(Minghui.org) Police officers, government officials, and community workers throughout China have recently harassed Falun Gong practitioners in the name of “ensuring stability” for the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) held in October. This a continuation of the long-term persecution against innocent Falun Gong practitioners, ongoing since July 1999.
Some perpetrators have learned the facts of Falun Gong and know how the CCP has been defaming the practice with lies. As a result, they have chosen to be less active in implementing the persecution policy. But some other perpetrators ignored the illegality and brutality of the persecution and are still harming Dafa practitioners. So, what kind of consequences are awaiting them?
A Wake-up Call
After former CCP leader Jiang Zemin ordered the persecution of Falun Gong in July 1999, he not only institutionalized the persecution through the 610 Office network at all government levels, but also awarded key perpetrators for actively following his persecution policy. As such, Zhou Yongkang, Bo Xilai, and other high-ranking officials became even more motivated to persecute Falun Gong.
Zhou was minister of Public Security (2002 – 2007), Central Political and Legal Affairs Committee Party secretary (2007 – 2012), standing member of the Politburo (2007 – 2012), and director of the Central 610 Leadership Team (2007 – 2012). Bo was Liaoning Province governor (2001 – 2004), minister of commerce (2004 – 2007), and Chongqing Party secretary (2007 – 2012).
But things changed quickly after 2012. Bo was arrested on March 15, 2012 and sentenced to life imprisonment on September 22, 2013. Zhou was sentenced to life in prison on June 11, 2015.
Other high-ranking officials also faced a similar fate.
On September 22, 2022, Fu Zhenghua received a death sentence with a reprieve with all personal assets confiscated. Fu was the former Central 610 Office director (2015 – 2016) and minister of Justice (2018 – 2020).
One day later, both Sun Lijun and Wang Like were sentenced to death with a reprieve. Sun, deputy director of the Central 610 Office (2013 – 2018) and deputy minister of Public Security (2018 – 2020), was also arrested in 2020. Wang was a former member of the Standing Committee of the Jiangsu CCP Committee and secretary of the Jiangsu Political and Legal Affairs Committee (PLAC, 2015 – 2020).
Lifelong Accountability
All of the above officials played a critical role in the persecution of Falun Gong, a meditation system based on the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Due to its huge physical and spiritual benefits, the practice quickly drew about 100 million practitioners in the few short years since it was introduced to the public in 1992. Falun Gong’s ever-growing popularity was deemed a threat by the CCP, which began to suppress the peaceful practice in July 1999. Many practitioners have been detained, tortured, or even killed for their organs for upholding their faith.
Yet the perpetrators have themselves become victims of the persecution. Between January 2020 and June 2022, at least 38 directors of 610 Offices and 118 PLAC Party secretaries were investigated, put on trial, sentenced, or died of illness. These CCP officials’ misfortune may seem to have nothing to do with Falun Gong on the surface, but many believe that these mens’ downfall was a result of their involvement in suppressing the universal values of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
When Jiang first began to suppress Falun Gong in 1999, he vowed to wipe out the practice in three months – after all, the CCP had a track record of annihilating any group it deemed a threat through its numerous political campaigns. But Jiang failed to achieve his goal. Falun Gong practitioners’ unwavering faith has enabled them to stand strong in the face of the unprecedented persecution. The persistent efforts by practitioners to raise awareness of the persecution has also helped people both inside and outside of China see through the CCP’s evil nature and understand that there has never been any legal basis for the persecution.
No law in China has ever criminalized Falun Gong. The list of 14 cults published by the Ministry of Public Security does not include Falun Gong. The General Administration of Press and Publication of the People’s Republic of China issued an order on March 1, 2011 to repeal the ban on Falun Gong books issued in 1999. The legal principle of Nulla poena sine lege states that one cannot be punished for doing something that is not prohibited by law. Since Falun Gong has never been prohibited by law, the persecution of the practice has no legal basis. As such, all perpetrators involved in the persecution will eventually be held accountable for their crimes against innocent Falun Gong practitioners.
Moreover, there is new regulation that states that there is no statute of limitations (also known as prescriptive period) regarding civil servants’ liability, meaning that an administrative, civil, or criminal action may be brought against civil servants for their wrongdoings at any time, even long after they’ve quit their jobs or retired. The CCP used a similar tactic to get rid of those that helped carry out its various political campaigns. For instance, many key perpetrators in the Cultural Revolution were removed from office and some were even executed after the revolution. In other words, if history is any indication, the CCP will also purge its own followers whom it deems no longer useful.
Making the Right Choice
To avoid becoming scapegoats when the time comes to seek justice against the CCP, many perpetrators have chosen to stop persecuting Falun Gong. One PLAC official once went to a retail store owned by a practitioner and said, “When it comes to persecuting Falun Gong, the CCP initially told us to do whatever we wanted, with no consequences. Now it talks about lifelong accountability all the time. Isn’t this a trap? The Party is too vicious!”
One vice president of a court said that he is ordering all Falun Gong practitioners to be put on bail for medical reasons in the cases assigned to him these days. When a police department director was ordered to intensify the persecution, he requested higher officials to show him the relevant official policy. The higher officials did not have anything to show and the new persecution campaign went nowhere.
A 610 Office director said he barely handled Falun Gong cases anymore. “The principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance can only make our society a better one,” he explained. “The persecution will be over sooner or later. The more I get involved, the more trouble I and my family will face. It’s not worth it.”
We hope that more officials and ordinary citizens can learn from the lessons of those who’ve faced consequences for persecuting Falun Gong practitioners. By not following the CCP to do bad deeds, our society will be better and our future will be blessed.
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Category: News Commentary
