Gunmen in South Africa and Police With Permission to Open Fire in China

Zeng Qinghong and Bo Xilai, who closely follow Jiang's lead in persecuting Falun Gong, arrived in South Africa on the evening of June 26th, 2004, to conduct a four-day visit. On June 28th, nine Australian Falun Gong practitioners arrived at the Johannesburg International Airport in South Africa. Together with South African Falun Gong practitioners, the Australians intended to serve legal papers on Zeng and Bo, who are responsible for a great deal of persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. The practitioners had also planned a peaceful appeal.

However, while driving towards the Presidential Guest House in Pretoria (the capital of South Africa) in two cars, these practitioners were attacked by gunmen. One of the practitioners was shot, shattering the bones in his foot. One of the cars was severely damaged. The case has drawn immediate worldwide attention amidst much speculation that the gunmen were hired to attack the practitioners.

These are the first gunshots fired at overseas Falun Gong practitioners by Jiang's followers, who have been using all possible means in persecuting Falun Gong practitioners. Looking at what has been happening in mainland China, one will find that shooting freely has been one of the many ways the Jiang regime has been persecuting Falun Gong practitioners. This incident in South Africa is most likely just an extension of the Jiang group's state sponsored terrorism to overseas countries.

Giving the Order to "Shoot to Kill"

According to Clearwisdom.net, shortly before the Spring Festival in February 2002, a main accomplice of Jiang's persecution of Falun Gong, the head of the central "610 Office" (1) Liu Jing presided over a meeting at the Nanhu Hotel in Jilin Province to organize efforts to persecute Falun Gong practitioners. An angry Liu Jing criticised officials from Jilin Province for being ineffective and gave the order to "thoroughly eradicate" Falun Gong. It was at this meeting that the order to "shoot to kill" Falun Gong practitioners was given.

After the meeting, terror reigned in Changchun City. Shortly before the Spring Festival, the Changchun Public Security Bureau went on a rampage for several days, rounding up Falun Gong practitioners. The order was given that police could shoot Falun Gong practitioners to death if they were found posting flyers or hanging banners. Clearwisdom.net also reported incidents of Falun Gong practitioners being shot in Mishan City, Heilongjiang Province, and Anshan City, Liaoning Province. On February 16, 2002, Anshan City police shot Falun Gong practitioners with a handgun in their attempt to abduct three practitioners. A policeman fired four shots and one hit the leg of a practitioner. In Mishan City, on Chinese New Year's Day, around 2 a.m., a policeman named Du Yongshan shot practitioner Jiang Honglu in the leg when he was posting information about Falun Gong. Mr. Jiang's leg was broken and he was later sentenced to 14 years' imprisonment.

Two Shots Fired at Liu Chengjun After He Was Already Handcuffed and Shackled

On March 5, 2002, after Falun Gong practitioners successfully tapped into the local TV cable system and broadcast the "Falun Dafa Spreading Around the World" and "Self-immolation or Hoax?" documentaries in Changchun City and Songyuan City, a shocked and hysterical Jiang Zemin ordered the police to "kill with no pardon." The police around the country even wrote out death lists. The head of the central "610 Office," Liu Jing, went to Changchun City to impose a deadline for finding those responsible. Numerous Falun Gong practitioners were illegally seized. According to sources, in Changchun City alone more than 5000 practitioners were abducted. During the abduction and interrogation, several practitioners were beaten to death. Those who were directly involved in tapping the cable network and caught were tortured and sentenced to prison for as long as 20 years. Mr. Liu Chengjun, who was a main participant in the broadcast, was shot twice in his leg even after he was handcuffed and shackled. Mr. Liu was sentenced and jailed in Jilin Prison, where he was tortured and abused until he died, after 21 months, on December 26, 2003.

The Shooting of Falun Gong Practitioners Takes Place in Many Different Cities and Provinces in China

According to the Falun Dafa Information Centre, after the police in Changchun City, Jilin Province received orders in February 2002, allowing them to open fire on Falun Gong practitioners, police in Jinzhou City of Liaoning Province also received secret orders at the end of June, telling them that they could open fire on practitioners who distributed truth-clarifying materials at night. Even in May, violence took place in Shandong, one of the provinces where practitioners are most severely persecuted, such that the police opened fire on practitioners.

According to news from Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province, police of Jinzhou City learned the gist of the secret meetings held by high-level officials around June 27 and 28, 2002. They were to arrest practitioners one by one or put them under close surveillance. If they found practitioners distributing truth-clarifying materials about Falun Gong, they could shoot them dead on the spot. When a reporter called a police station in Jinzhou City to verify this, the head of the police station told him, "If you want to know about that shooting incident, those who don't know you will not have the courage to tell you the truth. "

According to news from Shandong Province, on the night of May 12, 2002, the police in Dianbu Town of Laixi City, opened fire on practitioners Zhang Xiaochen and Zhang Bo in order to arrest them. A witness said that the two practitioners were discovered by police waiting there while they were hanging Falun Gong banners. The police chased their motorcycle and shot at them. They deliberately hit their motorcycle with the police car. As a result, the two practitioners fell into the ditch with their motorcycle. Blood flowed from Zhang Xiaochen's mouth and nose and he was arrested on the spot. Zhang Bo escaped and went to a practitioner's home in another town. But the next morning, that practitioner's home was searched and Zhang Bo was arrested, as well.

According to news from Clearwisdom Net, on May 25, 2003, police opened fire on practitioner Liu Dejun from Panjin City of Liaoning Province and another practitioner in Liu's home. The police shot Liu 4 to 5 times. Liu Dejun was sent to a labour camp for three years after that and was tortured to death on July 11 of the same year.

Orders from the "610 Office": Practitioners Can Be Shot at Will

According to a report on June 30, 2003 on Clearwisdom Net, some reliable resources verified that in early April of 2003, the headquarters of the "610 Office" issued some new regulations to its subordinate offices. In those regulations, it stated that the police can shoot practitioners who are distributing truth-clarifying materials or congregating without any warning shots if they resist arrest. The old regulation said that the police had to give some warning shots first, and the police could shoot at the practitioners only if they still did not submit to the arrest. The new regulation means that the people from the "610 Office" can shoot practitioners at will. All they need to do afterwards is to say that the practitioners resisted arrest.

From these shooting cases taking place in China, it can be seen that Jiang's group has never abided by the law in dealing with Falun Gong practitioners. They have always employed state terrorism. What the perpetrators fear most in China is practitioners' revealing the truth about the persecution. That's why they open fire on practitioners at will. While outside China, what they fear most is being sued by practitioners. That's why it's not unreasonable to speculate that they hired gunmen to shoot practitioners. Yet all this despicable conduct can only make people see clearly the nature of Jiang's group and oppose this brutal and irrational persecution.

Notes:

(1) The "610 Office": a bureau specifically created by the Chinese government to persecute Falun Gong. It has absolute power over each level of administration in the Party, as well as over the political and judiciary branches.