Interview: Erping Zhang on Recent Falun Dafa Association Announcement

Erping Zhang talking about the Falun Dafa Association announcement, October 2005.

The Falun Dafa Association recently published an important announcement on The Clear Wisdom website. Falun Gong spokesperson Mr. Erping Zhang was interviewed and answered several questions about the announcement.

Reporter: The Falun Dafa Association recently published an important announcement. Could you please tell our readers what its main contents are, what its purpose is, and why it was published at this time?

Mr. Erping Zhang: As most people know, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been persecuting 100 million Falun Gong practitioners in China since the summer of 1999. According to the incomplete statistics of several human rights organizations, hundreds of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners have been imprisoned, thousands have been sent to psychiatric institutions, and 2,754 deaths due to torture have been verified. Many people were expelled from school, lost their jobs, suffered break-ups within the family, and were even forced to become homeless to avoid harassment, merely because they practiced Falun Gong. Jiang Zemin and his followers, who used the government's media monopoly and propaganda organs both in China and abroad in order to eliminate Falun Gong physically as well as to defame the reputation of the practice, instigated this shocking genocide. Such a persecution is unprecedented in terms of its size and cruelty. Facing such persecution, Falun Gong practitioners have held firmly to Falun Gong's core principles of “Truth, Compassion and Forbearance,” and they have clarified the truth peacefully all over the world; these benevolent and steadfast acts have won sympathy and support from many people both inside China and elsewhere.

Concurrently, Falun Gong practitioners have successfully and effectively filed civil and criminal lawsuits against many of the key figures involved in the persecution, with the result that Jiang Zemin and other perpetrators are facing court cases in many countries. “Good deeds will result in good consequences and bad deeds will receive retribution” is truly the guiding rule of the world. So at this critical moment when the CCP is collapsing, the Falun Dafa Association has provided the CCP and its officials with one more chance, hoping that they will immediately stop the persecution of Falun Gong. If they have committed crimes against Falun Gong and now want to make amends, they can submit a letter of repentance, and/or a guarantee statement that they will no longer persist in their misdeeds, to Minghui Net (English version is Clearwisdom.net) or to any regional Falun Dafa Association to be archived. We will not investigate the various crimes of those who are determined to correct their mistakes, but we will continue to monitor their actions. As a matter of fact, there are many people of conscience in all levels of the Chinese government who are against this persecution, and they have been resisting the maltreatment of Falun Gong in different ways.

Reporter: Last year's publication of “Nine Commentaries on the Chinese Communist Party” by The Epoch Times started the trend of withdrawing from the CCP and its related organizations. There are currently over 5 million people who have resigned from the Party. Would you like to comment on this?

Mr. Zhang: The “Nine Commentaries” exposed the CCP's vile nature and bloody history. The voluntary withdrawal of so many people, even while the CCP is still in power, is unprecedented in the history of the Communist movement. This indicates that the CCP has lost the loyalty of the Chinese people and it is only a matter of time until the CCP collapses.

Falun Gong has upheld its principle of not getting involved in politics and we use peaceful means that rely on “Truth, Compassion and Forbearance” to oppose the persecution. The Falun Gong teachings and exercises provide a way of cultivation, helping people to improve both spiritually and physically, and to return to their true selves, which are kind and considerate. Falun Gong could bring goodness to the people of any country, anywhere.

Reporter: News reports have stated that since Falun Gong sued many high-level officials of the CCP, others who have committed crimes in the persecution are afraid to travel abroad. Would you please tell us more about this and also about your future plans?

Mr. Zhang: It is true that several of those who committed wrongdoings in the persecution received monetary and political incentives to participate and also planned to move abroad at the earliest opportunity. However, such wrongdoings will not be considered legal by international law and will be tried and judged accordingly in the law courts of various countries. Furthermore, after the CCP collapses in the near future, the Chinese people will bring the officials who persecuted their own people to trial. There is an international organization that specializes in investigating the leaders and others who persecute Falun Gong. The lawsuits against the Minister of Information Industry, Wang Xudong, Minister of Commerce, Bo Xilai, former CCP Beijing City Secretary, Jia Qinglin, CCP Anhui Province Secretary, Wang Tuihua, Dalian Mayor, Xia Deren, CCP Beijing City Secretary, Liu Qi, and Guandong Province Governor, Huang Huahua, all indicated our determination to investigate and pursue any and all criminals involved in the persecution of Falun Gong, until the day justice is achieved.

Reporter: It was recently reported that a scramble for power inside the CCP has been escalating; Jiang's followers, Zeng Qinghong and Luo Gan, intensified the persecution of Falun Gong in order to force Hu Jintao to be complicit in such an illegal act. Can you comment on this?

Mr. Zhang: Most of the people in China under the CCP's control are against the persecution; so the party is facing a critical impasse. We observed that in the past two years under the leadership of Hu and Wen, Zeng Qinghong and Luo Gan did not stop the persecution, but rather intensified it behind the scenes. Their goal was to drag Hu and Wen into participating in the persecution. We believe that morality in China is deteriorating and that the CCP faces collapse and will have no future. We hope that Hu and Wen make good use of the limited time remaining to stop the persecution for the good of the nation. The final judgment of Jiang's regime and his followers is just around the corner.