(Clearwisdom.net)
Falun Gong practitioners recently interrupted a radio program to broadcast truth-clarification information on the Dalian Transport Radio Station in Liaoning Province. Local authorities were surprised and outraged.
Faced with circumstances where the regime has long deprived Falun Gong practitioners of freedom of speech and freedom of belief, and having decided that the people have the right to know, Falun Gong practitioners opted to clarify the facts by way of interrupting a broadcast program with truth-clarification information.
Falun Gong practitioners had their first success with this approach in 2002. They tapped into a cable TV network in Changchun, Jilin Province and managed to broadcast truth-clarification programs such as "Falun Dafa Spreads around the World," and "Is It Self-immolation or a Hoax?" The unauthorized broadcast continued for approximately 50 minutes and caused a sensation throughout Changchun. Later, similar interruptions also occurred in other places in China, to various degrees. Each time, the Communist authorities would become panic-stricken. Why were they so frightened? Why do Falun Gong practitioners use such an unusual method to express their views?
1. Broadcast Interruptions are Undertaken in the Public Interest
The Communist regime has persecuted Falun Gong since July 1999. The system has all along deprived Falun Gong practitioners of freedom of speech and freedom of belief, as well as denying the public their right to know the facts about Falun Gong. Practitioners believe that such information plays an important role in people's futures, and is the fundamental reason why they have stepped forward in the face of persecution to clarify the facts. One such means is by way of broadcast interruption on China's state-controlled airwaves.
Since Falun Gong was first introduced in 1992, due to the powerful attraction of the principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and Falun Gong's miraculous healing effects, the number of people practicing Falun Gong increased astronomically in a very short time. Practitioners conduct themselves as good citizens who abide by laws and regulations. Practitioners endeavor to conduct themselves according to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in their daily life, at work and in their studies.
Falun Gong is a cultivation way and has no interest in politics. But Jiang Zemin, envious of Falun Gong's popularity, and in open defiance of China's Constitution (in particular the articles on freedom of belief and the right to appeal) launched the persecution of Falun Gong in July 1999. He used his personal power to replace the law, overrode government policies with his personal will, and imposed the notorious policy of "ruining their reputation, cutting off their source of income and destroying them physically."
Almost every day, there was news of the death of Falun Gong practitioners as a result of persecution. Clearwisdom net has published the details of over 3,400 confirmed deaths, though the true number of deaths is likely much higher. More than 100,000 practitioners have been subjected to unlawful detention in labor camps, psychiatric hospitals, prisons and brainwashing centers.
The Communist regime's persecution of Falun Gong is criminal. In order to expose the persecution and to stop the crimes, Falun Gong practitioners have stepped forward and used various methods (including broadcast interruption) to clarify the facts. Their actions are protected by the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Article 20 of the Criminal Law stipulates: "Criminal responsibility is not to be borne for an act of legitimate defense that is undertaken to stop present unlawful infringement of the state's and public interest or the rights of the person, property or other rights of the actor or of other people and that causes harm to the unlawful infringer." Article 21 of the same law stipulates: "Criminal responsibility is not to be borne for damage resulting from an act of urgent danger prevention that must be undertaken in order to avert the occurrence of present danger to the state or public interest or the rights of the person, property rights, or other rights of the actor or of other people."
The Communist Party itself interrupts overseas broadcasts, blocks websites, tramples people's right to freedom of belief and freedom of speech, and yet it labels Falun Gong broadcast interruptions as illegal. A political commentator once gave the example that what the Communist regime is doing is like a bully locking all the doors of a house and then secretly setting it on fire. When the owner of house is left with no choice but to jump from a window to escape, the bully says to the neighbor, "Look, this person is so uncivilized that he even jumps out of the window." Indeed, no one would jump out of a window in a normal situation, but when all the doors have been locked, jumping out of the window is not abnormal, but instead an act of conviction and bravery.
As long as the persecution of Falun Gong continues, the practitioners inside and outside of China will continue with their efforts of clarifying the facts to people in a compassionate, peaceful and rational manner and will continue to expose the evil persecution by the Communist regime.
2. Broadcast Interruptions Allow the Public to Learn the Truth
Media has a huge coverage, and to safeguard people' right to know has an important bearing on the personal safety of each member of society.
In Western society there is no need for anyone to express his views by interrupting a broadcast program. However, in Mainland China, the media is the mouthpiece of the regime instead of being free and independent, and assists the regime to encroach on people's right to know and to cover up cases in which innocent people are treated unjustly.
Take the fake reports on SARS by TV stations in China for example. During the regime's 16th General Assembly, in order to gloss over Jiang Zemin's political achievements, media in China deliberately covered up the SARS epidemic, causing the epidemic to spread widely around the country. It is of utmost importance that media must speak the truth, as this has a significant bearing on the personal safety of the people. This is why in a civilized society such as the U.S., the media is in the hands of the public, and the government is not allowed to have its own media, let alone encroach on people's right to speak the truth. High-ranking government officials in Western countries are under close scrutiny of the media and they all act with great caution.
The regime tarnishes Falun Gong via various forms of media to conjure up "excuses" for the persecution and to silence Falun Gong practitioners. In China, any action to speak up for Falun Gong, even just distributing a few flyers, can lead to unlawful arrest, detention, torture, or even murder. If the regime's killing of innocent people is covered up and glossed over, the regime can become even more unscrupulous in it's persecution of all those they don't like, and anyone could become a victim. Under such circumstances, Falun Gong practitioners risked their lives to interrupt TV or radio programs with truth-clarification materials. They enabled the media to speak the truth for once and did a most important righteous deed. This not only safeguards Falun Gong practitioners' basic human rights and freedom of speech, but also safeguards the public's right to know. When the regime's lies and crimes are exposed to the light of day, the lies and crimes are being eliminated, and the environment for everyone in China will change for the better.
3. All Information Delivered in the Broadcast Interruptions is the Truth
In every interruption incident, the regime labeled the content as "Falun Gong content" to give it an air of "propaganda" in order to mislead the audience, and they never dare to tell people what the exact content is, because it tells people the sinister facts of how the regime persecutes Falun Gong, makes lies and blocks the truth.
4. The interruption also offers those who have participated in the persecution an opportunity to know the facts and to stop committing crimes
In the more than eleven years of the persecution of Falun Gong, the Communist regime and its 610 Office have forced government departments, businesses, institutions and cultural organizations to participate and assist in the persecution of Falun Gong. People who have been deceived and do not know the facts may have participated in the persecution and committed regrettable deeds. They have acted as predators, and at the same time, they are also victims of deception by the regime.
Falun Gong practitioners have adopted various methods (including TV broadcast interruptions) to expose and deter the crimes of the Communist regime, to eliminate the hatred and bad thoughts the regime has instigated toward Falun Gong, to help those who have participated in the persecution due to ignorance to stop committing crimes so that they will have a chance to make up for their wrongdoing.
In my opinion, when people have learned the facts and no longer follow the CCP to commit wrongdoings, then the persecution will come to an end. This is why the CCP is so panic-stricken about Falun Gong practitioners' clarifying the facts.
Views expressed in this article represent the author's own opinions or understandings. All content published on this website are copyrighted by Minghui.org. Minghui will produce compilations of its online content regularly and on special occasions.
Category: Perspectives
