(Clearwisdom.net) I learned from history that there are many factors that could lead to a country's decline -- some are outside factors and some come from within. As for modern countries, the destruction of social, moral and legal systems by the political system has been the the death knell for the regime that wrought such destruction. Today's Singapore government is heading in that direction. Please be assured that this is not alarmist talk.
On July 23, 2006, police charged three Singaporean practitioners with the crime of "harassment by displaying insulting writing" after they displayed banners in front of the Chinese Embassy. The banners read "Hunger-strike on July 20 in Protest of the CCP's Inhuman Persecution of Falun Gong." The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) considered the wording on the banner "humiliating." In fact it does not even admit that the persecution of Falun Gong exists.
Has Falun Gong been persecuted in China? For anyone who lives outside China it is not difficult to answer the question. Without going to any trouble I copied two cases from the Report of the Special Rapporteur Ms. Asma Jahanhir on extra judicial, summary or arbitrary executions from the UN Human Rights Report in 2001:
"On 29 September 1999, Zhao Jinhua was working in the fields when police arrested her. She was reportedly taken to a police station where she was severely beaten and subjected to electric shocks. It was alleged that she died in police custody as a result of this treatment on October 7, 1999. An official autopsy report showed that her body displayed multiple wounds to the head and other parts of her body, probably sustained as a result of beatings with a blunt object."
"Chen Zixiu reportedly died while in police custody on 20 February 2000. It was reported that she was captured by the person responsible for regulating Falun Gong in her area, and taken to the Beigua Police Station. The following day she was reportedly transferred to the "Falun Gong Re-education Center"- Chengguan Street Branch, where State officials beat her severely for several days. It is alleged that Chen Zixiu died in custody as a result of this ill-treatment."
Unfortunately the Singapore judge refused to accept such evidence into the court proceedings.
With the help of people from foreign countries who believe in justice, quite a few practitioners who have suffered from the persecution have escaped from China. They are first hand witnesses with their own stories to tell.
Let's talk about Mr. Lin Shenli from Canada. He was sentenced without trial to two years of forced labor in 2000. During that time he suffered bodily punishment and was forced to work more than twelve hours daily. As a result, his skin on the chest and buttocks were injured and the wounds festered. Besides this, he was also subjected to brainwashing.
Australian practitioner Ms. Dai Zhizhen's husband Mr. Chen Chengyong was murdered by the Chinese Communist regime in July 2001.
An independent third party published an investigative report. Former Member of the Canadian Parliament David Kilgour and international human rights lawyer Mr. David Matas published their "Report into Allegations of Organ Harvesting of Falun Gong Practitioners in China." After analyzing 18 classes of evidence, they concluded that the allegation that the CCP harvests organs from living Falun Gong practitioners is true. Chinese lawyer Gao Zhisheng investigated and published facts about the CCP's brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. He was secretly arrested because of that report.
The Singapore authorities do know the facts of the persecution of Falun Gong in China. One month ago when Lee Kuan Yew delivered a speech in Dallas, Texas, he elaborated on human rights. A member of the audience raised the issue of the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China and the forced removal of their organs, and asked how the CCP could be pushed to improve its human rights. Lee Kuan Yew said, "Singapore is a small country. There are many big countries in Asia..." He then went on to say that he was not clear as to why Falun Gong was persecuted in China, and vowed that Falun Gong enjoyed full freedom in Singapore. From this we can see that the former influential Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore had full knowledge of the persecution of Falun Gong in China.
In other words, Singapore has its hidden motives in charging Falun Gong practitioners. Dr. Wang Yuyi of the Falun Buddha Society (Singapore) said, "'Assembly without permit' is the most frequently cited charge made against Falun Gong practitioners by the Singapore government. It has been invoked three times to date, including for a candlelight vigil that practitioners held in 2001, doing Falun Gong exercises and distributing materials at a tourist spot in 2004, and distributing materials in the downtown area in 2005. The excuse was that the activity exceeded five persons, but other activities with five or more people, such as a picnic, shopping, distributing commercial materials, etc. do not require a police permit. The reason that the Singapore government charges Falun Gong practitioners in court is not because the practitioners' actions violate the law. Their motive is to gain favor with the Chinese Communist regime and to receive economic gains as well as to stop the practitioners from clarifying the truth in Singapore."
The Deputy Public Prosecutor requested to "expunge the record on the alleged persecution, meaning what MM Lee said, the UN report and the US Congress resolution. By allowing practitioner Erh Boon Tiong to say this, he was allowed to put it on record through the back door." (This paragraph is provided by a Singapore practitioner based on their record.)
This prosecutor must be muddleheaded. Since the trial record is the record and the recording of the entire trial process in the form of words, it has become an important document held in the archives. How can anyone delete or change such legal documentation at will? Whether the record of the trial is complete and accurate directly affects the fairness of the trial. The judge can reject "this type of testimony" to be presented to the court. However, whether his decision is fair or not would be reflected in the record of the trial. Should this case be appealed in the future the record could be reassessed. If the rejection by the judge was reasonable what would the prosecutor worry about?
Some of the questions asked by the prosecutor also sounded out of place. For example, he asked Ms. Ng Chye Huey, "Once people learn the truth from the banner what can they do? Can they help you stop the so-called persecution? What is the relationship between the banners and saving the lives of the Chinese people?" Ms. Huey replied, "At least we can clear up these people's misunderstanding. They can also write letters to tell their friends what they have learned and at least they would think twice before going to China for organ transplants."
It seemed that the prosecutor has been controlled and therefore lacks basic moral judgment. When Mr. Er Boon Tiong, who was also on trial, questioned the police witness, "You know that the grave incident of the persecution of Falun Gong is happening now in China and they even removed the practitioners' organs when they are still alive..." the judge went as far as to interrupt him and say, "This has nothing to do with this case." This indicates the truth about the Singapore government. Singapore authorities firmly believe the wording on the banner that exposes the persecution is "humiliating" and had nothing to do with the fact that the Chinese Communist regime persecutes Falun Gong. In a word the Singapore authorities simply want to throw the practitioners into jail.
It is said that Singapore has been developed on the basis of Confucian culture and the VIP behind the curtain, Lee Kuan Yew, is very knowledgeable about Confucian culture. The Confucian School values "benevolence and justice" and Confucius said, "It is cowardice not to dare to defend righteousness when it is endangered." In exposing the persecution by the CCP, the practitioners in Singapore see what is right and have the courage to do it. This exactly demonstrates that their undertaking is in the public interest. They knew clearly that the Singapore authorities would bring charges against them, however, they still went ahead to expose the evildoers. The wanted to awaken the people's conscience, which they saw as their responsibility. This is the mind of a benevolent person. The Singapore authorities acted willfully by sentencing the practitioners to jail for only one reason -- to curry favor with the CCP. This is in fact shortsightedness and is neither benevolent, nor just. It destroys the foundation of the country. When Singapore authorities cooperate with the CCP to persecute practitioners, they might gain some minor benefits now, but it will be a loss to the foundation of the legal system - fairness. At the same time the Singapore authorities have also utilized the power to demonstrate to its people the act of "forgetting what is right at the sight of profit." This would undoubtedly strike the foundation of the social morale, which is an ill omen. Such actions are the signs of impending trouble. Therefore the Singapore authorities should be cautious.
Since the publication of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party the current of quitting the Communist Party (and the Youth League and Young Pioneers) is rushing through China, and the CCP itself is fully aware that its downfall is approaching. A large number of corrupt officials have escaped China and several high ranking officials have bought large mining properties in South America. Recently, the CCP is showing a documentary within the Party "The collapse of the Soviet Communist Party," from which we can see even the high officials of the CCP are of the opinion that the CCP can no longer be depended upon. Singapore is a small country, so it is important that it cooperates with China (but not the CCP) economically, however the potential of China's economy comes from its people. An accounting for the monstrous crimes committed by the CCP against its people is not far away, and justice will be done. The Singapore authorities putting their bets on the CCP is destroying their own future.