Lawyer from China: "The Sujiatun Event Is Real"

A reporter from the Sound of Hope Radio Network interviewed noted Chinese human rights lawyer Guo Guoting on the recent Sujiatun event. The lawyer held that the Sujiatun event is real.

Guo Guoting expressed that the issue between the responsibility of citing evidence and the credibility and responsibility of media is really a legal issue. However, more importantly it is also a moral issue as well as an issue of objectiveness and fairness.

Guo Guoting said, "In reference to the consistent practice of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in its history it has always repeated the practice of deceiving people and covering up its crimes. In addition, more than ten days passed after the Chinese Communist regime learnt of the news, but now it still remains silent and fails to put up any argument or try to clarify the facts. There is no measure whatsoever has been taken. Therefore, my personal judgement is that Sujiatun Concentration Camp does exist and the news is real and reliable."

Guo Guoting held that in legal issues, the media, especially the international media, emphasise the responsibility of the importance in citing evidence to avoid any biased reports. On the surface it seems very reasonable, but actually I think it is the economic benefits that really make the major international media keep silent. As a matter of fact, this is a very disgraceful act.

Guo Guoting said, "From all the signs including the persecution of Falun Gong and the secret instructions Jiang Zemin gave the police such as 'Death of Falun Gong practitioners from beating is nothing and shall be counted as suicide,' the Sujiatun event is real and the concentration camp does exist. After the CCP started its persecution against Falun Gong, it underestimated Falun Gong practitioners, because it had no idea of the power of belief and thought it could very quickly put down Falun Gong with its power and violence. That's why Jiang Zemin said that it would 'solve' the issue of Falun Gong in three months. I believe this saying is also true.

"However, the persecution has not only failed to put down Falun Gong but resulted in ever increasing resistance from its members. It is just like a spring. The harder you press, the more powerful it will bounce back. This is particularly true when regarding people with real belief. These people cannot be suppressed or wiped out. Therefore, the CCP gradually escalated its crackdown on Falun Gong. When it failed to put down Falun Gong in three months, it stepped up it persecution further and finally when it was at its wits end it adopted the method of genocide."

Guo Guoting continued, the Sujiatun event is apparently not the act of a private hospital. It is carried out by orders from above as well as hints or connivance from the authorities. They connived with the related hospital authorities and doctors and tried to buy over these people to do bad deeds with benefits. Many practitioners refused to disclose their identities, including their real names or addresses upon their arrest. At the time these practitioners did not know the extent of the evilness of the CCP, and therefore many of them disappeared.

Guo Guoting said, "I personally handled such a case. Mr. Huang Xiong from Shanghai disappeared from the dormitory of the Jiaotong University in Shanghai. In two or three years there had been no news about him whatsoever. We searched for him at a many places, but failed to find him. It is said that the Sujiatun Concentration Camp detained 6,000 Falun Gong practitioners. It is most likely that these practitioners had similar cases like Mr. Huang Xiong. I assume that when Mr. Huang Xiong was arrested he did not say he was Huang Xiong but gave a false name. Under such circumstances the CCP used many cruel methods of torture but still failed to make the practitioners to give up their beliefs. However, the practitioners' bodies were all black and blue or had scars upon scars as a result of inhumane torture. If these practitioners of strong will were released they would be living and ironclad evidence. Therefore, the CCP would murder them to prevent them from exposing the crimes it had committed."

Guo Guoting explained the legal issue of the responsibility of citing evidence. He said that generally speaking, it is undoubtedly that the plaintiff has the responsibility to cite evidence. However, under special circumstances such responsibility can be reversed. Take an administrative procedure for example. This is the case of people suing an official. The accused could be an administrator, the government or an administrative institution. In this case, the two sides have different legal positions. Since the law must put into consideration the balance of power, so during an administrative procedure it would reverse the responsibility of citing evidence. In other words it is the accused who needs to be responsible in citing evidence, not the plaintiff.

It is the same issue regarding the crackdown on Falun Gong. The two sides are on unequal footing. Therefore, looking from the principles of the law or from the fundamentals of the law there is a need to keep a balance, even though in cracking down on Falun Gong there are no rules and regulations on how to cite evidence or what the responsibilities on citing evidence are. Let along, now it is only at the stage of stating the facts, not the stage of criminal procedures.

Guo Guoting said, "As for the responsibility of citing evidence at this stage, the media said it does not have enough evidence, so it decided not to report the news. However, this is only an excuse and a way of escape. Let's avoid this point and assume the law does not require the reverse of the responsibility of citing evidence. Even under such circumstances the media still can do objective reporting. The objective reporting refers to unbiased reporting. It can confirm the Sujiatun event through interviewing one, two, three or even more witnesses on the spot. The media, as the third party, can also judge and make conclusions by checking all the information collected and common sense. The media can play the role of a supervisor and make an objective reporting. In this way it can play a positive role and at least can stop the violence from continuing to happen."

Guo Guoting held that the international media keep silent on Sujiatun because of decisions made at the corporate level, not because the reporters don't want to report it. The reporters are willing to report such issues. Many reporters have a sense of justice. The key is the corporation that controls the media. Since they are investors, they are afraid that they might offend the CCP and in turn, affect their potential profits. This is the very reason they do not allow the media under their control to report on the Sujiatun event.

Guo Guoting said, "As a matter of fact, I check the New York Times and the Washington Post every day to find out if they report on the event. However, I still have not found any report on Sujiatun. From my experience of being a lawyer for 21 years and my understanding of the law, I can affirm that what had happened in Sujiatun is real and reliable. The international community should be mobilised and send independent UN investigation teams to start investigation right away. Otherwise, the rulers of the CCP will destroy the evidence of their crimes very easily. They are capable of using all kinds of methods to destroy incriminating evidence. The longer we delay, the faster and more thorough they would destroy the evidence."

Human lives are of supreme importance. At the critical moment of life and death, we are responsible for awakening all the people who still have their conscience.