The Persecution of Falun Gong Equals the Persecution of All People

Revealing the True Facts About Falun Gong is Not Taking Part in Politics

Deceived by the lies spread by the Chinese dictator Jiang Zemin and his regime, some people regard the efforts undertaken by Falun Gong practitioners to inform people the truth about Falun Gong and to highlight the persecution taking place against those who practise Falun Gong to be "political." So then, do the Falun Gong practitioners really have a political agenda? The answer is definitely no.

Since the start of the persecution against Falun Gong, Jiang's regime has tried everything they could to link Falun Gong with politics; they tried to make it look like Falun Gong had a hidden agenda and that Falun Gong wanted to ruin the Communist Party and the country. They claimed that the efforts to stop the persecution by Falun Gong practitioners were contrived so as to stop practitioners from ruling the party and taking their power. They tried to label Falun Gong as being "Anti-Communist", the Chinese government, and China, and thereby deceive the public into supporting the persecution. Jiang's group also fabricated excuses for and hid evidence of the scale and intensity of the persecution. They tried to divert people's attention away from the brutal and illegal nature of the persecution. In China, brutal persecution of anything labelled "political," "anti-Communist Party," "anti-government," and "anti-China" is thought to be justified. No matter how bloody and brutal the persecution is and how many people die, no one will step forward to speak up and stop it. So saying that Falun Gong is "political" is a most effective way to legitimise the persecution.

However, lies will always be lies no matter how often they are repeated.

So what constitutes being political? Is appealing to the government, distributing factual information about Falun Gong, going to Tiananmen Square to peacefully and lawfully appeal for a stop to the persecution, or suing Jiang political? The essence of the matter is not what you do, but what your purpose is. If Jiang were not persecuting Falun Gong, and the practitioners could freely practise, they wouldn't have to appeal, distribute related materials, or resort to lawsuits. They were forced to do these things to expose the irrationality and brutality of the persecution and to bring an end to it. They do not want to strip Jiang of his power, nor are they interested in changing the current political system. They just want to stop the calamity and to have an environment that is free of harassment. This is completely different from being political.

As a dictator, Jiang regards power as supreme over everything. He thinks everybody is like him. In fact, historically, cultivators of a righteous spiritual practise have never been interested in power or governing others, and Falun Gong is no exception. As a spiritual practise, Falun Gong practitioners pursue the elevation of moral standards, with no intention of establishing a government. They are not interested in the political system or related power struggles. In April of 1992, when Falun Gong was just introduced to the public, Mr. Li Hongzhi made it very clear to those practising Falun Gong that "Other than doing a good job with his work, a cultivator will not be interested in politics or political power of any sort; failing this, he absolutely isn't my disciple." "Cultivation Practise is Not Political" (Essentials for Further Advancement). Mr. Li has also repeatedly stated that any pursuit of power and interest in politics are serious barriers to cultivators. True cultivators will not pay heed to such things.

As we have pointed out, the persecution of Falun Gong was not a decision supported by all members of the Chinese Communist Party and the government. The persecution was Jiang's personal decision, based on power alone, not on the rule of law. During this persecution, Jiang has used the national propaganda media and law-enforcement facilities to the fullest extent. Falun Gong has always made it clear that they hold only Jiang and his accomplices responsible for their crimes, and not the Chinese government per se. Although Jiang held the highest position in the Communist Party and the state, given what he has done to persecute the people, he did not represent the Chinese government or the Chinese people, just as Hitler did not represent Germany, or the Germans. The persecution of cultivators, who believe in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, is an insult to the Chinese people as well as to the image of the Chinese government. Jiang wanted to confuse the public, using the Communist Party and the government as a shield to hide behind. His efforts will certainly be futile.

In the end, no matter what Falun Gong practitioners do, be it peacefully appealing, going to Tiananmen Square, distributing materials related to Falun Gong, setting up websites, or organising rallies, their only purpose is to expose the persecution and eventually put an end to the persecution and the lies, so people can know the truth and regain the basic right to practise. There is no intention to gain power or change the current political system. A case in point is the stark difference between how the practitioners outside of China treat Jiang and the new generation of Chinese leaders.

Before he instated the persecution of Falun Gong, practitioners of Falun Gong from around the world gave Jiang the opportunity to know the truth by writing to him or sending information through the relevant appeal channels. Nevertheless, Jiang still decided to go ahead with the persecution against those who practise Falun Gong. In August and September of 2000, when he was visiting the United States, Jiang lied to the whole world during an interview broadcast on CBS. He smeared the name of practitioners and the founder of Falun Gong, Mr. Li Hongzhi, and made excuses for his illegal actions and failure to uphold China's Constitution. This made him the target of anti-persecution efforts by Falun Gong practitioners around the world. When he was a head of state, wherever he went, he was met with peaceful protests, condemnation, and lawsuits launched by practitioners across the world.

Falun Gong practitioners hold kind thoughts and regard for everybody, including the Chinese leaders, and give everyone the opportunity to get to know Falun Gong so that they too can, if they wish, practise Falun Gong. On the 7th of December, 2003, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao arrived in New York during a four-day visit to the U.S. Wherever he went, Falun Gong practitioners held up banners with messages such as, "Welcome to the USA Wen Jiabao," "Bring Jiang Zemin to Justice," and "Falun Dafa is Good." They also peacefully demonstrated the exercises to express their sincere hope for Wen to know the truth, stop the brutal persecution, and bring Jiang, the main culprit behind the persecution, to justice.

One of the participants in the welcoming group, Ms. Zhao, a California real estate company manager, said, "Falun Gong practitioners treat everybody nicely, including those that are hostile to them, such as police officers, because they [the police in China] have been deceived. We are kind to all governments and all people including the Chinese premier Wen Jiabao. We would like everybody to have information so they can judge for themselves. During Wen's visit, Falun Gong practitioners naturally used the opportunity to help the premier understand the traditional cultivation practise rooted in ancient China and understand how Falun Gong is spreading in free countries. We hope the new generation of leaders in China can discard Jiang's evil way of governing and work with all people to stop the crimes against humanity that are occurring now."

The Persecution of Falun Gong is Equal to the Persecution of Every One of Us

Some people believe that to risk one's life to and clarify to the truth about Falun Gong to governments and people is like hitting a rock with eggs; it's just not effective, or it's not necessary. Some people even tried to persuade Falun Gong practitioners with this argument: "If you think the practise is good, just do it at home. Why risk your life to go out to talk to other people? You know Jiang is cooking up lies. That's good enough. You don't have to care whether other people know it or not. If people are fooled, that's their problem. It has nothing to do with you." But this is not how Falun Gong practitioners see things.

On the surface, the victims of the persecution are Falun Gong practitioners. In fact, that's not true. All people share the feeling that peoples moral standards are declining daily; and many people are blindly following what is going on in society. Falun Gong practitioners are reversing this trend by truly acting righteously in their daily lives. As a result, peoples moral standards are improving, which helps stabilise society. If the persecution does not allow these people to believe in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, what should one follow in order to be a good person? Who would even want to be a good person? How could society maintain moral standards and social conscience? If people only care about themselves, and do not feel guilty about doing bad things, how can we feel safe? What will happen to happiness and security? Therefore, Falun Gong practitioners are not the only victims; all Chinese people, including the perpetrators of the persecution and the rest of humanity, are victims. As people who believe in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, how can Falun Gong practitioners do nothing about such a situation?

From a different point of view, things happen for a reason. Many people believe that it is an eternal truth that good is rewarded with good and evil with evil. Nowadays, no matter how people look at Falun Gong, most people embrace Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, which are the essence of traditional Chinese culture and the essence of humanity. On the other hand, what does it mean to be against Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance? Isn't that embracing lies, evil, and violence?

If you believe what Jiang's regime says, and dislike Falun Gong and its practitioners, are you doing a good thing or a bad thing? Since good will be met with good, evil with evil, what will await you in the future? Even if you don't agree with Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, doesn't our constitution give people the right to freedom of belief? When you are trampling people's freedom and rights, is that something good or bad? What will be the outcome of such actions? How can Falun Gong practitioners, with their belief in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, witness people being deceived and used, hurting both themselves and their families, without talking to them so as to let them know what the true facts are?

Since July of 1999, when Jiang started the persecution against Falun Gong, natural disasters have been continuously occurring in China. In fact, over the past five years, many people involved in the persecution and their accomplices have received retribution in a wide variety of forms. Media outside of China have reported their cases. People within China do not know about this because the government blocks the flow of information tin and out of China. Falun Gong practitioners do not want more people to be punished, and therefore, they step forward and risk their lives to awaken people's consciences and righteous thoughts.

Of course Falun Gong practitioners have families, know the preciousness of freedom and look forward to a happy life. Falun Gong practitioners know the price they have to pay for appealing to the government and informing people with the correct information about Falun Gong and the persecution. If they only thought about themselves, they wouldn't be able to achieve what they have or to be able to undertake the actions they have to let people know the correct facts. No one has forced Falun Gong practitioners to do what they have to let more people know the facts. However the founder of Falun Gong, Mr. Li Hongzhi, teaches people to be selfless and think about others first. That's why practitioners see others' future and happiness as being more important than their own lives. With their suffering, if they can awaken their fellow countrymen for the better, then Falun Gong practitioners think it's worth their efforts.

It's their wish for all Chinese people and people around the world to have a bright future.

A Falun gong practitioner once wrote in an open letter, "Dear country, we wish that in our motherland, moral standards could be restored and people would treat each other with kindness. Only this can bring hope to the country. For the future of the country, please give Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance the position it deserves.

Dear fellow countrymen, this is the wish that comes from the hearts of all Falun Gong practitioners.