Australia: Zhang Dejiang Named in Lawsuit, Australian Federal Police Accepts List of Officials Involved in Persecuting Falun Gong

On November 8th, 2005, Zhang Dejiang, member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Politburo and Secretary of the CCP Committee of Guangdong Province, was served with a summons from the Supreme Court of New South Wales (NSW) for the crime of torture against a Sydney resident, Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Xie Yan.

He received the court summons as he led a delegation to attend the China Guangdong-Australia Business Conference 2005 at the Hilton Hotel in Sydney. The news that Zhang Dejiang was sued and messages from the "Great Wall of Courage" formed by Falun Gong practitioners outside the Hilton Hotel caused a ripple among conference delegates from both inside and outside of China. During the noon break, many delegates carefully read the contents of the banners while leaving or entering the Hilton Hotel. Quite a few people stood at the gate discussing amongst each other while looking at the banners.

Falun Gong practitioners hold press conference in front of the Hilton Hotel in downtown Sydney	Falun Gong practitioners form a "Great Wall of Courage" in Front of the Hilton Hotel in downtown Sydney	Falun Gong practitioner Xie Yan, who sued Zhang Dejiang in court, holds a photocopy of the letter of complaint

Australian Federal police accept list of officials who participated in the persecution

At around 11:00 a.m. on November 8th, 2005, Xie Yan, together with John Deller and NSW Falun Dafa Association representative Kay Rubacek, went to the Federal Police Department to deliver a letter of complaint. They introduced the contents of the complaint to a representative from the Federal Police Department. The complaint was against Zhang Dejiang, Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Committee of Guangdong Province, Wang Huayuan, Deputy Secretary of the CCP Committee of Guangdong Province, and Lu Xiao, Deputy Head of the 610 Office of Guangdong Province, all of whom have committed crimes of torture and crimes against humanity for actively participating in the persecution of Falun Gong. The complaint requested the federal police to investigate the crimes committed by these CCP officials, arrest and detain them and file a criminal lawsuit against them. Police officer Ms. Thaiter accepted the complaint document on behalf of the federal police, and expressed that she would immediately deliver the document to related departments for handling and investigation. She said they would inform Xie Yan as soon as possible of the result of the investigation and of the decision they made.

One of the officials listed in the letter of complaint, Wang Huayuan, is currently deputy secretary of the CCP Committee of Guangdong Province, secretary of the Discipline and Inspection Commission, and in charge of the Political and Judiciary system. In 2001, after the CCP authorities staged the self-immolation incident at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, Wang Huayuan, who was secretary of the Provincial Discipline and Inspection Commission, immediately summoned Guangdong Province's Discipline and Inspection commission to hold a session to "expose and criticize Falun Gong." He made a speech to attack Falun Gong during the session. As revealed by Falun Gong practitioners who have personally suffered persecution, Wang Huayuan once came to Sanshui Forced Labour Camp when he was deputy head of the CCP Committee of Guangdong Province and secretary of the Guangdong Province Discipline and Inspection Commission, to direct and oversee the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. Moreover, Wang Huayuan also went to the province's No. 2 Rehab Centre, the Women's Forced Labour Camp, to inspect and organise the persecution. The third official listed in the letter of complaint, Lu Xiao, is deputy head of the 610 Office of Guangdong Province. She was once head of the "Leadership Group for Handling Falun Gong Issues" of the CCP Committee in Maoming City.

A spokesperson from the "World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong" (WOIPFG) said that WOIPFG has recently implemented the Global Monitoring and Tracking System. New cases of severe persecution are documented and filed, ensuring that when the responsible persons leave China, appropriate legal action can be taken against them. The legal action against Zhang Dejiang and others has been assisted by WOIPFG.

Secretary of the CCP Committee of Guangdong Province is sued in the NSW Supreme Court for the crime of torture in relation to active participation in the persecution of Falun Gong

On November 8th, 2005, Sydney Falun Gong practitioners held a press conference and formed a "Great Wall of Courage" in front of the Hilton Hotel in downtown Sydney to introduce the facts about Falun Gong to delegates attending the conference. They also announced to the media the lawsuit against Zhang Dejiang, secretary of the CCP Committee of Guangdong Province, who has been charged with the crime of torture, filed with the NSW Supreme Court by Australian Falun Gong practitioner Xie Yan on November 7th. The lawsuit concerns Ms. Xie's experience of being persecuted in China, including physical injury and illegal incarceration. The court has accepted the lawsuit and issued a summons, which was formally delivered to Zhang Dejiang himself as he was attending the China Guangdong-Australian Business Conference 2005 held at the Hilton Hotel in Sydney. According to the Australian Judicial Act, Zhang Dejiang must respond to the court within 28 days from the day that the summons was delivered to him, otherwise the court will issue a default verdict against him.

Ms. Zhao, who helped Xie Yan successfully deliver the summons, said that the guards at the conference were on strict alert as if they were expecting an enemy attack. But when the conference was about to conclude at noon, she broke through layers of guards and media reporters, and handed the complaint letter to Zhang Dejiang in person. The CCP's ambassador in Australia, Fu Ying, standing nearby quickly shouted, "Don't accept it!" and struck the letter out of Zhang's hand. The letter fell on the table in front of Zhang. She then called security, and the situation became chaotic. The whole audience witnessed the scene, and many reporters took pictures of it.

At the press conference, plaintiff Xie Yan recounted her experience of torture and persecution. She was sentenced to two years and three months of forced labour for distributing Falun Gong truth-clarifying materials to passersby on a Guangdong street. While being incarcerated in a forced labour camp, Ms. Xie suffered tremendously, both physically and mentally. She was once force-fed and hung up by handcuffs. At one time, she was hung up for five days and nights, and she was also forced to read and watch materials and videos that slander Falun Gong, in an attempt to force her to renounce Falun Gong. Fortunately, with the help of her fiancé who is an Australian citizen, and of kind-hearted people overseas, Ms. Xie was rescued to Australia. However, in China, tens of thousands of persecuted Falun Gong practitioners do not have a place to appeal, so this time, through suing Zhang Dejiang in the Australian court, she hoped that justice will be upheld in this free land.

During Zhang Dejiang's term as secretary of the CCP Committee of Guangdong Province, actively implemented the CCP's policy to persecute Falun Gong. After he took office, 33 Falun Gong practitioners in the Guangdong area died as a result of persecution. He should take full responsibility for the severe persecution against Falun Gong practitioners in the Guangdong area. The governor of Guangdong Province, Huang Huahua, was also sued when he visited the U.S. and Canada this year, for the crime of torture in relation to his active participation in the persecution of Falun Gong.

Falun Gong spokesperson Kay Rubacek and Sydney Falun Dafa Association representative John Deller said at the press conference that on October 9th, 2005, the Falun Dafa Association published an announcement stating:

"From today on, overseas Falun Gong practitioners will file civil or criminal lawsuits against all important government or CCP officials who participate in or continue to implement the persecution of Falun Gong and as a result, commit new crimes in addition to those they have already perpetrated against Falun Gong."

Zhang Dejiang is the third CCP official sued for participating in the persecution of Falun Gong since the Falun Dafa Association published the announcement. Falun Gong practitioners sternly warn those CCP officials who continue persecuting Falun Gong: Once they land on Australian soil, they will be subjected to possible lawsuits against them at any time. Some staff members who had persecuted Falun Gong in the past expressed a willingness to change their behaviour and correct their mistakes. These people are advised to send their guarantee statement or regret letter through safe channels to the Minghui/Clearwisdom website or to any regional Falun Dafa Association to be archived. The Falun Dafa Association will not investigate the various crimes of those who are determined to correct their mistakes. However they will continue to monitor their actions.

Guangdong Province is among the provinces that severely persecute Falun Gong

According to WOIPFG's investigation, Guangdong Province is one of the provinces where Falun Gong is severely persecuted in China. As of October 2005, the number of Falun Gong practitioners in Guangdong Province who are verified to have died as a result of persecution was 64, ranked eighth in the country. The methods used to torture Falun Gong practitioners are horrific and brutal.

In addition, according to the Falun Dafa Information Centre, Australian citizen Richard Chen's sister-in-law Liang Zihui from Guangdong Province suffered severe persecution. Before practising Falun Gong, she suffered from meningitis, external injury to her head and severe depression. After practising Falun Gong, she became healthy both physically and mentally. Her husband Chen Ruichang was the deputy editor-in-chief of the Guangdong Television Station. The couple was illegally arrested and sentenced to forced labour numerous times by the police department and the 610 Office for practising Falun Gong. In January 2005, Liang Zihui was arrested once again for distributing truth clarification materials. As she resisted the arrest, three to four guards held her on the ground and brutally beat her to the point where her whole body was black and blue. She was then detained at the Tianhe Detention Centre. On June 8th, 2005, the Guangzhou City Tianhe District Court charged Liang Zihui with "using [slanderous term omitted] to disrupt legal implementation." Ms. Liang refused to plead guilty and protested the persecution against her. On September 15th, 2005, she was illegally sentenced to two years in prison.

An Australian citizen's younger sister, 37-year-old Tang Yiwen, lives in Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province in China. She was released in October 2003 with the help of the Australian Government and the international community after being tortured for two years in the Chatou Women's Forced Labour Camp of Guangzhou. Even though her legs had been beaten until they were disabled, she was once again arrested by Guangzhou City's Zhuhai Police Station when she applied for a passport to come to Australia to visit her relatives on February 23rd, 2004. Ms. Tang was then sent to Chatou Brainwashing Centre of Baiyuan District, Guangzhou City. After learning about this news, Australia Falun Gong practitioners, together with Tang Yiwen's sister Lisa, held a press conference in front of the Chinese Consulate in Sydney. Tang Yiwen started a hunger strike the day she was arrested to protest the persecution against her, and by the 17th day of her hunger strike, she was at the brink of death. The Guangzhou City 610 Office, being afraid of pressure from both inside and outside China, and afraid of taking responsibility for the consequences of her death, informed Ms. Tang's family to take her back home. Though they verbally promised to release Tang Yiwen, they sent four or five people to follow her home. Tang Yiwen had to live a homeless life in order to avoid harassment and re-arrest. She is still homeless, and her life is in great danger.