Commentary: How the CCP Manipulates the Law and Human Rights Issues to Conceal its Persecution of Falun Gong (I)

For nearly six years since July 20th, 1999, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been persecuting and trying to eliminate Falun Gong practitioners who believe in "Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance," by using its dictatorial powers and vicious means collected from over half a century's experience of suppressing its own people.

Since the CCP has been in power, the Chinese people have been through various political movements and suffered numerous tribulations that include being exploited, deceived, suppressed, brainwashed, and enslaved. When Falun Gong was publicly introduced to the public in 1992 and spread in China, millions of people benefited both mentally and physically from the practise. The widespread popularity of Falun Gong stirred the Jiang Zemin regime's hatred and jealousy towards the practitioners. Jiang even arrogantly declared he would "eliminate Falun Gong in three months" and ordered the policy "destroy their reputations, bankrupt them financially, and eliminate them physically" to reach his goal.

For the past six years, Falun Gong practitioners in China have been deprived of all their basic rights, including their right to appeal. Tens of millions of people have been illegally imprisoned, robbed, and subjected to brainwashing and other torture methods. Yet, they cannot and do not have the right to appeal over the loss of their basic human rights, as this is how the CCP fights dissidents and massacres the innocents. The 610 Office controlled by the CCP fakes concern for human rights to deceive and evade international condemnation and sanction.

Under the CCP's Control, the Judicial System in China Has Never Been Independent

Along with morality and public opinion, the law is also a basis for society's civilisation and support for social justice, equality, freedom and stability. In western countries, the separation of powers was adopted to ensure that there were checks and balances within the government. The three different branches independently exercise their authority and at the same time mutually balance each other.

1. The Party Is Above the Law

Since the CCP has been in power, the judicial system in China has never been able to exercise its authority independently. This form of manipulation was even regulated and protected by the Chinese Constitution. Another unique way the CCP controls all the judicial departments (public safety bureaus, procuratorates, people's courts, and judicial bureaus) is by having them supervised by the Politics and Law Commissions at the central, provincial, city, and county levels. All of these commissions belong to the CCP.

Generally speaking, the Secretary of a Politics and Law Commission is usually the Assistant Secretary or at least a Commissioner of the Party Commission of that district. As for the judges, procuratorators, or the Directors of the Public Safety Bureaus, they too are often the Assistant Secretary of the Politics and Law Commissions. The power the Politics and Law Commissions have over the judicial departments reflects the CCP's control over the legal system.

The legal system in China protects the interests of the CCP bureaucrats and is designed to combat dissidents. The dictator at the top of the power chain can thus speak on behalf of and change the laws.

2. "Can Try but Not Sentence" and "Can Sentence Without Trial"

Within the CCP's policies, the final decision of a trial and sentencing is often made by the documents with red stamps on them (which indicated they were distributed from the central government), and remarks from the leaders. When the Party's will, an ambiguous concept that is not regulated by the law, conflicts with the law, then the law immediately vanishes. For example, the Constitution regulates that "the people's courts" (not the judges) can independently try cases. The trial committee has the power to finalise the sentencing of felonies and questionable cases, not the judges who handle them. This means judges "can try but not sentence." As for "can sentence without trial," this describes how trial committee members can make the final decision for cases without even having to appear in court. The judges only need to report the cases to the committee.

3. The Executive Officers Violate and Ignore the Laws

The CCP officials often violate and ignore the laws. China is thus governed by the CCP, not the law. This can be seen in the case of the man who was executed ten years ago in Henan Province because he confessed to charges of rape and murder. Ten years later the real criminal was found in Henan. According to inside sources, the executed individual admitted to the crimes because he was severely beaten during custody. He was only 21 years old when they executed him. His mother revealed that the family never received any notice as to when he was sentenced and executed. The lawyer didn't inform them about anything. The mother did not know why she lost her son and had to bear the name of "the mother of the killer rapist" for ten years. This was not an isolated incident. Under the CCP's control of the judicial system, the number of innocent deaths is staggering.

4. Operating Inside a Dirty Black Box

Another unique phenomenon of the judicial system under the control of the CCP is the black box operating system. Procedures are not open to the public about how laws are made or passed, nor are the cases in which people are tried and sentenced. Laws just get announced and the Chinese citizens have to accept them. When it comes to individual cases, the ruling is often already set before the courts open up to hear the cases. The trial is only a showcase. In fact, the CCP uses the law to deceive the public, cover up its violence, fake the trappings of civilisation, enslave the Chinese people's thoughts and dictate their words and actions.

5. Harassing the Lawyers and Obstructing Justice

The law in China clearly states that the accused, despite the crime(s), has the right to a lawyer. The lawyers in China, however, take a lot of risks when handling cases. The "Crime of Attorneys Forging Evidence" causes negative consequences and significantly interferes with the lawyers. In the new Criminal Law announced in 1997, this crime was added to Article 306 and at least 200 to 300 lawyers were arrested for violating this article. An official estimate is that over 70 percent of the criminal cases in China do not have lawyers defending the accused in court. Attorney Mo Shaoping said this number is "scary", but the high percentage is because lawyers risk their personal safety when they take up these cases.

6. Sabotaging Human Rights and Illegal Imprisonment

The forced labour education system is greatly criticised in China's legal system. The forced labour education possibly violates the Constitution's legal and executive laws of punishment. Article 37 in China's Constitution states that, "The personal freedom of the citizens of the PRC should not be violated. Citizens cannot be arrested without the approval or decision of the people's procuratorates or the people's courts and it has to be executed by the public safety departments." Decisions regarding forced labour education do not go through the regular judicial procedures but are decided instead by the forced labour education commission. Forced labour is in fact controlled by the public safety departments or the Party's leaders and can thus restrict citizens' individual freedom for as long as four years.

In October 1998, China signed the "International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights". In article 9, section 1, it states, "Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. No one shall be deprived of his liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with such procedure as established by law." In article 8 section 1, it says, "No one shall be held in slavery; slavery and the slave-trade in all their forms shall be prohibited." Forced labour education in China does not conform to the international covenant of human rights.

The CCP's Persecution of Falun Gong Goes beyond the Extreme

The persecution of Falun Gong is the most extensive, longest running and most systematic crime of the CCP since it has been in power. Jiang Zemin and all levels of the 610 Office have gone to extremes in their abuse of power, manipulation of the laws and incrimination of innocent people.

The persecution of Falun Gong was first carried out in the form of suppressing citizens' basic rights, and freedom of speech and belief, which were supposed to be protected by China's Constitution. Citizens were incriminated for simply voicing their thoughts. In the persecution, Falun Gong practitioners have lost their rights of petition (including appealing and prosecuting government departments and officials who participated in the persecution), the right to counsel, and the right to have regular visits from family members.

When the persecution first began, practitioners had faith in their government and their country's leader. They peacefully appealed, and as a result, they were illegally imprisoned. An example is the case of practitioner Lin Shenli, who was sentenced to prison because he went to appeal on behalf of Falun Gong at the State Department's Appeal Division. Mr. Lin is one of the few practitioners who have been rescued out of China's prisons and is now able to freely practise Falun Gong in Canada because of rescue efforts from fellow practitioners and the help of kindhearted people and government officials.

The CCP officials use deplorable means to stop practitioners from appealing. For example, citizens were told to step on the picture of the founder of Falun Gong before getting on or off a train or bus in order to determine whether they were practitioners. Some places even printed slanderous words against Falun Gong or the founder on the back of the tickets and asked each passenger to read them out loud. Those who refused to do so were considered practitioners and arrested.

Another means to stop practitioners from going to Beijing to appeal a stop to the persecution, was the use of threats. Jiang's faction threatened local government officials that they would be stripped of their jobs and incomes if people from their area went to Beijing. To protect themselves, every local official used any and all barbaric means to stop practitioners from going to appeal. Chen Zixiu, an elderly practitioner from Shandong province was abducted by the local officials on his way to appeal and was hence imprisoned and beaten to death (see report in the Wall Street Journal on April 20, 2000). Some officials even put in their government reports "zero Falun Gong appealers" as a political achievement.

Defending Falun Gong practitioners in court became forbidden. Initially, Jiang's regime ordered that lawyers were not allowed to defend Falun Gong practitioners. Later, due to international public opinion and pressure, the order changed to "all lawyers defending Falun Gong practitioners must report to the supervising justice department" and "lawyers are not allowed to plead 'not guilty' for the practitioners." When practitioner He Zhili was tried in China, his lawyer was forbidden to plead "not guilty" for him, and was threatened and investigated by the State Security System.

According to the World Organisation to Investigate the Persecution Of Falun Gong, Attorney Gao Zhicheng presented a letter to the National People's Congress on Dec 31, 2004, on behalf of practitioner Huang Wei, whom he was defending. The CCP has on many occasions "talked" with Attorney Gao, trying to coerce and threaten him. By Feb 3, 2005, Attorney Gao had not been able to go home for more than 10 days because of the CCP's threats.

Attorney Guo Guoting, who has defended Falun Gong practitioners, dissidents and minority groups, was detained for criminal offence. His computer and license to practise law were also confiscated by the Shanghai Judicial Bureau. Although he was out on bail and awaiting trial, more than 30 policemen were monitoring him at his home. According to the Epoch Times, the Shanghai authorities concluded that he was guilty and was ready to arrest and sentence him. A Canadian attorney, Clive Ansley, wrote an open letter to support Guo, "I am convinced that the legal profession, worldwide, simply cannot tolerate the outrages the Chinese Government is daily perpetrating on Chinese lawyers, and brazen mockery of the principle of 'rule of law,' all the while earning the accolades of the Canadian Bar Association, CIDA, and the Government of Canada."

(To be continued)