A Discussion of the Deterrent Power of Overseas Lawsuits over High Ranking Officials in Jiang's Group

How the Chinese ruling Party (CCP) chooses its leaders has always been a mysterious and difficult subject. Recently, in an effort to settle disputes and internal strife, the government has laid down some guidelines, among which age and education are frequently used for choosing national leaders.

Since Falun Gong practitioners filed lawsuits overseas against those high ranking CCP officials who have been actively involved in persecuting Falun Gong, whether one has been sued overseas has become a major issue among high ranking officials of the CCP. Also, the fact that those officials have been sued or are being sued while visiting abroad has deeply upset the CCP's top leaders.

Many people think, "What can an overseas lawsuit do to those high ranking CCP officials? They are still high ranking CCP officials and have nothing to be afraid of. For the most part, they just don't go abroad to visit."

But these officials don't think that way. After being sued in Chicago Jiang Zemin tried to pressure the US government to stop the lawsuit at any cost. This demonstrates how much Jiang worried about the lawsuit against him. In September last year, when the lower court ruled that Jiang had immunity, the CCP Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which originally had refused to recognise the existence of the lawsuit, announced the "good news" to the Mainland Chinese public. (Falun Gong practitioners are currently in the appeals process.) The officials being sued while visiting abroad are considered top priority cases within the CCP. They have dispatched legislative representatives to communicate with other countries, trying to eliminate these kinds of lawsuits from the legal process.

Why does overseas litigation have a deterrent effect on high-ranking CCP officials that ordinary people would not comprehend?

Firstly, high-ranking officials want to be able to go abroad

Going abroad to visit in style is something they are very proud of; it also provides these officials with opportunities to accumulate experiences in dealing with foreign affairs, and thus gives them stepping stones for future promotions. They also understand how to use positive comments they have garnered during their visits to show off their abilities, and use those as weapons to attack their political opponents.

Secondly, being sued abroad would cut off their means of escape

Many high-ranking CCP officials or their children are corrupt. If they are faced with an overseas lawsuit, their properties abroad will not be safeguarded. In that case, how can they guarantee their descendents' financial well-being? Many of these high-ranking officials have arranged their escape abroad. One of those is Hu Changqing, the former deputy governor of Jiangxi Province. He had done so long time ago, before he was accused of corruption. If they are sued abroad, the litigation will impact them and their descendants and cut off their escape to a foreign country in the future.

Thirdly, their political competitors can hold those overseas lawsuits against them

Those high-ranking officials who persecuted Falun Gong are being charged with various crimes like genocide and torture while they are visiting abroad. These officials are afraid because they have persecuted good people; they feel even more awkward upon receiving a court summons in a foreign country.

A person burdened with overseas litigation is particularly vulnerable when facing his political opponent at home. The Chinese Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai has been inundated with lawsuits soon after he took over his present position and made trips abroad. The media focused on what kinds of crimes he had committed, not on what contracts he had signed. How can he talk about commerce like that? We have recently heard that the CCP is arranging for Bo Xilai to head some ministry that does not require frequent overseas trips, in order to prevent such embarrassing situations.

As for the persecution against Falun Gong, the CCP officials also know that only Jiang and his gang supported it. The persecution has to end; it is only a matter of time and it won't be long.

Any sensible person can figure out that, besides age and educational background, when one is confronted with overseas lawsuits, such an issue will become new criteria for the CCP to select its future leaders. During the power struggles within the higher ranks of the CCP, one year of age difference of a candidate for office can make for a serious fight among the contenders. Being branded with a pending, overseas lawsuit, in his political opponents' view, is of course the best weapon with which to destroy his political career.

The CCP has also realised that it is nothing to be proud of to have someone hit with an overseas lawsuit while visiting abroad and representing the Chinese Government, no matter how one looks at it.

This time, while Zeng Qinghong was visiting South Africa, Falun Gong practitioners who planned to sue him were shot at. This incident points the finger at Zeng Qinghong's effort of avoiding an overseas lawsuit.

From a motivational aspect it is clear that Zeng Qinghong is politically ambitious, scheming for power in the extreme and sparing no means to reach his goal--all in the name of advancing his political career. He is definitely not willing to be sued overseas and let his political opponents at home ruin his career. Meanwhile, he also wanted to let the CCP know what he is capable of doing, and to warn his opponents to stay out of the way.

Jiang has securely stayed in power for over a dozen years because he depended upon Zeng Qinghong to remove obstacles for him, including bringing down Chen Xitong and possibly murdering Yang Shangkun and others. Zeng Qinghong, to advance his own career, and given the circumstances that he thought he had a foolproof plan, would have no problem taking the risk to hire an assassin to do the killing.

Concerning his ability to arrange for the shooting, Zeng was once head of the CCP Organisational Department and in charge of the secret service agency. David Liang, who was wounded during the shooting, is a Dafa practitioner living in Australia. The purpose for his trip to South Africa was to file a lawsuit against Zeng Qinghong for his crime of genocide. The CCP special agents in Australia had already tailed him. His car windows were smashed on more than one occasion. On a separate trip he was also denied entry into Hong Kong because his name was on a blacklist. The CCP special agents are very active in Australia, particularly in targeting Falun Gong. The Falun Gong practitioners' plans for litigation were no secret. The day before the trip, the Falun Dafa Information Centre published information that Falun Gong practitioners were going to South Africa. The CCP special agents would have no problem discovering David Liang and the other practitioners' travel schedule and destination.

Hiring local people for the drive-by shooting was easy to do and easy to cover up.

Recalling the shooting scene, the shooters followed Dafa practitioners' vehicle to the highway and then used a military AK47 rifle to shoot at the front tire of the vehicle. The shots wounded the practitioner's feet. It was obvious that the shots were aimed low, trying to cause the vehicle to roll over, perhaps to kill the car's occupants and to destroy the vehicle. Fortunately, the outcome was different -- the Dafa practitioners' vehicle stopped safely.

The intended lawsuit was not filed for two reasons: Zeng Qinghong quickly finished his visit and returned to China, and the drive-by shooting incident interfered with further action. But the method Zeng Qinghong used makes people think deeply.

To advance his political career and avoid being burdened with overseas litigation that his political opponents would use against him, Zeng Qinghong hired a hit man to do the shooting. Looking at this aspect and considering how Zeng has dealt with others his whole life, this incident is not surprising. But Zeng Qinghong has created a precedent -- that high-ranking CCP officials have taken the step of hiring a gunman to shoot peaceful people. This does not bode well for the Jiang regime.