Sweden: Seminar "Communism and Human Rights" Held in Stockholm

On the 13th of June 2005, another “Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Human Rights” Seminar drew to a successful closure at the ABF Parliament Building in the Swedish capital Stockholm. The seminar, which was sponsored jointly by the China Democratic Movement Overseas Association, The Epoch Times, China Independent Writers Association and the International Human Rights Association, generated a positive reaction from Swedish communities and media alike. As Beijing has been creating a division in Europe with economic gains in recent years, everybody was concerned that the deterioration of human rights in China would threaten safety in Europe. Participants were stunned to learn that Mainland Chinese are withdrawing from the CCP on a large scale.

A packed house audience at the ABF-house listened to keynote speakers, including chief editor of The Epoch Times Ms. Annette Jun Guo, vice chairman of China Independent Writers Association Mr. Maiping Chen, Swedish human rights lawyer Peter Bergquist, former Chinese political prisoner Professor Shizhong Chen, an expert on persecuted faith-based groups in China Professor Sen Nieh, and China-business professional Mr. Man-Yan Ng.

Swedish Member of Parliament Helena Bergholtz was concerned about China

The speakers’ brilliant addresses won warm applause. After each speech, the audience raised many questions in active participation. The Q & A session marked the highlight of the seminar where questions were raised on the European Union arms embargo, the CCP’s dirty tricks, the international community’s softness towards China and Swedish human rights organisations’ ignorance of the deceitful nature of the CCP.

Swedish MP Helena Bergholtz thought it imperative to provide tangible help for improving human rights in China. She was very concerned about the way in which Beijing coerces Europe into giving up human rights negotiations with economic interests.

Diplomatic schemes to stop the seminar failed

Initially, many human rights organisations wanted to co-sponsor the seminar. The most influential paper in Sweden, the Daily News, published an article exposing the lack of freedom of speech and the rampant media censorship in China, along with details of the event. Other local newspapers followed suit, reporting China’s persecution of human rights. The Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party started to circulate in Sweden.

In a panic, CCP officials tried various tricks to prevent the seminar from proceeding, Some sponsors withdrew or were absent from the seminar due to lies or diplomatic pressure from the Chinese Government. Even though two Swedish human rights organisations compromised their principles, with strong righteousness other co-sponsors managed to resist the pressure. Two other groups immediately filled the vacancy.

The “CCP and Human Rights” seminar carried on successfully.

The totalitarian CCP threatens freedom in the West

Mr. Maipin Chen, Vice Chairman of China Independent Writers Association, commented that the meeting’s interference revealed how the CCP is bullying the West into censorship as we speak.

According to Mr. Jingsheng Wei, Chairman of the China Democratic Movement Overseas Association, some human rights organisations dared not attend the seminar for fear of the CCP. For a mere tiny benefit, these groups changed what they stood for in life. Without having to investigate human rights issues in China, through current events we could get a glimpse of how appalling the human rights situation in China has really become.

The Chief Editor of The Epoch Times, Ms. Jun Guo, emphasised that the CCP tramples not only freedom but also on the dignity of all mankind. The CCP coerces kind-hearted people into giving up their decent values. It forces everyone to choose between good or evil.

Similar situation in Europe before WWII

Mr. Wei said, “And this situation is very similar to the situation of Europe before the Second World War. Just at that time, the political leaders of United Kingdom and France said that that the human rights of the Jews had nothing to do with them. But it turned out to be not the case. Today, the political leaders of the European countries say similar things – that the human rights situation in China is not directly visible to us, we have not much interest in that, we only want to do the business with weapons with China…However, I think once this war starts in Asia, I believe that, very soon, this war will spread over to Europe, to your country.”

“If you recall, before the Second World War, Nazi Germany held an Olympic games. That recognition by the world, letting them organize and host the Olympic Games, really gave them the power that, later on, led to the Second World War and cause a major disaster to humankind. I am afraid that this 2008 Olympic Games will do the same thing – repeat history.” He continued.

The debate on human right dialogs with China was intense. Man-Yan Ng said, “There have been many, many, human rights dialogs between Sweden and China, France and China, Germany and China, European Union and China. They have been talking – I do not know how many times and how many years – but the situation of human rights is getting worse and worse. The only thing that may improve the human rights is pressure on this very evil government. That is the only thing they understand – pressure! I think that if a country, particularly a democratic country, boycotts this Olympic Games it will send signals to the world that we condemned Chinese human rights – China is not improving human rights.”

Mr. Ng, who has a close business associate the Beijing Olympics delegation, said that China won the right to host the games in Beijing through calculated deception and the help of expensive PR-experts.

A renowned China specialist from the audience criticized the Swedish government for their beliefs on human rights dialogs. He said that the Swedish foreign minister claimed these dialogs may be the reason for the improvement of human rights in China. “With that kind of self-deception, we do not have to have expensive PR-firms for the Chinese government. We fool ourselves,” he said.

The CCP created a mirage of China

According to Ms. Jun Guo, to deflect criticism from the international community, the CCP has been holding separate talks with each country, avoiding collective attention on its human rights issues. Meanwhile, the CCP managed to lure the largest media in the world with economic interests, such as the Olympics broadcasting rights, so they would turn a blind eye on China’s horrendous human rights condition.

The CCP even bribes large Internet communication companies, e.g. Google and Yahoo, to help with censorship, covering up the persecution on a large scale. In such a way, the CCP created a mirage of China. Many Westerners are fed information that is wrong or fake.

To conceal the political crisis, the CCP set up groups “To preserve the Advanced Nature of the CCP”, which are similar to persecution factions during the Cultural Revolution. A rectification movement involving each party member and every single social class started across the country. Deceitfully branding it “anti-corruption”, the CCP’s real intention is for everyone to show his hand. Many have to vote against their conscience under pressure.

The totalitarian CCP’s deceit and coercion are the largest human rights scandal and the greatest humiliation to the Chinese people.

What is true freedom of speech?

Mr. Maipin Chen, Vice Chairman of China Independent Writers Association, specifically discussed “What is true freedom of speech?” Freedom of speech in his mind is not just joking around in private. Many professors and writers casually claim they can speak the truth. But once they are under the public eye they are immediately tongue-tied, not to mention when publishing books. Any book that exposes or even touches true history, with subjects like the Rightists, Investigative Reports on Chinese Farmers, the Tiananmen Square massacre, human rights, etc., will be banned as soon as it is published. The Nine Commentaries, which directly exposes the true nature of the CCP, is even more taboo in China.

Mr. Chen reminded everyone not to be deceived by the lies of the CCP. Human rights has not only worsened in China, but is constantly deteriorating. He hoped more people could learn the spirit of this seminar. The issue is broader than just human rights. It impacts world peace.

Maiping Chen also criticized a Swedish law school Raoul Wallenberg Institute for wasting taxpayer money to train Chinese lawyers. He said, “Have you seen any results, any good results of the project? For example, they say they trained the lawyers who can work for human rights issues. I have been working for these issues for years. No lawyer who is trained in Sweden has ever been channelled to defend human rights issues and we have asked lawyers to help us. Several Chinese lawyers who worked on these issues have lost their license. This is the truth! We are taxpayers in Sweden. They use 20 millions every year for this training program from which we have not seen any positive results. We should not go on with it.”

Survivors should stand up for victims

Exiled Professor Shizhong Chen exposed the brutality of the corrupt CCP through his own experiences. Like almost every other Chinese, Chen suffered mass-brainwashing by the CCP. Being an orphan at an early age, he regarded the party as his parent. He endured a total of 14.5 years for raising complaints with the Party. Even then, he had comforted himself that the party was just like “the mother who wronged the son”.

During detention he witnessed with his own eyes how a political prisoner, Mr. Zhirong Li, was murdered by the People’s Liberation Army soldier guards. To fight for justice for Mr. Li and his family, Mr. Chen visited thirty-two work units and various bureaus of complaints more than a hundred times after his own release. In the end, not only was he denied justice, he was also framed by the corrupt CCP. His family was broken up, income robbed and was now living in constant fear and danger. Finally seeing through the CCP, Mr. Chen had to run away from the bloody terror.

Mr. Chen showed a worn pair of shoes that he wore in prison to remind everyone that the atrocious persecution in China is not seen anywhere else in the world. In the end he cried out, survivors should stand up for the innocent who died miserably in jail.

Bring human rights crimes to court

Swedish human rights lawyer Mr. Peter Bergquist was asked to speak on the topic of whether human rights crimes in China can be prosecuted in Sweden. He said, “The answer to this question is yes – not all human rights violations but only those of the most serious nature, classified as murder and abduction.”

According to Mr. Bergquist, the conception that human rights crimes can be taken to courts in countries other than where the crimes are committed, made significant progress in 1998 when the Spanish judge Baltazar Garcon attempted to convict the former Chilean dictator Pinochet.

If a Swedish prosecutor starts a criminal investigation, based on crimes defined in the Convention against Torture, the Chinese authorities have commitments to cooperate because China has signed the convention. They have to give information, make own investigations and detain the suspects. These types of crimes also violate Chinese laws, which mean they are illegal even in China.

Despite interference from the Chinese embassy, the 150 seat auditorium was fully packed. The enthusiastic audience included renowned China experts, government officials, members of parliament, scholars, representatives from foreign embassies in Sweden and non-governmental organizations, overseas Chinese, entrepreneurs, teachers and students of Asian Studies, and members of the Chinese and Swedish press. Latecomers waited patiently outside the hall for a chance to come in.

The CCP’s purges traditional beliefs

Professor Sen Nie, who teaches at the Roman Catholic University in the U.S., initiated the Global Confederation for Saying Goodbye to the CCP. His topic was “The CCP’s Persecution against Religious Groups and the Global Trend of Saying Goodbye to the CCP”. Citing extensive data, Prof. Nie discussed in detail the CCP’s systematic purges of Chinese traditional beliefs since it took power.

In the U.S., Chinese people formed a committee with the sole purpose of investigating the Chinese Government’s persecution against underground Christian churches. The person in charge, Mr. Li Shixiong, grew up in a labour camp. According to his information, more than twenty-thousand Christians died in prison in the past five years.

Since 1999 when the CCP started persecuting Falun Gong, more than two thousand practitioners have been persecuted to death. Many people question why the CCP persecutes Falun Gong rather than other religions or legal Qigong groups (Qiqong refers to practises that cultivate "qi" also known as "vital energy"). In fact Mr. Li’s investigation has answered this interesting question. Be it Christian or Catholic, the church is banned as long as it is not sanctioned by the government. There are altogether fourteen Qigong groups that are banned in China, including Buddhism. The well-known sufferings of Tibetan Buddhists and western China’s Islamic groups are serious as well. Persecution against religious beliefs is only one aspect of the human rights issues in China.

Investment environment in China

China’s economy is severely dependent on foreign investment. Foreign enterprises’ concern centres on whether investment environment in China is safe. As a board member of the International Human Rights Association, Mr. Manyan Wu gave a speech entitled “Doing Business with China vs. Human Rights in China” based on years of experience dealing with the country as senior management in a famous multinational corporation.

China’s superficial prosperity disguises severe socio-economic crisis. As “power supersedes law” in China, risk of investment is extremely high. Mr. Wu warned against being taken in by the CCP’s lying propaganda and fleeting power.