Persecution Loses Momentum - Justice and Courage Prevail in People's Hearts

It has been six years since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), under orders from dictator Jiang Zemin, initiated the persecution against Falun Gong on July 20th, 1999. Although the persecution has not yet ended, it has become apparent that the dictatorship, despite its complete control over the media, its use of violence, and its decades of experience in suppressing and enslaving people, is unable to claim victory over the uniquely grassroot-based faith group of Falun Gong.

"Why does the CCP persecute Falun Gong?" For six years, people kept asking this question. Recently, at a press conference in Canada, the Canadian Falun Dafa Association chairman Li Xun said, " 'Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance' are in direct contrast to all the lies, violence, and corruption of the CCP. The more people practise Falun Gong, the greater this contrast."

In 2002, Li Xun and many other Falun Gong practitioners from different countries went to Iceland to demonstrate during Jiang Zemin's visit. A diplomat told Li that dictatorships usually need a sense of authority to control the people and stay in power. Falun Gong follows "Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance" and therefore constitutes a moral authority.

Jiang Zemin and the CCP clearly did not possess moral authority and leadership, yet they were jealous of any other group that did. They colluded with each other and used violence, lies and financial incentives to uncover people's weaknesses. They took advantage of people's weaknesses to eliminate their faith and their conscience. On the one hand, they forced cultivators to give up their belief. On the other hand, they menaced the public into accepting and even participating in the persecution.

For six years, the CCP has used all means to make the cultivators abandon their faith. "To eliminate physically, to bankrupt economically, and to ruin their reputation," this became the Gestapo-like 610 Office overarching policy in this genocide. Falun Gong practitioners were physically abused or killed, threatened, and put under extremely difficult economic situations. The most basic functions in society, such as graduation, employment, promotion, welfare, housing, and wages, were all directly linked to the persecution. Inside and outside of China, they use special agents to harass, slander, and monitor Falun Gong practitioners. In the last six years, the CCP headed by Jiang Zemin has carried out an unprecedented, all-encompassing persecution.

To justify the persecution to the Chinese people and the international community, and therefore silence them, Jiang Zemin and his group spent a large amount of money to spread hate propaganda and brainwash the public. In addition, those who didn't participate in the persecution were faced with the risk of losing their jobs or becoming demoted. From students to neighbourhood committee members, from labour camp officials to police, no one was spared from the movement.

Outside China, Western countries were primarily interested in their relationship with China and trade. Jiang Zemin and the CCP used diplomatic relationships and economic interest as bait, luring these countries away from concerns on democracy and human rights. Since politicians are interested in votes, the CCP then controlled a few people to spread hatred against Falun Gong in the name of "the Chinese community," in order to influence public opinion. Since business people are interested in trade, the overseas CCP organisations would threaten them with the loss of economic interests to stop them from supporting Falun Gong. Since people are concerned with safety and freedom, the CCP then uses terror and harassment to silence those with a conscience.

The persecution attempts to make people change their mind through external forces. In contrast, the strength of the peaceful resistance practised by Falun Gong practitioners comes from their uncompromising and unshakable faith.

An attorney from Montreal once said the fact that the Chinese government had to use imprisonment and torture to change Falun Gong practitioners shows that the practitioners faith was indestructible and powerful. The faith was what gave them the strength to be firm in the face of violence. Falun Dafa inspired every practitioner to explore the beauty of the practice.

Indeed, the principles of Falun Gong, "Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance," inspired Falun Gong practitioners to clarify the facts about Falun Gong to the public even when being persecuted. They hope their efforts could melt away the hatred in the mind of the public, so that the public could return to their original, kind nature and choose justice instead of personal interests.

No external force could change people's heart of righteousness. This has been demonstrated by the change of Falun Gong practitioners actively explaining the truth of the situation, ordinary citizens standing up for justice, and the evil forces that persecute Falun Gong practitioners becoming weaker and weaker.

Over the last six years, every day, practitioners in Mainland China have tirelessly revealed the truth about Falun Gong and the persecution to the people. They distributed flyers, CD-ROM's, brochures, and booklets to people's homes. Although some people wavered under pressure from the persecution, the truth gave them the strength to regain courage to stand up again. By July 18th, 2005, 276,234 people had published "solemn statements" on the Falun Dafa related Clearwisdom website to express their wish to return to the path of cultivation. Outside of China, practitioners from all countries and ethnic backgrounds persistently appealed to the public and various governments, broke through the CCP information blockade, and created many new ways to spread the truth.

Through the practitioners' efforts, ordinary citizens also began awakening. Almost 3.5 million Chinese people have publicly stated their withdrawal from the Chinese Communist Party and the Communist Youth League. More and more members of the international community have also stepped forward to condemn the persecution.

The core group of the persecutors is collapsing. The perpetrators, including Jiang Zemin and Luo Gan, have been charged with crimes against humanity and genocide. The persecution is losing its following, and more and more people have chosen the side of justice.

The most atrocious are often the weakest, and the wicked also hold the most fear. What awaits them can only be total elimination. The six-year persecution has completely exposed the CCP's evil nature, while Falun Gong practitioners' persistence, compassion, and tolerance demonstrated the power of the truth, showing people a bright future. As the truth becomes more widely know, the persecution led by the CCP and Jiang's group has lost its momentum, and people have restored their conscience, sense of justice, and courage.