Dear President Bush,
We are deeply concerned about the invitation to the Chinese president, Jiang Zemin, to visit your ranch in Crawford, Texas during late October.
Jiang Zemin maneuvered into the top posts of the Chinese government by supporting martial law during its 1989 crackdown on democracy, which led to the massacre of many innocent students in Tiananmen Square. To conceal the blood on his hands for many such crimes and to remain in power, he uses a vast state-controlled propaganda machine to brainwash the Chinese people. He manipulates the content of the media, and he blocks accurate information. Within China and Chinese communities abroad, he is also spreading hatred of the United States and any other Western country that openly criticizes China's ever-deteriorating human rights record. Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi propaganda minister of WWII, poisoned the world using the same tactics - he stated, "repeat a lie thousands of times, and it will become the truth."
On the world stage, his regime continues to support terrorist countries by supplying them weapons of mass-destruction. Amidst the intensification of U.S.-led anti-terrorism efforts, last April, Jiang visited Iran, an "Axis of Evil" state, and Libya. It is disturbing for us to hear our would-be guest tell Gaddafi, referring to the United States' 1986 counterstrike directed at Gaddafi's compound, that "the Americans destroyed the walls, but were incapable of destroying principles."1 Later, he explicitly told the Iranian leaders, "One of the primary issues for China is to protect developing countries from the irrational actions of the United States."2
Mr. President, your guest has targeted 1.2 billion Chinese people with state-sanctioned terrorism. The U.N. and many human rights agencies have detailed how Jiang's regime has been repressing ethnic minorities and religious groups, including Christians, foreign-based Chinese scholars, and Tibetan Buddhists. Another prominent example has been Falun Gong, a meditation system that has been brutally persecuted since July 1999. Ironically and sadly, Falun Gong is widely known to be rooted in Chinese tradition and is based on universal principles: Truth, Compassion, and Tolerance. To monitor and carry out this terrible persecution, Jiang established a nationwide infrastructure that has the same power as the former Gestapo - the "610 offices." According to credible sources, at least 455 Falun Gong practitioners have been tortured to death under the direction of the 610 offices, and tens of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners are being tortured in labor camps or mental hospitals. This regime's crimes against humanity are simply horrifying. Throughout history, tyrants have consolidated power by victimizing their own people.
We are also alarmed that this despot has tried every means to export his propaganda and tyranny into countries throughout the world, including Western democracies. In Australia and New Zealand (southern hemisphere), in Germany and Iceland (Europe), and in Cambodia and Hong Kong (Asia), Jiang has attacked freedom, constitutional rights and the moral fabric of civilized society. The 50 years of freedom that China promised Hong Kong within the "one country, two systems" policy, is now being assaulted.
Our own government officials have not been spared. Mounting evidence has revealed how Jiang's regime, through its embassies, consulates and other agencies, has exerted pressure on our federal, state and local governments, forcing some local governments to rescind proclamations in support of Falun Gong.
Mr. President, tyrants such as Saddam Hussein, Stalin, or Hitler would never have been invited as honored guests. Jiang, a "human rights scoundrel," as declared by the Amnesty International, should not have a seat in our backyard.
Mr. President, after what America has gone through since September 11, peace, freedom and democracy have become even more important and prized.
Mr. President, America should not welcome Jiang Zemin. We hope that, having led our nation through its most trying time since Pearl Harbor, you will once again rise to the challenge and set an example for the world to follow.
Sincerely yours,