United States: Ye Xiaowen, Director of the CCP's Religious Affairs Bureau, Sued for Libel

A US court issued a civil lawsuit summons to Director Ye Xiaowen and to Deputy Director Wang Zuoan of China's Religious Affairs Bureau, both of whom are currently visiting the US. They are accused of slandering Falun Gong. At the same time, the Spanish Court have also accepted a lawsuit filed by Falun Gong practitioners against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leaders.

Radio Free Asia reported on June 8th, 2006 that Director Ye Xiaowen and Deputy Director Wang Zuoan of the CCP's Religious Affairs Bureau, who are holding a Bible exhibition in the US, each received a civil lawsuit summons from the US Federal Court Monday in New York. Local Falun Gong practitioners filed a lawsuit against Ye Xiaowen and Wang Zuoan, accusing them of using religious activities to issue slanderous words attacking and demonising Falun Gong and its founder numerous times. Their words have misled the media and played a role in the brutal persecution of Falun Gong in China as well as inciting people's hatred towards Falun Gong practitioners living in the US.

This is the first lawsuit against CCP leaders in the religious field since the persecution of Falun Gong started in July 1999. Prior to this case, Falun Gong practitioners have filed lawsuits against Guo Chuanjie, the deputy head of the "Leadership Group Handling the Falun Gong Issues" in the CCP's Academy of Science, and director of the Wuhan TV station, Zhang Zhizhen.

Guo Chuanjie was found guilty last June by a judge in the US Federal Court, and required him to compensate for damages and economic loss to the Falun Gong plaintiffs.

In addition, in a ruling on June 6th, 2006, Spain's Supreme Court ordered the National Court to consider a complaint of genocide by Falun Gong practitioners against Jia Qinglin, Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). In 2004, the Spanish National Court rejected this lawsuit on the grounds that it had not been established that Jia was in Spain. Another court in Spain accepted a case earlier which accused seven CCP leaders of genocide, torture and crimes against humanity in Tibet during the 1980s.

According to statistics listed on Falun Gong websites, Falun Gong practitioners have filed 13 lawsuits in 28 countries worldwide against Jiang Zemin. Currently, 34 lawsuits against 22 CCP leaders are underway.