(Minghui.org) One Chinese saying states, “There are divine beings three feet above our head.” It means that we are constantly being watched for what we do, either good or bad deeds.
An Official and His Lesson
Wang Xiao was a high-ranking official in the Song Dynasty. His niece was married to another official, Lin Ji.
One day Wang’s niece cried when she saw him. Wang asked why.
“I had a dream last night,” the niece replied, “A divine being came with an order: Because Lin Ji disobeyed the emperor’s decree and harmed people, his family will be punished with extinction.”
Wang visited Lin and asked if he had done anything improper recently. Lin said that the Shu region (in today’s Sichuan Province) had a drought and that some local officials (not him) pleaded for 100,000 dan (6 million kilograms or 13.22 million pounds) of rice as an aid. The emperor had approved the aid request already.
Lin then admitted that he only distributed half of the rice because he felt that the total amount of 100,000 dan was too much and that the road to the Shu region was difficult to pass. He didn’t really think what he did was a big deal, even though he did feel it was not quite right.
His wife told him about the dream while crying. Lin was worried too. Not long after that, he was sick and returned to his hometown in Fuzhou (in today’s Fujian Province). The illness took his life and his two sons later died at a young age. His family was extincted as predicted.
This story was documented in Anshi Quanshu, a book written by Zhou Siren. Wang’s story serves as a lesson to people. He was simply thinking to do more investigation before distributing the other half of the rice, which he never even tried to take possession as some corrupt officials may have done. Even with no ill intentions, however, he was punished by heaven because the rice withheld by him could have saved many people from starving to death.
Actions and Consequences
Since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) took power in 1949, it has launched numerous political campaigns to target whomever is deemed threats to its rule. The most recent victims of the CCP’s brutality is Falun Gong practitioners.
Falun Gong is a mind-body practice based on the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. After it was introduced to the public in 1992, its profound principles and miraculous healing power quickly drew numerous students, including high-ranking officials. Almost all spouses of the standing members of the Politburo practiced Falun Gong at one point or another. Qiao Shi, Former Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China, also concluded in a 1998 survey that, “Falun Gong has many benefits for our nation and people, without any harm.”
However, Falun Gong’s popularity touched a nerve of the CCP, which launched a nationwide campaign against the practice in July 1999.
A large number of Falun Gong practitioners have since been detained, imprisoned, and tortured. Some even became victims of forced organ harvesting. Even with tight censorship by the CCP, information received by Minghui shows at least thousands of practitioners have lost their lives as a result of the persecution.
The perpetrators involved in the persecution have also become victims themselves. Traditional Chinese culture believes that good and evil will be rewarded accordingly. According to statistics compiled by Minghui, 20,784 perpetrators received retributions of various forms over the years. Some were demoted, removed from their positions, put under investigation, or suffered various sorts of misfortunes. A total of 35.6% (or 7,405) of the perpetrators died unnatural deaths. Between January 2020 and June 2022, 280 police officers and 150 people in the judicial branch (including judges and prosecutors) received retribution.
Even top officials are no exception. The 610 Office has played a critical role over the years directing the national persecution against Falun Gong. Numerous high-ranking officials have been taken down in recent years, including director and deputy directors of Central 610 Leadership Team (Zhou Yongkang, Zhou Benshun, Li Dongsheng, Fu Zhenghua) as well as directors and deputy directors of Central 610 Office (Li Dongsheng, Fu Zhenghua, Sun Lijun).
Following our Conscience
The aforementioned ancient official Wang was punished even if he harbored no ill intention to harm anyone. It is no surprise that the perpetrators involved in the persecution of Falun Gong in modern China also faced consequences for intentionally hurting law-abiding practitioners. After all, actions bear consequences.
Knowing that the perpetrators would eventually be held accountable for their bad deeds, Falun Gong practitioners have been working tirelessly to raise awareness of the illegal persecution and urge the perpetrators to stop participating in the persecution. Practitioners have also worked hard to help the general public see through the evil nature of the CCP and urge them to sever ties with the CCP.
Over the years, practitioners inside and outside of China have produced all kinds of materials explaining the facts of Falun Gong and refuting defamatory propaganda by the CCP. In 2004, Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party was published illustrating how this persecution was a continuation of the regime’s systematic suppression of people in the past few decades. Since 2015, at least 200,000 criminal complaints have been filed in China against former CCP leader Jiang Zemin for launching the persecution of Falun Gong.
The CCP has never ceased to harm innocent people for its own benefit. Its cover-up of the Covid outbreak has also threatened the safety of the rest of the world. Following our conscience to reject the CCP and embracing traditional values is important for all of us.
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Category: Perspectives
