Analysing the Chinese Communist Party's Feeble Response to Reports About the Sujiatun Concentration Camp

China kept unusually silent over the allegations that organs were being harvested from living Falun Gong practitioner in the Sujiatun Concentration Camp. Three days after the hideous crime was exposed, Professor Yuan Hongbing addressed the issue at a Nine Commentaries of Communist Party¹ seminar. He stated, "If the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) does not deny such gruesome accusation and does not investigate it, it admits guilt."

March 22nd, eleven days later, Australia's The New Express published a short article in section five of the issue, "Shenyang Denies Setting up Falun Gong Concentration Camp." The following is a translation of the most relevant sections:

"According to China's Xinhua Agency, allegations by Falun Gong media and websites outside China that 6,000 Falun Gong practitioners are being held at Sujiatun Concentration Camp surprised the Shenyang City government and residents in Sujiatun district. A reporter from the Xinhua Agency made a special trip to Shenyang and Sujiatun District to investigate, ...Party Secretary Luo of Sujiatun Communist Party Committee of Sujiatun District responsible for the justice department said, "A large place would be required to hold 6,000 people, support staff and facilities. How could we have kept such a killing factory secret?... Sujiatun District has two prisons,... for only criminals and suspects, but none holds Falun Gong practitioners. An official from the Provincial government had taken a team to investigate. The official said none of the officials from throughout the area had heard or known about this."

I don't know how this report of about 300 Chinese words comes across to other readers, but the following are my thoughts:

1. This article is a toned down version of the propaganda that existed during the early stage of the persecution of Falun Gong. At that time Falun Gong was labelled an "evil cult" and vicious attacks such as Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation incident were common. It is quite clear to me that the Chinese regime is running out of steam and does not know how to deny the existence of Sujiatun Concentration Camp. As we know, China is typically very strong in its denials and habitually denies killings, no matter how many they have killed. Such a softened response can only mean that Sujiatun exists and the truth has come out.

2. The term "organ harvesting" was not mentioned and the focus was on "holding of 6,000 people." Someone "made a special trip" to Sujiatun to investigate and yet no word about organ harvesting was mentioned. It is widely known that China has become a major country for organ transplants and a source of organs for ten thousand transplants annually. This response also suggests that allegations that organs are being harvested while people are still alive are true.

3. Professor Sun Wenguang from Shandong province demanded that Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao (heads of the regime) investigate the allegations. However, the report indicated that a Xinhua Agency journalist went to investigate before an official from Liaoning province. Who is this reporter? And who is this official? Why are their names not mentioned? Those who know the system in China know that a reporter from Xinhua Agency will not be told the sensitive facts. Even if he discovers the truth, he would not dare to report it. This is just how China operates. Major or minor incidents alike, everybody has to wait for "directions from higher authorities" before reporting it. They have to ensure consistency across all lines, decide on how to deal with the people involved, and even enacting laws to legitimise their actions.

I witnessed in Beijing how the persecution of Falun Gong escalated. On December 26th, 1999, I sat in the Beijing No.1 Middle-level Court during the trial of several volunteer practitioners of the former Falun Dafa Research Association. When I was being taken back to the Congwen District Police Station to be sent to a detention centre. I overheard someone asking a police officer, "Do you know how long we will be held here?" The police officer said, "No idea. We have to wait for word from higher authorities."

This is how the Communist regime operates. Concerning the Sujiatun Concentration Camp, a Xinhua Agency reporter would not dare to investigate this without explicit instructions.

4. Leaders of a responsible government would address such a serious allegation. And yet, the Chinese regime had a lowly local government secretary say a few words in an attempt to pacify the public.

It is important to mention here that "keeping secrets" is something the Communist regime is good at. Without such secrets, their power base would have collapsed long ago.

One does not need a big place to hold 6,000 people. On July 20th, 1999, I was held with another 3-4 thousand Falun Gong practitioners in Beijing Shijingshan Stadium. A few thousand people filled just half the stadium. With only a few ways in and out, very few additional security personnel were needed.

At the Beijing Dispatch Centre for Forced Labour Camp Inmates, twenty people are held in a room of seven to eight square meters.

In my hometown in Mianyang, Sichuan province, there were many military factories and military research bases in the mountainous areas. The residents had only a vague awareness of the existence of such operations.

A few decades ago, during the time of "Deep Digging and Storing Grains in Disbursed Areas" when the Chinese were suffering from a great famine, many underground projects were carried out in every city and province. They prepared for possible war and famine, and a special agency was in charge of it. There is such an underground project in the centre of Mianyang City. It had been converted into a large shopping mall, with a total area of several thousand square meters.

Since they can put twenty people in a seven to eight square meter room, they certainly are able to put 6,000 people in an area of 2,000 square meters. There is no problem in accomplishing such a feat.

5. Sujiatun's party secretary Luo also mentioned the supplies needed for these people. This is an important detail. The witness mentioned that the large purchase of supplies attracted the attention of hospital staff. Some asked the leadership of the hospital about it. This reminded me of my own experience and I feel sure that the witness told the truth.

While being held for several months at the Beijing Women's Detention Centre, I decided to expose their secrets. I paid attention to everything inside the forced labour camp. For example, I knew that between the period of April in 2001, 984 people were detained there.

How did I find out about this? It was impossible to discuss such matters with anyone in the forced labour camp. I could not find out from different brigades, or different people within a group. There were seven brigades at Beijing Women's Forced Labour Camp. How did I know how many people were held there?

I was detained with the cooking staff who were inmates at the forced labour camp. They used to have separate cells. But, as more and more Falun Gong practitioners were detained, each room held more than 50% inmates. As a result, the cooking staff was locked up with other inmates. I found out from them how many were in the labour camp. They cook based on the number of people.

6. I also took note that Luo stated in the article, "Both prisons in Sujiatun held criminals and suspects, but not Falun Gong practitioners." This means that neither the Party Secretary Luo nor the reporter considered Falun Gong practitioners' criminals and suspects. This is really a slap in the face of the regime's justice system that used Provision 300 of the Criminal Law to treat tens of thousands of practitioners as criminals and wrongfully sentenced them.

We hope that all people inside and outside of China will intensify their efforts to investigate and rescue Falun Gong practitioners to prevent the regime from killing the witnesses to cover up its crimes.

Note:

1. Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party: Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party is a series of essays published in late 2004 that reveal the true nature of the Communist Party. The Nine Commentaries have led millions of people to renounce their membership in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and come to gain a clearer understanding about the wrongful persecution against Falun Gong. "A book that has shocked all Chinese around the world. A book that is disintegrating the Communist Party." http://ninecommentaries.com