Consequences of Repressing Falun Gong

Falun Gong has been repressed in China for five years. What on earth is Falun Gong? What kind of people are the Falun Gong practitioners? I think people already know the answers to those questions. Whether it's the victim of the persecution, the authorities, or the bystander, there is a consensus that Falun Gong is a good practice that teaches people to be good and helps them achieve physical and mental health. Falun Gong practitioners are good people. Due to the different social status and situations, people might have different attitudes and reactions towards them.

As the target of persecution, Falun Gong practitioners, under the most unfavourable circumstances, are persistently defying the persecution in a rational and peaceful way by doing what they think ought to be done. Their family members and friends have changed. In the past, they tried to stop the Falun Gong practitioners from confronting the government by saying, "You should obey the government," "How can the arm beat the thigh in wrestling!" Some even helped the government to repress practitioners, but in most cases it was because they were afraid of the government. Nowadays, although they are still not in favour of confronting the government, they are determined to protect the legal rights of their family members who are practitioners. Now they dare to defy the illegal arrests and detention of their family members. It is a defiance generated by the pressure.

As for those who participated in the persecution, some of them have awakened and stopped doing it in one way or another or to a certain extent. Those who still have not awakened, especially those who try to "transform" the detained practitioners, are very weak. They can only use a few ridiculous excuses to defend themselves such as "We should follow whatever the government says," or "I am only carrying out orders from higher authorities."

As for the bystanders, they know clearly the reasons behind the persecution. More and more people are speaking for justice. All this seems to be the natural result of the changing situation. However, do many people realise the consequences of repressing Falun Gong? I'd like to talk about my understanding of that issue.

Consequence One:

The dignity of law is destroyed. Ever since China adopted an opening up policy, Chinese people have been trying to step away from the regime of dictatorship in the Cultural Revolution period, and striving to build up an environment of democracy and law. Although there has not been a fundamental change in China's political system, the significance of law has been gradually building up in peoples' minds along with the construction and improvement of the legal system. However, such a young and fragile legal environment has been completely destroyed by Jiang's 'persecution of Falun Gong. It is not only a simple issue of authorities overruling the law or suppressing the law with human power, but to override the Communist Party's rules and the state law with one's own will. Jiang's oral orders have become the so-called "Supreme Direction," just as what happened during the Cultural Revolution period. For example, judicial organisations and law firms are prohibited from defending the victims, nor are they allowed to take up the cases filed by the victims or help with their appeals.

One time, the husband of a practitioner went with some of his relatives and friends to see his wife who had been detained in the custody centre. Among his relatives and friends was a legal worker who raised challenging questions about "the legitimacy of repressing on Falun Gong." However, the husband seriously told him not to mention anything about law to the police in the custody centre. He said, "If you irritate them, my wife is going to suffer in their hands."

There is a practitioner who knows about the law. When he was trying to use his legal knowledge to argue with the administrative staff in the 'brainwashing centre, the staff said sarcastically, "You dare to talk law with the Chinese Communist Party? The party is the law. Whereas in here, I am the law." The staff' member's rude words might just represent himself, who is not well educated. But for the people working in the legal system, they too do not dare to carry out the law or face the law. Some of them even join those who break the law. What a shame!

Consequence Two:

The human rights issue is more serious. Repressing Falun Gong is illegal and unjust. Falun Gong practitioners follow the principle of Truth-Compassion-Forbearance to do good deeds and to be good people. To repress such a group of people, the methods used would certainly be evil, such as "Send the cement heads (the practitioners who are firm in their belief) to hell," "beat them to death and claim that they committed suicide, then send them to be cremated without verifying their identity," "lock them up in mental hospitals and keep them drugged," "police who search a practitioner's house can keep the valuables as their own, " "police can rape female practitioners, or the wife and daughter of male practitioners and they won't be reported." In a word, all sorts of inhumane and offencive conduct is protected and encouraged under the name of "Cracking down on Falun Gong."

A low level party secretary of a political and legal committee who is in charge of the Falun Gong issue told the following story with emotion, "A friend of mine owed some money to the township government. The officials sent people to take his wife away and beat her in the same way as they treat a Falun Gong practitioner. Her body was beaten black and blue all over. It was outrageous." Incidents like that are just too many, such as the "Sun Zhigang Incident," ('Note: Sun Zhigang was a college student. Police stopped him to check his ID. He didn't have it on him. So he was taken as a jobless guy wondering around in the street. According to the regulations, people like that should be put together and sent back to their hometown. Yet Sun was beaten to death in the interrogation. China adjusted the related regulations after the incident.) "Covering up the mine accident," "the treatment of the democratic activists," and "the abduction of people working for a just cause."

Consequence Three:

Speaking the truth is considered a crime. In order to persecute people practising Truth-Compassion-Forbearance, what's been advocated must be "Lies-cruelty-evil." To speak the truth is risky. To speak the truth is likely to offend people in power. To speak the truth will be repressed. On the contrary, to tell lies has become the rule to follow. It is so even with national media, which is full of lies.

When Jiang was interviewed by a CBS journalist, he dared to tell lies in front of the world. What's more, he claimed that all his lies were absolutely true to the fact. With people like him in power, can anyone who speaks the truth get any good result? Dr. Jiang Yanyong, the retired medical doctor in the Peoples Liberation Army General Hospital, is a person who pursues truth. He takes it as his life principle. Under the circumstances of the Chinese government covering up the SARS epidemic, Dr. Jiang, out of the instinct of a medical doctor and the conscience of a person, submitted his suggestions to his superiors to no avail. When they wouldn't listen, he broke the truth of SARS to the public. It is exactly his just action that forced the authorities to publicise the information of SARS and implement measures to check the disease from further spreading. However, this national hero has also become a target of Jiang's 'persecution.

Consequence Four:

Corrupt officials on every level have all learned to use the power in their hands to protect their own interests. One of the major social issues that irritates the public is the corruption of officials. After Jiang seized power through illegal means, he has used corruption as one of the major ways to strengthen his power. To those who follow him, he gives them the green light to corruption and protects their "achievements in corruption." As for those who do not follow him, he uses corruption as an excuse to get rid of them, and uses their cases to demonstrate his "resolve in attacking corruption". The corruption is systemic, carried out from the top down to the bottom. When those in power are corrupt, will they still be able to serve the people? Instead of serving people, they are annoyed when people attempt to stop them from embezzlement. Therefore, they have to hold up the banner saying, "A stable society is the most important." In fact, as long as their power is stable, and the interests of their families and their circle are rapidly expanding, they 'don't care about trivial matters, such as food and shelter for unemployed workers, or the widespread bankruptcy of state-owned enterprises, China and Russia border issues, or the life and death of Falun Gong practitioners. They are making use of everything to their own benefit. Once they see someone annoying, they use the state machine and people's money to crack down on him.

As the saying goes, the subordinates imitate the superiors. Nowadays, the subordinates have been keen to detecting the intentions of their superiors. If the superior asked the subordinate to do two important things, one is to "organise the rescue of people from the natural disaster," the other is to "silence the one who reported on me." I am pretty sure that a larger number of the subordinates will choose to do the latter without hesitation. They seem to have a simple excuse, "He paid us. We shall certainly help him." "My boss provides me with food and shelter. Of course I shall follow his direction." Under the guidance, many staff in government offices are willing to be used as slaves and servants.

The above mentioned consequences are what I can think about for now. There must be more that I didn't think about and more to come in the future. Why am I so sure? It is because the repression of Falun Gong is totally unjust. It violates social norms and the historic tides.