black SUV stopped in front of the consulate with three men in it. Two of the men kept getting in and out of the SUV to physically attack and curse at the Falun Gong who were on hunger strike. The third man stayed inside the jeep and was ready to drive off at any time.
One of the Falun Gong practitioners who was on hunger strike tried to clarify the current situation of the persecution to them but they threatened him with violence. Another practitioner took out a camera and took pictures of what was going on. That person was physically assaulted by both of them. When it was over, the two thugs ran back to the SUV and drove off quickly. It was reported that there is much more than meets the eye in this case, and people had a good idea of who was behind it. Furthermore, somebody reportedly offered a bribe of 15,000 dollars, and it is believed that there are far more than two people involved in this.
During that time, the assault case aroused an enormous amount of commotion in the region. Many of the Chinese and English media covered the case extensively. The reports said that it is really China’s shame that such a great country with educated and sensible people had to be reduced to a state where under the leadership of Jiang, hoodlums and bandits prevail. In addition to the people mentioned above, the following CCP officials were also sued for following Jiang’s policy of persecution: Wu Guanzheng, former Secretary of Shandong Provincial Party Committee and incumbent member of the Standing Committee of the Politburo; Jia Qinglin, former Secretary of the Beijing City Party Committee and incumbent member of the Standing Committee of the Politburo; Huang Ju, former deputy Premier of the State Council and incumbent member of the Standing Committee of the Politburo; Li Changchun, member of the Standing Committee of the Politburo; Sun Jiazheng, Minister of Culture; Wang Yusheng, Deputy Director of the China Anti-Cult Association; Wang Taihua, Secretary of Anhui Provincial Party Committee; Wang Maolin, Deputy Chief of the CCP’s Leadership Group Dealing with Falun Gong Issues or Director of the Central 6-10 Office; Li Bin, CCP Ambassador to Korea; Zhang Xin, Consul General in Korea, and five other Chinese Consular officials.
In March 2003, at a meeting in Geneva attended by the Fawanghuihui organization and the UN Human Rights Commission’s branch on secret surveillance, the United Nations accepted the list of names of those responsible for persecuting Falun Gong. Fawanghuihui, a persecution-monitoring organization, submitted two documents related to the Chinese government’s persecution of Falun Gong, which totaled more than 4,000 pages. The first document lists more than 11,000 “6-10 Office” officials, police officers and other persons involved in the persecution. It also goes over the details of their crimes. The second list includes the names of more than 20,000 victims of the persecution as well as their persecution experiences. According to the Fawanghuihui organization, there are currently more than 10,000 persons on record that are responsible for the persecution of Falun Gong. When the time is right, the organization says that it plans on filing lawsuits against each and every one of them. All of these people could face lawsuits if they travel outside of China.
In September 2003, the Canadian Falun Dafa Association submitted a document to Canada’s Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Program (CAHWCP). This file documented evidence of crimes against Falun Gong that were committed by 15 high-level Chinese officials, including Jiang.
By the end of January 2004, Falun Dafa practitioners in Canada provided the names of another 30 criminals to the CAHWCP. Thus, by the end of January 2004, 45 Chinese officials from each level of the Party Committees, 6-10 Offices, local governments and forced labor camps that are responsible for the suppression of Falun Gong were included in the list. If anyone on the list attempts to enter Canada, a prompt investigation could take place potentially resulting in refusal of a visa to Canada, deportation, charges and punishment based on Canada’s laws governing crimes against humanity.
The list of names includes the person who initiated the persecution, Jiang Zemin, the names of the “Leadership Group Dealing With Falun Gong Issues” otherwise known as the 6-10 Office—Li Lanqing, Luo Gan, Wang Maolin and Liu Jing, as well as Provincial (Liaoning, and Hebei), City (Beijing) level Party Committee members, and officials in forced labor camps (Masanjia and Wanjia).
The names of those who planned and conducted the persecution include not only officials at each level of Party Committees and local governments, but also people within the legal system, propaganda system and forced labor camp system.
The criminal evidence comes from witnesses of the crimes, and adherents in China who have been courageous enough to send information overseas. Large quantities of direct and indirect evidence have been collected from third parties such as Amnesty International, United Nations human rights organizations, Human Rights Watch and the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong
Falun Gong practitioners have indicated that this is only the beginning. They say they will continue to provide name lists of tens of thousands of such criminals, following the same pattern as for crimes against humanity and war crimes. These human rights agencies have begun preparing to accept future name lists.
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Currently, there are numerous lawsuits in many countries around the world against Jiang and his followers who persecute Falun Gong, charging the perpetrators with genocide, torture, and crimes against humanity, holding the CCP officials accountable for what they have done. The international community has claimed that lawsuits of this magnitude have never been seen since the Nuremberg trials of Nazi criminals.Upon learning of the lawsuits against Jiang and other lawsuits, some CCP officials began thinking about ways out for themselves. They have privately collected and compiled documents to prove that they are innocent and were forced to carry out the orders by the 6-10 Office. According to sources within China, some higher level 6-10 offices have ordered 6-10 offices at the county level to urgently take back all documents and materials related to the persecution of Falun Gong since the illegal suppression started in 1999.
Obviously, Jiang’s friends and allies have begun abandoning his campaign against Falun Gong, and the campaign is heading down a dead end. Jiang is faced with inescapable nets above and snarls below. His path will verify the old Chinese saying, “Those who are unjust are doomed to destruction.”
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