History Won't Exempt Jiang Zemin

The genocide occurring in China over the last nearly five years has been exposed to the international community through the lawsuits filed against Jiang Zemin around the world since October 2002. Jiang and his followers have been facing more and more trials, not only in the courts of law but also in the courts of morality and in people's hearts.

Jiang's Hands Are Stained with the Blood of Innocent People

Jiang has been sued in six countries for his crime of genocide. In October 2002, while Jiang was paying a private visit to the USA, a suit was brought against him in the United States District Court of the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, for persecuting Falun Gong. Jiang has been accused of genocide, torture, and crimes against humanity. The lawsuit shocked the top leaders of China and drew a great deal of public attention. On May 27, oral arguments for the case were made before the US 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Jiang, as the architect of the persecution against Falun Gong, spread lies to defame Falun Gong, and gave the order to "ruin Falun Gong practitioners' reputations, bankrupt them financially, and destroy them physically". Jiang was the driving force behind the "610 Office," a Gestapo-type organisation, and encouraged the police to curtail Falun Gong practitioners' rights and even to torture or murder them. Jiang is solely responsible for this persecution. As of May 22, 2004, at least 968 Falun Gong practitioners have died as the result of torture. These deaths have occurred throughout all the 30 provinces, autonomous regions, and centrally administrated municipalities of China. Those who have been killed include the elderly, children, women (including pregnant women) and the handicapped. The instruments of torture used in the persecution are appalling. The sexual abuse toward female Falun Gong practitioners is especially shocking.

Jiang's Devious Methods -- Torture, Cover-up, and Revenge

When Mr. Wen Jiabao visited Germany he was faced with banners held by Falun Gong practitioners that read "Punish Jiang Zemin with the Law." Chinese officials insisted that the word "punish" meant "execute" and demanded that Falun Gong practitioners put down their banners. This suggests that not only Jiang but also his followers and Chinese officials all clearly understand the nature of his crimes and the punishment he is doomed to receive. What a contrast to how the US Department of Defence investigated and handled the incident of U.S. soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners! When Jiang's crimes were exposed, he not only continued the persecution but also utilised his power to cover up the truth and take revenge on those who revealed his evil deeds. He refused to allow international investigations and exhausted every means to block the implementation of the legal actions against him. He has mimicked Hitler, playing a game to fool the international community--even inviting foreign reporters to visit a specific prison that he has prettified.

Jiang's persecution, cover-ups, and revenge tactics have placed China's Falun Gong practitioners in danger. Among those practitioners confirmed dead, a large number were illegally kidnapped, sentenced, and even tortured to death because they revealed Jiang's evil deeds. For instance, on March 3, 2002, in order to reveal the facts of the persecution and allow local people to learn the truth, practitioners in Changchun, Jilin Province, tapped into the local cable TV system and played truth-telling video clips. This terrified Jiang and his followers. Jiang passed down the order to "kill without mercy" and launched a vigorous campaign of revenge. At least 5,000 practitioners were arrested and several among them were tortured to death. Mr. Liu Chengjun, one of the initiators of the truth clarification effort, was kidnapped and killed after suffering cruel tortures.

Jiang Cannot Kill People With Impunity

Out of his selfishness and jealousy, Jiang sees Falun Gong, a practice that teaches people to be good, as his personal enemy. He has utilised his power to take over the government, violating the Chinese Constitution and its laws, in an attempt to mobilise the resources of the entire country to persecute Falun Gong. He is responsible for countless deaths. It is utterly righteous and just to sue him in a courtroom and to bring him to justice despite his attempts to "pay any price" to have the case dismissed, to use the "head-of-state" defence to escape punishment by human laws, and to obtain the "privilege" of killing people without being punished.

When the news that Jiang had been sued reached China through various channels, the public expressed support for the effort to bring Jiang to justice. The NGO "Global Coalition to Bring Jiang Zemin to Justice" issued a statement on May 14 supporting all lawsuits against Jiang Zemin and the "610 Office," as well as against those who are involved in the persecution any place in the world.

Analysts pointed out that Jiang's persecution of Falun Gong is not the will of the people and that many top-ranking officials didn't agree with him. Jiang has become a target of accusation from all walks of life because he persecutes innocent Falun Gong practitioners, because he and his family are corrupt, because of his cover-ups of his corrupt relatives and friends, because of his past problems, and because of his reluctance to part with power. In China, rising forces to "eliminate Jiang" have been greatly diminishing his influence. It is only a matter of time before Jiang will be punished. His fate is doomed to be more miserable than that of the "Gang of Four" that had absolute power during the "Great Cultural Revolution."

Jiang is a ruthless dictator. He is not a leader selected by the people. He can only represent himself and is not really representative of China or of the Chinese people. His use of his power to persecute Falun Gong is against the will of the people and violates the Constitution of China. Hitler committed genocide, and he cannot receive immunity for his crimes against humanity. Jiang persecutes and kills innocent people and cannot be excused for his crimes. He doesn't have the right or the ability to kill people without being held responsible. History will not exempt Jiang.

Abide by Principle and Uphold Justice

Whoever commits a crime must be held responsible. This is a fundamental principle of social justice and is not something that can be negotiated. The legal system in a civilised country cannot give up justice and principles for fear that the defendant might seek revenge. Throughout history, those who abide by their principles and upheld justice at the moment of truth were really great.

Jiang's persecution of Falun Gong has been resisted and protested by all Falun Gong practitioners. It has also received condemnation from people who understand the truth of Falun Gong. The attitude of the American government towards the US soldiers who abused Iraqi prisoners embodies America's insistence on moral principles and the spirit of "rule-of-law."

To bring Jiang to justice, to uphold justice, and to help China improve its human rights record and its image in the international community is truly helping China to advance and develop. The Sino-US relationship is not some personal relationship between Jiang and the United States government. Actually, Jiang has been increasingly alienated in both internal and international affairs.

Expediting the lawsuit against Jiang will benefit the long-term relationship between the two countries and is in accord with their fundamental interests as well as the interests of other countries in the world.