(Clearwisdom.net August 26, 2003)

The Epoch Times reported that after the Conference on Bringing Jiang Zemin to Justice in Paris on August 3, 2003, the preparation committee of the Global Coalition for Bringing Jiang to Justice again gathered in the Boston Common on the afternoon of August 23. Over fifty groups and organizations have joined the coalition. They span Europe, North America, Asia and Australia.

About one hundred people attended the gathering. The theme of the gathering was to demand freedom of religion, freedom of belief, and freedom to gather publicly in China.

Over Fifty Groups and Organizations Join the Coalition in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia

The gathering in the Boston Commons was sponsored by the preparation committee of the Global Coalition to Bring Jiang to Justice. Dr. Wei Pengfei, a member of the preparation committee started his speech by giving an account of the status of establishing the Global Coalition for Bringing Jiang to Justice. Dr. Wei said, "The coalition's mission is to expose Jiang's crimes and bring him to trial on the grounds of conscience, morality, and justice." This mission has won widespread support from those who are interested in upholding justice around the world. Since the formation of the preparation committee a month ago, over fifty groups and organizations in Europe, North America, Asia, and Australia have signed up. The number of individual members is also increasing as each day goes by. It has been reported that the coalition will continuously hold public gatherings around the globe to put Jiang Zemin on trial in various forms.

Meng Lang, a freelance poet from China who now lives in Boston, expressed his personal support for freedom of thought, speech, and religion. Mr. Meng said, "In China's modern history, the vast number of victims abused simply for holding up freedom of belief and speech as well as the intensity of the persecution are something rarely seen anywhere else in the world." Mr. Meng hopefully said, "Whether you are a Chinese citizen or a Chinese living overseas, everyone has the right to express themselves clearly and hold firm to one's freedom of religion or belief, including the freedom to not having any religious belief."

Mr. Xie Zhongzhi, who was born in Macao and grew up in Hong Kong, has been observing the Falun Gong spiritual movement for over ten years. He has also followed the propaganda in Mainland China after its ban on Falun Gong. Mr. Xie pointed out, "Jiang is a dictator, and a big liar." He considered Jiang's pressuring Hong Kong authorities to design and pass Article 23 a blatant trampling of the democracy and freedom enjoyed by people in Hong Kong. Mr. Xie expressed his hope that people of all walks of life will join forces to resist Jiang's trampling of belief, human rights, and freedom.

The Truly Terrible Threat Is to Ordinary People

Mr. Fang Jue, a former Chinese official, is now a visiting scholar at Harvard University. In his speech, Mr. Fang said that it is imperative to place Jiang on public trial. At the same time, he expressed that this persecution of people's freedom of belief is not something only Jiang is responsible for, but the Communist Party of China should also take some responsibility.

Ms. Elizabeth Wang, Chairperson of an association that advances the rights of women and children, recalled an incident where Jiang was asked about his reaction to the prison gang rape of a female college student, who had been arrested in the June 4^th student movement in 1989. Jiang's answer utterly shocked all the Chinese and foreign journalists present at the briefing. He said that the student "deserved it." Ms. Wang stated that this reflected Jiang's character and moral standard, or, more precisely, the lack thereof. Ms. Wang cited another incident, which took place in the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp, when a total of eighteen female Falun Gong practitioners were stripped completely naked and thrown into male cells.

"Although You're Not Being Persecuted Right Now, Don't Think It's Irrelevant"

Mr. Chen Zhiqiang, who represents the Friends of Hong Kong and Macao Association, said, "Although you're not being persecuted right now, don't think it's irrelevant." "As long as the regime holds onto power, it will continuously suppress the people. Over the past fifty-four years, various social levels in China have held onto this fantasy. When landlords were being cracked down on, capitalists thought, 'Who cares, I'm not a landlord.' A few years later, it was time for capitalists in urban areas to be cracked down on. And then intellectuals thought, 'So what, we are not mixed up with the capitalists.' Soon, in 1957, over five hundred thousand intellectuals were classified as 'Rightists.'" Mr. Chen concluded his speech, "For those who think that the suppression of Falun Gong, the activists of China's democracy movement, and people of religious beliefs has little to do with you: it is time to take history into account. You will fall victim to this brutality, and your children will fall victim."

A representative from the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG) revealed in his speech that his organization, since the day it was founded, has been devoted to investigating all the crimes and responsible organizations, groups, and individuals. It has at hand an overwhelming amount of evidence documenting Jiang's persecution of Falun Gong, which offers strong supporting material for the public trial of Jiang Zemin around the world. Bob explained that they are not retaliating out of hatred. Instead they are doing this to push the wheel of justice forward, to correct the wrongdoings, to stop the senseless killing of innocent people, and restore what is good.

"Our Dream, the Dream of a Free China"

Mr. Tang Boqiao, chairman of a Chinese peace organization, said in his speech, "Today's gathering puts not only Jiang Zemin in the spot light. Being a killer who pulls down a country, Jiang has headed an entire evil regime. Today's gathering has made it known that people from all walks of life in China are standing up and placing Jiang on trial."

"All the speakers at the podium have their various perspectives, and we are speaking our minds. This sends out a clear signal to Jiang that we are coming together, which is what Jiang is afraid of the most. Jiang and his followers have tried to segregate the public into little pockets, thus disintegrating the power of the people. Today they should have learned that their schemes are no longer working. I believe we are about to hear the true voice and feel the true impact of the people of China."

"What Jiang Zemin represents is degeneration, a reversal of social civilization, and a downward spiral of moral standards. What Jiang represents is corruption. Just like going after Nazis and other criminals whose days were numbered, placing Jiang on trial in the public spotlight itself shows the gathering of momentum by the power of justice. The evil forces are on the run, and eventually, they will have nowhere to hide."

Mr. Tang reiterated, "To publicly put Jiang on trial is not to overthrow a regime with violence. This is not to fight violence with violence, or to fight evil with evil. We are non-violent." "This non-violent movement is unprecedented throughout China's history. Here I would like to express my gratitude to our Falun Gong friends, who have pioneered this movement." At the end of the speech Mr. Tang Boqiao said, "Over forty years ago, Martin Luther King made his speech 'I Have a Dream,' and today everyone present here also has a dream. A dream of a China that is free. It is my belief that our dream is definitely going to come true."