Who Is the Prime Culprit in "Using Classified Documents to Defy the Law"?

The recently published article on Xinhua Net, "How Is It Possible for 'Classified Documents' to be Used to Openly Defy the Law?" raised serious concerns for those administering the law in China. They must judiciously exercise their responsibilities to the country and the people, in order to earnestly scrutinise and face the problems in front of them.

The article referred specifically to the Law Administration Department in Yanjiang District, Ziyang City, Sichuan Province. This department issued the "classified documents" to all the legal firms under its jurisdiction, ordering them not to accept or act for cases involving huge compensation claims against parties responsible for the serious pollution of the Tuo River. The "classified documents" crudely violate legitimate rights of citizens. It used the government administration to openly command defiance of the law. There is a history of sustained and erroneous logic at many local government levels, and many local governments often label communiques "classified documents" to override national laws in their own interests. They have made the legal rights of citizens who take some action look as if they were "unstable" factors, and they readily used all sorts of measures to intervene in the legal process and suppress the voice of the people.

The document claimed that stability was the main thrust of the nation's push for reform and openness, and to increase the development and harmony of the political environment. To be responsible, local governments should be ruled by law, and be completely identical to the national government which rules by law. Only when the conduct of the government administration is brought into the framework of the Constitution and the laws, and conforms to the laws and regulations of the nation to guarantee the highest degree of democratic rights for all citizens, so as to protect the interest of the citizens, will stability be achieved. But to use "stability" as a pretext to break the law and openly defy national laws under a "protective umbrella" is a superficial and temporary means to conceal the problems. It will in fact only intensify the conflict. It will result in many unstable elements as well as fundamentally justify the violation of laws and thus severely disrupt justice and fairness in society. Looking at it from this angle, the "classified documents" issued by the Law Administration Department of Ziyang City cannot be lightly dismissed.

In China, the phenomenon of classified documents seriously defying the law was questioned five years ago by the very popular cultivation group, Falun Gong. The origin of that classified document was not from any corrupted local government or an individual government official vying for power, but from one person who was gathering great power in the Party, government and military, the person who recently relinquished power, the former President of China Jiang Zemin.

After April 25th, 1999, when Falun Gong practitioners went to appeal, Jiang felt as though he was on tenterhooks. In a letter to the Political and Judiciary Department, he elevated the danger of Falun Gong to a high degree, as being "destructive to the Party and Nation." On April 27, 1999, the Secretary of the Central Office of Communist China issued a "Letter from comrade Jiang to Politburo members and other concerned leaders." This was one of the most important of many secret documents issued between April and June the same year. The code name of this letter was (1999) Number 14, and described as "Top Secret." The letter classified five main problems: social stability, incidents of the masses, Jiang Zemin, trust, and notification. Considering the crux of the statements, there was only one problem, the "trust in Jiang Zemin." The other issues of the document were related to a personal letter issued by Jiang Zemin that "came within his jurisdiction" to be sent, and acted only as a supplement within the government package.

On May 8th, when Jiang issued a letter to the Central Political and Judiciary Department and the Office of the Secretary, the Central Military Commission leaders submitted a report: "Requiring Party members and cadres to initiate their separation from the Falun Gong group. It is to be the condition to test the various work units." It raised the question of treating the activities of Falun Gong to be "seriously admonished so as to terminate its activities instantly. All levels of the Public Security Department must intensify their work in gathering intelligence and information, especially about the trend and inside stories, developments, and directions taken by Falun Gong. It ordered all government agencies to refuse to provide practice sites and transportation facilities for Falun Gong, and disallow any printing to be done for them." It requested all levels of units "to guard their doors, and manage the workers well." The original version of the letter fell into the hands of Hebei Province Falun Gong practitioner Xu Xinmu who relayed it overseas. The Associated Press reported this incident on January 4, 2000, describing Xu Xinmu as having revealed a "state secret" regarding the suppression of Falun Gong. Xu Xinmu was sentenced to four years imprisonment.

The classified document issued by Jiang Zemin violated clause 35, "Citizen's Freedom of Association" and Clause 36, "Citizen's Freedom of Belief," as stipulated in the Chinese Constitution.

This secret document that was assigned and using the inscribed name of "Central Office of the People's Republic of China," was sent to every province and autonomous region, to all city Party secretaries under their jurisdiction, every main unit of every division of the military, all central committee ministers (directors), every committee secretary of Party divisions (Party Committee), and every Party secretary in all civil organisations. It was noted in the document that a total of 720 copies of the document were printed.

On the afternoon of July 22nd, China Central Television station broadcast a decision by the Ministry of Civic Affairs regarding the suppression of the Falun Dafa Research Association (hereafter referred to as the "suppression decision"). The Ministry of Public Security declared the "six prohibitions" regarding Falun Gong (hereafter referred to as "the prohibitions") and "the circular regarding the prohibition of the practice of 'Falun Dafa' by members of the Chinese Communist Party" as well as the classified document. They were all in violation of the Constitution of China. None of the documents were legally sanctioned. All the documents issued by the Central Government, the State Department, and all the committees regarding the suppression decision after this were all in the same category of illegality.

According to analyses, all normal Central administration documents that were transmitted to lower levels must adhere to the limitations of the jurisdiction above them. But in reality, according to discussions by specialists, to reconsider the application, or not regarding the document in relation to an administration issue, many central departments simultaneously transmitted the suppression decision documents to lower levels, which was in accordance with the order issued solely by Jiang Zemin that unilaterally represented the Party, the government, and the laws to order the transmission of the documents to lower levels. The procedure was illegal and in reality was in open defiance of the law.

In October 1999, the Jiang clique again ordered the "rubber stamping" of the so-called decision of the National Congress Committee. It was reported that while discussing the drafting of the decision, there was strong opposition by many righteous law experts and democratic figures. Though they did not succeed in curtailing Jiang Zemin actions, they did not clearly agree with the suppression decision directed against "Falun Gong."

During the past five years, these "classified documents" were used to establish stability but it seriously violated the laws, defied the laws, and finally, Jiang Zemin and the "610 Office" used them to turn China upside down with miscarriages of justice. According to incomplete statistics, at the cut-off point on September 26th, 2004, through non-official channels, 1,056 Falun Gong practitioners had been persecuted to death. There were at least 6,000 Falun Gong practitioners sentenced to jail terms and the number of those sent to forced labour camps exceeded one hundred thousand. Several thousand people were forced into mental hospitals and administered with nerve damaging drugs. Many Falun Dafa practitioners were abducted and sent to "brainwashing sessions" where they were savagely beaten by so-called "law administrators," and subjected to corporal punishment and economic blackmail.

Jiang Zemin fabricated and carried out national terrorism, and in the process many practitioners were beaten to death or seriously injured. For many, their families were broken up and scattered. They had no fixed residence, and are now destitute. Hundreds of millions of people, including practitioners, their families, close friends, and colleagues were subjected to various degrees of implications and brainwashing.

Considering the nature of "using classified documents to openly defy the law," for five years Jiang Zemin and his clique have taken advantage of their power and office to persecute Falun Gong. If the present leaders dare to face the problems, it is suggested that the first issue be initiating action against Jiang Zemin and his cohorts in the "610 Office."