(Minghui.org) The coronavirus that originated in China has infected more than 200 countries and claimed more than 110,000 lives. This unprecedented global pandemic presents us with an opportunity to ponder why so many people have become victims of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s cover-up and mishandling of the outbreak.
Both the Eastern and Western cultures include the belief that people should cherish the common good and share responsibility for safeguarding humanity. This universal belief fundamentally contradicts communist ideology, which, according to historians, has caused 100 million unnatural deaths in the past century. As the CCP expands its influence, however, many people have given in and ended up bowing to the totalitarian regime.
Inside China, where totalitarianism reigns with brutality, deception, and censorship, many Chinese have acted against their conscience and followed the CCP in suppressing whatever groups the CCP sets out to attack. For example, Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong) is a practice that improves mind and body by following the values of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. The CCP has persecuted Falun Dafa since 1999. In the past 21 years, as tens of millions of Dafa practitioners suffered for their faith, many people have remained silent or blindly followed the CCP’s orders to persecute them.
Many countries have bent their most basic principles and values to partner with the CCP for economic gain. They had hoped that such partnerships would lead China to become an open and democratic society that would better protect human rights. That turned out to be wishful thinking, and few countries and businesses have done anything to curb China's continued expansion of power throughout the world.
When the Chinese people and the rest of the world turn a blind eye to the CCP's persecution of innocent citizens and its growing clout at the expense of freedom of belief and freedom of speech, we have unwittingly allowed it to thrive on violence, lies, and disregard for human life. In the past several months, the world has not only witnessed but also directly felt the harm caused by the CCP.
It is my hope that the world will wake up to the CCP's tyranny and chart a safe path through the current pandemic.
Falun Gong Guides People Back to Traditional Values But Is Persecuted by the CCP
China has one of the oldest civilizations in the world, with 5,000 years of history. From one dynasty to another, ancient Chinese had always valued virtue as well as the harmony between heaven, earth, and humankind. They paid attention to character refinement and spiritual enlightenment.
All this was disrupted after the CCP seized power in 1949. Private property was seized in both the countryside and urban areas, and honesty was replaced by propaganda and brainwashing. This was highlighted in numerous political campaigns, such as the Great Leap Forward in the late 1950s and the Great Cultural Revolution several years later.
Class struggle, brutality, and propaganda through lies are among the core principles of communism. “With 800 million people, how can it work without struggle?” remarked former communist leader Mao Zedong.
Rooted in traditional Chinese culture, Falun Gong was introduced to the public by Mr. Li Hongzhi in 1992. Many people were soon drawn to Falun Gong's principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and its health benefits. They joined the practice and once again began to embrace traditional values.
“My family and friends all agree that I have undergone major changes [because of Falun Gong], making me a better person,” wrote a psychologist when he started to practice Falun Gong in 2013. “ I used to be restless but now I am calm... I used to be selfish but now I am considerate of others.”
Communist ideology runs counter to Falun Gong's principles. Former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin began to suppress Falun Gong in July 1999 by creating a nationwide, Gestapo-like organization, the 610 Office.
The U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) released its 2019 report in January 2020, which documented deteriorating human rights conditions in China. Citing information from Minghui.org, the report said at least 69 Falun Gong practitioners died as a result of the persecution by the CCP and at least 931 Falun Gong practitioners were unlawfully sentenced to prison in 2018.
Among them was Mr. Song Zhigang of Liaoning Province. He was sentenced to 14 years in April 2018 after the police found Falun Gong-related information in his lost cellphone.
In a new report released by Freedom House in March, “Freedom in the World 2020,” China was listed as “one of the 15 worst-performing countries” with only 10 out of 100 points for “global freedom.”
“China pressed ahead with one of the world’s most extreme programs of ethnic and religious persecution, and increasingly applied techniques that were first tested on minorities to the general population, and even to foreign countries,” according to the report. “The progression illustrated how violations of minority rights erode the institutional and conventional barriers that protect freedom for all individuals in a given society.”
The Role of Wuhan, Epicenter of Coronavirus, in the Persecution of Falun Gong
Epidemics are “a category of disease that seem to hold up the mirror to human beings as to who we really are,” said Yale historian Frank Snowden during a recent interview, as reported on March 28 by The Guardian. “That is to say, they obviously have everything to do with our relationship to our mortality, to death, to our lives. They also ... show the moral relationships that we have toward each other as people, and we’re seeing that today.”
Many people believe plagues in ancient Rome were associated with the religious persecution of Christians. Similarly, plagues in ancient China were deemed a result of the lack of harmony between heaven, earth, and humankind. In the event of epidemics, emperors often examined themselves for wrongdoing, issued edicts of repentance, and made corrections.
Drawing on ancient wisdom, it does not seem accidental that the coronavirus started in the city of Wuhan, China.
When Jiang first decided to suppress Falun Gong in 1999, he met with resistance from top communist leaders, including other members of the Politburo. Zhao Zhizhen, director of Wuhan Television Station, however, acted on Jiang's order. Zhao dispatched a crew to Changchun in Jilin Province, the hometown of Mr. Li Hongzhi, and filmed a 6-hour video that defamed Falun Gong and its founder.
This video was played among top communist leaders and later throughout all of China in the news media, including the state-owned China Central Television. Countless other videos were produced over the next 20 years to demonize Falun Gong and its practitioners.
In addition, Tongji Hospital in Wuhan was one of the earliest medical facilities involved in forced organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners, a crime first reported on in 2006, followed by extensive evidence from third parties. Investigations revealed that at least 14 types of organs and tissues were transplanted at Tongji Hospital. In February 2005 alone, more than 1,000 kidney transplants were carried out at this facility.
Countries with Close Ties to the CCP Hard Hit by Coronavirus
As of April 11, 2020, nearly 1.7 million people in over 200 countries have been infected by the virus. The countries with the most cases are the United States, Spain, and Italy. All these countries have close ties with the CCP.
For example, the United States is China’s largest trading partner. The U.S. has provided the communist regime with comprehensive support since the 1970s. In addition to a large number of business transactions, many Chinese stocks are listed on the New York Stock Exchange, which has dramatically boosted China’s financial and political power. For details on U.S.-China relations over the years that may have enabled China's rise and its infiltration into the U.S, refer to a recent review article on Minghui.org.
Spain was the first EU country to have a foreign minister visit Beijing after the 1989 Tiananmen massacre and later worked with the EU to lift the arms embargo against China. Spain is also a founding member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and has participated in the CCP’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) summits. Telecom firms such as Telefónica not only have close business ties with Huawei but are also helping the CCP to implement the BRI in Latin America.
Italy is the first and only G7 country that signed on to the BRI. This opened “an array of sectors to Chinese investment, from infrastructure to transportation, including letting Chinese state-owned companies hold a stake in four major Italian ports. The deal gave communist China a foothold in the heart of Europe,” according to an article in The Federalist on March 17.
On the other hand, Taiwan has been distancing itself from the CCP for decades, much earlier than the coronavirus outbreak. With a population of 23.8 million (about half of Spain and one-third of Italy), Taiwan so far has only 385 cases with 6 deaths, even though it is only 100 miles from China.
Say No to the CCP
As the U.S. became the new epicenter of the pandemic, many have realized the harm of the CCP and begun to demand the CCP be held accountable for the damage.
According to a press release by the U.S. Congress on March 24, 2020, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY) was introducing a resolution in the House urging investigation into the Chinese Communist Party’s cover-up of the early spread of the coronavirus. “The Resolution calls on China to pay back all nations impacted due to China’s intentional, early coverup of the deadly virus,” wrote the press release.
Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) has introduced companion legislation in the Senate: “Since day one, the Chinese Communist Party intentionally lied to the world about the origin of this pandemic. The CCP was aware of the reality of the virus as early as December but ordered laboratories to destroy samples and forced doctors to keep silent. It is time for an international investigation into the role their cover-up played in the spread of this devastating pandemic. The CCP must be held to account for what the world is now suffering.”
All content published on this website is copyrighted by Minghui.org. Minghui will produce compilations of its online content regularly and on special occasions.
Category: News Commentary
