(Minghui.org) Three months after 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners appealed outside of the central government compound in Beijing on April 25, 1999, to seek to practice their faith in peace, top Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader (at that time) Jiang Zemin launched the nationwide persecution of this ancient spiritual discipline. Although the suppression still continues, more and more people have realized the vicious nature of the CCP.
A Testimony to Goodness
Many practitioners in my area, including me, were at the peaceful appeal on April 25, 1999, shortly after several practitioners were wrongfully arrested in nearby Tianjin. Many practitioners came. I was curious to see how many, so I walked for about 10 minutes and still couldn’t see the end of the line. I stopped and went back to where I’d been, worried that I wouldn’t be able to find my local practitioners if I went on. Although overseas media later reported about 10,000 practitioners had participated in the event, some of us estimated there might have been as many as 50,000. The peaceful scene was memorable.
This event was special because we did not gather there for our own self-interest, such as our home was being demolished or our assets were being seized by corrupt officials. Nor did we plan a color revolution (similar to the Greater Chinese Democratic Jasmine Revolution of 2011). Instead, we just gathered to share the facts about Falun Gong.
Although the practice had only been public for seven years, it had attracted broad attention from mainstream society. In a survey of some of the 100 million practitioners from all walks of life, 99.8% reported improvement in their health. Even the best hospitals in China couldn’t offer such great health benefits—and without charging a penny. Falun Gong is honorable and good, and it was hard to imagine the CCP would slander it as political.
Following the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, Falun Gong practitioners had no slogans or banners. They did not talk loudly. There was no trash in sight. They even left a passageway on the sidewalk for pedestrians. Many police officers said they had never seen such a civilized group before. As a result, some of them became friends with practitioners and even started to practice Falun Gong themselves.
The CCP System of Appeal Is Fraudulent
The CCP proved to be vicious and power-hungry. It couldn’t tolerate such a large independent group outside of its control. With the memory of the Tiananmen Square Massacre 10 years before still vivid in the minds of most, the CCP launched the persecution of Falun Gong three months after that appeal. Fearing retaliation, few Chinese dared to confront the CCP and voice their opinions. But Falun Gong practitioners never yield to violence and suppression, because they follow the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance.
In fact, these principles have deep roots in China’s ancient civilization. Even after decades of political campaigns to systematically destroy traditional Chinese culture, the noble tradition of faith and spirituality was miraculously retained in Falun Gong practitioners. This is what the CCP feared the most, because its core values of brutality and lies contradict the traditional values centered in the teachings of Falun Gong.
In this circumstance, the country’s legal system that is supposed to protect human rights was hijacked by Jiang Zemin. Especially after the systematic suppression of Falun Gong started in July 1999, the offices where people could appeal nationwide simply became locations where practitioners who still had trust in the government could be trapped.
Victims of this fraudulent system are not limited to Falun Gong practitioners. During these 24 years, countless Chinese citizens have gone to the appeals offices to seek the protection of their legal rights. Some had had their homes demolished, some suffered severe vaccine side effects, some veterans were getting no financial support, and some were wronged but had no place to speak up.
Instead of helping them, the CCP designated “stability maintenance” funds to arrest them and put them in black jails, forced labor camps, and prisons. In the name of civil rights, the system of appeal has become a tool to frame innocent citizens, including Falun Gong practitioners.
As a result, some Chinese citizens began to seek help overseas. Hu Yan from Shanghai had his residence demolished to make way for the 2010 Expo in Shanghai. He went to the United Nations Headquarters in New York for assistance. Zhang Kunshan from Henan Province whose residence was also demolished went to the Taiwan Presidential Palace for support.
Darkest Chapter
Over the past few decades, the CCP’s destruction of traditional culture and persecution of Falun Gong has undermined the moral values in China.
Before the CCP took power, Anhui University president Liu Wendian openly challenged Kuomintang head Chiang Kai-shek, without fear of being retaliated against. Students from Shanghai Jiao Tong University could take the train to the then-capital city to appeal. Under the current rule of the CCP, a young student could be arrested simply for holding a piece of plain white paper.
Society has paid a hefty price for the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong, mostly due to the moral degeneration. In April 2023, four young people committed suicide together at the renowned Zhangjiajie tourist site in Hunan Province. That same month, over 10 students in Tianjin committed suicide.
These heartbreaking incidents are a warning of what is going on in China. In fact, it is the courage and perseverance of Falun Gong practitioners protecting traditional values that point to China’s future. By rejecting the CCP and embracing our conscience, we will have a better tomorrow.
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Category: News Commentary
