Falun Gong Practitioners in Washington, DC Solemnly Admonish Sun Jiazheng: It's a Crime to Persecute Falun Gong!

On October 3rd, 2005, Sun Jiazheng, the Chinese Minister of Culture, was served with legal documents from Falun Gong practitioners while attending unofficial activities on a visit in Washington, DC. The documents include the verdict for Liu Qi, mayor of Beijing, and Xia Deren, former deputy governor of Liaoning Province, issued by a Northern California Federal Court. Also in the documents was a letter from human rights lawyer Dr. Terri Marsh informing Sun Jiazheng that Chinese Communist Party officials who followed Jiang's group in persecuting Falun Gong have been convicted in US courts.

Dr. Marsh said that from the verdict by the Northern California Court, we can see that the judge will hold Sun Jiazheng and other high-level CCP officials who took part in persecuting Falun Gong accountable for the torture, illegal incarceration and other inhuman mistreatment experienced by Falun Gong practitioners.

Later in the afternoon, as Sun Jiazheng was about to leave a hotel, Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Chen approached him and tried to hand him the legal documents, but was blocked by Sun's bodyguards. In the evening, when several members of Sun Jiazheng's entourage entered the elevator inside the hotel, several other Falun Gong practitioners again tried to give the legal documents to them but were again turned away. Because of hotel policies, the hotel staff is not allowed to give out guests' room numbers, so the practitioners left the documents with the hotel manager and asked him to deliver it to Sun Jiazheng. The manager agreed.

Sun Jiazheng's "Internet civilisation project" intercepts emails

Sun Jiazheng, the current Chinese Minister of Culture, is one of the main accomplices who assisted Jiang's group in carrying out the genocide against Falun Gong practitioners. After the CCP began persecuting Falun Gong on July 20th, 1999, Sun Jiazheng followed Jiang Zemin's orders by issuing a ban on Falun Gong publications and instructing that they be destroyed on a national scale. The Internet Civilisation Project Committee headed by Sun Jiazheng is in charge of intercepting emails with Falun Gong-related content. Sun Jiazheng also spread hate propaganda and ordered intellectuals to create works aimed at inciting hatred against Falun Gong. This propaganda is directly responsible for some Chinese people's resentment of Falun Gong, which helped the CCP to torture and murder Falun Gong practitioners.

Condemnation and lawsuits await Sun Jiazheng

On January 28th, 2004, Sun Jiazheng was served with a lawsuit in France. French lawyer Ms. Hauser-Phelizon filed the lawsuit with the Paris prosecutor's office on behalf of four Falun Gong practitioners. Sun Jiazheng, who was in France on an official visit at the time, was charged with "torture." The lawsuit accused Sun of inciting hatred and advocating the eradication of Falun Gong through the media and cultural channels, as well as ordering the destruction of Falun Gong books, videos and audio cassettes, blocking and monitoring Falun Gong practitioners Internet communications, and preventing the Chinese public from accessing objective reports on Falun Gong by Western media.

In July 2004, the French Examining Magistrate sent a Commission Rogatoire Internationale (CRI) to relevant Chinese government departments to request cooperation in conducting an investigation. It is said to be the first investigation of a high-ranking Chinese official in the judicial history of France and Europe.

On November 14th, 2004, Sun Jiazheng attended the Asia Cultural Cooperation Forum 2004 held in Hong Kong. Falun Gong practitioners in Hong Kong stood in the streets on his motorcade route and in front of the hotel and condemned Sun Jiazheng for inciting hatred against Falun Gong.

Many CCP officials responsible for persecuting Falun Gong have been served with lawsuits in foreign countries

Aside from Sun Jiazheng, many other CCP officials who persecuted Falun Gong have also been served with lawsuits in foreign countries, including Zhao Zhifei, the head of the Public Security for Hubei Province; Liu Qi, mayor of Beijing; Xia Deren, the former deputy governor for Liaoning Province and current mayor of Dalian City; Zhou Yongkang, former secretary for the Sichuan Province Party Committee and current Minister of Public Security; Bo Xilai, former governor of Liaoning Province and currently Minister of Commerce; Li Lanqing, head of the 610 Office [an organisation specifally set up to persecute Falun Gong]; Zhao Zhizhen, head of the Wuhan TV Station; Wang Xudong, former secretary of the Hebei Province Party Committee and currently Minister of Information Industry, among others. Zhao Zhifei, Liu Qi and Xia Deren have been convicted in US courts, and the other cases are pending.

Bo Xilai was served with a civil lawsuit in Washington, DC in April 2004 and with a criminal lawsuit in New York on September 8th, 2005.

A hearing for the lawsuit against Zhao Zhizhen was held in a federal court in Hartford, Connecticut on September 22nd. Falun Gong practitioners have accused Zhao Zhizhen of inciting and assisting criminal acts and plotting and inciting torture and genocide against Falun Gong practitioners in China. The plaintiff's lawyer Dr. Terri Marsh pointed out that Zhao Zhizhen was responsible for programming on both state-run television and the Internet that called for the eradication of Falun Gong.

Bo Xilai and Xia Deren excluded from list of visiting officials

Several CCP officials have cancelled overseas visits due to protests from Falun Gong practitioners and foreign officials. Bo Xiali originally planned to accompany Hu Jintao on his visit to the US and Canada in September 2005, but his name was later stricken from the list of visiting officials after strong protests from Falun Gong practitioners, some Canadian people and Parliament members who called for human rights criminals to be denied entry to Canada. Bo Xilai was not seen in the Chinese delegation.

Between September 22nd and September 24th, 2005, a business delegation from Dalian City visited Toronto, Canada. Dalian mayor Xia Deren, who planned to lead the delegation, did not show up. Based on Canada's Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Programme, Xia Deren was added to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) watch list for his crimes in the persecution of Falun Gong. Local media published reports after learning Xia Deren was scheduled to conduct a business visit to Canada. It is learned that the delegation and Chinese consulate felt the pressure from Falun Gong practitioners and the Canadian public regarding Xia Deren. In the end, Xia Deren did not make the trip.

Kevin Yang, spokesperson for the Canadian branch of the World Organisation to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG) gave the following advice to CCP officials planning a foreign visit: "Before you make the decision, first check to see if your name is on the list of persecutors published by the WOIPFG."

Sun Jiazheng brings shame to a cultural exchange program

It is believed that Sun Jiazheng is participating in a cultural exchange programme called Festival of China being held in Washington, DC, for which the CCP contributed large amounts of money. Some media have commented that "the intent of the Festival is suspicious, because it is hosted by an official mired in lawsuits and who actively persecutes Falun Dafa, a practice rooted in traditional Chinese culture."

Sun Jiazheng's behaviour departs completely from the teachings of traditional Chinese culture. Many local Chinese people are of the opinion that Sun Jiazheng, the Minister of Culture, because of his ignorance of traditional Chinese culture, brings shame to a Festival that supposedly promotes traditional Chinese culture.